Good Times at San Diego Comic-Con 2019

Had a fantastic time at San Diego Comic-Con. I participated in three panels and got to hang out with some amazing authors. Took a ton of pictures for my friends who couldn’t be there. Enjoy!

My little Predator? One of my favorite pictures from the convention.

My sons and I outside the San Diego Convention Center

In the San Diego Convention Center, no one can hear you scream!

The Dark Crystal, Planet of the Apes, and Lord of the Rings sculptures

A giant Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants!

“Not with 10,000 men could you do this.”

Ah, Dungeons & Dragons humor…

Samurai Batman!

Puppets from the upcoming TV show Crank Yankers

Tiki Yoda and Moana !?

Godzilla doesn’t like waiting in lines either.

Gundam figures

Batman: Family

A sketch of me by the creator of Mr. Toast

The importance of good dental hygiene…

I’ve got my eye on you!

 

He-Man!

 

Domino from X-Men

Stephen King’s IT

Final Fantasy characters

3A figures from Ashley Woods

Magic Wheelchairs ❤

Met the kind and talented author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, Erin Morgenstern

The wonderful author of SHADOW AND BONE, Leigh Bardugo, wins the Inkpot award

Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern: talented and funny

Are You There, Gods? It’s Us, the Protagonists panel with authors Rebecca Roanhorse, Scott Westerfeld, Margaret Rogerson, Ann Leckie, and Joan He

Ruby Rod cosplay from The Fifth Element. Supergreen!

Joffrey cosplay from Game of Thrones

The Future as I See It panel with authors Gini Koch, Tim Zahn, Steven Sears, Jonathan Maberry, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and Seanan McGuire

The Fantastic Flavors of Fantasy panel with authors Renee Ahdieh, Lauren Shippen, Katy Pool, Nicole Conway, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Marissa Meyer

Those green army “men” are real people!

Jonathan Maberry gives Nancy Holder the Scribe Award

Star Wars samurai cosplay!

Elfquest cosplay

Wherefore Dystopia and Darkness panel with bestselling authors Jess Rothenberg, Richard Kadrey, S.L. Huang, Ally Condie, Rachel Caine, and Marie Lu

Admiral Ackbar cosplay from Star Wars. “It’s a trap!”

Fembot cosplay from Austin Powers

She-Ra and Kim Possible cosplay

Tank Girl cosplay

The Writers Coffeehouse author panel with (l to r) me, Jonathan Maberry, Delilah Dawson, Peter Clines and Scott Sigler.

I can’t wait to see this urban fantasy series!

Carnival Row stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

Cara Delevingne’s fairy character takes flight off the edge of a cliff.

Six-foot tall LEGO Batman minifigure

Monty Python and the Holy Grail cosplay. “There are some who call me… Tim.”

Wakanda (Black Panther) / Spiderman basketball team cosplay. SDCC is known for such creative mashups.

Chun-Li cosplay from Street Fighter video game

Green Arrow cosplay

Peter Pan Lost Boy Rufio cosplay from the movie Hook

Beetlejuice cosplay. Don’t say his name three times

ALF cosplay

Stellar Stories and Awesome Adventures panel with authors Maura Milan, Mark Siegel, Tochi Onyebuchi, Ashley Poston, and Maryelizabeth Yturralde

Disney Hyperion Publishing panel with authors/editors Emily Meehan, Brittany Rubiana, Serena Valentino, and Jocelyn Davies

 

Theseus and the Minotaur cosplay

Three interpretations of Judge Dredd cosplay

Lord Voldemort: He Who Shall Not Be Named. Oops.

Skeleton warrior cosplay

Wonder Woman cosplay

Game of Thrones cosplay: Cersei, The Mountain, The Night King, Arya wondering why SHE isn’t killing the Night King

Rick and Morty cosplay

Global debut of the cover of my upcoming picture book, 2 Pirates + 1 Robot, from Kane Miller Books.

My fantasy/sci-fi author panel with (l to r) Tomi Adeyemi, Lev Grossman, A.G. Howard, Aditi Khorana, and Jonathan Maberry.

They packed the room!

Fans of The Magicians may recall Umber asking for little cakes. I brought Lev Grossman some little cakes.

After the panel, the authors signed their books. Many added graffiti to the tablecloth. Someone drew salmon. Author Chuck Wendig apparently has no respect for sustainable salmon farming. And the feeling is mutual.

Lev Grossman (The Magicians) left his own graffiti.

Mostly, we signed books. Here author Lev Grossman signs a fan’s chest.

My favorite cosplay of the convention: Warhammer 40K Sisters of Battle! Adepta Sororitas

My KidLit literary agent panel with (l to r) Hannah Mann, Thao Le, Kelly Sonnack and Stefanie Von Borstel.

Writing Craft panel with authors Sarah Gailey, Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Seanan McGuire, and Cory Doctorow

Godzilla, Ghidorah, and Rodan resin miniatures

Sci-fi author greats Larry Niven, Greg Bear, and David Brin

Fandom Meets YA panel with authors Livia Blackburne, Mary Pearson, Tricia Levenseller, A.G. Howard, and C.B. Lee

Lord of the Rings cosplay. A Minas Tirith dress! “For Gondor!!”

Reinventing the Modern Girl panel with authors Seanan McGuire, Danielle Paige, Sarah Kuhn, Nila Macgruder, Cecil Castellucci, and Jenn Fujikawa.

Good Times at San Diego Comic-Con 2018

1. Arriving at the Convention Center
   
2. Horrific tooth creature from Channel Zero: Candle Cove
   
3. Amazing Lord of the Rings models from Weta
   
4. A stylized Gandalf
   
5. The Moose from Chappie resin kit by Weta
   
6. Alita Battle Angel
   
7. One man’s interpretation of Edna Mode
   
8. Cuphead figures
   
9. Star Wars trooper
   
10. Scary creatures from Sideshow Collectibles
    
11. Warhammer Space Marine Blood Raven
    
12. Terrifying evil Batman and Robins
    
13. Alien vs. Predator
    
14. With NY Times bestselling fantasy author Todd McCaffrey
    
15. Bioware power armor suits
    
16. With children’s authors M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
    
17. With children’s editor/author Ed Masessa
    
18. Author collaboration panel with Jenni Holm, Matt Holm, M.T. Anderson, Eugene Yelchin
    
19. Mars panel with astronaut Leland Melvin and The Martian author Andy Weir
    
20. Stargate cosplay
    
21. Cosplay knights
    
22. Comics panel with Stan Sakai, Cecil Castelucci, and Sergio Aragones
    
23. YA/MG Fantasy panel with authors Tomi Adeyemi, Daniel Jose Older, Victoria Schwab, Kiersten White, and Maggie Steifvater
    
24. Apocalypse panel with authors Cory Doctorow, Scott Westerfeld, and Andrew Smith
    
25. Flame Princess cosplay
    
26. With NY Times bestselling authors Peter Clines and Jonathan Maberry
    
27. Fearless women author panel with NY Times bestselling fantasy authors Rachel Caine, Seanan McGuire, Susan Dennard, Victoria Schwab, and Laini Taylor
    
28. With NY Times bestselling author Nancy Holder
    
29. Star Wars cosplay
    
30. Giant Boba Fett display
    
31. Animatronic Deadpool’s Super Duper Dance Party
    
32. South Park characters. Kenny lives!
    
33. Pacific Rim
    
34. Dragonball Z
    
35. Dragon cosplay
    
36. Self-deprecating Deadpool advertising on toilet seat covers
    
37. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein panel with Jonathan Maberry, Kiersten White, and Merrie DeStefano
    
38. Frankenstein takes the cake
    
39. Academy Award winner Sir Richard Taylor (The Lord of the Rings) sculpting in clay.
    
40. With co-panelist and NY Times bestselling fantasy author Laini Taylor
    
41. With co-panelist and NY Times bestselling fantasy author Livia Blackburne
    
42. With co-panelist and NY Times bestselling fantasy author Maggie Stiefvater
    
43. With co-panelist and NY Times bestselling fantasy author Kevin Hearne
    
44. Our fantasy literature panel packed the room
    
45. Huge Hot Wheels cars
    
46. Life-sized LEGO Aquaman
    
47. Life-sized LEGO Thanos
    
48. Mantis photobombing the Power Rangers
    
49. Personalized Magic the Gathering cards
    
50. Dungeons & Dragons panel with Naomi Novik, Delilah Dawson, Kevin Hearne, Ray Feist and R.A. Salvatore
    
51. Trump’s Titanz standee
    
52. Game of Thrones cosplay Iron Throne wheelchair
    

53. Children’s Literary Agent panel with Taylor Martindale Kean, Tim Travaglini, Jen Baxter, Kari Sutherland, Thao Le

54. Fantasy Literature panel with Victoria Schwab, Livia Blackburne, Maggie Stiefvater, and Kevin Hearne (Laini Taylor not shown)

What Movie Directors’ Homes Should Look Like

It seems only appropriate that movie directors’ homes should reflect their cinematic style and artistic preferences. Thanks to the mad geniuses at Bored Panda for sharing how illustrator Federico Babina combines his passions for illustration, cinema, and architecture.

“Wondering what the iconic movie houses would look like if they were based on her films, Babina created an illustrative series called Archidirector. The series follows the same pattern of another series, Archicine, in which Babina illustrates famous houses and constructions of certain films.

In this work, the Italian showed his admiration for names like Federico Fellini, George Lucas, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Charlie Chaplin, David Lynch, Tim Burton, Lars von Trier, Ingmar Bergman, Coen Brothers, Fritz Lang and more.”

#1 Tim Burton

#2 George Lucas

#3 David Lynch

#4 Hitchcock

#5 Charlie Chaplin

#6 Fellini

#7 Emir Kusturica

#8 Stanley Kubrick

#9 Andrei Tarkovsky

#10 Ridley Scott

Action Figures Come To Life

Finally, a use for all those collectible action hero figures gathering dust on the shelf, thanks to Hot.kenobi and the mad geniuses at Bored Panda.

“Japanese photographer Hot.kenobi plays with his action toys and uses photography to tell their entertaining stories. Osaka-based Hot.kenobi creates a universe where box office rivals DC and Marvel comics (sometimes Disney’s Star Wars as well) not only battle each other, but also have some fun in both surreal and everyday situations. Most of his compositions are explosive and feature a lot of movement, perfectly supplemented by special effects and a healthy dose of humor.

Whether it’s Hulk smashing a can of soda, or Spiderman trying to ‘play’ Captain America’s shield on a CD player, these images bring the colorful personalities of unlikely friends and foes.”

Secret Lives of Star Wars Villains

Conquering the galaxy isn’t all drama and highlights. The untold tales of Star Wars villains, as imagined by the clever photographer David Gilliver at Design You Trust.

“Tiny Storm Troopers and a mini Darth Vader are captured doing everyday activities – from taking a bath, to wrapping presents. Scottish Artist and Photographer, David Giliver created these scenes over a period of two years using toys and miniature props. Here: Two storm troopers lie in a bath.”

Darth Vader gives presents to Luke Skywalker

Darth Vader points at an opticians letter chart

A stormtrooper has a walker on a leash

A storm trooper rides a skateboard

A walker hold a bone and wears a Christmas hat

An Emperor’s Guard wraps another in tin foil

A storm trooper wears high heeled boots

A storm trooper gives another a bunch of flowers

A storm trooper bottle feeds a walker

A storm trooper feeds a walker in the grass

A storm trooper throws a stick to a walker

Photo by David Gilliver/Barcroft Images

 

What if they labelled movie posters more accurately?

I’m a firm believer in truth-in-advertising. So, I really enjoyed this imaginative romp from Iveta Pete and the mad geniuses at Bored Panda.

“Movie posters don’t always tell it like it is. And that’s probably a good thing, at least for the people who make them. After all, would you pay to watch a film called ‘Young Woman Needlessly Degrades Herself To Be With Complete Arsehole’? How about ‘Liam Neeson Punches People’, or ‘Channing Tatum Takes His Shirt Off Again Or Something’? Ok, so maybe some of you would still pay to watch that last one.”

#1 Mad Max: Fury Road

#2 101 Dalmatians

#3 The Lion King

#4 Lord Of The Rings

#5 Beauty And The Beast

 #6 Pretty Woman

#7 Les Miserables

 

#8 Breaking Dawn Part Two

#9 The Revenant

#10 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

A Man & His Cat Recreate Classic Movie Scenes

Some people love their cats perhaps a bit too much… By Greta J and the mad geniuses at Bored Panda.

“David and Sarah, a couple from the UK, are recreating famous movie scenes together with their cats and it couldn’t get any funnier! They have two cats who are almost identical named Willow and Tara, but Tara stars in most of their pictures. “We started doing it as a picture question in our pub quiz’s film/TV round, and it went down really well so we made it a regular thing,” – the couple told The Dodo.

“The cats clearly think we’re weird. It can be a challenge to get [the cats] to cooperate, but they get lots of treats so that tends to win them over to our nonsense,” Sarah and David told LoveMeow.

The good news for the movie and feline lovers is that there’s more pictures to come! “We’re going to keep making them. It’s a hilarious way to spend a Sunday!”

#1 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

#2 Alien

#3 Ghost

#4 The Shining

#5 American Beauty