V.N. Thompson’s “Deadly Nature” …  Harmful Humans Making Mutant Mongrels!

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I finally got around to re-reading an ‘80s horror paperback I’ve had in my collection for years, V.N. Thompson’s “Deadly Nature.” As with most books from this era, it was the cover that initially drew me in, and I remember purchasing it at local Crown Books when I was in high school, spending $4 of my hard-earned money bagging groceries at a local store. Cut to nearly forty years later, I now own two copies of this book: a nice, crisp collector’s copy, along with my old, worn one that not only qualifies as a “Paperback from Hell” but effectively looks like Hell. In fact, it’s so beaten up, I used one of its fallen pages as a bookmark.

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Joliet “KISS Expo” More Like a Peck on the Cheek

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On Sunday, May 3rd (the day after FREE Comic Book Day), I joined my friend, Jason Lucas, for a KISS Expo in Joliet, Illinois. This event should not be confused with the much larger KISS gathering that took place last month in Indianapolis and featured the band’s frontman. Paul Stanley, as a guest. Although we had both planned on attending that event, we bowed out at the last minute. For my part, I have a road trip coming up in a couple of weeks where I’ll be meeting up with yet another Jason (Jason Schoolcraft) in New Jersey, which also has a bit of a KISS theme. More on that later, as today we’ll be focusing exclusively on our “poor man’s” KISS Expo, instead.

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The Ins and Outs of FREE Comic Book Day

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Last Saturday, the nerd world celebrated FREE Comic Book Day, an event I’ve participated in since my kids were little. Now they’re all grown up and have sufficiently outgrown me, so what was once a family outing has morphed back into solo ventures. No worries, I’ve been collecting comics on and off since before they were born and can now take part without worrying about what’s ‘kid friendly.’ Thanks to YouTube, I can also approach things strategically, armed with a specific list of what I’m looking for. FREE Comic Book Day kicked off in May of 2002 and has been observed every first Saturday in May since then. I haven’t done all of them, but I did this past one, and here’s how it went…

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Svengoolie & Squad Make Costumed Debut at C2E2!

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The train dropped me off at Chicago’s McCormick Place around 11. Svengoolie and the Squad weren’t scheduled for their first signing until 12:30, which gave me the opportunity to mosey a bit on my way to their signing booth.  I snapped some photos of cosplayers and enjoyed seeing some old school STAR WARS stuff. STAR WARS as an Intellectual Property may have lost its way, but for many of us Gen Xers, the Original Trilogy will always be a part of us.

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Svengoolie’s Friday at C2E2 was all about the Fans!

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Svengoolie greets his fans at C2E2

Svengoolie’s executive producer, Jim Roche, reached out to me in early February regarding the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). Anticipating his request to assist the crew, I’d already cleared my calendar and quickly agreed. As the conversation continued, he casually mentioned that this year’s event would also feature the Svengoolie Squad – Gwengoolie, Imp, and Nostalgiaferatoo. Even more exciting, unlike their appearance at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, they’d all be in costume. My excitement level reached a fever pitch, as did my dread. After all, keeping things moving in Svengoolie’s autograph line while photographing fans can be challenging enough when serving just him, let alone three other cast members. These concerns, however, were for Saturday. Friday at C2E2 would feature a solo Svengoolie, albeit with a heavier schedule – two signings and a photo op. And this experience is what I’ll be sharing today.

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