Shaking hands with Buck

[jwyblejr]

I'm not sure what TNA is, never been a wrestling guy. It was overkill, two packed aisles of these guys and they were all like carnival barkers, bugging you as you walked by. I don't know why so many of them were there.

It's another wrestling federation like WWE. Only thing is,they employ mostly old timers. They've got guys like Hulk Hogan,Ric Flair and Sting working for them among others.

[Toy Talk]

I always wanted to meet Mr. Buck Rogers (Gil Gerard). Watching that show to this day is still enjoyable. Heck, watching Erin Grey on that show reminds me of how I got through puberty.

[samurainoir]

Gil Gerard and Erin Gray were absolutely lovely, as were the SAW folks.

However, given the fact that they were charging Fan Expo prices, without as much bang for the buck, Wizard World Toronto will really have to up their game next year.

Overpriced tables meant that there were no where near the dealers there should have been for a con this size. On Friday you could fire a cannonball through the place with plenty of room, and I was bored silly an hour into Saturday, so I left once the fire alarm sounded and didn't even bother with Sunday. A three day pass was really a waste for me other than acquiring the entire Avatar Comics library and swag for a huge discount with my VIP pass.

I'm thinking now that Wizard's acquisition of the Paradise con and the shift away from comics-centric focus might not have been a wise move for the future of the con since I don't think any of the specific areas of video games, scifi, horror, or gaming were well serviced given what it cost to attend the weekend.

Wrestling fans might have enjoyed it, but I don't know enough to comment on that with any prior knowledge, but from the outside of that culture, it seemed really really sad to me.

From a shopping stand point, I was glad I got there on the Friday and instantly blew my budget and cleared out the Vintage Pulp booth of a great many lovely things, including the beautiful beautiful signed Norman Saunders hardcover I've been eyeing for some time, and I also managed to get a huge pile of vintage eighties DC, Marvel, and TMNT lead figures for an incredible price.

I hope Shocker Toys did okay at this how. It was great to see their line-up of figures, but every time I walked past it seemed like there was not really much interest in their stuff. The katchoo and Maxx figures were pretty cool, and if they had the Golden Age Blue Beetle for sale, i definitely would have picked it up.

[vulcan2074]

Thats so Cool. I would have Loved to meet him
Sammy

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Nice to hear that he was nice! Great fun!

[starsky]

i'm not a huge autograph guy but gil gerard is definitely on my list! glad to know that he's a good guy in real life.

[palitoy]

At the Toronto Fan Expo last year, there were two retired wrestlers signing autographs in one of the aisles and their "handler" was like that too, harassing everyone trying to walk by, yelling that everyone should be thrilled that these "legends" would sign autographs for them.

Same schtick here, loudmoth manager bugging everyone including me. I paid $25 to get in, I really don't want to be messed with by some guy I've never heard of.

It's another wrestling federation like WWE. Only thing is,they employ mostly old timers. They've got guys like Hulk Hogan,Ric Flair and Sting working for them among others.

Ah, I just got a lot of the comments on Opie and Anthony now. I doubt any of these guys were ever on the level of Hogan or Flair.

I'm thinking now that Wizard's acquisition of the Paradise con and the shift away from comics-centric focus might not have been a wise move for the future of the con since I don't think any of the specific areas of video games, scifi, horror, or gaming were well serviced given what it cost to attend the weekend.

My thoughts exactly, I used to love the Paradise Con because it was SO kid friendly and better run than Fan Expo. I still think it is better run than Fan Expo (Two hours to get in for advance tix? Rude Staff etc ) but the show needs a little more "wow" to it.

Having two guys dressed as superheroes in a wrestling ring isn't something I'd ever consider leaving the house for. That's like watching people lip synch to beatles songs with tennis racket guitars...

Wasn't Adam West promised for this show?

[Remco Monster]

I saw Gil and Erin at Wizard World Chicago last year. I didn't bother going up to them, but Erin is still smokin' hot. Maybe more so than ever.

[samurainoir]

At the Toronto Fan Expo last year, there were two retired wrestlers signing autographs in one of the aisles and their "handler" was like that too, harassing everyone trying to walk by, yelling that everyone should be thrilled that these "legends" would sign autographs for them. The wrestlers themselves were yelling at the passersby too, most people were trying to ignore them, just trying to squeeze through the crowed aisles to look at the dealers' tables. This sounds even worse, two aisles full of these guys? I would have kept far away.

I vividly recall those two. They were obviously inebriated, and at times it sounded like the borderline between harassment and abusive (even if it's just "schtick"). I felt so sorry for the dealers that had to share the aisle with them. I purposefully avoided that lane. Hopefully they won't be invited back to the Fan Expo next year, or if they are, at least coral them off into a section for wresling fans (who might appreciate the antics?).

I'm not unsympathetic to the fact that they are trying their best to make a living, particularly after seeing the movie The Wrestler. There just surely must be a better way to promote themselves at these events.

I suspect that the c-list celebrities at these things don't get any kind of appearance fees or much in the way of perks, which must be why ALL the wrestlers seem to charge for autographs.

[BendyZaius]

I was set up at Adventurecon last year and my booth was back-to-back with the booth of "Virgil, Wrestling Superstar". He knocked some stuff off my shelves and broke some of it trying to hang up posters of himself. When I politely asked him to be more careful, I though he was going to tear my head off. I just let it go after that.

[palitoy]

I was set up at Adventurecon last year and my booth was back-to-back with the booth of "Virgil, Wrestling Superstar". He knocked some stuff off my shelves and broke some of it trying to hang up posters of himself. When I politely asked him to be more careful, I though he was going to tear my head off. I just let it go after that.

He's a staple at Motor City Comic Con, I used to joke that he never tears his booth down. I've never seen anyone talk to him.



I only know him from the shows.

[BendyZaius]

Yep, that's him, and that's the poster that wrecked my Firefly pistol . I don't remember him doing much business that day either, he was even showing videos of himself in action!

[samurainoir]

My thoughts exactly, I used to love the Paradise Con because it was SO kid friendly and better run than Fan Expo. I still think it is better run than Fan Expo (Two hours to get in for advance tix? Rude Staff etc ) but the show needs a little more "wow" to it.

Having two guys dressed as superheroes in a wrestling ring isn't something I'd ever consider leaving the house for. That's like watching people lip synch to beatles songs with tennis racket guitars...

I saw quite a few bored kids this year as Dads were digging through back issue bins. I felt really badly for one tiny little girl in a Supergirl costume who's father kept telling her to stay where he can see her... as far as I could tell the only way she could have done that is if she jumped into the box of comics he had his nose buried in. No wonder the cranky was boiling over in her!

I think it was the comic store from Guelph that was sponsoring the kid's section at the Holiday Inn on King last year wasn't it? The guy running that booth did a great job with all the stuff to draw and color, and the selection of kid friendly comics. That was a wonderful idea that just disappeared this year.

Since I wasn't going on Sunday, I considered calling my brother to give him and my niece the pass, but I'm kind of glad in retrospect that I didn't.

It's really telling that most of the sellers were toy-focused or Vintage Comics dealers. The success of the Paradise show in previous years was the Comics-centric nature of the show, which was perfect for their relative size. The rest of the stuff should grow out of that. Let the Fan Expo continue to transmogrify into a multimedia event, and the Paradise show could have been THE big Toronto Comics show, and to me, that would have been the end of the increasingly ridiculous Con-Wars.

The Superhero Wrestlers sounded fun on paper, but peaking into that room, it was small town shopping mall schtick. I really wondered if seeing the fate of the washed up pros in the big hall made any impact on the aspirations of the amateur wrestlers playing to the tiny audience in the room with the ring this weekend?

[Trappy Trek Freak]

One time at the Steel City Con at the Monroeville Mall Expo near Pittsburgh, Barry williams"Greg Brady" was there along with Eddie Munster and the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. My Buddy Orcutt and I started talking to Greg Brady like we knew him, kinda feel like he is family watching all those episodes and all. Well all of a sudden Orcutt says "man I can't believe we are talking to Greg Brady" and I said yeah its so crazy. Then Greg asked us if we want his autograph and we just said naw thats arlight man. So we go the Soup Nazi's instead. It was funny. We saw Joanie too.

[palitoy]

I think it was the comic store from Guelph that was sponsoring the kid's section at the Holiday Inn on King last year wasn't it? The guy running that booth did a great job with all the stuff to draw and color, and the selection of kid friendly comics. That was a wonderful idea that just disappeared this year.

Yeah, my son missed that part of it this year. It made him a fan for life. Not being big into comics, I never spent tons of money at the Paradise shows but I always supported them because I liked what they were doing.

the Paradise show could have been THE big Toronto Comics show, and to me, that would have been the end of the increasingly ridiculous Con-Wars.

I would have loved to see it become something like Motor City which is an excellent toy/comic show that isn't over run by corporate and media sponsors. These days, I would rather drive to Michigan than go to fan expo, I have a way better time.

The high table price pretty much regulated it to toy dealers that either have modern stuff from the Diamond catalog or they raided Buffalo area Target stores. There isn't going to be a Toronto Toy Show this spring, it would have been perfect time to get those dealers onside.

The Superhero Wrestlers sounded fun on paper, but peaking into that room, it was small town shopping mall schtick. I really wondered if seeing the fate of the washed up pros in the big hall made any impact on the aspirations of the amateur wrestlers playing to the tiny audience in the room with the ring this weekend?

Yeah, that's how it felt. The same company puts on shows at Legion Halls in rural areas around here. Witnesses have told me it's like watching "the Wrestler".