The other day I told you all about my first day at the Phoenix Comicon. Since then and even before then, I've been trying to figure out how to tell you all about the other days. You see, there were some good, some bad, some amazing and some eye opening moments that weekend but so much of it is still so tangled up inside of me that I'm not sure what to even say about it. I'm going to do my darndest to give you a good taste of what really is an amazing con but please forgive me if it's not my usual joyful bubbling.

Friday -
Friday..oh Friday..I woke up early because I had decided to surprise Walter by meeting him at the airport. Justin stayed behind at the hotel to try to figure out just how my corset was supposed to be laced. Meeting up with Walter was pure amazing. It was the first time in my life that I wasn't worried or nervous about meeting someone. Turns out I was right, him and I just fit together somehow. After grabbing the shuttle back to the hotel, it was off to breakfast, a quick stop at Target and then on to the con!

We got there with a bit of time to spare before the one and only panel I managed to attend started. Since there was only 20 minutes or so, though, we decided to just go sit in the room and wait. I kind of dragged Walter along with me (What? I had good intentions..his friends would be doing the panel plus he's cute and I didn't want to let him wander off and make plans with anyone else! Yeah, I'm greedy..it's been established.) but he really didn't want to be in there so eventually, we agreed that he'd go find Mike and meet up with me after the panel was done. Justin and I enjoyed the panel..it was typical Raven and Andy silliness which always makes me laugh. I was amused when the moderator wanted me to say something and Raven was like umm no..that other girl, call on her. You'd think he'd heard my side of things or something....


For the record, since Raven wouldn't let me speak, here's my take:

1. Skynet involves nukes. Nukes create zombies. Both apocalypse happen together. I'm screwed.
2. Zombies are like ants. You won't be safe out on the water. They'll just keep plunging in until they form a zombie road.

After the panel, Walter was totally true to his word and we met up. Justin decided to stay upstairs for another panel so we headed down to the show floor. That's when I goofed things up...fast forward a while...Got to meet up with Ross and give him his surprise. That part was fun. I also picked up some new goodies, also good.

Saturday -
.....Umm...Geek Prom! Yes, we attended Geek Prom! After a really hard day, Walter agreed to attend with Justin and I and I am so, so, so glad that he did. The event was different but it looked like everyone was having a lot of fun. It was good to be able to watch some real silliness happening. Even if you're not into dancing to geeky music, I recommend this event. It's fantastic for people watching. If I'm lucky enough to attend next year, I'll be attending this again..it's a fun event plus the proceeds go to a great charity.

Sunday -
Poor Justin wasn't feeling so good on Sunday so he pretty much left Walter and I alone to wander the con floor, seeing friends and me frantically doing things I should have done the other days. People love Walter and it made me smile to see them light up when he'd come around. I can't blame them..he showed me what it was like to be really happy again. That's all I'm going to say on that.

Walter and I did a bit of last minute shopping and a lot of last minute talking and for me, wishing that the weekend wasn't coming to an end. There was so much more that we could have seen and experienced, but I have no regrets, just things to look forward to next year.

So while this is probably the worst con write up ever, I hope that you guys understand that it's not the fault of the event itself. The event is amazingly well organized and well run. The exhibitor floor was filled with fantastic artists, writers and companies. The panels were varied and there was something for everyone, no matter what your interest. My weekend was amazing but not because of the con and it's because of that, I can't do this event justice with this post. I promise to do better next year..

For now, I'm going to leave you with this rather bad picture of two people who found each other that weekend and who I consider to be very, very lucky...as he put it best, he's my best friend and somehow something more.





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This is it. The post some of you have been waiting nearly two weeks for! I'm finally writing about my trip to Phoenix. I warn you that it wasn't all pretty but in the end, it was all amazing. I will also warn you that all pictures on this post (and upcoming posts) were totally and blatantly stolen from my friend, Andy Bohn. Why? Well because I was distracted the entire weekend and typical me...next to no pictures. Read on and find out as I give you my day by day summary of Phoenix Comicon 2012 with random photos thrown in for good measure!

Thursday - Hereby known as Katrina was exhausted day. I was up at 4am after being up until 1am. After a drive to the airport, luck was with me! Note that I said after because during, my cigarette lighter portal thingy (I'm working on copywriting that, by the way.) decided to fall right into the console on my van. Awesome, huh? Well, my luck changed at the airport. I not only found the parking lot easily, but the shuttle van saw me pull in and came to me instead of me hauling bags to him! Woo! I got inside, got checked in nice and easy and even got skipped to the head of the security line (thank you costume cane!). The flight was smooth and even though I had a 3 month old behind me and an 18 month in front of me, no problems. Justin met me at the airport and we were off! Since our hotel was nearby, we decided to stop in and see when we could check in. Awesomesauce hotel (Airport Radisson) let us check in 5 hours early! We had a quick lunch in their restaurant..the food was good but the service a bit slow..and then up to the room to unpack and grab a quick nap. After the nap, it was up to the con! I bet you thought I'd never get there, right? Check in was nice and easy as soon as we figured out where we had to go. I didn't end up with a press badge (yes, I did sulk for a bit.) but a media badge. I guess I'm just not quite big enough yet for them to give me the almighty press badge. It's ok though because I saw the list and very few people got the press badge. There were lots of us media types though!

So, here's where we waited...and waited...and then found comfy chairs and watched other people wait. I kid you not that there were thousands of people standing around just waiting for the doors to open so that they could get in. I never expected that kind of turn out for a preview night! It was really cool to see. After the doors opened and the door crowd thinned, Justin and I headed in and looked around for friends. We spotted Andy...


 We also saw Alfred (here with Andy)...


Let's see, there was also Raven (here with Andy and Eric (Ebas)...

I got a half hug from Raven which hopefully next time will be a bit more enthusiastic but as usual the man was too distracted and I'm still not convinced he knows who I am between times seeing me, no matter what others claim.

Oh, I almost forgot, speaking of hugs...I saw these guys!

This is Brett and Mike! Brett is awesomesauce wrapped in bacon. I got fabulous hugs from him and I think maybe an oh hi from Mike. That's ok. Mike and I had never met in person and he was super busy setting up his table. If you don't know his art, well you ought to and I hereby expect you to go explore.

I'm trying to remember (this is what happens when I wait two weeks..though I promise I had good reasons!) who else we got the chance to see...Ooh...I know!

Ross! We saw Ross of Ross Demma Art who is also utterly fantastic..and while I gave him a bunch of money, I think I missed some stuff he had on other nights/days of the con. I'm sure he'll happily fix that for me though.


Do you see how green I was? That's from that crazy necklace I'm wearing. Someone at the con gave it to me and that's what it did! Insane! It took me two days to scrub all the green off. I could have shot Eric when I saw this picture over on the con's Flickr page.



So, since this post is my photo filled fun time extravaganza post, I close it out that I got a fantastic good night hug from Eric and then we headed back to our hotel..it was late and the next morning would be early but all in all..Thursday was wonderful...



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Well folks, I'm back from Phoenix and while I am, I'm not quite ready to write about the weekend there. It wasn't what I was expecting and it's led to some serious shake ups in my life. Due to that, it might be a while before I can write about this past weekend with a clear head.

What I can do, however, is write about a comic that thanks to Walter (best friend and amazing assistant), I was given a copy to review. Now, y'all know that I am ages behind in my C2E2 reviews, but sometimes something just tells you that you need to pick up something before what is technically its time. That was the case with Veritas.

Something just told me today to ignore the rest of the stack waiting for me and to pick this one up and read. Somehow I knew that I'd find something in there that would speak to me and how often does that happen in a comic book? So, let me tell you about Veritas...

The Good - This book comes out of nowhere with a story that I never saw coming. Honestly, I had zero background on this book and I'm glad that I didn't. It left me open to the message that is right there in the first pages of the book. The art is crisp and leaves no doubt as to what is happening in the story. By the end of the book, I was looking for more. I might just have to do some "sucking up" to the author so that I can be on his future reviewer list for upcoming books.

The Bad - I don't know that this is bad necessarily, but I do have a bit of an issue with the font that is used inside the front and back covers. Instead of a's, it uses lower case e's upside down and it does the same thing with w's (using upside down lower case m's). It's a bit bizarre and takes the eyes/brain a minute or so to adjust to what it is.

The Summary - Veritas might not be for everyone. It has a very biblical message and that might be a turn off to some. For me, who is finding their way back, it carried a message that I needed to hear. The story isn't an easy one but it is one that people can and will relate to. Keep in mind that this isn't a book that I would hand to my children, but it is one that I would hand to anyone who is looking for something new to read. There aren't any vampires or zombies (yet?) and that alone makes it different from a lot of what is being handed to me lately. So, if you're looking for something new to check out from an up and coming writer, check out Joshua Pantalleresco's Veritas. For more information on Josh and what he does, check out his blog at Michael Through Time (Nope, I have no idea why it's called that. Why not go read and find out?)


I received a copy of this book thanks to the extremely awesome Walter Jimenez who totally pimped me at the con. Without him, this review wouldn't have been possible. It's amazing how sometimes things line up just when you need them to. All thoughts, comments, Walter, etc are 100% mine. Ok, Walter isn't 100% mine, but he is my best friend and I thank God every day for bringing him into my life. (How's that for sappy disclaimer?)

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Some of you have asked about what it's like to be considered a member of the press when I attend events. So, welcome to my behind the scenes look of a not so glamorous press agent as I walk you through what it's like for me to prepare and attend Phoenix Comicon 2012.

It started way back in February when, with the support of some amazing people, I decided to go ahead and apply for a press badge. I was plum sure that there would be absolutely no way that they would say yes. I do believe that I nearly fell off my bed when I received the email saying yes!

Then, I put the whole thing on the back burner. Sure, I thought about the show. I even pondered whether or not I'd do any interviews there. Then, I thought, nah, I'm not real press. It doesn't matter how many times I've been told that I am or that I'm part of the comic book industry, I just never believe it.

Fast forward to about a week ago when suddenly I realized how fast this show was looming! I bet you can guess what happened. I started to panic. I suddenly realized that I did want to do interviews and meet people and omg what am I going to do? Yep, glamorous, I'm tellin ya. So what did I do? I did what any good reporter would. I turned to Facebook and contacted 4 of my friends in the industry and said please oh please can I interview you? I promise it will be painless! Thank goodness, they all came back and said sure. Whew!

Up next? Clothing. Oh dear heavens, what am I going to wear for 4 days in a gazillion degree heat that will be cute and sassy and sexy (maybe?) but still professional. This brought about the dreaded shopping trip. Now y'all know that I've lost some weight. In fact, I'm down nearly 3 sizes, not quite but nearly. You also know I live in the middle of nowhere and my shopping is limited to Walmart and K-mart. Yippee! Neither store is exactly known for their plus size selections. It took me 2 days but I finally got most of what I needed..combined with some last minute panicked shopping the week prior. I'm still short a few pieces but I'm praying that my own closet will reveal to me something I've forgotten I own.

Did I mention that I had to go bathing suit shopping? My trusted suit of the past..umm...lot of years is finally wearing out and 3 stores later, I found the following selections:




Yeah, aren't those fabulous? Loaded down with no less than 7 versions of the same 3 suits, I headed into the changing rooms. I wiggled, I squirmed, I tugged and pulled and managed to try them all on. Same size suits and yet they all fit totally different! I muttered a lot about how "the man" so nonchalantly sent me to my doom while all he has to do is go buy a pair of shorts. I think it took me 20 minutes to wriggle and squirm in and out of suit after suit until I finally found one that actually fit! You gals know how it is..you get one foot in, but there's no way to balance while you put the other one in so you drift around, bouncing off the walls like a drunken sailor (but without the fun of the booze!). Once you've managed to not knock yourself out, you stand and you tug and you pull and you do a weird little dance, hoping against hope that it will just get past your hips. Then suddenly...success! It's up to your waist! From here it should be smooth sailing, but no! Now, there are the dreaded mountains of boobies to get past! If you're lucky, the suit covers them...if you're not...well, let's just say a sailor would love to see that. In the end, resigned, you grab desperately at the one lone suit which covers the mountains and the hills and the valleys and you throw it on the counter, just begging the poor check out girl to ring it up before the suit changes it's mind....

Tune in next time to hear the glories of paperwork...



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Ok, all my fellow Phoenix Comicon attendees, you're going to want to pay attention. I just got word from Andy Bohn about a very fun and exciting Twitter giveaway that he's going to be doing during the show. The best part? It's about as easy as scoring an awesome comic book to enter. Here are the details as I got them from him:

Brieanna Brock (author's note: Isn't she gorgeous? That's her on the left there.) will be dressed up as Animus, a female hero that controls the Power Orb of Light. She will be dressed throughout the day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Contest rules are simple: Each day you can take a picture of you standing with her as Animus and upload it to Twitter, being sure to tag @elvatron as well as including the hash tag #ElvatronChronicles. Each day, he will draw a name from the days' picture posts. The winner will receive a signed copy of an Animus print (Brieanna Brock) as well as the signed standard issues of Elvatron Chronicles #0, #1 and the newly released #2. Andy, himself, will be drawing the winners at 5pm on Friday and Saturday and again at 4pm on Sunday. You must be present to win so make sure you stop by the table at the end of each day to see if the lucky winner is you!

Not sure where to find Andy and all his Elvatron goodness? Check out his event listing over on Facebook. Who knows, you might even find me loitering around his table. He's good people and those are the best to stand and talk to while you rest your tired con feet. Trust me on this one, folks. ;)







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