Friday, April 15, 2016

Emerald City Comic Con Recap

This took a little longer than planned, but I was down for a couple days. I'd been feeling under the weather all weekend at ECCC, but I toughed it out, followed by an immediate trip to the ER when I got back home. As much as I love Emerald City Comic Con, and consider it my local convention, I swear it's bad luck for me. A few years ago, I got robbed immediately before (If ya dont remember that lovely story, check it out HERE). Another year, I had heart issues. This year, more medical stuff. But enough about me!!

Barring the discomfort, I had a great weekend, and made sure to take lots of pictures of the fun times for you all. This convention in growing every year and has become on of the premier comic and pop culture conventions of the year. Hope you enjoy this photo gallery as much as I enjoy sharing them! Thanks to A Baby Cosplay for some of the fun pictures!

Just waiting for the doors to open. I did run into my friend Randy Taylor. You all know im a pro wrestling fan. Randy is a NW wrestling legend. Always nice to see him around.
Crowds! Big Big Crowds!
First thing I did when I got to ECCC was stand in the Funko line for 2 hours. All I got was this exclusive...BUMMER, yes...Waste of time, NO! I love Snoopy!


A Baby as "Babe-raham" from the Walking Dead
Walking Dead meetup at ECCC
One of our faves, Haylee Troncone Cosplay and A Baby geared up for the Walking Dead meetup

These things?
Agent Carter and Cap!!!


Haylee Troncone Cosplay in her epic Lord Vaako armor from the Chronicles of Riddick series!
Did I mention she works with www.pnwsfx.com?
Why arent you following her on Facebook yet? Click Here
@hayleetroncone on Twitter and Instagram too!



This dude looked a lot like Benedict Cumberbatch! Uncanny!




Rad Calvin and Hobbes
One of those guys from that game...
TheSteveStrout meets Captain Mal Reynolds! That was my little sidekick, Eden with us too! Coolest kid ever!


One of my favorite cosplayers EVER! Leanna Vamp! We will be doing an interview soon, so watch out for that in the coming weeks. A couple more pics of her are coming too. Check out here instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/leeannavamp
This Jelly Belly art was awesome and quite tasty looking!



Watched Skottie Young sketch for a few. It's always mind blowing watching such talented people work!
I am always absolutely amazed at how awesome my friend Ryan Wells is at building these elaborate cosplays! Go see more at: www.facebook.com/CosplayofRyanWells


One of my favorite costumes all weekend was our friend James Holliday's Captain Phasma, from Star Wars Episode VII. 
My friends are f**king AMAZING!!!
What are these? They were so cool?
Here's some beautifully crafted Disney Princesses (and a prince)


Supergirl

More cool friends and Supergirls! Go follow Miss Jerica too! Her cosplay's are sweet. I'm glad we got our obligatory selfie in at ECCC! It's becoming tradition! www.facebook.com/jerikandracosplay
Ryan Wells is in one of these costumes too! Genius!
Another super talented friend, Eric Jones aka Coregeek Creations! https://www.facebook.com/coregeekcc
Vamp as Wednesday Adams! So spooky, yet beautiful!
I got to visit her and chat quite a bit all weekend. I really thought I'd be intimidated, but talking to her made ya at ease. Like talking to an old friend. 
Jason Halverson as Odin. He's quite a cosplayer in his own right, and always nice to catch up with.


Abi Sue Cosplay doing the Disney Princess thing too! Love it!
Another one of my favorite costumes this weekend and EVER!
This Thanos was warn and constructed by Jerry Almond, a brilliant mask maker, but costume builder too! Wish I would have had more time to chat with him.
Anyone know who this Ant Man was?
Picture wasn't too great but you can still see the detail he put into this.
The legendary Batman artist, Tim Sale. Did you catch the interview we did before ECCC? HERE it is again.
With the ever so charming, Ashley Eckstein, of Her Universe fame, and also the voice Ahsoka Tano in the Star Wars animated universe! Go say hi to her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HerUniverse
Got to finally meet my buddy from New Zealand, Nick Barber. Nick is currently doing the art for the Image Comics series, RINGSIDE. Great series, not only because I'm a wrestling fan, but because its well written (by Joe Keatinge) and Nick's art is STELLAR!
Lots of Rey's. I love the character.


The Boom Studios booth always looks cool.
I really liked this Joker and Harley. The kid portraying the Joker had such a good grin for it! Way to go!
Leanna Vamp and my buddy Ireland Reid as Velma and Daffney from Scooby Doo! Love it!

3 kings? My bro, Marvel Comics artist Jeffrey Veregge, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, and myself! Epic moment!!!! Jerry the King Lawler was on hand promoting, Headlocked. Headlocked is a comic The King did art for, I will review the copy once I get through it, but go check it out for yourself: http://www.headlockedcomic.com/
Hanging with Ireland!
www.irelandreid.com/
She's hilarious and great to her fans on Twitter: @irelandreid
Here's some pictures from Ireland Reid's panel too. She talked about cosplay with so much passion. I suggested she actually record her talk and shre the video with her fans and others who want to cosplay but are still on the fence or insecure about trying it. She is always open for advice too, so if you ever have questions, send her a tweet or email. Watch out for her new videos and tutorials coming soon as well. Tell her I sent ya!
She didn't want to be on stage. She preferred to be up close and personal with her audience. 


Lots of energy.
This guy at the panel was AWESOME! This whole armor was handcrafted leather! So good. Picture don't do it justice!
Me, Sasha Roiz from Grimm, and Eden (aka mini Castle) again!

And...Last but not least...The ladies loved this little guy and his blue hair!
Overall, the weekend was a success. Saw lots of old friends. Made some new ones. There was so much more I wish I could've photographed, but it was just so busy. Go search Facebook and other social media sites for more photo galleries. I mean it when I say these pictues don't do ECCC Justice!

Before wrapping up, I'd like to send my congrats to my friend Ryan Fisher. Ryan, as we learned from a recent interview, ran a crowd funding campaign to produce his creator owned comic, Torchlight Lullaby. He actually sold out of his book at ECCC. That's huge for a self published. Way to go buddy!! Read more about Ryan and his graphic novel at http://www.thestevestrout.com/2016/03/emerald-city-comic-con-preview-q-with.html

Also, the Comic Book Swap Meet is going down April 30th, in the Port Townsend, Wa area, so spread the word! We have a great lineup of creators on hand including the prior mentioned Ryan Fisher.
Don't forget, if you want to cover a genre convention in your area for thestevestrout.com , get in touch and lets make it happen! -Steve!

 Steve Strout is the media mastermind behind this site, host of the Comic Book Swap Meet, nerd, terrible artist, gamer, convention goer and comic book reader who spends more time rescuing toys from thrift shops than a normal adult should. He is also known around the northwest for his promotion of live music and stand-up comedy events and is the creator/producer of the Comic Book Swap Meet mini convention, and Olympic Peninsula Comedy Competition (which will make it's big return in 2015). Follow him on Instagram at http://instagram.com/thestevestrout, and  He can be reached for comments at ptcomedy@yahoo.com on twitter at @thestevestrout