A Day at Amazing Hawai'i Comic Con, or: How Dave Found His People [EXTREMELY PIC HEAVY]

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

[WARNING: I am a horrible photographer.]

So, as some of you may have saw, I spent yesterday at Amazing Hawai'i Comic Con. Here's how the day went:

Woke up, made coffee, had some waffles with coconut syrup. Then I went and got gas, and headed to the mall to park. I got there at about 9AM, so there was a lot of parking. (I wasn't sure how much parking was going to cost at the Convention Center, so I played it safe, parked for free and walked the half-mile to the Con.)

Got to the Convention Center, got my wristband, and stood in line until the doors opened at 10AM. Went inside and wandered the Dealers' Hall and Artists' Alley until the first panel I wanted to attend at 11AM, on the Main Stage: Saturday Morning Cartoons!

The panelists were:

Alana Jordan (@AlanaJordan)
Emma Fyffe (@EmmaFyffe)
Uncanny Megan (@UncannyMegan)

And they talked about cartoons. Mostly cartoons from my era: The original TMNT, the original Transformers (but that one kinda strayed into newer stuff) and Jem (no, not the new craptastic live-action movie). Fun times.

Then it was off to my second panel in Panel Room 2: Super Anime Smackdown. The premise of this panel was the panelists (Emma Fyffe and Xander Jeanneret (@Xanderrific)) pull two volunteers from the audience and each of them chooses an anime character. They then have to describe the anime character, the anime the character is from, and why they're better than the other character. This one was fun. The only one that sticks out in my mind was Goku vs. some hamster princess, whose name (and anime) I can't remember. Goku lost. After listening to the arguments in favor of each one, I wasn't surprised.

In the second photo, that's Uncanny Megan hiding in the corner. Supergirl FTW.

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

Then it was back to the con Dealers' Hall and Artists' Alley for some hanging out until the next panel (which was a toss up between Kevin Eastman's (@EastmanOfficial) TMNT panel on the Main Stage, or Ivy Doomkitty's (@IvyDoomkitty) Positivity in Cosplay panel in Panel Room 1. Since I got a invite while I was talking to Miss Doomkitty, I went to her panel.) I wandered for an hour, and did my swag shopping.

-First bit of swag was this cute little Plague Doctor figurine:

-Then some T.A.R.D.I.S. earrings for SWMBO (I doubt she'll ever wear them, but there it is):

-Then off to one of the three reasons I was there: Ivy Doomkitty. Now, I'm not a huge cosplay geek, but I do like it. I watch Heroes of Cosplay (and DVR it when I can't watch), and these people (and the amount of effort they put into their costumes) can be mind-boggling. Ivy Doomkitty is one of my three favorite cosplayers, so going to her booth was a must. I was hoping for her Doctor Doom or Power Girl, but it was Pin-Up Ewok, which I had never seen before. So, I picked up some swag and her line was short, so I had the opportunity to get a photo with her. I can cross that one off the bucket list (Awkward photo with an EXTREMELY attractive cosplayer: check!).

Picked up a photo book, and a Legion of Doomkitty lanyard (not shown):

My nametag says "Hello, I'm The Doctor," in case you were wondering if I went in constume.

Then off to a local cosplayer, who is very good: Leah Rose (@leahroseFTW), who was 90's Rogue, where I picked up an awesome print. I talked to her for a hot minute, since I recognized her from the grand re-opening of one of the FLGSs. Found out she's a gamer, and a LARPer, and she did all the effects in this shot with Sharpies and eyeliner. I wish I had that kind of ingenuity. You want something to light up or move? I got you. This? Nuh-uh.

Then it was off to the Positivity in Cosplay panel. Cosplay's not my bag, but if I can get SWMBO to go with me next year, I have some ideas for a paired cosplay. The panelists were Ivy Doomkitty, Leah Rose, and Uncanny Megan. It was a good panel, and I got an awesome photo of the cutest Doctor Octopus you'll ever see (he was 4, I'm allowed to call him cute). The bottom pair of arms were attached to the arms of his coat, and all 4 arms had LED lights in them. His parents worked hard on that costume. Parenting done right.

Then it was back to the Dealers' Hall and Artists' Alley for a little more shopping where I scored this sweet Doctor Who swag by some local artists:

Now, for the second of three reasons I was there: Off to stand in line for...oh, an hour and a half, or so, to get Kevin Eastman's autograph on my 1989 TMNT vol 1. You know, back when they all wore red masks and

killed the Shredder in the VERY FIRST ISSUE!

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

Then it was off to the Positivity in Cosplay panel. Cosplay's not my bag, but if I can get SWMBO to go with me next year, I have some ideas for a paired cosplay. The panelists were Ivy Doomkitty, Leah Rose, and Uncanny Megan. It was a good panel, and I got an awesome photo of the cutest Doctor Octopus you'll ever see (he was 4, I'm allowed to call him cute). The bottom pair of arms were attached to the arms of his coat, and all 4 arms had LED lights in them. His parents worked hard on that costume. Parenting done right.

Then it was back to the Dealers' Hall and Artists' Alley for a little more shopping where I scored this sweet Doctor Who swag by some local artists:

Now, for the second of three reasons I was there: Off to stand in line for...oh, an hour and a half, or so, to get Kevin Eastman's autograph on my 1989 TMNT vol 1. You know, back when they all wore red masks and

killed the Shredder in the VERY FIRST ISSUE!

Some photos from the Con Floor while I was waiting (I did not get a picture of Aloha Thor, and I am very upset about that):

DEADPOOL PHOTOBOMB!

I missed most of the trailers because I was waiting in line, but I did catch a couple of video game trailers, and the trailer for the new Jungle Book (which looks awesome, btw.)

Then it was in to get a good seat for the third reason I was there: the Cosplay Contest!

But first, The Match Game! The panelists were Nigel Thornberry, Waldo, League of Legends Nami(?), Mystique, Beast, and Deadpool. The first contestants were Spider Man and The Penguin. This is where I charged my camera for the Cosplay Contest, so I only have a couple of photos. The answer of the evening was "Deadpool," unless the question related to food, then it was "chimichangas." Go figure.

The second contestants were Aloha Deadpool, and Tactical Gear Deadpool.

The third contestants were Lady Deadpool, and (her words, not mine) "fine elf Superboy in the tight pants."

At this point, Deadpool (I'm not sure which one, but I suspect Soy Sauce Ramen Deadpool) had gotten into the computer, and changed all the panelists names to Deadpool. The game had completely broken down, as one would expect from a group of comic book nerds. The host was laughing so hard he was crying, and so were most of us in the audience.

DEADCEPTION!

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

Now, what you've all been waiting for, the Cosplay Contest! These are some of my worst photos. Some of the contestants moved so fast up on the stage all I got was a blurry shot, or a shot of them leaving the stage. Well, it is what it is.

First up, the Library Bards performing two songs:

All About that Space

Buccaneer (we sang along to this one)

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

I'm just going to put the photos up, and I'll announce the winners at the end. There were others, but either I didn't get photos, or the photos were so bad that you couldn't even tell there were people in them.

The Hosts:

The Judges:

The Contestants:

Chris (MCU):

Carbon Cap:

Some Attack on Titan:

A Pokemon thingy:

90s Gambit:

Starlord:

Ozma:

Miss Marvel:

I don't know who this is, but she had an awesome sword:

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

Ghost Rider:

The Deadpool Peanut Gallery (sitting right behind me):

The Tarantula:

Scarlet Witch:

Big Hero 6 guys:

???:

Firefly (Cobraaaaa!):

Queen Amidala:

Lady Loki (1):

New Star Wars Guy?:

Sword Art Online Guy:

The Shredder:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv111/dsmiles76/AHCC/20150919_192058.jpg

Daenerys:

Another GoT character:

I don't know this one, either. Cool hammer, though:

Persona 4 (that poor cabbage, he'd been carrying it around all day):

Don't know this guy, either:

Venom:

Iron Man:

dsmiles · September 20, 2015

Lady Loki (2) (She didn't win, but I thought she should have; I talked to her, and she did all the work on this herself):

3/4 of the Ninja Turtles:

Gender-Bend Starlord:

Gender-Bend Professor X (a couple of guys actually carried her and her wheelchair up on stage; she got a standing ovation from the crowd and judges):