Conning it old school

 My new hero, the best Captain Marvel I have ever seen.

 
So, a couple of newlywed pals came up from Seattle and joined wonder Wife and I at the Bellingham Comic Con, which is actually held outside of town at the Ferndale Events Center, so go figure.

This was the ninth year for the con, but I really felt like I was going back in time twenty or thirty years. While the con has grown from a sub-300-person gathering in a motel conference room to a respectably crowded event in a decent hall, it was still a comic convention.

 These are comics

 

Nowhere to be seen were huge displays for upcoming movies or television shows, or flashing monitors displaying video games, or even racks of D&D stuff. This place was clearly about comics. There were other fandoms represented in the vendors and the costume contest, to be sure, but comic books, comics shops, back issue dealers, and Artist's Alley had pride of place for sure.

Not my picture - kiped from Instagram - but it captures the flavor

Another kiped photo - but we did buy something from this artist, Pri.

Since it's a small con, there wasn't much in the way of panels or presentations: a trivia contest  and the mid-afternoon costume contest, both held in a room adjoining the main hall, were the only big events. In that sense, too, it mirrored the early days of cons, which were less about showpiece panels and more about fans gathering to trade and complete collections. (They did open the second room up for board gaming after the costume contest, so I guess that counts as an event.)

The costume contest was by turns adorable and a hoot. About a third of the entrants were kids, even one babe in arms, and we got to witness all the enthusiasm (slightly-too-husky Wolverine having a ball) and some nascent skills (on-target Megara looking great) without that slickness and professionalism that for me takes some of the joy out of cosplay at the bigger cons.

My second-favorite cosplayer - 

young Jyn Erso, having completed her walk, watches the other contestants.

Wonder Wife's cosplay selection - Wonder Woman!

The low-key nature of the event made it much more accessible as well. The posted hours were 10 am to 5 pm; we ended our stay at about half-past two and were totally satisfied, having each gotten some prize loot and my having spent a sufficient amount of time poring (and pawing) through discount boxes. Wonder Wife was well pleased with the manageable nature of the excursion.

We'll be back next year, for sure. Maybe even in costume.

Yabba-dabba-do read this

So, as part of its series of adaptations of Hanna-Barbera properties, DC produced 12 issues of The Flintstones over the past two years; all 12 have been released in two trade paperbacks. I am not going to review this two-volume collection in detail, not even a 5 x 5; I am just going to say that you should read this. If you buy, read, or collect comics and graphic books, get these on your next trip to the local comic shop. If you don't, go to the library and borrow the collection or have them order it from another library. If you know me in RL, ask me to borrow it and I will lend it to you. It's just that good.

Here's one excerpt: Fred is directing a rescue mission for someone trapped in an accident at the Slate Quarry; Mr. Slate wants to call it off because it's costing him money.

 (Edited in format to better display the money quote.)

The series addresses materialism and consumer culture, politics and media, science and religion, gender roles and sexual preferences, and parenting and friendship, as well as hipsters and the ethics of using sentient creatures as appliances. The writing is smart and funny and the art is beautiful and clear. This is comics done well, but it's more than that: if you are human being alive in the 21st century in the USA, you should read this two-volume book.

Seriously. Just go find it and read it.

(Re) action figures

So, Wonder Wife and I were cruising the Value Village the other day, and I encountered two items that demanded some kind of response, so here they are.

The first was this little playset:

Okay, let's put aside the casual stereotyping and anime-style artwork for a second and look at a few details.

I long ago stopped expecting a toy like this to have much historical accuracy, but who in Sam Hill is this?

I'm not even sure what country this guy is from - he looks like a storybook prince or a Gilbert and Sullivan supernumerary.

And what's up with this?

I am pretty sure 16th century Native Americans in what is now Virginia did not wear Kaiser Bill mustaches.

And finally, the package trumpets these accoutrements:

Umm...

I'm not sure how swords, an axe, a carbine, and a serrated machete are safety weapons. For that matter, what are safety weapons anyway?

A few paces down the aisle from this confusing collection, I came across this cellophaned woman:

I'm not sure what caught my eye, since she's a fairly mundane figure and I don't recognize the character, but a closer inspection of her right hand revealed this somewhat disturbing sight:

It seems a giantess is carrying this dude around, and he's digging it. I think I ran across that website once.

As they say, Value Village - Discover Your Treasures Today.