Gary, Rose and I went to the convention this year. This is the fourth anniversary of this convention and I have to say that it keeps getting bigger every year.

So this year we really splurged. Hell, I dropped nearly $300 on Saturday.

But it was money well spent.

Rose and I got our photo with Edward James Olmos, while Gary and I got our photo with James Kyson Lee (AKA Ando from Heroes) and Ray Park (Darth Maul, the Toad, the Headless Horseman and Snake-eyes in the impending GI Joe movie)

The amount of people in costume this year was totally amazing. There were quite a few people last year, but I figure I have to have taken well over a hundred photos of people in character.

Those of you who are on Facebook and on my friends list already know that I have 180 photos up right now. =)

And some of the girls were, without a doubt, smokin!

If anyone is actually interested in seeing the list of celebraties and artists that showed up this year, here's the link...

http://www.calgaryexpo.com/

Even though I spent a lot of cash, I also got a hell of a lot of autographs for free. Lets see, about 8 graphic novels from various artists, 4 DVD's (Both Hellboy animated, Bolt, 30 Days of Night) and even got a few autographs from anime voice actors (for my kid, I had no idea who these guys were!)

I didn't get a chance to actually talk to Edward James Olmos, as every time he was at his table, as you can imagine, the line up was huge!

I'll say that I was disappointed in meeting James Kyson Lee... He really didn't seem all that interested in talking to his fans. It was almost like a conveyer belt, sign autograph, say a couple of words, and next.

Then there was Ray Park. Now he was totally awesome!

First thing when Gary and I went to get our photo with him, he immediatly noticed that we were wearing our Freestyle Kung Fu shirts. He asked us - 'You both train?" I answered 'Yes, Gary, my son, 4 years and I've been traing for 3 months now.'

The fact that he noticed that right off the bat made both Gary's and my month!

Then when we went up to get his autograph (it was going to be for my co-workers son), he talked to us for about 7 minutes about what style of Kung Fu we were taking, if we liked it, weapons training and his own training.

What was really cool was that he actually asked us to bring back the photo we had taken with him so he could autograph it for FREE!

Much to the chargrin (spelling?) of the guys taking the payment for the autographs.

Gary and I were both totally thrilled!

So, about an hour later we had our photo and sure enough, he signed it for free for us, and then spent about 15 minutes talking again all about kung fu and the like.

I have to say that he made one hell of an impression on both of us and is, without a doubt, the nicest and most sincere guy we met at the whole convention.

And he has two new fans as well!

Up to that point, I had zero interest in the GI Joe movie, but since he's going to be in it, now both Gary and I will be seeing it. Not for anyone else, just to see him as Snake Eyes.

Hmm... other things that made quite the impression on me...

Well, I did briefly meet Sergio Aragones of Mad and Groo the Wander fame. Very nice guy, hearty laugh and a big smile. Someone you could easily get to like!

There was also the anime voice actor Yuri Lowenthal, who asked me what style of Kung Fu I was training when I got the autograph for Gary and his friend on Sunday. We chatted, like I had with Ray Park, for about 15 minutes and he was a very down to earth and friendly guy as well, and even he had nothing but praise for Ray, even though I didn't bring him up!

I also spent a little time talking to Steve Niles of 30 Days of Night fame. I normally don't give a rats ass about Vampires but his graphic novel and movie showed them to be pure evil monsters without any redeeming qualities at all.

Love both!

He was friendly as well, and more than happy to autograph my DVD and the two graphic novels I had of his.

We also briefly discussed his hard boiled supernatural detective novel and briefly touched on the direct to DVD sequel to 30 days of night.

Over all, I had a hell of a great time there, and I can hardly wait for the 2010 expo. It's always great to see what artists and writers show up, as well as which actors.

Maybe this year I can get those twits to give Mark an invite.

Chris