Shots Across The Bow

Adventure Con 2004

Who knew comics and toys were so popular in Knoxville?

Normally, Rex and Troy cover the toys and collectible scene, but since I actually made it to Adventure Con this year, I thought I'd post a little bit about what I saw.

First, there's a lot of people still interested in comics and toys, and as you might notice from the picture, there aren't many kids. Looking at the prices of some of the toys, I can understand why.

Next, it's very odd seeing comics I collected in the mid to late 80s referred to as Silver Age. Am I that old already?

Don't answer that.

The toys ran the gamut from true collectibles to yard sale crap, with the latter making a strong majority, but then again, one man's junk is another man's treasure, and money changed hands constantly.

I took my youngest son with me, and he was amazed at the folks there in full costume.

There were enough storm troopers and Fett clones there to populate an entire Star Destroyer. Unfortunately, now that Lucas has gone all digital CG all the time, they've all been replaced by two programmers and a case of Jolt Cola. Don't worry about them though; they seem very happy hanging out with some of the lady wrestlers from TNA. (I wonder what that stands for?)





I'm still not really clear what female westlers have to do with comics and collectibles, but hey, nobody was complaining about their presence.

One of the big draws of any convention like this is the celebrity guests, who ranged from nearly A-list (Brad Dourif-Grima Wormtongue in The Two Towers) to "Huh? Whozzat?" (Sandra Taylor? Evidently a bit player and a Playboy model.) I was primarily interested in meeting Steve Stanley, and talk to him about contracting cover art for PHD. But once I took care of that, I wandered through the celebrity area, just taking in the atmosphere.

The lonliest man in the room had to be Richard Hatch. Not the Survivor guy; he'd probably have been a bigger draw. This was the guy who played Apollo on Battlestar Galactica. I circled the room several times over about an hour and a half, and rarely saw anyone at his table.

The busiest table appeared to be Miss Catherine Bach, Daisy Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard, and one of the few people to get an article of clothing named after them. I took my son over to visit with David Prowse, the real Darth Vader, who turned out to be a very friendly fellow.





We chatted briefly, more about his work in A Clockwork Orange than Star Wars, then moved on down the line.

I was happy to talk with Ernie Hudson for a few minutes who also seemed to be a very nice, down to earth kind of guy, although he stil carried a little bit of a grudge against ABC for cancelling his latest series, 10-8. Not that I blame him for that; I carry a little grudge too. I liked the show. Looking at his table, I was surprised just how many projects he's been in. I've seen him in a lot of movies, but it wasn't until I looked at his table that I realized just how busy he's been. When I asked him what his latest projects were, he reeled off three movies and a TV show, so I don't think he'll be going hungry any time soon.

But there was one surprise. Ernie usually plays very powerful characters in his roles, and he looks very big on screen. But he isn't as large as I thought.

I figured him for 6'1" or 6'2", but he's about an inch shorter than I am.

Must be movie magic.

Speaking of which, I'm now completely convinced that if a female celebrity walked past me on the streets in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, I would never even notice. I recognized Tanya Roberts as she walked past me in an aisle only because I'd seen her sitting at her table earlier.

Kate Jackson only confirmed why she was always my favorite Angel; she was the only one that seemed real. Farrah seemed too plastic, and Jaclyn Smith was simply unattainable, but Kate was smart, sexy, and the ultimate girl next door.





A few years older, and not dressed and made up, she's still instantly recognizeable as the soccer mom next door. I got to talk with her a bit, and it was funny that her biggest concern was that she was missing her son's baseball game. She talked about putting motherhood ahead of her acting career, showing a strong sense of priorities.

I have to say that all of the celebrities there were easily accessible to the fans, and willing to spend time just chatting.

Except for one.

Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) ran his booth like an assembly line. From what I could see, interaction was very limited, as fans were walked through, grabbed a photo, paid their cash, got an autograph, and maybe a picture.

I passed, and instead spent 15 minutes talking to Clayton Hill & Sharon Ceccatti Hill, two of the lead zombies from Dawn of the Dead





George Romero has always been one of my favorite directors, and it was interesting to get their perspective on working on Knightriders, my favorite Romero movie. I read a Romero bio several years ago that described the troubles making the movie, but it was interesting hearing it from somebody who lived it.

I guess what surprised me the most about the whoe thing was how ordinary most of the celebs were. Granted, most of them were past their peak popularity, and may have been just grateful for the attention, but even those with healthy careers were genuinely interested in the folks they talked to.

Or maybe they're just really good actors.

Posted by Rich at June 8, 2004 4:54 PM | TrackBack