Tales of MegaCon 2012: Morning Funnies

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The photos today are of folks who came in costume to MegaCon 2012.  They have nothing to do with the following post other than the fact that the nonsense I’m about to tell you took place at  MegaCon 2012.

If you’ve been following my previous posts about MegaCon 2012 [Paul Gulacy and Mitch vs BIG RUSSIAN GUY] then you know I spent most of the weekend hanging out with my buddy, John Beatty.  John was a guest of the show, and had a table where he sketched and signed autographs for fans.

On the way to the convention Saturday, John and I decided to swing by McDonald’s for a breakfast to go.  The McDonald’s was packed and the drive-through closed for construction.  So, I ran in and got our breakfast while Beatty circled the lot for a parking spot.  Soon enough I had our orders and we were on our way to the show.

We ended up parking in a lot next to the convention center even farther out than on Friday.  The difference this morning was that there were bicycle-rickshaws that would ride you over to the convention center for five bucks a head.  Since I had my convention bag full of reference, sketchbooks, a camera plus a small cooler with drinks and snacks for Beatty and I, I thought the bike-shaw was a good idea.  Beatty had his drawing board and bag of art supplies, and so he agreed.

A bike-shaw rider pulled up and asked us if we wanted a ride.  We said we did.  He said he could take us both at the same time.  Cool.  I climbed in with my two bags and McDonald’s Sugar-Free Vanillia Iced Coffee with non-fat milk.  I had taken a sip and it was perfectly made.  I couldn’t wait to get to the convention table to drink it with my McSkillet steak burrito. Once I was settled in the bike-shaw, John came on with his art board, art bag and McDonald’s Mocca Frappe.

As the bike-shaw driver started to get us moving, the bike and then ric-shaw started to shake back and forth.  My iced coffee went flying and landed spilled across the parking lot.  The driver apologized.  Beatty and I repositioned our gear and the guy started off again.

It was slow going… at first.  Then the driver got his momentum and we’re were going at a fast clip.  Which was fantastic until it came time to make a fairly tight curve.

Have you ever tried to stop a loaded locomotive?

Apparently neither had our driver.  The bike went up the curb and the ric-shaw lurched as Beatty and I came out of it.  Surprisingly, Beatty never lost hold of his frappe.  The driver again apologized.  We straightened out the bike-shaw, pushed it around the curve and re-loaded.  Soon we were on our way and arrived at the convention center without further incident.

A short walk and we were at our table – ready for our breakfast burritos.  John still had his frappe and I could drink a Diet Coke from the cooler.  I asked John for my burrito.

He said, “Didn’t you get the bag out of the back seat?”

“Uh, no.  You put it there.  I thought you got it.”

Beatty wasn’t sure if I was messing with him.  I wasn’t.  Our breakfast was sitting in the back of his Charger… and neither of us were going back for it.

The next day Beatty and I hit the McDonald’s again for breakfast.  This time we got a MUCH closer parking spot and walked in to the convention.  We ate our breakfast at the table and all was great…or so I thought.

After I ate, I decided to walk around and talk to some artists.  When I got back, Beatty wasn’t at the table.  I asked Bob McLeod, who had the table next to us, where John was.  Bob started laughing and said, “You don’t know?”

“No, I really don’t.  What’s so funny?”

“John finished his breakfast and decided to get started on a sketch.  When John opened his art bag, he realized he had his clothes bag and his art supplies were in the bag in his car.”

At least we were parked close by.

Dan Panosian Gets Carter Again!

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This is Dan Panosian‘s second appearance in the StalloneZone sketch gallery. His first was a drawing of Jack Carter that he gifted me at an FX Convention in Orlando.

Dan is a big Stallone fan and really gets the Jack Carter character. I love Dan’s art and hope this won’t be the last piece to go in my collection.

Check out more of Dan’s art here and here. Plan to spend some time, because everything he draws is worth a look!

Tales of MegaCon 2012: Mitch vs BIG ANGRY RUSSIAN GUY

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Yesterday, I promised a  MegaCon 2012 story about John “Hex” Carter. So, on the off-chance that’s why you’re back, here it is.

Hex was set up at MegaCon 2012 three tables south of John Beatty and I.  As you can see from the photo, Hex is a big guy.  When in character, as he was for MegaCon, Hex speaks in a deep, booming Russian voice.  Imagine a mean, angry Cossack’s thunderous voice and then think a little scarier.

The other guy in the photo is Mitch Hyman.  Mitch is a funny guy. If he heard me say that, Mitch would say something like, “Yeah, but looks aren’t everything.”  Mitch is a much smaller guy than Hex.  Oh, and Mitch had never met or even seen Hex before.

So it’s early on Saturday and Mitch is telling Beatty and I one of his many humorous stories when Mitch says something about his Russian grandma’s beard — and follows that up with something to the effect of, “You know all Russian women have beards.”

I say, “Hey Mitch!  You better be careful what you say about Russian women and beards.”

Mitch questions a look at me and says, “Yeah?  Why’s that?”

Perfect, he’s given me my in.  “Because if the BIG RUSSIAN GUY hears you, he might take offense.”

Mitch cracks a smile, thinking I’m joking and replies, “Let him take offense.  I’ll kick his *** if he doesn’t like it.”

“Really?”

Mitch replies, “Really” and looks at me like it’s my move.

So while returning Mitch’s stare, I yell: “Hey BIG RUSSIAN GUY!”

On cue, Hex rises to his full height, raises his arms in the air and yells in that booming, scary Cossack voice: “Vhat?”

The look on Mitch’s face is priceless.  There is no way that Mitch  believed that there was a Russian around, much less a BIG RUSSIAN GUY who might be angry about his comment.  Mitch immediately says to me, “Don’t get me in trouble with this guy.”

Ignoring Mitch, I instead point to him and yell to the BIG RUSSIAN: “This guy says that all Russians are…”

Mitch quietly says to me, “Zablo, don’t get my butt kicked.”

I continue: “...SISSIES!”

With that Hex, in character roars: “RUSSIANS are not SISSIES!” and he begins stomping down to our table.  Mitch goes paler, if you can believe that.  Hex stomps down to the table.  For a split  second Mitch stands frozen in his spot staring up at the huge angry Russian. Then we all have a good laugh and I get them to pose for photos.

Tales of MegaCon 2012: Paul Gulacy

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Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I was at MegaCon 2012 with my buddy, John Beatty.  [That’s not John Beatty with me in the photo above.  No, that’s John “Hex” Carter.  Hex was seated a couple of tables down from Beatty and I.  You’ll hear more about Hex tomorrow.]

MegaCon was a lot of fun.  Of course how could it not be?  Beatty’s table was seated next to Bob “The Hardest Working Con Sketch Artist in the Business” McLeod.  I was able to pick up sketches from several artists [which will be posted in the coming weeks] for my Stallone sketch collection.  Beatty and I had a fun time hanging out with John Higashi.  I met several new artists and got to see several old friends/artists.  All in all it was a cool weekend that produced a couple of funny stories that I’ll share in posts this week.  Although this story isn’t funny, it is pretty neat.

Paul Gulacy was a guest at MegaCon 2012.  I first discovered Gulacy’s art when I was in junior high and he was working with Doug Moench on their classic run on Master of Kung Fu.  Paul Gulacy quickly became my favorite artist.  A few years later I began collecting original art and Paul was still my favorite artist.  I had acquired a few sketches by him and somehow got his phone number.

I called Paul and the conversation went well and I commissioned him to do a Bruce Lee piece for me.  We began to talk fairly regularly.  Paul was always entertaining.  In addition to being a talented artist, he is a great impressionist able to sound exactly like Brando, Eastwood, Stallone and so many others.  Paul did a Stallone piece for me… followed by a Sabre commission.

I finally got to meet Paul in person in 1980 at a comic convention in Atlanta.  Paul invited me to sit behind the table with him as he autographed and sketched for fans.  So there I was with Paul Gulacy, Mike Grell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Pat Broderick, Bob McLeod and other artists.  A fan about my age was making his way down the row getting autographs from all of the artists.

When he got to me, he looked at the program and then asked, “Who are you?”  I said, “Oh, I’m nobody -” Paul spoke up saying, “This is Craig Zablo.  He’s a friend of mine.”  As you can imagine, I couldn’t stop smiling all weekend.

 As I moved through college and got ready to enter the “real world” I decided to sell off my comic art collection so I wouldn’t have to work during my senior internship.  I found myself reading fewer comics and had lost touch with Paul.  The one piece of art that I did keep was the Stallone commission that Paul did for me.

Fast forward 28 years to MegaCon 2012.  I hadn’t spoken to Paul since the early 80’s, but I wanted to go up and re-introduce myself and thank Paul for being so cool to a young fan.  I wanted Paul to know that I still had my Stallone piece and that allowing me to sit with him while he sketched was a convention memory that still brings a smile.

I found Paul’s table.  The show hadn’t started yet, but already a fan was speaking with him.  When their conversation finished, I stepped up.  I said, “Good morning.  My name is Craig Zablo – ”  Paul immediately said, “Wow!  We’re going back in time.”  I could see the wheels spinning as Paul tried to place me.  I was surprised and said, “You remember me?”

Paul said, “Youngstown, right?”

“I used to call you when you lived in Youngstown – “

Paul said, “I did the Stallone piece for you.”  I was amazed that he’d remember.  We had a nice conversation and Paul introduced me to his wife. I thanked Paul for the great memories and art.

So now I had two great con memories of interactions with the talented Paul Gulacy… and MegaCon 2012 hadn’t even officially started.

Ken Garing’s Planetoid

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Until I read this article at iFanboy, I didn’t know anything about Ken Garing’s comic Planetoid.  If this…

  • PLANETOID #1
  • Written and Drawn by Ken Garing
  • 32pages/ full color
  • Silas, an ex-soldier turned space pirate, finds himself stranded on a mysterious planet in alien territory. As he explores the long-abandoned industrial ruins of the planet’s surface he will have to fend off rogue mechanical creatures, roving cyborg militias, and a hostile alien military with a bounty on his head. With a small survival kit, Richter (a computerized assistant built into his space suit), and one really powerful gun, Silas will have to rely on resourcefulness and bare-bones survival tactics in order to stay alive and ultimately unlock the secrets of a planet where survival is a luxury and escape an impossibility.

… sounds like something you’d like, then get your order in now!

Coogan’s Trade

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Have you heard about Coogan’s Trade?

Coogan’s Trade is based on the crime novel by George V. Higgins.  If that’s not enough to get you looking for the line to buy tickets, wait until you get a load of the cast of Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Sam Shepard.

What?  You want to know more?  OK… Pitt plays Coogan, a mob enforcer who is sent to find out and take care of whoever robbed a mob-protected poker game.

What you want to see more?  Fine.  First Look has some images from the film.

Satisfied?  Now let’s get in line for some tickets!

“Fast 6” May Start Filming Soon

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According to this report at MTV Movies, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said that filming on “Fast 6” will begin in May in either Germany or the UK.  Although it was initially reported that “Fast 6” and “Fast 7” would film back-to-back, Johnson said that’s no longer the plan.

The fact that filming is scheduled to start so soon is exciting news.  “Fast 5” was without a doubt the best of the “Fast and the Furious” series and I look forward to seeing “Fast 6”.