Nick Davis's Blog, page 38

A Lost Weekend at the VA Cosplay Con… Sorry, I mean my VA Comic Con in Review

How do I start this? It is fair to say I had a convention adventure at VAComicon aka VA Cosplay Con, it would be fair to say it was a roller-coaster ride. Although I was one of the few who came out okay, there was a huge disconnect compared to last years much better run show. So, to review this show I am going to know it down into two sections, the good and the bad.

The Good

Let’s start with the good that came out of this show. We picked up a booth for this event, had a good setup and pushed the boat out on the Teddy Bear Tales gear, and actually had space to display my other non-Teddy Bear books. The location looked good, being placed on the main transit aisle and we even was able to set up on Friday night. All helps to ease yourself into the Saturday morning.

I was joined again by Charmingly Geeky which is run by my wife, the making of geeky jewelry has been a boon for her this year, keeping her active while dealing with a chronic disability.

Tristan the Teddy Bear at VA Comic Con

And then the show begins…  it was really cool catching up with Kickstarter backers, and fans of the Teddy Bear Tales work. I rarely get to see you all face to face and finally putting names to faces was a great experience. Also talking to new fans who are taking a chance on my work makes for an enjoyable time. When I could talk with having to shout over the Deadpooly Cosplayer and his Boombox.

The Kilt

The Kilts at VA Comic Con

I finally met Chuck Parker, and teamed up with Chris Otto of Dogs Life fame and took an amazing Kilt picture which has been bopping around the internet. I am sure there will be several versions on the world-wide web by now. Chuck has been a backer of every single one of my book projects, and I finally got to thank him for his support face to face. You are awesome Dude, and again thank you for your support!

The Commission

I only got one commission during the show hours, which is pretty normal. I don’t really go out of my way to advertise that I do commissions, as it takes face time away from me directly talking to Attendees. It was a sketchcard illustration of a custom anime character.

Tristan Meets The Cosplayers

Tristan the Teddy Bear meets Ivy Doomkitty at VA Comic Con

I decided to more the Tristan meets the Cosplayers gallery over on theteddybeartales.com makes more sense to put it in our favorite little Teddy Bears internet home.

The Writers Workshop

I was privileged to be tapped for the Writers Workshop, and I was joined again by the Yankee Cowboy in Kilt known as Chris Otto, and we had an engaging discussion with several budding writers. I think we managed to inspire then to keep writing, helped them through a few sticky writer issues and maybe one of them will be the next best seller. Just hope I make it into one of their acknowledgements.

The After Party

On Saturday night VAComicon threw an After Party for the VIP’s, it was a like a mini-con held back at the main convention hotel. About dozen artists attended bringing a little bit of their booth setup’s with them. I brought my sketchcard prints and did two quick BW sketchcard commissions before calling it quits, and going to bed.

The Middle

Last year VAComicon was a huge hit Creators and Comic book fans all in one place, great atmosphere,great show for everyone. Based on this information alone I signed up a booth and convinced a fellow Creator Scott Markley of Time of Hugs to pick up a table, getting bigger after a successful first year show is only a good thing, for most shows anyway.

Sorry Scott hope a huge from Tristan makes you feel better…

The Bad – Welcome To VA Cosplay Con

Before this continues, I feel it is important to points out I have no real issue with Cosplayers at conventions, almost all of the Cosplayers I have met are pretty cool people, and just like us Exhibitors they add color to a comic book convention, and with the exception of a tiny few, most are rabid comic book fans. Together we make the THE show, apart it becomes something very different. I think this is what happened at VAComiccon.

Updated – 11/26/2014 – Yesterday I posted that Cosplayers got in for FREE at this convention, this was based off the Cosplay Rules information, namely Rule 11 on the Vacomicon.com website.

’11. Lastly, all attendees claiming a free cosplay ticket at the door MUST be in costume. If you are not, your cosplay ticket will not be accepted. Please remember that these rules are for the safety of yourself and other con goes. Compliance with these ensures a safe and fun convention environment for everyone! Guests and cosplayers alike. If you have any questions regarding these rules, please look back over them or be sure to speak with our friendly security staff at the event.’

It turns out I was incorrect with this information, and based on sources only some of the Cosplayers got in for FREE. 

But Gosh… Did this convention go sideways. First off it was marketed with the emphasis on it being Cosplay Con over comic books and pop culture. Proving it is true what they say, you market to certain segment you only get that certain segment of the market, so in may way their marketing towards Cosplayers was very successful maybe a little too much.

Plus White Tiger Filmz were there filming their version of Heroes Of Cosplay, called Viva La Cosplay which is airing on CW Richmond, and this too was heavily promoted. You know be nice one day if a reality TV company documents what an Indie Artist/Creator goes through before a show, I know a couple of subjects who might make good TV.

Deadpooly Dance Party

This has already been mentioned, throughout Saturday my wife and myself were subjected to the Deadpooly BoomBox Cosplayer and his impromptu dance parties.  You can read my much longer account of the most disruptive cosplay behavior I have ever experienced here, and learn of the VAComicon reaction to it.

Cosplay Take Over

On Sunday, I watched the crowd change from regular attendees to almost all Cosplayers, when the Award show started around 3pm they clogged up the entire opposite end of the Cosplay Catwalk, blocking up the Comic Book Vendors – these are the guys that paid the big money for their space. Until it got so bad a Fire Marshall turned up and moved the Contest out into the main lobby. By this time I was seeing Exhibitors packing up and leaving, it was done, this show wasn’t about comic books, artist, or creators… It was about the Cosplayers, they had taken over.

If the Convention Organizer wanted a Cosplay Ball, then perhaps he should have organized one of those instead. The whole priority was completely sideways.

We left around 6pm after packing up our Booth, and as we drove off the Cosplay contest was still going on in the main Lobby, the show had left. I wonder if they even noticed those funny artists and comic guys had gone?

I wont be returning to VA Comic Con again unless something drastic changes – I know I’m no loss, in fact VAComicon have told me I am no loss and the other Exhibitors who said they wont be returning will be no loss to them either. This is the way of things, but it still stinks.

Sum Up

I had some fun experiences during this show, and largely this was an okay convention for me. A lot of ill-feeling towards Cosplayers was generated at this show, it had nothing to do with Cosplayers, but the Convention Organizers getting it complete wrong.

I don’t really know what else to say… Just complete disappointment.

Update 11/26/2014 – This article was originally posted late on 11/25/2014 and I got a lot of heat for it from mostly one VAComicon Officer. While I acknowledge I did get the Cosplayers got in for FREE information wrong, it was caused by misinformation on the VAComicon website. The rest of this article is pulled from my own observations, sources within the VAComicon staff on the show weekend, and the two dozen Exhibitors, (some of whom want their money back) that I talked to during the show. 

I stand by the Fire Marshall moving the Cosplay Award Show out into the Lobby area, I wish I did take some pictures to visual proof of just how crowded it got down there. I got the Fire Marshall appearence from three sources, and I think as an ex-Hack that is good enough.

The VAComicon Officer admitted the show was understaffed which may have led to some of the chaos of that became the Cosplay Take Over on Sunday, only two of the ten volunteers turned up over the weekend.

The VAComicon Officer asked who told me about the Fire Marshall, and like a good Journalist I refused to reveal my source. The Officer then said he would talk to the staff to find out who did talk. For this I want to say sorry to the Staff Members who talked to me at VAComicon, I didn’t mean to put the source into a situation where they might feeling pressured into admitting they dared to talk to an Exhibitor about some of the shows problems. I hope they do not suffer any repercussions for being generally helpful and having to deal with some real awkward situations on the floor with little, or no support from the VAComicon Officers.

While I understand VAComicon might want to do damage control, right now a general ‘don’t talk to anyone about the problems’ works better than singling one person out. Doing that stinks of something even worse happening behind the scenes that even I don’t know about. After all in the end, I am just a very, very small fish on the Mid-Atlantic convention scene and don’t have that huge an impact (accept if I fall down, something I have to see to in the new year), and would be surprised if this article pushes into double numbers.

One last thing, and I did take offense to this. I was accused by this VAComicon Officer of seeking attention and of click baiting for ad revenue, and as such I should be ignored as this is my third article about VAComicon (one was fun, honest!). This is my answer.

I posted what happened, I’m not big-headed enough to think any of this will get attention.
I don’t make ad revenue on this website- although I am sure I may have a Google Ad on one of my satellite pages somewhere.
I retracted the bad information about Cosplayers getting in for FREE – clear the confusion up on your website
I paid for my space at VAComicon I have a right to run commentary about the show as I see fit
I have zero issues with Cosplayers, except for Deadpooly… But he made his own problems

I don’t like the feeling of being bullied into taking down an article on my website, and while I will post retractions and corrections, what content goes up on here and stays here is my choice. No one else makes that choice, this is after all my rented space on the interwebs. Be thankful I am not posting everything that was revealed to me or posted any names, a Asshat Hack would do that, I’m not an Asshat Hack; hence why I never really got anywhere as a Journalist. 

Can One Cosplayer Really Disrupt An Entire Comic Con? The Answer Will Surprise You…

This weekend at VA Comic Con I experienced for the first time ever exactly what happens when you have a Cosplayer become disruptive and think they are THE show.

I have put a lot of thought into if I should post this blog or not. The tipping point was this morning watching Facebook reactions as the news got out about this Cosplayers behavior, I watched and tried to defend one of my Artist friends get attacked as he basically posted the truth about what this Cosplayer did, but in a satirical meme.

Now as Reporter you are trained to get the facts and from there build the story, when you become part of the story, or are the story then it all becomes a matter of perspective, and you are walking the line between reporting and Op-Ed. So this is my story, told from my perspective.

How It started 

If you follow my blog you will know I spent the weekend November 22-23 down in Richmond, VA at the Two-Day VA Comic Con. This was the big year ending event for Altworld Studios, and I purchased a corner booth to give Charmingly Geeky, the Geek Jewelry made by my wife, and my work for the Teddy Bear Tales a lot of room. The Booth prices were good, and the show has historically been good to us. We wanted to celebrate our last show of the year after a long convention schedule for us, and Tristan the Teddy Bear.

Set-up was fine, attendance on Saturday looked good, we were set up next to Gemstone Publishing who publish a street guide to comic book selling and they were going to start a Cosplay guide at VA Comic Con. We settled any possible access issue (which was perhaps move your sign on the access way in an inch so it doesn’t get knocked over.) My wife was set up in the main traffic spot, front facing on the main traffic aisle and I took the facing down one of the aisles away from the main traffic, and we looked forward to a good show.

Then This happened

Around 11.30am a Deadpool Cosplayer turned up dressed as a Deadpooly with a Boombox (Thug for Life theme?), I didn’t think anything of it. Cosplay at shows is fun to look at, and we all know how many pictures are out there with Tristan the Teddy Bear getting his mug shot with a Cosplayer.

In short we love you guys, Cosplayers are just as much part of the show as all the Artists, Vendors, Guests and other Attendees. Together we make these shows a great experience and we are not THE show by themselves. This is what makes this post even harder. Because is isn’t about the Cosplay Hobby, nor is it an attack on the Cosplay Community, but about the behavior at VA Comic Con of just one Cosplayer, as witnessed by me.

Now We Dance 

Deadpooly proceeded to sit in front of the Gemstone Publishing Booth, cranked up his Boombox and started an impromptu dance party. Three to four fellow Cosplayers popping and locking in front of us, attracting a huge crowd of people and totally blocking us off from any foot traffic. Now we are used to these things happening at conventions and thought it was a one-off, and although put out we got on with the day as Deadpooly moved off.

Then he kept coming back, sitting down on his Boombox and having various little dance offs, which pretty much blew most of the morning for my wife as People were actively avoiding the huge bubbling crowd and moving down the other aisles.

The Rave

Around 1-2 pm… Dance Party Part Two happened… First is was Deadpooly dancing with a little girl dressed as Anna from Frozen – it was cute, but the crowd was getting worrying big. Then as she was collected by her parents, Deadpooly cranked up some dance music and for five minutes we were in the middle of a rave, and it didn’t look like it was going to stop.

This was two much… I grabbed a Convention Staff Member who was already worried about the crowd levels and asked him to move it on. Which he did, talking to Deadpooly and asking him to turn it down, and to move around the convention.

Ahh… Problem solved…

Well… No it was not…

For a while Deadpooly did disappear, it seems he hosted a few more parties around the convention hall. As reports from fellow Exhibitors around the hall kept popping up of him disrupting the show. He certainly started to be a topic of angry conversation among us, and had been moved on several times.

Updated 11/25/2014 – I have learned from VA Comic Con Staff that during this time Deadpooly started to disrupt discussion panels, and was told not enter them while his Boombox was playing. He refused to comply and even tried to crash the Ivy Doomkitty Cosplay panel, refusing again to stop playing him Boombox and was removed from the panel by Staff Members. His comment,’I am a grown man and can do what I want.’

He Came Back

To finish off the afternoon we involuntary experienced a Third Dance Party, just as disruptive and huge as the first second one. At that point I asked Gemstone Publishing if he was anything do with them. They said yes, he was their Promo Guy for the weekend. I told them it has got out of control and can you please end it, which to their credit they did very quickly.

At this point you think Deadpooly would be aware of the problems he was causing? Right?

Wrong, but I digress…

My wifes day, after effectively being blocked by Deadpooly’s antics never recovered and she made a fraction of the sales she normally makes because no one could get to her part of the booth…

I decided to do a quick poll and found out all the Exhibitors in the immediate area of the Gemstone Publishing Booth had nose diving sales because of the Deadpooly Dance Parties. This isn’t a good thing, virtually none of the VA Comic Con Exhibitors are in the money and rely on conventions sales for income, and continue doing what they love, which is making comics, art, jewelry etc…

The day ended with no further Deadpooly incidents worth speaking of, because frankly he disappeared for the last hour or so. My day in terms of sales had been pretty normal, although it was hard to have conversations over constant blaring dance music that Deadpooly thought it would be fun subject us all too as he constantly walked up and down the aisles… grr…

Under Contract? 

I talked to a VA Comic Con Staff member about the Deadpooly issue after the show ended, and asked could they do anything. I was told that Gemstone had a contract with the show so they could not be censored for Deadpooly’s behavior, which is not true the Cosplayer could have been banned from returning the next day. It turns out the Cosplayer was here to promote a Cosplay Guide that he was central to making happen for Gemstone.

Wow… I figured at this time though Gemstone were aware of the issue their Deadpooly was causing (you had to be blind not to see it), and tomorrow he would turn up with a different less disruptive persona and that would be that. I mean, I don’t know a single Cosplayer who wears the same outfit two days running (gets stinky in those tights, right?)

Day Two

Hope in our hearts as Sunday is traditionally a family day and is kind to us, we arrived at the convention prepared for the day and hoped Deadpooly had disappeared.

Nope… Around 11.30am he reappeared, but seemed to be more aware that his actions were causing problems for the Exhibitors around him. So for the first hour we saw very little of him and sales, foot traffic and attendees carried on as you would normally expect, and I could talk to people without shouting at them over headache inducing tunes.

Why Dance Party Four, WHY? 

It happened for the fourth and final time, the party in the Video was thankfully a quarter of the size of the what we experienced on Saturday. This time I witnessed Gemstone Publishing freakout and they had to ask Con Security to shut him down, quoting to me that ‘He was out of control.‘

Out of Control? That struck me… I certainly felt the final Dance Party was an FU by him to all the Exhibitors around him, and up to this point we thought he was operating with Gemstone Publishing’s blessing, if they had no control of him? Then what exactly was Deadpooly doing here? Did he not realize he had been a total Asshat? Did no one tell him to cool it? Did he know he had disrupted the convention so much that he was a topic of heated conversation among the Exhibitors, and most oddly fellow Cosplayers?

Did He Think He Was THE Show?

Well it seems he did think he was THE Show, and that is a walking example of everything that can be bad about Cosplayers and appeared to have an huge overblown sense of self-importance.

Update 11/25/2014 - I have learned from a fellow convention Exhibitor that Deadpooly and his Boombox was pulling the same stunts a week earlier at NC Comic Con. 

How do I know this?

This blog post is a side-effect of a post Deadpooly made on an Artists friends Facebook page. The Artist posting a satirical meme about how much this one Cosplayer disrupted the show. The Deadpooly Cosplayer reply was he was THE show and how we should be thankful he turned up. I really wish I had chance to save that interaction, but it lost to the wasteland of Facebook deleted posts. The Artist decided he didn’t want to keep dealing with this Asshat, and removed the entire thread and Meme, and was also threatened to be blacklisted by this Cosplayer from entering SDCC… Yep… Pretty heavy stuff, threatening to take someones lively hood away because they posted something you didn’t like.

So Why Are You Stepping Up?

Because it was me who was on the receiving end of the majority of Deadpooly’s antics at VA Comic Con.

I had to experience the Four Dance Parties and the multiple mini-disruptions he caused, it was me who kept getting him moved on, it was me who complained to the VA Comic Con staff, and to his event sponsors Gemstone Publishing about his behavior, and it was me who started this chain of events.

This is all my fault.

All of this because I was not cool enough to continually tolerate Dance Parties in front of my booth, because I don’t want to see my friends blacklisted from their profession because of one totally full of himself Cosplayer. He wasn’t Cosplaying Deadpool, he was just Douchepool…

So blame me.

And I will see you all in SDCC if my Hollywood thing pays off…

Editorial Time

Yes, this entire post is pretty much an Editorial, but here is the pure Op-Ed part.

First off just because you are wearing a Deadpool mask does not give you license to act like Deadpool. The Marvel character is a complete asshole, and is aware that he is, he really is ultimately unlikable as a person. While I understand some Cosplayers want to keep kayfabe, and frankly zany behavior from Deadpool Cosplayers is to be expected, you are not Deadpool. You are just a someone wearing a mask, not a comic book character. It is like expecting Joker Cosplayers to kill someone, just because… THEY ARE DRESSED LIKE THE JOKER! Don’t be a jerk, don’t think wearing a characters costume gives you license to be a jerk. Be you… (unless you are a jerk then there is not much I can do to help you.)

I love you Cosplayers, you are just as much a part of the show as all the Artists, Vendors and Guests, and the Attendees. We all make up the show, just Cosplayers are not THE show by themselves, we all exist because of each other, not apart from each other.

If a Cosplayer wants to be THE show, I say go for it, pay for your space and the convention hall and see how it goes. As a regular on the Mid-Atlantic East Coast Convention scene I am not there to sponsor your playground. If you want to hold dance parties go for it, but do it in your own space and on your own dime.

I will then attend your Cosplay show, dress up as Drawpool and set up my art gear right in front of your booth, and draw huge crowds with my lightning fast sketches of Teddy Bears, while I play Awesome Mix Tape #1 through my 80’s style cassette player, then lead a Dance Off for someone in the crowd to win my awesome sketch. I want to see how much fun you would think it is, when it is your money, when your booth is blocked for most of the day because you wanted to be THE show.

And this is not a swipe in a perceived Cosplayer vs Artist war, or a compliant about not making sales at a show because of Cosplayers. There were other elements that didn’t just gel this time, and need to be addressed, which I will when I write my review about VA Comic Con. Frankly, if your fellow Cosplayers think you’re being an Asshat, you’re being an Asshat!

Please don’t be disruptive at a show, be respectful of everyone around you, just as you expect everyone to be respectful of you. It is the Golden rule of all convention attendance – be excellent to each other.

We are all The show.

That is all.

Peace…

FAQ

Yes, I do know who the Cosplayer is.

No, I will not share his name with you.

Yes, I know who the Artist is.

No, I will not share his name with you.

Why no picture of the Meme?

It was deleted before I could grab it.

Can One Cosplayer Really Disrupt An Entire Comic Book Convention? The Answer Will Surprise You…

This weekend at VA Comic Con I experienced for the first time ever exactly what happens when you have a Cosplayer become disruptive and think they are THE show.

I have put a lot of thought into if I should post this blog or not. The tipping point was this morning watching Facebook reactions as the news got out about this Cosplayers behavior, I watched and tried to defend one of my Artist friends get attacked as he basically posted the truth about what this Cosplayer did, but in a satirical meme.

Now as Reporter you are trained to get the facts and from there build the story, when you become part of the story, or are the story then it all becomes a matter of perspective, and you are walking the line between reporting and Ed-Op’s. This is my story, from my perspective.

How It started 

If you follow my blog you will know I spent the weekend November 22-23 down in Richmond, VA at the Two-Day VA Comic Con. This was the big year ending event for Altworld Studios, and I purchased a corner booth to give Charmingly Geeky, the Geek Jewelry made by my wife, and my work for the Teddy Bear Tales a lot of room. The Booth prices were good, and the show has historically been good to us. We wanted to celebrate our last show of the year after a long convention schedule for us, and Tristan the Teddy Bear.

Set-up was fine, attendance on Saturday looked good, we were set up next to Gemstone Publishing who publish a street guide to comic book selling and they were going to start a Cosplay guide at VA Comic Con. We settled any possible disruption issues (which was perhaps move your sign on the access way in an inch so it doesn’t get knocked over.) My wife was set up in the main traffic spot, front facing on the main traffic aisle and I took the facing down one of the aisles away from the main traffic, and we looked forward to a good show.

Then This happened

Around 11.30am a Deadpool Cosplayer turned up dressed as a Deadpooly with a Beatbox (Thug for Life?), I didn’t think anything of it. Cosplay at shows is fun to look at, and we all know how many pictures are out there with Tristan the Teddy Bear getting his mug shot with a Cosplayer.

In short we love you guys, Cosplayers are just as much part of the show as all the Artists, Vendors, Guests and other Attendees. Together we make these shows a great experience and we are not THE show by themselves. This is what makes this post even harder. Because is isn’t about the Cosplay Hobby or an attack on it, but about the behavior at VA Comic Con of just one Cosplayer, as witnessed by me.

Now We Dance 

Deadpooly proceeded to sit in front of the Gemstone Publishing Booth, cranked up his Beatbox and started an impromptu dance party. Three to four fellow Cosplayers popping and locking in front of us, totally blocking us off and attracting a huge crowd of people who filmed it. Now we are used to these things happening at conventions and thought it was a one-off, and although put out, we got on with the day as Deadpooly moved off.

Then he kept coming back, sitting down on his Beatbox and having various little dance offs, which pretty much blew most of the morning for my wife as she was totally blocked off. People were actively avoiding the huge bubbling crowd and moving down the other aisles.

The Rave

Around 1-2 pm… Dance Party Part Two happened… First is was Deadpooly dancing with a little girl dressed as Anna from Frozen – it was cute, but the crowd was getting worrying big. Then as she was collected by her parents, Deadpooly cranked up some dance music and for five minutes we were in the middle of a rave, and it didn’t look like it was going to stop.

This was two much… I grabbed a Convention Staff Member who was already worried about the crowd levels and asked him to move it on. Which he did, talking to Deadpooly and asking him to turn it down, and to move around the convention.

Ahh… Problem solved…

Well… No it was not…

For a while Deadpooly did disappear, it seems he hosted a few more parties around the convention hall. As reports from fellow Exhibitors around the hall kept popping up of him disrupting the show. He certainly started to be a topic of angry conversation among us, and had been moved on several times.

He Came Back

To finish off the afternoon we involuntary experienced a Third Dance Party, just as disruptive and huge as the first second one. At that point I asked Gemstone Publishing if he was anything do with them. They said yes, he was their Promo Guy for the weekend. I told them it has got out of control and can you please end it, which to their credit they did very quickly.

At this point you think Deadpooly would be aware of the problems he was causing? Right?

Wrong, but I digress…

My wifes day, in point of view of sales after effectively being blocked by Deadpooly’s antics for over half the day never recovered and she made a fraction of the sales she normally makes because no one could get to her part of the booth… No one…

I decided to do a quick poll and found out all the Exhibitors in the immediate area of the Gemstone Publishing Booth had nose diving sales because of the Deadpooly Dance Parties. This isn’t a good thing, virtually none of the VA Comic Con Exhibitors are in the money and rely on conventions sales for income, and continue doing what they love, which is making comics, art, jewelry etc…

The day ended with no further Deadpooly incidents worth speaking of, because frankly he disappeared for the last hour or so. My day in terms of sales had been pretty normal, although it was hard to have conversations over constant blaring dance music that Deadpooly thought it would be fun for us all to listen too… grr…

Under Contract? 

I talked to a VA Comic Con Staff member about the Deadpooly issue after the show ended, and asked could they do anything. I was told that Gemstone had a contract with the show so they could not be censored for Deadpooly’s behavior. It turns out the Cosplayer was here to promote a Cosplay Guide that he was central to making happen for Gemstone.

Wow… I figured at this time though Gemstone were aware of the issue their Deadpooly was causing, and tomorrow he would turn up with a different less disruptive persona and that would be that. I mean, I don’t know a single Cosplayer who wears the same outfit two days running (gets stinky in those tights, right?)

Day Two

Hope in our hearts as Sunday is traditionally a family day and is kind to us, we arrived at the convention prepared for the day and hoped Deadpooly had disappeared.

Nope… Around 11.30am he reappeared, but seemed to be more aware that his actions were causing problems for the Exhibitors around him. So for the first hour we saw very little of him and sales, foot traffic and attendees carried on as you would normally expect, and I could talk to people without shouting at them over headache inducing tunes.

Why Dance Party Four, WHY? 

It happened for the fourth and final time, the party in the Video was thankfully a quarter of the size of the what we experienced on Saturday. This time I witnessed Gemstone Publishing freakout and they had to ask Con Security to shut him down, quoting to me that ‘He was out of control.‘

Out of Control? That struck me… I certainly felt the final Dance Party was an FU by him to everyone, and up to this point we thought he was operating with Gemstone Publishing’s blessing, if they had no control of him? Then what exactly was Deadpooly doing here? Did he not realize he had been a total Asshat? That he had disrupted the convention so much that he was a topic of heated conversation among the Exhibitors, and most oddly fellow Cosplayers?

Did He Think He Was THE Show?

Well it seems he did think he was THE Show, and that is a walking example of everything that is bad about the perceived self-importance some Cosplayers hold themselves as.

How do I know this?

This blog post is a side-effect of a post Deadpooly made on an Artists friends Facebook page. The Artist posting a satirical meme about how much this one Cosplayer disrupted the show. The Deadpooly Cosplayer come back was he was THE show and how we should be thankful he turned up. I really wish I had chance to save that interaction, but it lost to the wasteland of Facebook deleted posts. The Artist decided he didn’t want to keep dealing with this Asshat, and removed the entire thread and Meme, and was also threatened to be blacklisted by this Cosplayer from entering SDCC… Yep… Pretty heavy stuff in all.

So Why Are You Stepping Up?

Because it was me who was on the receiving end of the majority of Deadpooly’s antics. I had to experience the Big Four Dance Parties and the multiple mini-disruptions he caused, it was me who kept getting him moved on, it was me who complained to the VA Comic Con staff about his behavior, and it was me who started this chain of events.

This is all my fault.

All of this because I was not cool enough to continually tolerate Dance Parties in front of my booth, because I don’t want to see my friends blacklisted from their profession because of one full of himself Cosplayer…

So blame me.

And I will see you all in SDCC if my Hollywood thing pays off…

Editorial Time

Yes, this entire post is pretty much an Editorial, but here is the pure Op-Ed part.

First off just because you are wearing a Deadpool mask does not give you license to act like Deadpool. The Marvel character is a complete asshole, and is aware that he is, he really is ultimately unlikable as a person. While I understand some Cosplayers want to keep kayfabe, and frankly zany behavior from Deadpool Cosplayers is to be expected, you are not Deadpool. You are just a someone wearing a mask, not a comic book character. It is like excusing Joker Cosplayers and expecting them to kill someone, just because… Don’t be a jerk, don’t think wearing a characters costume gives you license to be a jerk. Be you… (unless you are a jerk then there is not much I can do to help you.)

I love you Cosplayers, you are just as much a part of the show as all the Artists, Vendors and Guests, and the Attendees. We all make up the show, just Cosplayers are not THE show by themselves, we all exist because of each other, not apart from each other.

If a Cosplayer wants to be THE show, I say go for it, pay for your space and the convention hall and see how it goes. As a regular on the Mid-Atlantic East Coast Convention scene I am not there to sponsor your playground. If you want to hold dance parties go for it, but do it in your own space and on your own dime. See how much fun it is, when it is your money.

And this is not a swipe in a perceived Cosplayer vs Artist war, or a compliant about not making sales at a show because of Cosplayers. There were other elements that didn’t just gel this time, and need to be addressed. And frankly if your fellow Cosplayers think your being an Asshat, your being an Asshat!

This is a statement of fact, don’t be disruptive at a show, be respectful of everyone around you, just as you expect everyone to be respectful of you. It is the Golden rule of convention attendance – be excellent to each other.

We are all The show.

That is all.

Peace…

FAQ

Yes, I do know who the Cosplayer is.

No, I will not share his name with you.

Yes, I know who the Artist is.

No, I will not share his name with you.

Why no picture of the Meme?

It was deleted before I could grab it.

Join Tristan The Teddy Bear And Me At Our Last Show Of The Year VA Comic Con 2014

This is it… It has been an especially long convention season for Tristan the Teddy Bear and Me, and now we head towards our last show of the year, VA Comic Con in Richmond VA. And because it is our last show of the year we are bringing everything to the table, or in this case our Booth.

What You Need To Know

VA Comic Con is this weekend November 22 to 23 2014

At 600 E Laburnim Ave, Richmond VA 23222 at the Richmond Speedway

Saturday 11am to 6pm
Sunday 10.30am to 5pm

Tickets can be brought online here.

You can learn more about this event at VA Comic Con

How You Will Find Me

I will be joined by Charmingly Geeky and we are located at Artist Booth (yes, you read that right Booth) Number 69. See the map below for our location, look for the Teddy Bear Tales Banner.

VA Comic Con Map – We Are At Booth 69

What I Am Bringing To Booth 69

All the AltWorld and Teddy Bear Tales Books in Print

Tristan and the Cuddly Defender Preview Comic Book
Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Graphic Novel – Friends
The Teddy Bear Tales Illustrated Adventures One and Two
Tristan the Teddy Bear Goes to the Moon Imagination Adventure Story book.
The Wonder Tales – The Daughter of Frost Illustrated Edition
Fabula Zero Exposition – the uniquely super-heroic Graphic Novel
The Tether Saga Books – None Good and Accept One

I Am Baby Groot By Nick Davis

And all my Art including

Original Sketch Card Art
The Cuddly Sketch Cards Prints including Baby Groot, Baymax, My Little Pony, Rocket Raccoon and More
Exclusive Full Size Prints including I Am Groot, Deadpool Bear, Harley Quinn Rabbit, BatBear, Star Bears, Giant Size Man Thing and much more
Original Cuddly Sketch Art
The Cheap $10 Original Art Bin

And all the Cuddly Defenders Cuddly Toys Handmade in the USA by Dotsbears including

Tristan the Defender Bear
Tristan the Teddy Bear
Tristan the ‘Beanie’ Teddy Bear
Tristan the ‘Softie’ Teddy Bear
Wilma Bunny
Archer Bear
Fernando the Mouse Lion
Tristan the Pocket Companion Teddy Bear
Tristan the Mini-Teddy Bear
And more…

Going All Out

As you can see we are bringing the Teddy Bear Tales to VA Comic Con, so I hope to see y’all there! You might even see a Dancing Teddy Bear And if you mention reading this post to me at Booth 69 you will get a FREE print.

Tristan Lives!!! Our Favorite Teddy Bear Dances At RetroCon2014

Nick and Tristan the Teddy Bear at RetroCon2014

Our favorite little Teddy Bear is alive! Checkout the video after the jump of him dancing on the show floor at RetroCon2014. 

Concept Sketch Of Hero, A Teddy Bear SuperHero Coming Fall 2015

Made To Be… Hero by Nick Davis

This is a concept sketch of Hero, a Teddy Bear who gets his superpowers from his child’s security blanket. I hope to debut him around Fall 2015. Stay tuned and watch this new Hero grow.

Thank You For Backing The Tristan & The Cuddly Defenders Comic On Kickstarter!

Thank you Teddy Bear Fans!!! Because of you the Tristan and the Cuddly Defenders Comic on Kickstarter is 108% Funded!!!

Have You Checked Out And Backed The Cuddly Defenders Comic #Kickstarter? Only 12 hours left!

We are nearly at the end of the race, as I write this we are under 12 hours from the Cuddly Defenders Comic on Kickstarter from ending, have you checked out and backed the new quarterly comic for the Cuddly Defenders? You can view it here – http://kck.st/1wvGkCp

Veterans Day Original Art Teddy Bear Soldier On Ebay Proceeds to Wounded Warrior Project

Lest We Forget… We shall Remember Them All…

In honor of Veterans/Memorial Day I have listed by Teddy Bear Soldier Watercolor on Ebay to sell. All proceeds will be going to the Wounded Warrior Project. You can check out the listing and bid here.

Down to 34 hours for the Cuddly Defenders Comic on #Kickstarter

It is getting close to the wire for the Cuddly Defenders Comic on Kickstarter, at time of writing this post we have less than 36 hours to make our full funding, can you help?Check out some of the rewards you can get for backing this Kickstarter. Please pledge if you can. You will help me be able to give Dan, Keir, Scott and Joshua a payday before the Holidays, and I can start our Teddy Bear Hero on a new set of adventures for you all to enjoy. You can check out the Kickstarter here – http://kck.st/1wvGkCp

You can check out the Kickstarter here – http://kck.st/1wvGkCp – Please help!