Supanova - a ballad of hyperlinks
Hoo boyie, have I got a Dear Diary for you.
Well – I
don’t think it’s the most exciting thing ever but man, I have not been
buzzed about a con as much as I had been for Supanova. Really, this is extraordinary, considering my increasing apathy with the public gatherings of geeky/nerdy masses.
But yeah
– Supanova, best nerd excursion eEeeeEvvVVVeerrrrR! (so far, but most
likely at least, for the year, well, to date…at least).
This was Supanova’s 10th
year, and frankly, be it because of the shitty weather and everyone
wanting to stay out of the rain or an honest to god successful marketing
campaign – we had record breaking crowds. And when I mean record breaking, I mean olfactory-sense and common-sense breaking crowds. I could have fainted several times from oxygen deprivation and mustard gassing with nerd sweat. It doesn’t help that I’m short. I
kept gripping P’s backpack as we negotiated the crowds, terrified that
I’d be left to fend for myself in the middle of the floor against an
army of Pikachus (or rather an army of people wearing Pikachu onesies).
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| prepare to hyperventilate... |
The
fantabulous, ridiculously talented and super duper awesome crew from Nekochii were preposterously kind to me and offered me a small corner of
their table to sell my left-over hats.
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| find more examples here |
They
didn’t sell as well as I’d hoped considering that I had always sold out
before, but considering the hyper-saturation of this particular niche
market (there was another stall around the corner selling similar), I
still sold ok, especially for their prices. I’m guessing the rest might go faster at Smash! since there is less steampunk at those types of cons.
I was also quite chuffed by the fact that I got to hang out with vendors and stall managers who were actually friends of mine. I was super pleased to see A of AHW Studios selling his AMAZING STEAMPUNK AND VINTAGE WATCH PARAPHERNALIA. It
was great hanging out with him and having a chat since our few
encounters at his market stand at the Rocks were so long ago, and we
mostly communicated via Facebook. I also got the dubious
honour of being his tour guide when he felt like a walk, as well as the
real honour of wearing his gas mask (not a euphemism of any sort).
I also
loved hanging out with the crew of Pinin, thanks to M for offering me
‘coca-cola’ to parch my convention walking thirst, and dulling my senses
with alcohol. Also, (and I think I have overdone this
particular accolade, especially on Facebook with excessive tagging) – a
GIGANTINORMOUS THANK YOU to SL, who shared with me my glee and
excitement for obtaining a JENNIFER HALE AUTOGRAPH (sfhfbjbgdbvdv!!!!!!!
and this is quite the geekout considering that I have never even played
Mass Effect as FemShep). Our dignified fan activities
made up of mostly me making up my mind three or four times as to whether
I wanted to be in a photo with her, and grinning like a goddamn idiot
during the shot. I chatted with her about the weather, because I am lame when put on the spot. We later walked away holding in our silent (but still obvious) giddy ‘ohmygod’-ing. SL
in fact, managed the impossible by skilfully and seductively convincing
Hale to sign her presentation poster which was used to mark out her
autograph booth. Some onlookers, jealous that he had
stolen the voice actress’ affections chased after him and SL was forced
to vault the tables and escape with Hale’s autographed poster, which
acted the part of her dropped handkerchief. It was all true and very daring, the vaulting was impressive, there may have been a barrel roll.
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| *iwillnotmakeafavouriteonthecitadeljokeiwillnotmakeafavouriteonthecitadeljokeiwillnotmakeafavouriteonthecitadeljoke* |
As
previously stated, Day one was horrendously crowded, and I applaud P for
being my anchor during the day, lest I be kidnapped by my kin. And by Kin, I mean Dwarves.
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| This was an entirely accidental find - I assure you |
It was a glorious day for me, as I got to proudly display my greatest asset – my long, flowing, glorious, crimson Dwarven beard.
It was also a day of family reunions. Sort of…
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| Some onlooking kids said 'hey look - dwarves!' - the big guy begged to differ... |
A few people also wanted photos with me, it was weird. But I am glad that there is dwarf beard solidarity out there.
That is,
until P casually pointed out that I am going to be ‘on other people’s
internet, at least that beard covers most of your face’. That kind of freaked me out, a little.
As always, cosplay was by and large not a feature I was looking forward to encounter but the 501st Legion does put on a great show. If only there wasn’t so much weird politics in a costume guild, I’d probably join up.
Speaking of costumes and joining things. I
ran (entirely by awesome chance) into L, who was sporting an incredibly
sweet armoured getup, representing the Duchy of Rowany at the Medieval
Re-enactment Table. After chatting with L and his fellows,
I have been convinced to attend one of their arts and crafts days and L
is willing to pick my brain for craft ideas on making light weight
armour pieces. Considering my latest forays into Fimo Lite
to make wearable deer antlers, I think I definitely have something to
bring to the table. Also, if I join, I am definitely becoming an archer, and I will spawnpoint camp like its no one’s business…
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| All the armour plates were hand threaded by L |
From the reports I have heard though, cosplay skits were still a cringeworthy experience. I kept my distance from the cosplay stage just to be safe.
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| Overabundance in sexy bearded ladies... its not everyone's cup of tea |
But I
did go near the area after a conversation with A in which I was
interrupted from our discussion as I watched the most glorious
thing/person walk past me with an air of quiet/sexy/really superior
confidence. I barely even excused myself as I ran, yes ran to the cosplay area to have a photo:
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| Our wedding photo *hnnng* |
I can honestly say that this was pretty much the most fun moment for me at the con. I
was a mildly blubbering idiot, asking bystanders to please please
please take a photo of me and Garrus while his girlfriend, the maker of
the costume salvaged falling pieces of his armour with duct tape. Luckily R walked right past me and I accosted him to take a few shots on his and my camera. I
thanked the girlfriend profusely for letting me take a photo and for
being so fucking talented in making the whole costume (even if it was
falling apart). All I need now is a beach planet and Garrus and I can retire with the profits made from selling the vids.
Day two was less crowded, and from the sound of things, agonisingly slow for vendors. One
such vendor however did not suffer from Sunday-itis sales, in fact at
the end of the day half their racks (heh heh, errrm) were empty. One Day in Paradise was once again manned by the glorious M and my good friend S, who somehow seduced/brainwashed/tortured/ convincingly marketed a dress which is pretty much the dress I have been waiting for all my life but didn’t know it. Even Garrus cannot match the immediacy with which I pulled my visa out. I blame this entirely on S and I have thus unfriended her on Facebook and will never talk to her again until she gets the skirt version she ordered and we will go hang out twinning our outfits. You know, cause I hate her for pulling me into buying this crack dress.
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| Sharon and me in frilly frippery |
It didn’t help that S looked like the prettiest maiden in the realm with her astounding BTSSB outfit. I guess every time I try to get away from Lolita fashion, some evil siren in a bonnet, like S somehow pulls me back. And I am not a fan of bonnets, even if it looked great on her… harrumph.
On the
other hand, with Day One’s success at pulling off what I like to call
‘Moria Lolita’, I had a go at other Lolita substyles such as:
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| Kamen Lolita (or maybe Mushi (insect) Lolita?) |
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Post Apocalypse Lolita… (Gasu-Lolita?)
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Despite
all those fashion shenanigans, there were some decent costumes, and I
was well pleased to see a variety of non-anime costumes running about. With the release of the Marvel movies we have seen better attempts at Marvel/DC/Western media cosplay.
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| noisiest bunch ever |
M still came in with his classic Kamen Rider costume. Sadly, M informed me while we were lunching that he was retiring the costume since it was already getting battle worn. I have managed to keep a log of three years’ worth of KR photos of him since I think the quality of his costume is fantastic. I look forward to seeing what he will be wearing for the next con. Kamen Rider, its been a pleasure knowing you.
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| M as Kamen Rider |
Again, Supanova has evolved into a fantastic event. The
guest list was not as impressive as last year, which included James
Masters and David Gareth Lloyd (*undignified squeal* Torchwooooooood!),
but this year we had great fun with Christopher Lloyd and puzzlingly,
Eric Roberts, which is an impressive marketing and agent-ing feat. I was going to get an Uncle Fester photo signed by the Doc and R proudly posted a photo of Mr Lloyd signing his model DeLorean!
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| In other news, a real Delorean!!! |
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| Lame hispter stereotype is still free and good for when I go do my nightly workouts. |
I was also somehow again, seduced/brainwashed/tortured/
convincingly marketed, this time by J, to finally sample a few
anthologies instead of constantly borrowing comics in order to get my
graphic kicks. I bought Old Man Logan and, to J’s shock,
(because everyone thought I already owned these) the first Volume of
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Old Man Logan is breathtaking and I have, in the last few days, already read it at least 8 more times. I also had a funny chat with the authors of Blastosaurus. One
of the authors (Terry?) even showed me his customised shoes in which he
got… a picture of his own face printed on them… hmmm. Either way, I got a small anthology of his special issues and was thoroughly entertained. I really recommend you read his stuff if you like short, witty, comedic comics.
Anyway –
I would go on and on and on about the excellence of this year’s Supa,
maybe it was made special by the fact that I had so many ties to the
community, or that I attended both days, or that finally, I am accepted
for who I am as a crimson bearded dwarf. It was a great event and I am encouraged to see it grow. Organisation and staffing was well done and I think that eventually, Supanova will become well known even outside of Australia. With
Oz-Comic-con monopolising the geek market in Melbourne, I am glad we
had Supanova in Sydney (even though it also occurs in Melbourne and
Brisbane too).
And with that, I leave you with a jealousy inducing photo of all MY MAD SWAG which I overblew my budget on. I regret nothing.
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| Stuffs, so much precious... |
I will now be concentrating entirely on Diablo 3 art and making stuffs. I
have anatomy issues I need to iron out (male form, why you so
confusing?! boobs why you even more confusing even if I have my own?!!)
and my battle with drawing fabric is ongoing – I’ll get you yet y-fold!
Until next time folks! Maraming Salamat!
Man, I wish there was a community for this sort of thing over here, but it just doesn't happen around these parts. I've never been to the States, but I'd concider going over once to attend a con like that, even though it seems a bit impenetrable. I have a feeling I would open the doors, stop, look around and say: "I'm home." :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had fun, in any case.
Oh I am sure there is something there. IN places you wouldnt expect.
DeleteI remember when I was still living in the Netherlands I went to a convention in friggin Aamersfoort!! I have no idea where that is but it took like three trains to bleeding get there. A cow even blocked the train tracks at some point. It was a terrible con but it had heart.
It was fun, except for the times I wanted to strangle someone who mistook being socially awkward as an excuse to not have manners.
Some nerds...ugh