Sunday morning, I ate some of my leftover pizza for breakfast and hurried over to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center for the last day of the Chicago Fan Expo. When attending weekend events, it’s unusual for me to stay long on Sundays, as I’ve usually accomplished all of my objectives. Today, however, was a full day, which was more challenging after checking out of the hotel and without my usual sanctuary. Unlike yesterday, I took advantage of my Ultimate pass’ early access in the hopes of getting the Scott Snyder ticket that eluded me then.
Saturday morning, I woke up early and had the buffet breakfast at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. After spending most of the previous day standing in line, today was no exception, and a full breakfast of champions was in order. The Hyatt features an overpass tunnel I could use to get to my car in the parking garage across the street or to Fan Expo at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. A staff member stood inside, making sure anyone heading to the Expo had their appropriate passes. With all the running back and forth I did in those tunnels throughout the weekend, it’s a wonder we didn’t end up on a first-name basis. I had a couple of hours before my scheduled photo op with Kurt Russell, and I wanted to see some comic creators, specifically Scott Snyder, who created the comic world’s latest hit sensation, “Absolute Batman.”
Just over a week after returning from my New Jersey trip, I learned of a startling convention announcement. The incomparable Kurt Russell was coming to Chicago and appearing at Fan Expo in my home city. This would be the actor’s first and, according to him, last such appearance. For a genre fan like me, it seemed inconceivable (as did the prices) while setting off every FOMO alarm in my nervous system. For the next 42 hours before his limited (another FOMO-triggering word) tickets went up for sale, I argued with myself about whether I should bite the bullet. Paying $400 for a signature made no logical sense, and the angel on my shoulder argued how stupid it was even to consider it. However, the devil on the other side proved the most influential. This wasn’t just some MARVEL actor or newly minted celebrity but one of my favorite actors of all time. The great McCreedy in The THING (1982), Snake Plisken in Escape from New York (1981), Stuntman Mike from Death Proof (2007), the wisecracking Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Wyatt Earp in one of my favorite Westerns, Tombstone (1993), and Dean Proffitt from one of only a handful of comedies I’ll rewatch, Overboard (1987). At the end of the day, it wasn’t really a question of whether I would see him, but how to swing it financially. And nearly a month after this event, I’m still swinging!
Before Svengoolie and crew arrived on Saturday (see my last post), I had a small window of time to get some autographs. It wasn’t a race, as I already made plans to return that Sunday with my son, but I figured I’d do what I could. Most of the celebrity guests were charging extra for selfies, and I have a rule that I never pay for those (a rule I recently broke but held true for Flashback Weekend. The items I was primarily interested in getting signed were vinyl, and a few were even tied in with who I was planning to meet at what was then the upcoming Chicago Fan Expo, just two weeks later. I’ve always liked vinyl for its vibe and bought a decent turntable setup a couple of years ago. It’s an eclectic collection, but I do have a lot of soundtracks, mainly from horror films and from boutique companies like Waxwork, Terror Vision, or Mondo. Like many of my fellow horror fans, I draft and budget a plan before any event: mapping out whom I want to see and what I specifically want signed from them, rarely deviating from it. This time I’d make an early exception.
I awoke refreshed and straightened up the hotel room for Svengoolie & crew. Both they and Mayor Don were kind enough to let me stay there that night, which was great considering I’d been without power due to a tornado (see my last post). With a larger event in my near future, all my available cash for Flashback Weekend was reserved for autographs – no Hyatt breakfast buffet today. With the Svengoolie crew slated to arrive at noon, I went downstairs as soon as the convention doors opened to get as many as I could before their arrival. I’ll discuss those interactions in my next post, as this blog will focus exclusively on Svengoolie’s appearance.
Less than two weeks after G-FEST, Flashback Weekend, a.k.a. my favorite horror con, set up shop in the very same hotel. Despite the short time between these events, however, it felt like a lifetime. Just that previous Monday, strong tornado-producing storms plowed through the Midwest, and my humble town of Homewood, Illinois got slammed by an F-1. My entire neighborhood was strewn with busted trees and electric wires. Nobody was hurt, thank God, but despite ComEd’s best efforts, we had no power all week and still hadn’t when I arrived at Flashback Weekend on Friday. This made for one rotten week! The heat was so unbearable that at one point I attempted to sleep outside on my deck (until two raccoons got into a dispute below me). Fortunately, my friend Jason Lucas, whose power returned that Wednesday, invited me to stay with him for a couple of days. Regardless, I had very little sleep that week and admit to being a bit ill-tempered at the beginning of this event.
