BOSTON MEGAFEST
PT 1
Another convention come and gone. I jotted down these notes
as I was waiting for my flight to go back home. I’ll try to recap a
lot of what happened although my brain is a bit mushy as of now.
It’s been a long weekend and I’m incredibly tired. But it’s a good
kind of tired.
Friday morning I got up at 3am to try and catch my flight to
Boston out of LAX. I was carrying some pretty heavy suitcases full
of costumes, cameras, and photo albums. A quick kiss for Vickie
while she dropped me off at the airport and I was on my own. Six
hours of bumpy air travel later and I was in Boston. I was greeted
by board member Chazbat. He was driving to the convention and
offered to pick up a few of us from the airport since he had a car.
Twint9 and Mauled Vader soon arrived afterwards. As I walked to
the parking lot, my thin Southern California blood was hit hard by
the chilly Boston air. I should have packed my thermal B long
underwear. Mr. Freeze would have been very comfortable here.
Traffic was extreme so we arrived to the hotel considerably
later. We just happened to arrive at the same time as Mark Racop
who was with his wife, Jill and their friend Nancy (correct me if I
got the name wrong, there were so many new faces.) We tried to see
if we could get adjoining rooms together and we were in luck. We
got three rooms right in a row with two of them having connecting
doors. This would work out perfectly for the planned Saturday night
party.
I lugged my cases up to the room that Mauled and I were going
to share. Once everybody was unpacked we eventually made out way to
the hotel restaurant. We had a group of eleven by this point as
Troy, Batman Dave, Etruscan Snood and his girlfriend, Theresa hooked
up with us. We talked about all sorts of subjects through the
evening until it got very late and they long stopped refilling our
sodas. But that didn’t stop the conversations as they just
continued up to our rooms. We made some plans as when to meet the
next day and it was time to turn in.
Saturday morning was the start of a very busy one and I was
sure to have a few people call me up early to make sure I got going
in spite of the time zone change and jet lag. I saw Adam’s agent,
Fred hanging out near the restaurant. We said hey and compared
flight stories. He got in very late from a delayed flight and was
pretty tired. I left to hook up with the board members having the
breakfast buffet. Mistahand and his son joined us as well.
The convention finally opened and it was time to check it out.
I really liked what I saw as far as dealers went and really wished
to have had a budget to indulge in a lot of their goodies. Lots of
vintage toy type stuff mixed with some newer items. But all in all
a good variety. I walked around for a while and came across board
member, Will otherwise know as Silverknight58. You really can’t
miss a guy who looks like Elvis wearing a big brass Batman buckle.
He is a great guy who is easy going and has a great sense of humor.
We all walked around and pointed at this and that along the way. I
walked over to the autograph area where the bat-cast would
eventually turn up. Their tables were on an elevated stage and
overlooked the rest of the convention. It was nice to see them
getting the royal treatment. I was tickled to see one vendor
selling some pictures that were retouches that I done and posted on
my site. I almost bought one, thinking that it was better than a
print I already had but then I recognized my own work. An artist
will tend to see his own flaws first.
After a few hours out on the floor we all started to head back
up to my room for some costume comparisons and related chat. Most
of the Batmen who were going to suit up brought their cowls up. We
had a great time taking photos of the grouped cowls and looking at
the various differences. I spent some time consulting a few of the
guys about making adjustments to their cowls to make them more
fitted for them.
There were so many Chuck cowls that Mauled felt compelled to
write his initials inside his. Funny thing was that I could tell
the difference pretty quickly. Will brought up his regular cowl and
his “screen test” one with the taller ears and odd eyebrows. They
looked great and I started referring to his cowls as being
“Willies.” Nick brought in his Wally one and Mistahand brought in
his Billy Loyd built one. So we had a Billy, Wally Willy Willy,
Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck and the infamous Mark Racop homebrew.
What geeky fun we had.
People enjoyed checking out Billy’s legendary ( and now rare)
belts and comparing how heavy my cape was.
The time flew and we needed to get ready to suit up to debut
“Bat Troop 66” on the unsuspecting public downstairs. Everybody
went back to their respective rooms to suit up and we met up again
in my room before heading down.
Batman Dave managed to get his Riddler costume just in time for
the show so he suited up in his green tights. He got completely
into character and was great. Chazbat got himself ready in his
amazing Mad Hatter outfit with working hat. His costume is still
one of my favorite villain reproductions to date because it is so
dead on and the hat flips open. The eyebrows and mustache makeup
make it a particular challenge as well. Mistahand's son, Alex,
joined us as our Robin for the day. He wasn’t very happy with his
boots or gloves but we managed to fit him into some of our spare
Robin costume pieces that we brought to make his costume really
sing. What a great boy wonder!
I asked Mark’s wife, Jill if she would be kind enough to tape
the events with my video camera. She agreed to and we were off.
The vision of the multiple Batmen just tickled me to no end.
Just going into and coming out of an elevator was a spectacle in
itself.
I would introduce people to the group individually as,
‘Batman…and Batman…and Batman…” The comedy seemed to invent itself.
The looks on the attendees’ faces were priceless. A mixture of
awe, amusement and confusion summed it up best. We made some rounds
on the floor. We took pictures, blocked traffic and made people
smile. The line for Adam seemed pretty long and the area was very
busy making the room full of people start to feel very warm.
Fortunately, there was Batmobile outside on display and I
thought that might be a good place for the bat-crew to cool down and
some of the guys to have their picture taken with the car as well as
buy us some time for Adam’s line to slow down.
While I turned around to tell the group, something hit me. We
were short a Batman and Mad Hatter. The more I thought about it, I
realized that I hadn’t seen them join us in the elevator. Holy
abandonment! I hoped for the best that we would find each other on
our way to the vehicle. Not only did we find Mad Hatter and Twint9
Batman but we also came across Harveytwoface999 in his homemade
Bat-suit and his mom. I apologized to Chazbat and Twint9 for my
oversight.
Dave continued to flank us, running around and giggling. What a
ham! We was born for this role! When we got outside the Batmobile
provided him with the ultimate stage to entertain unsuspecting
onlookers.
I got a major thrill in seeing newcomers Twint9, Mistahand,
Troy, Silverknight58, and Harveytwoface999 experience the love and
warmth from the convention goers.
Everybody seemed to be having fun and the Boston air seemed to
do the trick in refreshing everybody with it’s cold air. But too
much of a good thing eventually turned it from refreshing to
chilling and people slowly made their way back inside to keep from
freezing.
After a bit of regrouping, we made our way once again for the
convention floor to try and meet Adam West with Dave running ahead
laughing all the way. Priceless.
The line for Adam looked light enough and it seemed to be a
good time as any to try and introducing him to the troop. While
standing there I suddenly remembered that somebody mentioned that he
had been charging for photo ops. I don’t take anything for granted
but it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t have any cash in my
utility belt in case there would be such a charge. I asked the
group collectively in what became a huddle if anybody had any cash.
No go. Jill ran upstairs to grab some…just in case. As I
said, I don’t take anything for granted and a good crime
fighter/convention goer should always be prepared.
As we waited, I got to spend some time with Larry Storch at
his booth. I hadn’t seen him since he was staying at Wally’s back
in July. What a talent. What a nice guy.
Jill made her way back down. Etruscan Snood made it in time in
his Bat-suit with two Batgirls by his side. Nancy was in a Yvonne
Craig style suit while Theresa was in a Birds of Prey style suit.
The gang was all here.
I went to the front of the group and waited for our turn in
Adam’s line. I caught a glimpse of Adam’s face as he noticed the
sea of Batmen about to converge on his table. He looked amused and
stunned at the same time. He had one more fan that he was dealing
with and our troop was next. As I stood waiting our turn I saw him
look over the group and asked out loud, “Where’s Scott?” I
sheepishly raised my hand about half way and he said, “You’ve got to
stop doing this, I don’t look as good as you guys!” He said it with
that twinkle in his eye that meant he was teasing.
I walked up to the side of his table and said over to his
chair, “ Adam, I would like to introduce you to Batman…and Batman…”
Each Batman came up one at a time and greeted Adam with a tapping
of fist to fist. Meanwhile, Fred asks over the crowd, ‘Where’s the
Mad-Hatter?” he sees Chazbat and says, “he’s my favorite villain!”
Fred also got a kick out of watching Dave vamp it up as the Riddler
but more importantly, Frank Gorshin’s Riddler. We all missed Frank.
Halfway through the introductions of Batmen, Mad Hatter,
Riddler, Robin and Batgirls, Adam said, "You’ve got to stop, I feel
like I’m having a nervous breakdown and that everybody’s a Batman.”
I asked him if he would mind taking a picture with the Class of 66.
He said of course and that he would even stand for this one. Burt
was on a break but Julie saw what was going on and wanted in on the
fun so she joined in with our group. Mistahand even had his arm
around her waist. Watch those hands Mistahand! What a fun moment.
No money involved. Just fun.
After a ton a flash bulbs slowed down we started to clear the
stage so Adam could catch his breath and get back to business but he
took the time to get on the PA system next to his table and
announced to the rest of the convention goers what a surreal moment
that was. It was a hit.
Some asked me if we should hang around for Burt to do the same
thing but I said that I thought the moment seemed so special to Adam
that it should remain his moment. We slowly worked our way out of
the autograph area and I eventually excused myself to get back to my
room so I could start getting it ready for the other half of the
day. The Saturday night parties!
PT 2
I left the floor and changed out of my costume and into my
street clothes. Many of the costumed gang did so as well except for
Mauled and Dave who both decided to keep going all day and night. A
number of us gathered together back down at the hotel restaurant and
talked about the events of the day so far. Everyone was excited and
having a good time.
There was going to be a VIP party put on by the promoters for
an intimate Q&A with Adam and Burt and photo op. It came with a
pretty hefty but fair price tag of course. The subject of the VIP
party came up throughout the conversation. What did we think would
happen? Who was going and who was on the fence? I was still on the
fence. Not due to lack of interest but a possible lack of funds and
time to do the VIP and get the room party ready. The VIP was to
start at 6:30 and the one up in the rooms would start at 8:00.
Weeks prior, I had asked Mark Racop if he would help me with the
party arrangements and he kindly agreed. Not only did he agree he
ran with it. He brought sodas, snacks and Batmobile props from his
shop. He made flyers for the event to post around the hotel and
hand out as well as numerous other contributions to the cause.
My dilemma really came down to whether I could afford the VIP
show, still have enough to get back to the airport, eat, get
autographs and such with present funds. The main issue to me was
would the VIP go longer than I had planned before I had to start the
other party at its announced time for those who were not attending
the VIP. While I sat at the table I got into thinking about this
heavily and to some it may have appeared that I was unhappy but I
was just focusing and trying to sort it out in my head. I decided
that I needed to talk to Fred and check out what the plans were and
timelines for the VIP party. I told the people at the table I would
be back but not why and jumped out of my chair. There wasn’t any
time to explain as I felt that Fred and Adam may have already left
the floor at this time of day or were getting ready to.
I hurried through the convention floor to the autograph area
and I could see Fred and Adam getting up to leave. This was not
good. You see, when Fred needs to get Adam off of the floor he has
to be very focused and needs to keep moving like a laser beam in
order for them to not get tied up and bogged down. This is
completely understandable but not very good for conversation. I
started to ask Fred about what were they planning timeline wise for
the VIP but then they made a turn down one aisle and I somehow
didn’t notice and went down another. I felt pretty silly trying to
catch up with them when our paths crossed again and certainly didn’t
want to come across as a nut to Adam (he has said he has a hard time
recognizing me without my cowl.) But I did catch up for a second
time and started to bring up the subject to Fred but then again
somebody else ( a promoter perhaps) was talking to them and I felt
really awkward so I told Fred that I might not be able to attend
tonight just to let him know. There was a little too much confusion
trying to walk and talk and I got pretty self conscious so I waved
off to Fred as I got the restaurant and joined my friends again.
That excursion didn’t help my concerns one bit.
Back at the table, everybody looked at me like I was ill or
something. They seemed very concerned and sympathetic. I told them
I was okay, just trying to make up my mind. What to do or how to go
about it. Many guys tried to offer financial help but I already
felt that I had been helped more than I deserved by those who made
the trip possible in the first place and any more than that just
felt too much. I’m odd that way. But Mistahand offered to drive me
to the airport the next day on his way back home. It really wasn’t
on his way so I was even more than grateful that he offered and did
that. That was one issue down. At least I might be able to afford
the VIP party and squeeze enough to eat on. But would the times
line up?
VIP or no VIP, I still had a party to get ready so I high
tailed it up to my room and started setting up costumes, photos,
props and things in my room while Mark and company got his room
together. The adjoining doors were open so this was going to be a
great setup for this shindig. Mark’s room would have the
refreshments and snacks with plenty of Batmobile parts and props to
drool at while my room would have the videos going… THE VIDEOS! I
needed to get the TV that Dave brought out because the hotel TV’s
wouldn’t hook up to any of our equipment and Dave out and about in
costume. The VIP was going to start soon so I called down to
Chazbat on his cell to see if Dave was anywhere near. I was in
luck. Mark, Will and I met up with him and got the TV upstairs.
The VIP had already started. Mark and I looked at each other with
the final debate. VIP or no VIP? We both decided that if we didn’t
do it we would probably always kick ourselves later. So off we went
and fingers crossed that we would still be back in time for the
party.
I arrived to the door of the VIP event and saw Burt’s agent
Andrew and Fred. Andrew was asking me where I had been all day. I
realized that I hadn’t gotten a chance to see them at their table
yet. I would have to make up for that. Fred asked me where I went
earlier when we were walking. He didn’t realize that I had waved
them off and that he started to talk to me as if I were still there
until Adam asked where I had gone. Yeah, I felt stupid. Fred then
told me to go inside and took one of my biggest worries off of my
shoulders completely. Take nothing for granted folks. Fred was my
hero.
The VIP session was already underway. There were about twenty
or so people attending a conference type room with most of the
attendees being board members. They were all seated in their chairs
facing Adam and Burt who were seated as well and casually answered
questions presented to them. No PA was required so this really felt
more like a conversation. Mauled and Dave were seated still in
their costumes. Mark Racop came in just after me. The questions
were diverse but really refreshing to hear. They were different
from the usual, “when is the DVD coming out?” or “how itchy were
those tights?”
At one point Mark asked them as question I had been dying to
ask which was about the sets. “If you were on the set of the
Batcave and you looked towards the cameras, was there another set
behind them and which one?” Geeky altogether but I had been
curious. Burt said that was a good question and they described that
the two soundstages that they used were connected so it was like one
big facility. You would have many sets in the same sound stage
depending where you turned the camera. I mentioned to Adam that I
had recently gone to Culver City Studios with his friend Wally
Wingert. Adam said instantly with the up most respect, “Wally’s a
good man.” I started to quote Wally at being on one of the
soundstages there and began mimicking him. Adam then said that I
did a great imitation of Wally. How funny is that? I get
complimented by people that I do a good Adam imitation and now Adam
compliments me that I do a good Wally. That was fun to hear.
The two of them continued to answer question after question but did
so in a very laid back and casual manner so different than what you
would get at large size panel. They were great together. Always
have been and you could tell that they really do have tremendous
respect for one another. It was a wonderful evening to witness.
But as it went along I kept checking the time. Would they get
to the photo ops before I had to run off to the party? Just as it
seemed it was going to run much later, the Q&A wrapped up and they
went right into photo ops with the two of them. Since most of the
people were from the board and knew I was going to run back
upstairs, they didn’t seem to mind letting me get my picture taken
first so I could run off. I asked Adam and Burton and Adam if they
could pose doing a “thumbs up” with me but Burt kindly said, “Uh, we
didn’t do that.” Right! I shut up, dropped my hand and stood there
with the two of them and the flashes went off. Hopefully somebody
got a good one for me.
I ran back up to the room to hook up the TV and get the final
stuff laid out for display. Mistahand and his son, Alex, were
already sitting and hanging out in the room. Mark’s wife was
already there and had the room opened and ready to go. People
started to trickle in as the VIP dies down and other people who
didn’t attend the VIP still made their way over to the room.
I had tons of video loaded into my iPod including every
episode from the series and it hooked up perfectly to the big
flatscreen Dave brought over. The video was going, people were
starting to snack and newcomers were checking out the goodies. The
party was on.
Some of the Costumes and props for display
Newcomer Alan brings by an Incredible Costumes cowl from Argentina
Silverknight58 tries it on
Harveytwoface999 (real name Chris but there are so many
Chris’s that we just kept referring to him as Harvey) and his mom,
Linda (sp?), were among the first to arrive. I’ve always enjoyed
Harvey’s enthusiasm and do-it-yourself attitude on the board. He
made his own cowl, cape and assembled his own costume from scratch.
I wanted to take the time a share some of the costume items that I
thought he might have an appreciation for. First was my cowl. I
handed it to him to put on. I was really impressed how well it fit
him and well good it looked on him. I don’t know if I ever saw a
Batman smile so much. Of course the gloves were next and eventually
the cape. He seemed to get a kick out of it. He was posing for
pictures and his mom seemed like she was having fun as well because
she eventually put on Vickie’s Catwoman mask and ears.
Harvey dons my cowl and gloves
Harvey's mom gets in on the fun
Troy and I both thought that Harvey’s attitude and age would
make a perfect Robin and we managed to have just enough Robin pieces
between the group bringing items that we were able to squeeze him
into most of a Robin suit. I do mean squeeze. I don’t think he
could breathe to be truthful. What a trooper! He looked great
though in the outfit and I wished he was more comfortable because I
would have loved for him to be Robin on Sunday to my Batman. That
would have been so much fun. But the boy certainly couldn’t bend
and barely move so there was no point in torturing the poor teen
with the constricting vest.. We set him free and I could see the
color return to his face. Well, a color different from blue.
Now both rooms were filled with people looking at pictures,
watching episodes, picking up and talking about props. This
certainly turned into the hot spot for Bat-geeks and we were loving
it. Two girls we met earlier at the convention who was dressed as
Poison Ivy and a Comic book Catwoman showed up. The y showed a keen
interest towards the costumes and crafts and had fun talking with
all of the sorted fans in the room. We told them about our online
community and they seemed very interested in checking out and
possibly joining.
Oddly enough, a gentleman from Brazil that we met at the VIP
party had come up to the room. His name I believe was Marcelo. He
took a keen interest in the Robin pieces and I asked him if he
wanted to try on the suit. He literally jumped up and down with
enthusiasm.
FelineFatale as Catwoman, Marcelo and PoisonKisses as Poison Ivy
Marcelo raises his hand to try om the Robin suit
I held up the tan tights and said, “How bad do you want to be
Robin?” He grabbed the tights, t-shirt, trunks and headed for the
bathroom to change. There’s a go getter. He came out and he fit
right into the vest no problem. Troy had a pair of Robin boots that
would fit him fine and with the rest of the ensemble from others; he
was a fully dressed Robin. He looked great and had a great
attitude. As he and Mauled went to take some photos in the hallway,
Troy and I discussed the logistics of him being able to borrow the
pieces for Sunday. Troy was taking off later in the morning but
thought it was okay if we sent his pieces back to him afterwards. I
checked with Chazbat on his pieces and we were settled. Whether
Marcelo knew it or not, he was going to be Robin on Sunday. I went
out to the hall to tell him so. At that moment I also decided that
since a bat group was really starting to form for Sunday (Catwoman,
Riddler, Mad Hatter and now Robin) and that Mauled would more than
likely be guaranteed to be in costume anyways, I was not going to
dress up for Sunday. I wanted the group to have continuity and not
have two Batmen popping up in a ton of pictures. It was different
with the troop today but the Sunday group should look right.
Besides, I thought it would be fun to try and do what Wally now
does. Sit back and watch others have the fun that I’ve experienced
so many times before now. I asked if he would like to be Robin on
Sunday and the look on his face said it all. I told him and Mauled
that they would be Batman and Robin tomorrow and although Mauled
looked a bit confused at first he seemed pretty happy to have a
Robin to team up with.
Marcelo after his transformation
We started to put on video clips including Tom Woodruffs
hilarious short film that got everybody laughing. Somebody asked me
to play the “Fanatical” program that featured me and talented artist
Andy Price. I debuted my latest video that was going to posted on
the board “Bat Tours: The Batcave.” Along with videos of past
conventions including the 40th Anniversary show in Burbank. They
saw that we had fun then but we were having a ton of fun in Boston.
Troy tries on a Ken cowl (at first we thought it may be a Wally.
Wrong)
Etruscan Snood does some card tricks
Silverknight58 identifies some of the cowls
A bed full of assorted Bat head wear
Chazbat's Mad Hatter's hat next to its inspiration
Troy and Silverknight58 laughing it up
PoisonKisses and FelineFatale check out Vickie's Catwoman gloves
FelineFatale tries going a little more retro
Mark Racop gives Harvey the elusive Hotwheel Batmobile
Scrolling through my iPod to show another episode by request
Everybody had a good laugh with Tom Woodruff's short film
The first wave of the party started to die down as some folks
made their way out and then the second wave picked up when Fred and
Andrew showed up. They looked at the props, cowls and pictures and
showed as much enthusiasm as the rest of us. These guys were fans.
They just happen to be fans with coolest job of being friends and
agents to the biggest stars of the show. Andrew stayed for a bit
but eventually left while Fred made himself at home and we started a
video marathon on the TV with ongoing commentary and discussion with
Fred. He had insight from Adam and his own personal affection for
certain episodes. We chimed in on various facts and would
occasionally freeze frame and restart scenes to discuss them. Fred
talked about Frank with great affection towards a good friend that
we all missed. Beyond the Batman episodes we started to view
various video clips of Adam through the years like his appearances
on Conan O’Brian, Johnny Bravo, assorted reunion shows with Frank
and his pilot “Lookwell.” We wrapped it up with the William Dozier
interview on “Telescope” from 1966 that many had not seen. It was
close to 2am before Fred and others called it a night.
Fred checks out some of the cowls
You know the party's over when Elvis puts the
Batmobile beacon on
his head for a lamp shade
Some of us still sat around and talked for a while and I
finally crawled into bed at 3am thinking about all the things that
had happened during the day and passed out.
Sunday came and I was dead. Part of me thought I made the
right decision to not get into costume that day since I had so much
cleaning and packing to do. I still had a convention to go look at.
I also hadn’t picked up a single autograph while had gotten here.
Not that I needed one but that I hadn’t thought of anything special
I would have them sign. But I thought about it and realized that I
did have something special. Somebody had given me a copy of the
file that had my picture with Adam and Burt from the night before.
I figured I could try to find a drugstore with a photo kiosk and
get a print made to have them sign. I now had a quest. It wasn’t
too difficult as I told Mauled and he said Dave knew of one down the
road. Twint9 was leaving early that morning and I offered to try
and get his picture signed for him while I was at it and send it to
him later. Mauled decided he wanted to do the same thing so we
piled Dave’s vehicle when he came by for the TV.
At the CVS drugstore, I got to talk to Dave while we waited
about his previous day’s adventure. He loved it. He was hooked.
He originally thought of doing the Joker but now he couldn’t see
himself other than running around as the Riddler. I could see why.
He was a natural at it.
The pictures took a little longer than I planned and I found
myself rushing back to the room to try and get my stuff packed and
the room cleaned out before check out. Mauled moved his stuff over
to Chazbat’s room since they were both staying an extra day and
Marcelo came by to get suited up for Robin. Catgreg and his friend
Ashley came by the room before she got ready as Catwoman in the suit
he made. Catgreg and I have been corresponding and talking on the
phone for years now but this was the first time we got to meet face
to face. We spent some times looking at the changes and
improvements he has made to his Catsuits. He does an amazing job
and Ashley does a great job doing the suit justice.
But I was once again racing the clock and a had to go back to
my itinerary. I barely got all of stuff together and packed in
time. I moved my luggage over to Mark Racop’s room since he offered
to hold it for me until I was heading out. I grabbed my pictures
and decided to leave the cameras behind. I was on vacation and
going to just enjoy the con today.
I went up to Burt’s table first to get my picture signed. He
and Andrew were looking at an artist’ portfolio that was stunning.
Burt looked at me and said, “Did you see this?” I came up and
looked at the guy’s work. I just wish I could remember his name
but he did great drawings and painting of the Batmobile and collages
of characters from the show. They were amazing and sometimes
photographic in quality. Burt got into a conversation with another
artist so I started to talk to Andrew a bit. I tried to make up for
the time missed the day before for not coming by and besides, I like
yacking with Andrew. Rarely is it about Batman oddly enough and
almost always we end up talking about music gear since he plays as
well. I wish Andrew lived closer we seem to get along that well.
Finally, we got down to business and got the pictures I brought
signed. They looked great.
I then met up with Catgreg and Ashley out on the floor just
before they got to meet Julie Newmar. I had to see this. Once they
came up to Julie’s table I could see Julie looking over the costume
and making this comment and that. More importantly, I could see
Catgreg smiling so I figured Julie was saying some nice things about
his amazing work. She posed with the two of them and even got up to
pose with Ashley.
Adam had returned so I went to his table to get the pictures
signed. Adam thought the pictures turned out great and said he
didn’t think he looked too bad for a guy who was ninety years old
with that knowing twinkle in his eye. I told him that I had a great
time at the VIP party. Somehow the conversation turned to him
saying, “So you know Wally?” And I told him that Wally was one of
my best friends. He said once again without hesitation, “He’s a
good man.”
I made the rounds along the floor and came across Ashley and
Catgreg again. They were joined with Mauled, Marcelo, Dave and
Chazbat all in their costumes. I looked at Marcello, Dave, Ashley,
and Catgreg and got a tremendous wave of joy from the look on their
faces as they delighted fans and celebrities alike on their first
convention in costume. Marcello didn’t even know he was going to be
in costume less than twenty four hours earlier and here he was
wowing the crowd as an excellent Robin.
I came across the other scattered board members like
Silverknight58 in his screen test costume and Harveytwoface999 who
was playing a civilian today. Larry Storch came up to me and wished
me a happy holiday season as he was leaving. He’s such a wonderful
guy.
The convention slowed down. Celebs were leaving and vendors
were packing. I had one more meal in the hotel restaurant with
Chazbat before I left with Mistahand to the airport. Eleven hours
later and I made it back to my home. I'm glad I came out to see
some old friends and especially make some new ones.
I would just like to say
thanks to everybody who came out to Boston and made this the best
Bat-Board convention I’ve ever experienced.
Thank you for making me one happy Bat-fan.
* a special thanks to those folks who supplied many of the pics used
from the party |
