The Countdown to MegaCon 2018 – Part 4

The last time I posted about MegaCon, which you can read here, ended on a pretty high note with the announcement of Hollywood icon Jeff Goldblum. I figured things could only go up from there and we were finally getting some of the guests that we deserved to get. Anyway, I kind of feel like the announcements took a little bit of a dip this time around, but here’s a breakdown of them.

After announcing that Jeff Goldblum would be attending MegaCon, it was then announced that everyone’s favorite Wookie would be joining the lineup. Of course people got excited because how cool would it before for Peter Mayhew to be at MegaCon? Turns out that it wasn’t Peter Mayhew but Joonas Suotamo.

As I’ve mentioned in the past I’m not a Star Wars fan, so this was an eh announcement for me, but if you’re excited about this announcement then I think that’s great. Anyway, this one will be a pass for me and a chance to save some money.

Next up was someone that cancelled the year before. He’s currently playing in Netflix’s Daredevil and it’ll be a shock if he actually shows up this time around, it’s Charlie Cox.

I wasn’t excited about this announcement last year since I don’t watch the show and I’m not excited about this announcement this year. For those of you to are excited I would say to err on the side of caution since he did cancel last year.

Next up was a reunion type of announcement. These are usually my favorites because where can you meet most of the people from your favorite movie in one place right? Anyway, it wasn’t that impressive for me as it was a cast announcement for the Princess Bride that included Cary Elwes, Chris Sarandon, and Wallace Shawn.

I know this is going to be another strike against me, but I’m not a fan of the Princess Bride. I watched this movie recently due to a co-worker bugging me because it was her favorite movie in the world. She lent me the DVD and I just couldn’t get into it. I will say though that I am a fan of Cary Elwes, who has been to MegaCon before. The first time he was there I went to get my Saw DVD autographed, but then decided not to because he was behind a closed in cover. What the hell? I thought it was a little arrogant and said the hell with it. Needless to say I will be skipping these three sessions even though I might try to get to the panel.

With that last announcement I was kind of like, “Ok, we’re back on track with some major announcements,” but I was wrong. Next up was a blast from the past that I could never really get into when he was big and have no interest now even though he had a short role in Gotham, which is a show that I love. It’s Paul Reubens.

It might just be me, but I can’t justify spending my money to see someone who first of all wasn’t really big for me during my childhood. I wasn’t a Pee-Wee Herman fan, I thought it was kind of silly even as a child and then giving my money to someone who kind of did some not so PG things. That’s just me though and if you’re excited to see him, then this is some great news for you.

The next guest announced, I have to admit I had no idea who he was because I haven’t gotten the chance to watch the new series on Hulu, Runaways. It’s on my list of shows to watch and maybe, just maybe I can watch before MegaCon and become more excited over the announcement of Gregg Sulkin.

As of right now this is a pass for me, but if I get a chance to watch Runaways and actually like it, my pass might turn into a maybe. We’ll just have to see how things go from here to MegaCon.

Next up is for all of my anime fans, including my tattoo artist who totally fangirled out about this announcement. He usually teases me for geeking out of people that are coming to MegaCon because as he says “dude, they’re just people,” anyway he was totally geeking out about the announcement of Chris Sabat and Sean Schemmel.

As many of you know I’m not an anime fan, but I will be attending these autograph sessions in order to bring back a really awesome gift for my tattoo artist who over the past two years of getting tattooed by him has become my friend. I usually pick him up something special and I think having some autographs by these guys will make him fangirl out which is funny to watch.

After all of these lackluster announcements, another day finally came that got me just a little more excited for MegaCon. That way the day that they announced the first person from The Walking Dead to get a little taste of Lucille. If you’re a Walking Dead fan, you know I’m talking about Michael Cudlitz, AKA Abraham Ford.

I am a huge Walking Dead fan and this was a pretty cool announcement. Abraham was always one of my favorite characters and I hated when they killed him off, but by now I’m pretty used to them killing off my favorite characters from the show. Anyway this will definitely be an autograph session and a photo-op session.

I’m kind of feeling like after the big MegaCon announcements, I’m always waiting for the next big announcement but then they announce people that I have no idea who they are and then I’m kinda like eh and kinda get bummed again. Anyway, after the last announcement the next one was for the cast of Black Lighting which includes Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, and China McClain.

I know about a lot of CW shows, but I’ve never heard of this one. Ever. Needless to say, I have no idea who these people are. As always, I’m excited for the people who are excited to see them, but on the other hand I’m a little disappointed with the guest list compared to last year. There’s still some time for more announcements, but that’s just how I feel at the moment.

The MegaCon Chair!

The MegaCon chair got a couple of things added to it including a Walking Dead Poster and my Walking Dead T-shirt. Yes I know it’s a Negan T-shirt, but I thought it would be cool to wear it for the Michael Cudlitz photo-op. I’m still waiting for my Jurassic Park T-shirt to come in and I’m still waiting for a friend of mine to make me a SwanQueen T-shirt. She’s been out of commission due a bad case of the flu so I’m wishing her a speedy recovery since I love the design for my SwanQueen shirt and can’t wait to show it off.

And that’s it for now. As always, I’ll try to keep this blog series as up to date as possible. I usually like to wait until there’s a decent amount of content to put into this blog so it might be a few more weeks before I post anything depending on who gets announced next. I can tell you one thing though if a really huge star gets announced that has me super excited I will dedicate a post just to them. Anyway, if you’re attending MegaCon this year, drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think about the guest list so far.

E3 2017 – Part 4 – Ubisoft Press Conference

I usually don’t have really high hopes for Ubisoft because I’ve been let down by them as a company so many times, but this time I had to try and contain my excitement for this conference because of their pre-show reveal. There was Far Cry 5 and the new Assassin’s Creed. I couldn’t help but be a little excited about all of this.

Ubisoft started their show with Rabbids. Not just any Rabbids though, Rabbids mixed with Mario. This is a new partnership with Nintendo bringing a game exclusively to the Nintendo switch. The game looks crazy weird, but it’s a pretty cool looking puzzle/tactical game and I really liked it. It’s called Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and it’ll be available 8.29.2017. Not a bad way to start the show, something new, but then onto a franchise that has been around now for 10 years. Can you believe it? I can’t. This franchise has seen it’s up and downs along with various problems along the way, but this new Assassin’s Creed: Origins game looks like it can really bring new life into a dying franchise. I thought that the Egypt setting was genius because there is so much history there and it feels like there is so much that can be done, it would be hard for Ubisoft to screw this one up. Since this was already announced at the Microsoft Conference, it wasn’t really a surprise, but it was nice to see it again because the visuals are phenomenal and the game will release on 10.27.2017. Up next in the showcase was The Crew 2. This was to be expected because it was revealed pre-show that this would be in the showcase. Does it look good? Yes, because you can race in just about any sport that has racing. Does that mean that it’s going to be good? Possibly not, but that’s just me. Anyway, this game will be released in Early 2018.

Moving on, South Park: The Fractured But Whole makes another appearance at E3 which is hopefully its last because it has a release date now of 10.17.2017. If this game is delayed again, then I’ve completely lost all hope for this game and will just forget about it. This was really no surprise, but there was some VR stuff which everyone is doing this year. Transference is Ubisoft’s VR game du jour for the year and the concept looks interesting enough that if I was to get into VR, which I am not, this is one game that I would check out. Up next was something unexpected, which was a pirate game. You guys know how much I love pirates right? I think it has something to do with Dragon Age’s Isabela, but moving on there is a new Ubisoft pirate game called Skull & Bones. It’s not Sea of Thieves, but at first it looks amazing with the video of some badass female pirate commanding her ship and then we get into the actual gameplay. The game is basically For Honor with ships and pirates. Don’t get me wrong, the game has a cool concept behind it but can you imagine the multiplayer for this? It’s going to be a cluster fuck to play online unless you actually have a group of people to play with that you already know. As the promo for the game went on my interest went out the window as I thought of how much enjoyment I got out of For Honor at first before it all went out the window and now sits on my self collecting dust. For those interested, this game will come out in Fall 2018.

Now a game everyone’s been waiting for and it was about halfway through the conference and I had this little glimmer of hope that maybe there wouldn’t be this game this year, but then out came the dancers, and the singers to announce Just Dance 2018. Who’s excited huh? Said no one ever. Anyway, you’ll be able to get your hands on the newest Just Dance edition this October. Then came the new South Park game called Phone Destroyer. Shouldn’t you actually release one South Park game before making another? I know it’s for your mobile, but still it only make sense that if you can’t release one for whatever reason, the other probably won’t get released either. Anyway, for those interested this game will come out in 2017, unless it’s delayed. Something new from Ubisoft was next and it was a space game. It got my hopes up a little because I want a studio to basically make a new space opera that’s as good as Mass Effect, but I’m not sure anyone is actually up to the challenge. Ubisoft obviously isn’t because this space game, Starlink: A Battle for Atlas is not that space opera I was looking for. You basically build and attach ships to your controller and they show up on screen. WTF? This looks like this game will be a huge money suck and is probably geared towards kids who are going to beg his or her parents to buy different ships to have in game. Release is set for Fall 2018.

Before the big stuff, there was some Steep news. Anyone still actually playing this? I know a few people on my friends list played this when it first came out but I haven’t seen anyone play it since. Finally to we get to the good stuff, the game that everyone has basically been waiting for. Far Cry 5. Ever since those teaser trailers and then the actual trailer I have been super hyped for this game because let’s face it, it looks amazing. I feel like Far Cry hasn’t been good since 3 and this game looks like it can breathe new life into the franchise that has been going the way of Assassin’s Creed and make the franchise good again. Not only can you play co-op which really holds no interest for me, but you can hire people in game to help you with your cause and that looks pretty cool. The gameplay looked smooth and fluent as you gave directions to your team to take down members of this cult. Really nice showing for the game. That wasn’t it though and Ubisoft had some more game to show off. A game that was apparently 15 years in the making. I didn’t think that Ubisoft spent that much time on it’s games. Anyway, aft first I was like “what the hell is this” there were talking animals and some really weird game play, which was to be expected because E3 was filled with weird games this year, before it’s announced that this is Beyond Good and Evil 2. I can honestly say that I have no idea what this game is or ever was and I don’t think I’m missing out on anything.

Overall I have to say that it was a pretty good show. When you compare it to the show that Bethesda and EA had it was kind of top-notch. Believe me when I say I never thought I would say that about an Ubisoft conference. Not only have they rebranded themselves with a new logo, but it looks like they’ve done a company wide overhaul to rebrand themselves. I think it can work for them and make them a decent company. The games they showed off this year were innovative and if they continue on this path it’ll be a good thing for them.

The Countdown to MegaCon – Part 4

To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t even think I would be writing a part four to this series so close to the event. I mean, MegaCon is just one day away, one day, and here is another blog with some disappointing news as well as some super exciting news. Keep reading to see my final MegaCon update.

I’m guessing that because this event is held in Orlando, that the announcement of these next animation guests would muster up some excitement especially from some people going with their kids. Needless to say the announcement of Paige O’Hara, Irene Bedard, Linda Larkin, and Christopher Daniel Barnes had me a little confused, but here’s where the twist comes in. All of these animation guests have all played major roles in Disney movies. Go figure right?

I have heard about some excitement over these stars, I mean I guess if you’re a huge Disney fan then this is something to get excited about. If you’re like me, in the back of your mind you’re just wondering why they couldn’t find some other animation stars that are more interesting.

Because at this point a lot of people have cancelled, we’ll get to the latest cancelations at the end of the blog, a lot of people have been pissed and have basically demanded that more stars be added to the already huge line up. This brought on the announcement of Tom Cavanagh.

While I know who Tom Cavanagh is, I’m not a huge fan. I know that he’s currently starring in The Flash, but I mostly know him from the show he was in that I didn’t watch, Ed, and then a show that I did watch where he had a small/medium role as “Dog Boy” which was Providence. Needless to say he ended up on my skip list.

While a lot of these announcements have been great and shocking and made the fan girl inside of me squeal with delight, there were none that topped this next name that appeared just about a week and a half ago. Scrolling through Twitter like I normally do, I just happened to check out the MegaCon page and was wondering, why the hell are all these people posting Dr. Grey X-Men GIFS. Scroll down a little bit more to see that MegaCon had just announced that Famke Janssen was going to be at MegaCon.

The fan girl inside of me just couldn’t hold out so an actual squeal of delight was let out because holy shit, Dr. Grey is my favorite, FAVORITE X-Men character and the first three movies where Famke Janssen played her were just awesome. I know X-Men: The Last Stand sucked, but still. Even now, just thinking about it I’m super excited and I can’t wait because I have something super awesome for her to sign.

The announcements just keep coming starting with the announcement on Monday that there would be a super special Star Trek guest in the mix. While I had hoped it would be Kate Mulgrew, it wasn’t, it was Brent Spiner.

This is going to be a skip for me because I’m not that huge of a Star Trek fan, unless it was a really big Star Trek start like Kate Mulgrew, but I’m sure a lot of people are going to be super happy to see him make an appearance.

Just when you think the announcements are done because MegaCon is tomorrow, two major announcements come today in the form of Ian Somerhalder and Jordan Woods-Robinson

I’m not a fan of The Vampire Diaries so I will be skipping Ian Somerhalder and while I’m a fan of The Walking Dead, my schedule is already jam packed which is why I’ll also be skipping Jordan Woods-Robinson.

Surprise Un-Cancellation

This usually doesn’t happen, but after cancelling, Meatloaf has decided that he would show up for this years events. Yay!? I guess?

MegaCon Cancellations

Unfortunately, there were some more cancellations, none that I was upset about since I didn’t plan on attending the autograph session or have a photo-op set up for, but I know that it did upset a lot of people especially since they were some pretty big stars and a lot of people said they were going just to see them. MegaCon’s latest causalities are Charlie Cox, Arthur Darvill, Jenna Coleman, and Paul Wesley.

I want to say that I know how it feels when the one person you really wanted to see cancels, but here’s the thing. It happens all the time and I’ve been to enough of these to know that you have to go for more than just one person because if not, then you’re kind of screwed. You basically have 50/50 chance that the celebrity of your choice will actually show up. In order to keep the disappointment low, go to these types of things wanting to see more than one person.

And that’s it! I’m off to MegaCon in tomorrow! I can’t believe it’s finally here! I’m going to try and stay pretty active on Twitter, so if you don’t already follow me you can do so here, I’ll be posting pictures of the event, autograph pictures, and more. After the event though, I’ll be doing a special series on my experience with each and every autograph session so if you’re into this kind of thing, make sure to watch this space.

The MegaCon Challenge

Because I worked my ass off this past year, I really wanted to treat myself for this MegaCon and kind of went all out which is why I’ve been limiting my video game pre-orders and have been super careful with buying video games. I know, super surprising right? Anyway, I have some photo-ops lined up as well as some selfies and I’ve challenged myself to wear a different T-shirt with each photo-op/selfie. Here’s the thing though, the T-shirt has to correspond to who I’m taking the picture with. Photo-op with Felicia Day? It means I’m wearing my Guild T-shirt. Selfie with Jennifer Hale and Ali Hillis, it means I’m wearing an N7 shirt. Think I can do it? You’ll just have to wait and see.

Video Game Tattoo Chronicles – Part 4 – Saying Goodbye to Commander Shepard

It feels like forever since I first started on my FemShep tattoo. My first session for her was in June where my tattoo artist did the outline of her along with the shading that needed to be done. I have been waiting a very long time to go back in and see him in order to get this tattoo done. I’ve been patient though and trying not to go through tattoo withdrawal as I looked forward to what would be done and how the end product would look. In the meantime though, while I’ve been waiting ever so patiently, I have been replaying the whole Mass Effect series. But what does this have to do with completing my FemShep tattoo?

I want to start off by telling you that I in no way planned this to happen the way it did. It just so happened that I was replaying through the Mass Effect series and the day before I finished my tattoo, I had completed all 3 games. What does this have to do with getting the tattoo finished? Nothing really, but for me it was kind of an end of an era. I’ve been playing Mass Effect since 2010 when I first bought Mass Effect 2, I know I was late to the party, but this was the first time that I played all three games in a row. I already knew why I loved the character of FemShep whether she was a paragon or renegade, if I didn’t then I wouldn’t have had her image tattooed on my arm for everyone to see for the rest of my life. What I didn’t realize until now though, was the effect that this character actually had on me as a person.

Through good times and bad, which felt like a hell of a lot more bad times than good, this character was one of the constants in my life. She fought for what she believed in and she fought hard. Never giving up, never wavering, and getting the job done in the very end. Throughout the years of playing this game, I made a lot of huge changes in my life. I won’t detail them here and bore you to death, but I like to think that some part of me did this because of the admiration I have for this character. In a way, the completion of this tattoo is like saying goodbye to Shepard. Not only goodbye, but also a thank you and constant reminder that if you believe in something, it’s worth fighting for.

Now that you’re completely bored, I will tell you that my session took a total of four hours. Yes, four hours to just color in FemShep to perfection. While we were supposed to start on the background as well, after four hours I was in a shit load of pain. Yes, I admit this time I was in a lot of pain. If my tattoo artist is reading this he is probably pumping a fist in victory as I finally admit to being in pain since I usually just brush it off and tell him to keep going. Anyway, below is the final product of my last session.

Since I was really eager to finish up my arm before the year is out, I scheduled my next appointment for next moth where we’ll work on the mysterious background that I talked about last time and I’ll give able to finally give a picture of the full 360 view of my completed forearm sleeve. As always, I look forward to my next session and would like to give a huge thank you to my tattoo artist who always makes the crazy shit that I want done into a reality with a few tweaks here and there to make it look amazing.