Dragon*Con!

Everybody should go to at least one Dragon*Con convention in Atlanta, even if you're a die-hard realist who can't stand anything fantastical, science fiction or gaming related.

For example, I met my future wife there (though she doesn't know it):



That's a nice young lady dressed as Gabriel from the film "Constantine," by the way. I've got a weird thing for Tilda Swinton.

The reason everyone should go? The people are nice. Even if they look weird. They really, really like to party, too. This is a late-night shot down on the lobby of the Hyatt:


There's a lot of alcohol and general friendliness flowing down there. I was a good journalist, though. Promise.

My defining moment came when I (through my best friend and fellow reporter Chris Brennaman) got a chance to sit down for about a half-hour with Al Feldstein, creator of EC comics and Mad magazine.

Back in the 1950s, Feldstein felt the full force of Congress. Some spurious psychology made his comics like "Tales from the Crypt" an easy target for demagogues who wanted to look like they cared for children - a spooky mirror to the attacks on video games like Grand Theft Auto nowadays, or Dungeons and Dragons 20 years ago.

He said the political situation is worse now, due in no small part to our tendency to cocoon ourselves in video games, the Internet, and "Survivor." There are people on both sides of the aisle who want to expand their own fiefdoms at the price of our personal freedoms.

"They've gotten smart, though," he said. "They'll never try a draft again."

"Huh?" Chris and I said.

"If they start a draft, the kids will start asking why," he said. "That's the last thing they want."

Just a small taste of the conversation, but the 81 year old Feldstein got positively animated when he was talking about what the "Congressional bastards" tried to do to him.

Anyway, without further ado, here's some of my more favorite pictures, with brief explanations.

Jango Fett. Awwww, yeah.

I'm the Juggernaut, bitch! This guy knew the whole script.


If you'll look closely (heck, I did), you'll notice this young lady isn't wearing anything except makeup and a loincloth. There were cops everywhere at Dragon*Con, but enforcing public indecency laws didn't seem to be a concern.

It's Bishop and Gambit. "Gambit" had bright red, almost glowing contact lenses in.

I don't even want to know.

The "Cardboard Box Stormtroopers" were a huge hit. Here they are with best friend Chris.

My life is complete. I got a picture of slave girl Leia (one of about 10 there) dancing with Jabba.

See? There are regular folks at Dragon*Con, too. This is Tiffany, best friend Chris' lovely wife. A C-grade actor from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" hit on her relentlessly.

This is Anthony Daniels, the guy and voice inside C-3P0, being a dirty old British man.

Here's Electro, a Spider-Man villain. His gloves held honest-to-God tasers that could arc electricity between his fingers.