Comicpalooza 2014 : We'll be there.

Greetings Fanatics!

So, you may have notices that our posting has been rather sporadic these past few months. Our main excuse has been, "We're prepping for Comicpalooza!", "Sorry guys, Comicpalooza!".

What exactly is Comicpalooza?

Comicpalooza is Houston's largest multi-media pop convention. It takes place over Memorial Day weekend, spanning 4 days (May 23-26). It's fairly young: this will be Comicpalooza's 6th year running and its 4th year in Houston's George R. Brown convention center. Guests this year include Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, the cast from the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and many more that I'm not going to name here because there seems to be an endless amount and they add more everyday. Comicpalooza is also hosting a number of panels, including several featuring different science professionals.

This will be our second year vending at Comicpalooza and our first time selling in the Dealer's Room rather than the Artists Alley. (Artist Alley? Artist's Alley? Artists' Alley? I never know.) We get a 10x10' space to work with, which is quite a bit of room that I can experiment with, so I've been working on booth layout since January. We're also releasing a new line of stuffed toys that I'm really excited about.

 If you've ever exhibited at a convention, or even been to a convention as an attendee, you know how much work goes into preparing for one. It's exhausting. I'll have more info about our booth and giveaways for Fanatics attending Comicpalooza this May, so keep an eye out for that. We should be back to regular blogging after May 26th, so be patient!

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Buy tickets for Comicpalooza here!

Good evening, Fanatics!

We haven't posted in nearly a month; but it doesn't mean that we don't care! We had some trouble with the pipes in the house that caused us to need to replace the floor in two rooms. Because of this, we stayed with Aaron's parents for a week. But we're back and ready to delight and inform you with our creature posts and rants.

 As of last weekend, I am proud to announce that my voodoo dolls can be found in The Tinderbox on Main here in Houston! They'll be there throughout the month of October, so be sure to stop by and support me and other Texas artists at this wonderful local business.

 

We'll also be attending October's Mini Pops Marketplace this Sunday. Mini Pops is a small event held monthly by Pop Shop Houston and we're very excited to be participating in it. Mini Pops is being held at Leopard Lounge Vintage and Pavement Clothing on Westheimer and Dunlavy.

Helping us at Mini Pops (and hopefully at other future events) is my sister and guest blogger here on QF, LiLi! Aaron and I will be picking her up at the airport on Saturday and she'll be staying here in Houston for part of the year to go to school.

That's all I have time to write tonight, but we'll be back soon with some creature features!

Happy October!

Megh 

What I actually bought from Comicpalooza (finally!)

Good evening Fanatics!

The other day I posted a very solemn and personal piece on this blog and though I feel like it was important to share, I also think it was a little heavy.
 So I'd like to uplift the atmosphere of this blog by showing off what I got at Comicpalooza last month!


It's a bit late in coming. I mean, Comicpalooza is already a month behind us.
I have to admit, I'm not much of a comic Fanatic. I like the art (usually), but don't care for the convoluted story lines and universe changes.  So, most of the vendors didn't appeal to me directly. I'm also not a spendthrift, so most of the few things I did really want, I ended up talking myself out of.

I must be great to hang out with.

 I had the great luck of being boothed directly next to my sister's favorite web comic artist, Amanda Lafrenais of Love Me Nice fame. (link mostly SFW) I immediately (or eventually, depending on who you're asking) swallowed my social awkwardness and went up to her to order a commission. I went around the booth to the front of her table to talk to her even though I had been sitting immediately to her left. I commissioned a $30 color sketch of LiLi based off of a picture of her holding up a fish she had caught, because out of all of the photos I had of her on hand, this was the most shapely and flattering. That sounds really weird of me, but the Love Me Nice artist specializes in very curvy characters and I knew that LiLi would appreciate a sketch of herself as close to the LMN artwork as possible. I'd never heard of Amanda or her comic before, nor ordered a commission, so I was a little taken aback when I got this little beauty for only $30. This is only a partial picture (taken from Amanda's Tumblr, but you can still see the detail put into work. Only after the convention did I realize that she did not ordinarily do such detailed work for $30 and that I probably should have paid her more. (Note: If you ever read this, Amanda, sorry for not paying you more! I feel like I contributed to you no longer doing sketches for $30. The picture is great!)

Amada's rendition of my sister. Torso up and no fishie.

Photo that sketch is based off of.

I also got her a Victorian Era inspired picture postcard with a plague doctor on it, but didn't have the foresight to take a picture of it before I packaged it up to send to her. (Edit: Never mind, I found it on their Deviant Art account.)

This one, because my sister creeps me out.

I didn't really see anything at the con that caught my eye too much. I have too admit that while I love striking, powerful comic art (usually featuring Superman, Venom, or Galactus) and kitschy old style comic art (old school Wonder Woman and Etta Candy being my favorites), I actually don't care for comics. There were a few bows and plushies that I talked myself out of buying, but one print kept luring me over. Again and again I passed the Artistic Oddities booth that held the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, beckoning to me with it's soft colors and confident gaze. In the end, I capitulated and bought a 16"x 20" print of the fabled alapacacorn.

So majestic.

I also got a postcard sized print of  The Barbed Wire Prince because the style matches my Joshua Norton print.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

MY FELLOW EARTHICANS

 And before you ask, no I'm not going to talk about the HORRIBLE INJUSTICE they are doing to Futurama.

No, I'm here to talk about a less infuriating topic.

MY 20th BIRTHDAY.

 Hai guise, it's LiLi again!

 I guess I should apologize for being absent in your lives so much, but truth be told, I'm really not sorry. I've been doing school junk, work junk, oh, and getting old. Very important there. I know everyone waits for their 21st birthday [Woo legal drinking and all] But I'm more terrified at the fact I won't be classified as a teenager anymore. It won't be any "Oh, look at that punk kid talking to trees again." It'll be like "Oh look at that young adult sacrificing seagulls. Wait a seco-"
BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE.

 I'm turning 20 the Philippines Independence Day. That's right. June 12th ya jerks.
I'm just chillin' here, planning my adult life, finishing final essays for my 3 classes and working 40 hours a week to feed my crippling coffee addiction.

At the end of the year, or next June, whichever suits my needs best, I am either going to make my pilgrimage to see the late, great Edgar Allan Poe or, I am going to New Orleans to summon the Baron.

In the meantime, you can start expecting to hear a lot more from me. Much, much more nonsense. Sweet, sweet delicious nutritious juicy, life-sustaining nonsense...

I AM ALL SERIOUSNESS PEOPLE. THIS IS THE FACE OF MEANING BUSINESS.

LiLi out, y'all.

Welcoming our new writer: LiLi!

Good evening, Fanatics! I'm excited to announce that we are adding a new writer to the Fanatic team.
My sister LiLi will be a new featured weekly writer. Look out for some awesome reviews of movies, opinion pieces on books, and theories on all things zombie. This post will include a short story from her own blog, Villan of the Story, so you can get a feel for her writing style.

Welcome, LiLi!

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

 “Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Gather around to see the wonder, the horror, the freakish family fun that is the Cutthroat Freak Show! Step right in, step right in! Tickets are only 3 dollars, 1 dollar for children; though I must warn you, mothers and fathers, what your children see in here will haunt their dreams 'til the day they die! Don’t be shy! Come on in, look inside! Everyone loves a good scare now and then; bring the whole family!