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My last HGWT blog post was a Flashback Friday on the Delta Fan Fest, so I thought I’d do this one on another backyard con I hadn’t posted about- the Memphis Comic Expo, AKA “DonnieCon” or “MCX“. The latest Memphis Comic Expo was held on October 20 & 21, 2018 at the Agricenter International out in east Memphis, TN. Saturday the show was open from 10:00 am-6:00 pm, and on Sunday from 10:00 am-5:00 pm. Admission at the door was $25 for a one day adult ticket, $35 for a two day adult + gaming priority admission, and ages 12 and under were FREE!
I’ve been set up as a guest artist at all of the past 5 DonnieCons, and all but one (which was downtown at the Memphis Convention Center) have been at the AgCenter. This year I was back in Artists Alley across the main aisle from where I was set up last year and the year before, and just up from where I was at the first MCX.
As usual, my wife and booth-babe Nicki was with me. I had some new mini-canvas prints, stickers, tees, prints, and some sketchcovers for sale.
I was also promoting the Memphis Ghostbusters group I helped co-found recently with my buddy Kevin L. Williams. Got to cosplay my newly finished Ghostbusters costume at the show, and at the Pink Palace Museum that month as well.
Also ran into the DeSoto County Ghostbusters, who were there with their Ecto-17 car and a fan group table. They had mini-pins for sale, and some of their props on display. We exchanged contact info, and I ended up going to a few of their upcoming Halloween events around DeSoto County, which is the county just south of Memphis across the TN/MS stateline.
Their member Cory Coffman did a mash-up cosplay of Friday The 13th and Ghostbusters on Sunday. My friend and toy dealer extraordinaire Eric Crimmins approved of it.
One of their other members, Andrew Highlander, was also there as the DeSoto County Spider-Man. At times he seemed to be torn between two fandoms as well…quite literally!
He had his custom Spider-Bike parked between the Ecto-17 and the Bluff City Batman’s Batmobile. You can occasionally see him riding it or the Ecto-17 crusing around DeSoto County.
The Bluff City Batman is James Fyke, and his car is based on the Batmobile from the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton films. It’s still a work in progress, but looks better and better each time I see it.
He and his crime-fighting partner Bluff City Iron Man/Jeremy Jones (not pictured) do many appearances around town, including helping out several charities. They also occasionally take the Batmobile out of town for other events like the Metropolis Superman Celebration. I’ll be doing a future spotlight blog post on them and their heroic efforts around the Mid-South. Jeremy just recently did a heroic action by donating over half of his liver to someone else! He and the recipient both seem to be doing fine after the surgery.
While at the con I was pimping the Rogues Radio Podcast that I was co-hosting (at the time) with comic artist Dave Beaty. After 13 episodes I decided to call it quits because of creative differences. We both seemed to want different things from the show, it became something different than what had originally been discussed, and was getting difficult to get together online to record (Dave’s out in Arizona). I thought he would continue on his own or find another co-host, but after episode 19 Dave finally pulled the plug on the podcast all together. I do think we had some good episodes, did some fun interviews, and shared some good info.
Dave was sick the weekend of DonnieCon and wasn’t going to be able to record on Sunday like we normally would try to do. I didn’t want to skip a week of recording the podcast, and since I had just gotten some new lapel mics in I decided to try them out that Sunday.
So I did a few quick interviews with the MCX2018 guests cartoonist Greg Cravens, comic book artists Mike Norton, Jenny Frison, Dietrich O Smith, our booth neighbors the Wade family, my wife and favorite fangirl Nicki Workman, James Fyke/Bluff City Batman, wrasslin’ historian and author Mark James, and wrestling legend Jerry “The King” Lawler!- who has his own podcast, “Dinner With The King“.
My longtime buddy Greg Cravens was the first victim- uh, interview. He’s one of my oldest friends, and I don’t just mean age wise. I met Greg back in the early/mid ’80s when I was looking for advice on getting into airbrushing. We became friends and co-workers a few years later, and he introduced me to the Mid-South Cartoonists Association/MSCA. He’s done graphic design, cartoon illustration, comic books, web comics, syndicated comic strips, and more.
Greg was at the show doing caricatures as well as promoting his webcomic Hubris, syndicated strip The Buckets, and latest comic book Stoned Ninja creator/writer Gabriel DeRanzo (and son). You can find their comic at local comic shops and “smoking paraphernalia” shops across the country, and you can usually see a lot of Greg’s work in The Memphis Flyer newspaper each week.
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Another longtime friend of mine is Eisner Award winning artist Mike Norton. Mike’s worked for several comic book companies like Image, Marvel, and DC Comics, creator owned webcomics like BattlePug and Lil’ Donnie, as well as having done graphic design and advertising art.
I had a lot of fun catching up with Norton- he’s a podcast veteran and former MSCA member. We talked about pugs, bad movies, Memphis State/U of M, and the gun show going on next door..! He’s originally from the Selmer/Jackson, TN area (not too far east of Memphis) and got his start in comics when he lived here for a while during his college and advertising days. Mike moved up to Chi-Town to work for Devil’s Due Comics many moons ago and has lived there with his wife Julie and their pugs ever since. He gets back down to the M-Town at least once a year for DonnieCon. I would be hard pressed to name a comics company Mike hasn’t worked for during his comics career, and every time I turn around he’s got another great comics project going that’s getting rave reviews.
I had to have Norton sign my copy of his Lil’ Donnie book while he was in the M-town. Like I said, he puts out so much work it’s hard to keep up with it all, but I have managed to pick up his new comic book series Grumble. He’s working on it with writer Rafer Roberts, colorist Marissa Louise, letterer Chris Crank, and editor Danny Khazem for Albatross Funnybooks. Mike and Rafer are scheduled to be in town at Comics and Collectibles this Saturday, February 16th for a special Grumble sale and signing for their latest issue #3.
Another artist I was lucky to interview was Jenny Frison. She’s been doing some amazing comics covers and we talked about her creative process and her recent travels to Africa. She’s a fellow Chicagoan and former studio mate of Norton’s.
Nicki and I met her a couple of DonnieCon’s ago and hoped she’d make it back someday. We picked up some prints and sketchbooks. We also ran into cosplayer and con-volunteer Traci Brothers McDoniel. She was dressed as Wonder Woman and Batgirl during the con.
Both costumes were great, but I was partial to the Batgirl one- I’m a bit bat-biased.
And speaking of cosplay, there was plenty of that going on at Donnie-Con!
As usual there were several Harley Quinns in attendance. These days it’s not a con unless you see at least one Harley and one Deadpool cosplayer.
This was my favorite Harley, but this little Walking Dead kid cracked me up!
We saw some familiar “faces” including Marc and Marcy Meeker, and Nikkie and Garrett Dunnewold.
Also ran into Chris Jowers– AKA “Mr. J” who was emceeing the costume contest and was the voice of the Bluff City Batmobile’s security system and villain voices.
Lots of Spidey‘s this year, a Loki with a Tesseract/Cosmic Cube…
…a fellow Ghostbuster, a happy Buddy The Elf…
…a Fallout couple, and a MS./Captain Marvel…
Well, actually a few! Even some of the comics guests there were big fans and “MARVELed” at the cosplay going on! But, hey- this con is one where “Creators Come First“, so let’s get back to them. As per usual with a con of this size there were some cancellations: John Lucas, Kevin Maguire, Rafer Roberts, Darick Robertson, Ty Templeton, Chris Schweizer, Don Kramer, Drew Swift, and Taylor Sterry. Don’t worry true believers, this con was not lacking on creators.
One of the Guests of Honor was the man himself- Chris Claremont! He was the writer on the first X-Men comic I ever bought (far right) and I got Chris to sign my copy of “The Death Of Jean Grey” comic. I enjoyed hearing about how his SNL/Marvel Team-Up issue came about, his meeting John Belushi at the Marvel offices, and more.
Artist Jae Lee was sitting near Chris, and I got a signed Catwoman print from him. Kicking myself for forgetting to take my Before Watchmen: Ozymandias hardback trade with me..! I also ran into two other Jokers- well, artist who have drawn the Joker many, many times: Rick Burchett (L) and Joe Staton (R). They’ve been working for DC for years, and some of my favorite work of theirs was on the Batman Adventures comic book series based on the Batman: The Animated Series cartoons.
I’ve met Rick a few times, and this was the second time for me to meet up with Joe again. Hadn’t seen him since he was a table neighbor at the Memphis Fantasy Con when back in 1992..! I own original comic pages drawn by both of them. Got Joe to sign my Batman: Going Sane trade paper back.
Joe’s been working on the Dick Tracy comic strip for a while now, and my friend and fellow MSCA‘er Charles Ettinger (R) has filled in a few times for Joe when he needed a break. My artist buddy Anthony Biggers (L) also made an appearance at the con this year.
Charles, Anthony, Greg, and I all worked together for a screenprinting company back in the mid-late ’80s. Hadn’t seen Anthony for years. He’s legally blind, but amazing with markers, pastels, colored pencil and probably a lot more I don’t know about. He used to do the posters for WEVL‘s Blues On The Bluff posters- and I have one in my collection (which I need to get framed).
I love getting to catch up with folks I haven’t seen in quite a while, even though I get reminded of just how old I’m getting..! Between living a bit out of the city, work, and married life I just don’t see my friends like I used to. One of the great things about DonnieCon is being able to run into folks again and catch up at least once a year. Glad Donald Juengling and his crew put on such a fun show in our hometown.
No official dates or any other info on the next MCX has been announced- yet, but when it is I’ll be sure to share it. So until next time- Cheers and Wakanda Forever!
Lin
Memphis Comic Expo/DonnieCon/MCX
Memphis Comic Expo is the truest Comic Convention in the Mid-South area. Our motto is “Creators Come First”, because you don’t have a comic convention without COMICS and COMIC CREATORS! Come join us to celebrate the people that make comics happen with all their hard work!
Agricenter International
7777 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TN 38120
You can hear all of my Rogues Radio Podcast interviews from MCX here: roguesradio.libsyn.com/episode-11.
I noticed I had started a draft but hadn’t posted about some of the conventions I had attended around town last year- or even some from the year before, so I figured a Flashback Friday would be a good way to catch up. The Delta Fan Fest was September 17 & 18, 2016 at the Landers Center in Southaven, MS.
Guests included actors Dean Cain (“Lois and Clark”), Katrina Law (“Arrow”), Walter Jones (“Power Rangers”), voice actress Trina Nishimura, and artists Tom Nguyen and Jeremy Clark (there was also an actress from The Walking Dead I’m not familiar with and a couple other guests I can’t find their info now.)
I had seen that Ernie Hudson and John Schneider had both been announced as guests, but both had to cancel their appearances. Not sure why Ernie had to, but John had lost his home and studio in Holden, LA due to flooding less than a month away from the show. He had over three feet of water in his 100+ year old home thanks to the Tickfaw River and torrential rains. He had moved to Louisiana in 2014 to build John Schneider Studios– the largest film studio in Louisiana, but in 2016 suffered 2 floods in less than a year. Throw in a costly divorce and a cancelled Dukes of Hazzard reunion show on the Hallmark channel and personal appearance tour with former “Dukes”co-star Tom Wopat (who was arrested for indecent assault and battery) and it was hard times for ol’ Bo. Hopefully Earnie’s reason was because of his appearance the 2016 Ghostbusters: Answer The Call movie or other work!
But back to the show. Admission at the con was only $20.00 (Sat) and $15.00 (Sun) for adults ($25.00 weekend pre-reg.), and $10.00 for kids (6-12) each day ($15.00 for weekend pre-reg.). Kids under 6yrs old free with a paid adult, plus there was free parking. The Landers Center is located just off of Church Road and I-55.
I had an artists alley table at the con right near the entrance (that’s it behind me). It was nice to have a con so close to home- actually the closest one we’ve attended so far. It was so close that I was able to set up, then run home to pick up my prints I forgot to pack, and make it back before the show opened.
I loved the space and had a great spot- even got some drawing done over the weekend. I’m usually not fond of drawing at a con- usually horrible lighting and really cramped working space. The lighting here was actually pretty good for a convention space, and I actually had some room behind the table to draw. I worked on my Reb Brown/Captain America sketchcover. Nicki didn’t really get why I was drawing it. I told her he was cool- he had a motorcycle and and a van and rode around like Evel Knievel. She said, “No- no he’s not cool.”I love the old cheesy TV superhero shows that were on when I was a kid, and still do.
I did a cartoon Reb-Cap painting for my friend Ken Murphy and actually got to meet Reb Brown last year at Ken’s Cape-Con in Cape Girardeau, MO. I gave Reb a sketchcover that was more cartoony like the painting. My buddy Marc Meeker stopped by the Delta Fan Fest as the new movie Captain America to check out what I was drawing at my table.
I finished this sketchcover after this show and sold it first thing at the Memphis Comic Expo a few weeks later. I’ve had a few people ask me if I still have that cover, including Ken- which is why I ended up doing the painting for him.
At the Fan Fest I also did a quick Harley Quinn sketchcover for my friend Eric Crimmins, who is a toy dealer at shows like this one. I love doing sketchcovers- you can see more of mine and how I do them here.
Eric’s got a few of my art pieces now. He’s a huge horror fan, especially Halloween/Michael Myers.
I didn’t sell a lot at the show that weekend, but later at the Memphis Comic Expo downtown, I had a lady walk by my table and recognized my samurai tee design from my set up at the Delta Fan Fest. She said she wanted to get some for a belt testing at their dojo, but wasn’t sure about sizes. She asked me if I would be there tomorrow (Sunday) and said she’d be back. 99% if the time you never see them again. This time the 1% not only came back, but bought 6 t-shirts! I sold a lot to a martial arts demo group at AniZona in Phoenix several years back, too.
Since we had some periods of down time Nicki and I took turns walking around the con and checking out booths like the TN Ghostbusters and some of the dealers and artists.
Our friends Martheus (Antone/Wonton), Janet, and Anakin Wade were artists guests and set up just down from us next to Walter Jones (Zack/Black Power Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers .) They’re local comic artists who do the “Tales of the Toshigawa” and “Shinobi: Ninja Princess“ comic book series, and Antone is a graphic artist for the Memphis Redbirds baseball team.
Antone and Walter were both wearing similar hats so we kidded about Antone being Walter’s stunt double/stand-in for the weekend.
We got to see Walter again at the Memphis Comic Expo a year later at the Agricenter. I did some art for Donald Juengling, the show’s organizer. He had Walter sign it and it went into the “DonnieCon” art auction. I did it in Copic markers, Prismacolor pencil, and Pigma Micron and Gelly Roll pens. Walter seemed to have a great time at both shows.
Katrina Law seemed to be having a good time as well. She was very outgoing and energetic! She played the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul on Arrow and had attendees exercising and doing the “Chicken Dance”. She was definitely a fan favorite.
On Saturday at the Fan Fest I got to take some time to sit down with the guys from the KillPop Culture podcast. They were doing interviews and commentary on the show both Saturday and Sunday. You can listen to my interview and one with the Doctor Who cosplay group “Cosplay Kasterborous“on Episode 53 (Pt1). Artist Tom Nguyen did and the TN Ghostbusters did interviews, too. You can also listen to them on Episode 54 (Pt2) here.
Tom’s and awesome artist, and I first met him many years ago in Metropolis at the Superman Celebration. He was working for DC Comics. Really enjoyed seeing his and Jeremy Clark‘s work, and buying a couple prints for my collection.
Even though the crowds were light over the weekend, a lot of the folks who did show up also dressed up.
George, who runs this show also runs the Anime Blues Con and Anime Blues Con Winter Remix show. Cosplay is a really big part of both of those shows. (George also ran the Animax anime/manga store in Memphis.)
I was surprised I didn’t see more of the ABC show regular cosplayers at this show, but we did see some familiar faces at the con, and all the cosplayers who did attend seemed to have a great time.
On Sunday I decided to dress up as well and cosplay as the War Doctor. (You can see how I made my costume here and here.) I brought along an old “Alien“ face-hugger as a prop (fans of John Hurt will get the connection). I had to have my photo taken in front of the Cosplay Kasterborous TARDIS, and with the Flash and Supergirl at the CW Memphis booth. The Cosplay Kasterborous group also had a Dalek (Chad) on display as well.
I love TV/movie vehicles and there was a fun replica Mystery Machine van parked next to the CW booth.
They were raising money for local animal shelters. Had to throw a few bucks their way.
They had lawn chairs behind the van and a TV in the back of it showing cartoons that attendees could watch.
Unfortunately, attendance was really light and I’m not really sure why. Maybe the lack of attendance was because of a few other cons happening around the Memphis/Southaven area within a month or so of each other- Mid-South Renaissance Faire, Memphis Comic Expo, Memphis Comic and Fantasy Con. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, plus there were a couple others in Jackson and Nashville around the same time. Sometimes Memhians see Southaven and DeSoto County as a foreign country and won’t make the drive over the state line, even if it is only a short 10-20min drive or so from Memphis- if that long. It was like that when the Memphis Riverkings moved from the Mid-South Coliseum to the DeSoto Civic Center/DCC (now the Landers Center) in Southaven and became the Mississippi Riverkings. The ABC Winter Remix at the Landers Center is the only convention event I’ve seen that Memphians tend to make the drive for.
We really enjoyed the show and it’s a shame it was a one and done convention. It had great guests, artists, vendors, cosplay, lots to eat nearby, and sooooo close to home for us. I just wish more folks would have joined in on the fun there. I guess you can catch ’em all!
Since we were already in Southaven for the show, we stopped by Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken on Saturday night after the show. It was the next exit up towards Memphis on Goodman Road. We don’t hit it s often as we used to before my heart surgery, but when we do it’s a nice treat!
My next convention appearance (and as far as I know my last) will be at the Dyersburg Comic And Pop Culture Con in Dyersburg, TN on March 16th. I’ve always been busy with MidSouthCon at the same time and have always had to turn show organizer Alvin down. This year on that weekend in March I’ll be passing on MSC and heading north up Hwy 51 for a Saturday day trip. Looking forward to finally getting to check it out. More news about the Dyersburg show to come!
Lin
Comic Convention with Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi programming
Delta Fan Fest (DFF) was created with the idea of taking all genres of geekdom and packing it into 2 days worth of professional panels, special guests, and of course, excitement!
A couple blog entries ago I talked about the Memphis Ghostbusters. This time I’m going to talk about another local Ghostbusters franchise in the area I’ve become associated with, the DeSoto County Ghostbusters.
I got to first meet them at the Memphis Comic Expo at the Agricenter International this year. Picked up some DCGB pins from them, and gave them some of my MemGB stickers. Jack Johnson, owner of their Ecto-17, gave me a tour of the car. He said they had a lot of work to do to it still, but it looked pretty sweet- even up close.
They had the Ecto-17 on display at the con for the first time and it was parked next to the Bluff City Batman‘s Batmobile, and the DeSoto County Spiderman‘s bike.
Nicki and I had seen the Spider-Bike cruising down Church Rd. in Southaven a week or two earlier.
Enjoyed meeting and getting to talk to Jack, Cory Coffman, David Hailey, and Andrew Hylander (Spiderman- above center) and getting to know them at the show on Saturday.
I had a great time running around the con and cosplaying in my Ghostusters uniform on Saturday, but was disappointed that on Sunday the Ecto-17 and some of the Ghostbusters weren’t there when I went back to take better pics of the car without a lot of folks around. I did see that Cory Coffman was there- and this time as Ghostbuster Jason Voorhees..!
Apparently Coffman and I have a mutual friend- Eric Crimmins, who was set up there with his “Eric’s Secret Stash” toy booth.
On Saturday at the con they had invited me to join them at some of their upcoming events- of which there were many. The first one was closer to home for me in Hernando, MS just off of Elm Street at the Gale Center. It was the Superhero Trick Or Treat charity event to benefit the City Of Hernando Animal Shelter. The animal shelter is a favorite local charity of mine.
I had a lot of fun there, and they had a great turnout including lots of Junior Ghostbusters in costume. The kids got to trick or treat, make slime, play games, do arts and crafts, and enter the costume contest. I got to meet two more DeSoto County Ghostbusters- Jonathan Bigham and Derrick Patterson, plus some of the DCGB’s other family members who were running the booth as well.
The DCGBs were doing a raffle for a custom mini Ecto-1 and a kid sized Ghostbusters costume. The raffle was raising money to help with some needed repairs and improvements on their full-sized Ecto-17 which was parked out front.
The Ecto-17 does a lot of appearances and has a lot of miles put on her. Since it’s a hearse (and an ’02 Cadillac at that), many of her parts are heavy duty ones and tend to cost more to replace. I always dig seeing the various GB-Ecto vehicles each franchise does, and I love that this car looks like a cross between the older original 1984’s Ecto-1 ’59 Cadillac ambulance and the recent 2016 GB:ATC ’84 Cadillac hearse.
It can be seen driving all over DeSoto County and has definitely been a labor of love for these Ghostbusters. Like all of their online giveaways, they later delivered the mini in person in the Ecto-17.
I brought some supplies for the shelter- cat and dog food, litter, and some treats. I try to drop of some to the shelter when I can. At a recent city council meeting they found out that it’s new and MUCH bigger location in town had been approved. Right now they are in a small space behind one of the fire-stations off HWY 51 between I-69 and Nesbit Rd., but hopefully they will be breaking ground not too far from the skate park and dog park off Hwy 51. It’ll be within walking distance of my house and I hope to do some volunteering there when it opens. It’s very near a location that they had been denied earlier. Soon I’ll be selling Memphis Ghostbusters patches to help raise money for the shelter, and hope to do a charity art show and supplies fundraiser in the future.
The DCGBs are really busy this time of year, and Hailey, Johnson, Coffman, and Ecto-17 made an appearance that night at the Velvet Creme (AKA “The Dip“) just up the road from us on Hwy 51 near the square. Nicki and I stopped by for dinner. One of our first dates was getting some burgers and shakes from The Dip and going to Conger Park, where we later got married.
Thee Ghostbusters played games with the kids and posed for pics. The Dip featured a few new Ghostbusters inspired milkshakes and slushies. I tried the Slime-ade, which was actually really good! If you’re in the Hernando area I highly recommend The Dip for burgers, shakes, and onion rings.
The following weekend I also went to a Trunk Or Treat with the DCGBs at a church in Walls, MS (not too far from Horn Lake and Southaven, MS). They had a great turnout for this event, too.
I had met Hailey in Southaven earlier in the day and got to ride in the Ecto-17 to the event. It was a blast to watch surprised folks geek out a bit as we drove by. It was a huge event, and had moonbounces and other activities for the families. A couple times we did a skit with a live band who were playing “Ghostbusters” on stage as we chased a ghost past the audience and out of the building.
I also did a Halloween event with them and the Ecto-17 at Cedar Hill Farms that weekend. Coffman was there sans Ghostubsters uniform as a very convincing Jason Voorhees..! It was the first time I’d been to Cedar Hill Farms, but I’ve had a lot of ice cream at Area 51 that is made from produce grown there.
The latest event I did with them was the Hernando Christmas Parade– which was within walking distance of my house. I’ve watched the parade a few times since moving down here, but this was the first time I had actually been in it.
Hailey was behind the wheel of their Ecto-17. The car was a big hit, and everyone seemed to really love that famous siren. Andrew as the DeSoto County Spiderman rode atop one of the local firetrucks.
They had a pick-up truck pulling the DCGB float that projected ghosts on the front screen.
The “ghost projector” is usually inside the back of the Ecto-17 projecting a great ghastly green ghost effect in the back window of the car. Hailey toned down the scariness of the ghosts being projected this time and it really worked great for the holiday float as well. I got to do a little bit of painting on the float earlier in the week at Johnson’s workshop. We had some of the DCGB’s family riding on the float, and some walked along beside it and the Ecto-17. I walked the parade and definitely got my steps in that night!
Slimer road shotgun in the car as we handed out candy and some Twinkies to the crowd. It was probably one of the biggest crowds and parades I’ve seen since I moved down here. Folks were lined up down either side of Commerce Street for over a mile or so, and continued around the Courthouse Square and Hwy 51 intersection area. We even saw several parade watchers as we made it onto Commerce and then back down some side streets after the official end of the parade.
I was going to participate in the Southaven Christmas Parade, but it got postponed due to rain (it’s rained A LOT this past month), and then Nicki and I weren’t feeling great that next Saturday. It was cold and damp and we didn’t want to risk feeling even worse so we stayed home. The weather was been really wet and nasty this year. The DCGB were still able to get lots of toy and Twinkie donations at a few appearances before the parade. At their first Toys For Tots drive this year they collected 10 bicycles, 3 huge boxes of gifts, and $525.00 in cash donations!
Not sure what their next appearances are, but I hope to get to do more events with them this year- and ride in the Ecto-17 again…
Lin AKA Ghostbuster Workman
DeSoto County Ghostbusters
Facebook.com/DeSotoCountyGhostbusters
While updating my website this week I realized I never did a follow up to my Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor War Doctor cosplay project. I told you all how I got started 2 years ago in my “This Means War”- My Doctor Who War Doctor cosplay Part 1 blog post, but never showed how the final costume turned out. I covered where I got some of my items in that blog, but will be going over more of how I put the costume together here, as well as some con shots of me wearing it.
First up on my list was finding the coat. Man do I love Goodwill! Found the first pieces for my costume- a leather jacket ($29.99) and boots ($14.99) that fit perfect at a Goodwill store near me. I saw some online from a few different sources that could have worked, but the cheapest I found was a little over $100. Not a bad price for a nice coat to wear around, but a bit more than I wanted to spend for a costume jacket I was going to dirty up. I confess, at this stage I looked more like Kevin Smith/Silent Bob than John Hurt as the War Doctor, but it was a start. Needed to switch out the buttons and paint and distress/age the jacket some- but for a leather jacket under thirty bucks, I knew I could make it work. Woo-Who!
The jacket was originally black leather, but I was able to make it into a convincing looking brown jacket. I first removed all of the old buttons, then I rubbed it down with some alcohol to clean and remove any oils. I then broke out my airbrush (Paasche VL-3) and compressor and started spraying some brown Createx acrylic paint all over the jacket. Tried to keep the spray pattern a bit erratic and let the natural wrinkles help the overspray create highlights. Used a lighter opaque beige and a transparent red brown to keep it from looking too uniform in color, and let it dry between coats. Was wanting a very aged and weathered look to it.
After going over it several times to cover the black the colors looked good, but not splotchy and old looking enough. I took a rag and some brown wood stain I had and rubbed it gently over the jacket. I let the stain run a little here and there. Also took a toothbrush and splattered a bit more over the coat. That did the trick and it now looked like it had seen some action! Sprayed a protective coating over it and let it dry for a few days.
I found a few folks that made the War Doctor’s ammo bandolier but again, I was trying to not go crazy on my spending. I was going to make one myself but I found an ammo belt for a good price on Etsy that would do the trick. I needed to add the armor and age it a bit, so did the same trick that I did on the jacket but with some spray-paint instead of the acrylic.
Bought some leather, lace, and hole punch for my ammo belt at Tandy Leather – and more buttons for the vest and jacket at Hobby Lobby. Both are just up the street from my day job.
Cut some leather backing pieces and punched some holes in them. Then measured for and made a paper template out of Bristol for the armored parts. Drew the pattern on the inside of an aluminum can, then cut out the metal pieces.
Spray painted the aluminum pieces with gold, bronze, grey, white, and black-kept the cans away and let the paint mist and spitter-sputter over them. Splattered a bit of stain on them after staining the leather pieces.
Ammo belt armor plates and buttons for jacket painted. Now I had to sew and lace them on. Keeping the buttons on their cards helped me to handle them while painting.
Once I got the leather/armor plates laced onto my ammo belt I test fitted my sonic screwdriver and it worked great.
I ordered the 3-prong belt for my costume from Amazon for $14.99 including s/h. It’s kinda hard to tell what type of belt he wore, but found some screen shots and costume pics, and this one is very close.
The pair of black SWAT boots I found were a perfect fit, a great price at $14.99, and were steel toed, too! Like the coat, I had seen some more expensive Magnum boots online for around $80-100 a pair, but these are close enough and in my budget. Don’t mind “dirtying” them at the price I got them for at Goodwill. You have to shop Goodwill frequently, but when you do you can get lucky and really find some great costuming pieces there. We’ve got two near me, and one not too far from work. Have had great luck at both.
I wanted the boots to look like he’s been doing a lot of walking on dirty alien terrain. Used a few different colors of spray paint, some splatter/spitting techniques with a toothbrush, and a bit of dry-brushing.
I found a shirt and a couple pairs of paints at the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, AL on our trip to ConKasterborous in Huntsville. The shirt wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but thought it and the pinstriped pants could be used for a western or steampunk costume sometime later. I went to Goodwill when we got home and found these four. The one on the far left is the one I went with, and use it and the pinstripe pants (plus the leather jacket) for my Rorschach costume, too. They were only a couple bucks each and the other 3 will be good for other future cosplays. Just too cheap to pass up on. Also, it’s great when you can reuse items on other costumes.
Dyed my pants with some brown Rit Dye. They were a dark khaki and I wanted them a bit more brown. Even though they are cotton they didn’t dye evenly. It actually turned out to be a happy accident and made the pants look older/worn and more authentic. Gotta love happy accidents!
Found my material at JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby for gaiters/spats/boot covers and vest. Got some material here in town, and some up in Murfreesboro, TN when we were visiting MTSU. The material on the left is the gaiters/spats leather, the middle is the vest back and lining, and the right is the suede for the front of the vest. Small buttons and buckles for gaiters, medium buttons for vest, and a pack of large for me to use on the jacket- which I ended up not using when I found the others I liked better.
For the vest and gaiters I enlisted the help of my friend Tim Brown. He’s a veteran at costume making and we’ve worked on a few costumes together over the years including some Star Wars ones and my Jor-Elvis costume. Tim’s know for creating his own patterns as he goes and making adjustments as needed.
We used a faux suede material for the front (left) and a patterned lighter material for the back. I probably could have gotten away without a back, but since it was a costume and wasn’t going to be lined I felt the look was just too cool to pass up.
The War Doctor’s vest is a different color, but I really loved this material and thought it gave the costume a bit more contrast. I’ve seen other War Doctors wear everything from reds to dark brown, and cotton to leather. Tim did a great job on it, and even gave me pockets for my watch.
The two pocket watches (or “fob watches“as I’ve heard them called on Doctor Who) I bought for the costume. The one on the left I got online, and the one on the right I got at the River City Comic Expo in Little Rock, AR from the girls at Odd Duck Studios.
I kind of swap back and forth on which watch I use.
My sonic screwdriver I found online at a decent price- around $20. Ended up buying a second one later at MidSouthCon when I forgot my first one at home! Luckily I found another one for $20 at the first table I stopped at in the dealers room at the con. I keep it in my cosplay tote, and my original one is in Nicki’s room as part of her sonic collection.
While Timmy was working on the vest, I started working on my gaiters next. I liked that the material had a cool texture, but was flexible enough for us to work with.
I first did a quick online search for boot cover patterns to see just how we might be able to make them. I took some notes from ones I found, did some quick sketches, and then measured my legs. I figured all my dimensions out on paper first (took a bit of math), and then transferred it to posterboard for the actual patterns.
Since the material was a bit pricey and I didn’t buy any extra, we decided to make a dummy test pair out of some clearance material we found for less than a $1yd. Glad we did because we did have to make some adjustments to them. I have thick calves and we had to accommodate for that.
Timmy sewed the gaiters together for me, adding straps and buckles. Later at home I added some metal grommets to them. IF I had been thinking I would have added zippers to the insides to make it easier to put them on and take off. If I ever upgrade them I will. I learned a lot on making this costume!
My scarf material was actually a throw I found online at Target. I’ve seen other cosplayers with more screen accurate scarves, but they are VERY expensive. Hey, the BBC had a better budget, and they needed to keep John Hurt somewhat comfortable on set. This particular material had the colors and pattern I was looking for, and I got a lot of it for under $30. I was able to make my scarf, a spare scarf, and still have material left over for a small throw for the window seat in our living room- which our cats much appreciated. I distressed it some, sprayed a bit of brown spray paint to dirty it, and even took a lighter to some parts to give it some burned edges from battle damage.
Was finally ready to put the costume on for the first time. My cat companion Lex was there. May burn a bit more of the fringe on the scarf and add a bit of brown dye to it to make the red and white a bit less bright. I’ve lost a bit of weight so I also need to take the vest in a bit before I wear it again. Going to add an adjustable strap to the back, and maybe shorten the my shirt sleeves, too. I’ve been just pinning them on the shoulder the past couple of times which works, but looks bad when I have the jacket off.
We’ve been going to ConKasterborous in Huntsville, AL since 2014, and I set up there in Artists Alley in 2015. We hadn’t cosplayed those first two times to the convention. Just wore our geek tees. It’s a smaller show, but has great guests and a ton of great cosplayers of all ages and from all seasons/series of Doctor Who.
The first time I got to wear my War Doctor costume to a con was at the 2016 ConK. Nicki cosplayed as Osgood who also appeared in The Day of the Doctor. Her costume was pretty easy. She already had the 4th Doctor’s scarf, and I was able to find a lab coat at a uniform shop down the street from my day job- actually really close to the Tandy Leather shop and Hobby Lobby.
We had a blast cosplaying at ConK. Unfortunately it was in June in Alabama, so it was definitely hot (around 100 degrees and humid) and was not a good idea to wear a leather jacket! I tried to take breaks, sit down, take off the jacket and scarf, and re-hydrate as often as possible. We didn’t push ourselves and that made it much more enjoyable.
I ran into several War Doctors at the con, and I even ran into a female one. We all swapped info on how we put our costumes together. Got a few ideas on how to improve mine.
Nicki found a male Osgood cosplayer, and “Sandshoes” and “Granddad” ran into each other again.
We also met several of the guest celebs at the con. Caitlin Blackwood who played young Amelia Pond with the 11th Doctor. Caitlin is actually a cousin of Karen Gillan who plays the adult Amy Pond. They are probably close in height these days! We also met the 6th Doctor himself- Colin Baker. He was a hoot!
We also met Frazer Hines who played Jamie McCrimmon, a companion of the 2nd Doctor. He was rocking a rad kilt.
I decided to enter the costume contest. There were some really awesome ones there. During the prejudging earlier in the day the judges were surprised to find out that my jacked was originally black. I showed them the inside and they said, “Well done!”
Apparently it was good enough to win me “Best Doctor” in the contest. Not bad for my first Dr. Who costume! We got some prize tokens to spend in the dealers room- I bought some POP!s and buttons.
One of the judges was Wayne Neumaier (AKA A7L Props), who is a real rocket scientist and has built his own Dalek, R2-D2, and BB-8, Rocketeer jetpack, and more. He’s currently working on a Chopper droid from Star Wars: Rebels.
Wayne’s Dalek “Braun” (left) is fully radio controlled and one of many styles of Daleks you may encounter at ConK.
You can even take a selfie with one!
We went back to ConK the following year, and I wore the War Doctor costume again.
That year we got to meet Peter Davison– the 5th Doctor!
I’ve also worn the costume to the Delta Fan Fest in Southaven, MS and the Memphis Comic Expo. Both were in the fall so it was much more comfortable to wear the costume then.
Have got a couple ideas for more Doctor Who costumes, and will share how I do them here. Will also be working on some new Doctor Who sketchcovers. You can see more of my cosplay, Doctor Who art, and our time travels together in the links below.
Hope you all enjoyed this blog, and the new Doctor Who New Year’s Day Special!
Happy New Year- type at ya later!
Lin
“This Means War”- My Doctor Who War Doctor cosplay Part 1
WHO-dunnit…Cosplay Adventures and Celebrity Encounters at Con Kasterborous 2015!
Knock-knock! Who’s there? Doctor! Doctor Who..?! (and Superman Celebration tees)
“Rorschach’s Journal: April 1st, 2017. How I Created My Rorschach Cosplay- No Foolin’.”
I’ve been a fan of The Ghost Busters since I was a kid in the ’70s, but didn’t become a fan of Ghostbusters until years later when I was in high school back in the ’80s.
Yep, I’m old- and my first introduction to “Ghost Busters” was the original live action The Ghost Busters TV series back in 1975 by Filmation. It featured Spenser/Larry Storch, Tracy the gorilla/Bob Burns, and Kong/Forest Tucker (and spawned a Ghostbusters cartoon series by Filmation in 1986).
Have met Bob Burns and his wife Kathy a few times over the years at shows. They’re awesome folks, and have an amazing personal collection of Hollywood memorabilia- which includes the original Time Machine, props/creatures from Gremlins, the werewolf from An American Werewolf In London, Aliens, T2, the original King Kong stop-motion puppet armature (you can see them make a cameo in Peter Jackson’s King Kong and on the DVD/BluRay special features), plus many other costumes, spaceships, and props. They also produced backyard Halloween shows with many famous Hollywood actors and SPFX artists.
My buddy Kevin L. Williams was the first person I ever met who had their own Ghostbusters jumpsuit, homemade proton pack, and collection of Ghostbusters memorabilia. For several Halloweens we would hang out as Beetlejuice and a Ghostbuster.
One Halloween party Kevin even went as Tracy the gorilla! It actually won him an on-line contest prize of an autographed copy of the Trick ‘r Treat movie book from Michael Dougherty.
A couple times we performed Blues Brother songs as “BeetleBuster Blues“, including one time at the Ronald McDonald House Oscar Night America party at the Isaac Hayes Restaurant in downtown Memphis, TN. We performed “Soul Man“, a song Isaac co-wrote, and just as the music started we looked down and there he was sitting front and center in his personal reserved booth..! I always hate singing and dancing in public, but to do it in front of him was pretty frightening! We got to meet Isaac afterwards and he was just as cool as you might think. Met him again at a book sighing in Memphis before he passed away, and have met Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi as well.
Many of the times we were dressed up was for one of the local haunted houses. It originally was Nightmarez…On The Square when it was on Overton Square in midtown Memphis, then became Nightmarez…STAGE FRIGHT! for a few years when it moved to Bartlett, TN, then Haunted Web Of Horrors for a few years more when it moved out to Cordova, TN.
Most of the time we would either entertain the crowds in line, or work a scene or two inside the haunt, but one year Patrick French who ran the haunt hooked Kevin up with a white station wagon we could doctor up as an Ecto-1 for that Halloween.
When we got it it needed a bit of TLC.
Okay, A LOT of TLC. It ran and had some equipment up on the roof rack, but the logos were definitely going to have to be replaced- what was left of them.
I was able to get the old logos off, and luckily we had a friend who could make us some new vinyl decals. We did a bit of touch up on some of the rest of the car.
It ended up looking cool and was good enough to get the job done with the little time we had to get it ready for Halloween.
Kevin and I would drive it around the parking lot with the siren running, and occasionally we would give some friends a ride.
We had to make sure to keep the keys away from Slimer– he doesn’t have a license!
Unfortunately Kevin wasn’t able to keep the car up and had to let it go. Much like the Ecto-1 in the movie it ended up needing a lot of work, more than he could afford at the time. I think we could have made it a lot of fun to drive to events. Hopefully one day we can have an Ecto-901 again. I wish I had my grandparents old ’60s station-wagon they had when I was a kid. It was white and had a lot of character, including fins and a rear-facing backseat. Would have been perfect for a take on an Ecto.
Last year I decided I was going to finally get my own Ghostbusters costume for Halloween. I wasn’t volunteering at the haunt anymore (was too far to drive and just wasn’t the same after Patrick sold the haunt), and we planned on staying home and handing out candy- which we hadn’t done in a while.
Kev was great at hooking me up with suppliers for my flight-suit, belt, elbow pads, and more.He kept a notebook on all of his costume construction so it all came together pretty quickly and easily. I also ordered a Proton Pack from Spirit Halloween. It’s not quite 1:1 scale- about 80-85% of the originals, but has lights and sounds and looks pretty good- especially for the money. I later attached it to an ALICE frame (I got it from the Bluff City Batman) and did a little bit of weathering on in and my ghost trap which really makes them both look more authentic. When I make a new, full-sized custom job for myself I’ll use this one for other folks to wear in photos at events.
Ordered my “WORKMAN” name patch off of Esty, and found a couple “no ghost/Mooglie” patches. Got a good deal on the GB logo patch so I ordered a few extra for future use.
Those patches started my Ghostbusters patch and pin collection- and it’s very addictive.
I’ve been able to get a few from Ghostbusters fan franchises from all over, including Canada and Alaska! That’s one of the cool things about the Ghostbusters franchises- they love trading patches.
I recently picked up these from a member of the Ghostbusters Patch & Pin Group Facebook page– going to use the large one on a GB work shirt.
I don’t collect a lot of Ghostbusters merch- mostly just the pins and patches, some Ecto-1/Ecto-1A cars, costume equipment, and a few animation cells from the Filmation Ghostbusters and DIC Animation The Real Ghostbusters cartoons.
Did an animation display at our local library a couple years ago. Had a lot of my Batman and Beetlejuice animation art on display, too. Love doing the displays there. Have done several different kinds over the years with my wife Nicki. You can see some here and here.
Kevin and I had met some of the Tennessee Ghostbusters at conventions around the state, but most members were pretty far away- mostly either the middle or eastern part of the state.
We got to talking earlier this year about starting our own Ghostbusters franchise, so we did!
The Memphis Ghostbusters franchise is now officially Ghost Corps certified.
We even have our own patches that I designed! Kevin found a source for us to do a short run of them for our members. I had wanted to do the “El-Mooglie” design for a while, but finally had a reason to.
Going to order more to trade with other groups, and possibly sell some to raise money for charity. Will do more stickers (including more of the glow-in-the-dark ones), and may look at doing some pins and/or buttons.
Our first official event as a Ghostbusters group was at the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis in October, and our first official Junior Memphis Ghostbusters member (Anakin Wade) joined us for it. They were showing the 1984 Ghostbusters film on their CTI 3D Giant Theater screen and we were there to greet and take pics with the audience.
Kevin brought his inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Vigo painting, plus some extra GB equipment and newly printed business cards and framed posters. I brought some new El-Mooglie stickers to hand out.
The museum had an amazing “life-sized” Slimer on display in the lobby- this thing was HUGE!!!
Down near the theater entrance and concession stand they had more displays including these Ghostbusters items and some monster memorabilia.
Tony Hardy who runs the CTI 3D Giant Theater is a big monster movie and sci-fi fan, and has an amazing collection. The items on display were all from his collection.
Had a great time talking to him about his collection, some of the folks we both know, and the Wonderfest toy and model show up in Louisville, KY (which he helped start and where I first met Bob Burns). Great guy! We’re hoping to get back out to the Pink Palace again. They may do Ghostbusters 2 next October…
My wife Nicki joined us for the movie as well, and is also now a Memphis Ghostbusters member.
She’s a Ghostbusters fan, and we both really enjoyed the 2016 Ghostbusters: Answer The Call movie. She’s even got a small collection started including some patches, pins, POP!s, action figures, and more.
She bought herself a Spirit Halloween pack and we’re starting to put together her own costume based on the GB:ATC movie versions. Once I can get the garage in order to where I can start some projects new packs for both of us are on the schedule. This Halloween she borrowed my jumpsuit to wear to work- nice we have the same last name and jumpsuit size!
A couple weeks ago I found another XL fightsuit at the Goodwill in Bartlett for only $7.00! I’m going to make this my spare Memphis Ghostbusters jumpsuit and customize it up a bit. I found my War Doctor/Rorschach leather jacket at the one near us in Hernando. I try to pop in to each from time to time because I never know what great inexpensive stuff I’ll find for a costume there.
Our second Memphis Ghostbusters event was another movie night in November- this time at the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum in downtown Memphis. Unfortunately for both of our events it was raining, so that presented some challenges to getting all our gear inside!
We were set up down in the basement of the house, which was extremely spacious. Kevin did a great job with all the set-up and arrangements.
He brought several of his collectibles to display, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man tagged along.
Kev brought his Slimer puppet, too. I brought some of my gear, and a few boxes of Twinkies. We did some Ghostbusters trivia and handed out the Twinkies as prizes.
We had about a dozen folks brave the weather and join us downstairs to watch the 1984 movie. Before the movie we did a ghost hunt in the house. It was pretty quiet, but a heck of a lot of fun to explore and see some of the investigation equipment that was used. If you haven’t taken a tour through the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum you really should. Great old Victorian mansion build in 1870 on the former “Millionaires Row“.
It was great to meet some fellow Ghostbuster fans like Matt Wooten (above/right) and Daniel Nogoski (not pictured), and I hope we can do more events at the the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum in the future.
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
“Who y’all gonna call..?”
Lin
Memphis Ghostbusters
www.memphisghostbusters.com
Facebook.com/groups/MemphisGhostbusters
@901Ghostbusters on Twitter
