The last two weekends, I’ve wanted to do some mini trips to comic shops, etc. And, the last two weekends, the weather has decided to snow a ton and keep me cooped up in the house.
nerd culture
Batman Haul – November 2018
I’m a little behind, but there was A LOT to get pics of, for this haul. So, bear with me on this nerdy journey.
I’m a sucker for Batman everything. Two Batman stockings and a Batcave gingerbread kit from Walmart.
Who North America
I cover a lot of cons, theme parks, events, etc. on this blog, but at the heart and soul of it all, Wandering NerdGirl is devoted to my passion for finding nerdy travel destinations. Ladies and gents, let me present to you one of those places – Who North America.
Who North America is one of those fantastic stories of a fan’s love developing into something incredible. Keith Bradbury started Who North America back in 1998, when Doctor Who merchandise was pretty limited in the U.S., and quickly grew into one of the largest sources to buy Doctor Who products in North America. In 2016, Who North America opened up a store people could visit. And to make it even more incredible to visit – half the store is a Doctor Who merchandise museum.
Yeah. The moment I read about it, I knew I had to go.
Fan Expo Canada: Day 4
The final day of Fan Expo was definitely the hardest one. I checked out from the hotel and left my bags with them before blindly heading to the con. I didn’t fly out until that evening, so I had time to kill at the con. But the dread of returning home filled me.
I’ve never liked the coming home part after a good trip. The thought of leaving something that made me so happy, combined with that reality check which is returning to real life… It’s rough. Not the worst thing on the planet, obviously. But definitely not my favorite.
Fan Expo Canada – Day 2
Fan Expo – Day two. The first full day of con goodness. No travel. No hauling around luggage.
Just, you know, hauling around my con bag, comics to be signed, and purchases. By the end of the day, Con Shoulder whining will inevitably begin.
Before con vs After con: The Face of Exhaustion
Packing for FanExpo Toronto
Well, it’s FINALLY here. I leave super early in the morning for Canada. Less than 24 hours until I’m in Toronto… HOW DID IT GET HERE SO SOON?!
Which means, I’m in final stages of packing tonight.
So, what am I bringing along for Fan Expo?
- Jeans and T-shirts (duh)
- My Comic Book Stor-folio
- My con bag
- Various comics I hope to have signed
- Normal, boring trip necessities – makeup, hygiene products, pajamas, etc.
- A small handbag for any non-con adventures
- Camera
- My magical book of lists that goes everywhere with me (see the “I Heart Horror notebook above)
I have my hotel confirmation and all of my tickets printed and packed. My information written down so I know when to be where and how. If the printer cooperates before I leave, I’ll have a con floor map and schedule printed, too. Tomorrow is pretty well lined out in my head, so I think I’m prepared.
All I have left to do is last minute packing, and the actual journey to the airport.
I can’t wait! I’ll have loads of pictures and hopefully some great posts for you guys when I get back!
See you when I get back!
~Angel
Con Essential: The Comic Book Stor-folio
The Comic Book Stor-Folio is a handy dandy little box that opens up for you to slide comics into, either to carry around in your normal life or shop trips, or for cons. I was wanting one of these bad boys for a while, and just before Wizard World St Louis, I decided to order one to give it a proper go.
IT WAS AMAZING!
My first time out with it, it was for the con. It fit perfectly into my new con bag, and it’s super light (well, when it’s empty), so it isn’t like I’m hauling around some heavy duty thing. Enough junk has to get stuffed into my con bag as it is, so light was definitely a plus.
This was really beneficial to me in two ways:
- Putting fancier books into the Stor-Folio to protect them a little more, even if they were already bagged and boarded.
- Putting things that aren’t bagged and boarded, like a decent haul from a 15 for $10 booth, in for protection, so they didn’t get all banged up and destroyed in my bag.
The Stor-Folio can hold around 15 current or silver age books, and has this fancy little slot on the front, where you can put in some art to make it look cooler, or store an extra comic. I’d like to put some nifty art in there, myself. Just need to decide on something.
Anyway, I’ve obviously used this for con, but I’ve taken it to shops a few times so I can store my books in my bag and know they’re well protected. It’ll probably go with me the next time I go to New York or anywhere similar, where I go into a lot of shops.
This little baby is currently full of books that are heading to FanExpo Canada with me in roughly three weeks. I’m so excited! Expect a post on my packing progress within the next few weeks.
~Angel
Fan Expo Canada: July Updates
This is it, folks! Nearly a month away from my first trip to Canada, and my first time at Fan Expo. Here’s what’s new:
- Flight – BOOKED! I arrive Thursday, return Sunday. It’s all fancy and official. Which leads to…
- I’ve figured out my transportation to the hotel from the airport, and vice versa.
- MY FREAKING PASSPORT FINALLY CAME IN! Which, you know, was pretty vital for this adventure.
- I have tickets to the con! I went with the Premium Package, because it comes with some exciting goodies:
PREMIUM PACKAGE INCLUDES THE DELUXE FAN EXPO PASS, PLUS:
• Admission to all 4 days of FAN EXPO CANADA™
• Access to Special Preview on Thursday at 2pm
• Exclusive Priority Access into buildings
• Exclusive Premium Lounge Access
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™ Premium Badge
• Exclusive FAN EXPO CANADA™ Bag
• Exclusive Comic from Major Publisher
• Limited Edition Superhero Lithograph
• Exclusive Collectible
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™ T-Shirt
• Limited Edition Show Program
• Exclusive Pre-Sale for Celebrity Photo Ops
• Exclusive Pre-Sale on Select Events
• Exclusive Ticket Counter
• Free SINGLE DAY General Admission pass (excluding Saturdays)
to ALL FUTURE FAN EXPO HQ events until, but not including,
FAN EXPO CANADA™ 2018.
Hellooooooooo, goodies!
So, yeah. Here we go, guys. Next month, we pack and head north!
~Angel
Superman Celebration 2017
This weekend was sort of insane, in a very nerdy way. Which, I guess, is the best way, if you think about it.
Friday, I finally bought tickets for Six Flags this season and decided to make a quick trip up to ride Justice League, twice. And Sunday I saw Wonder Woman for a third time. But Saturday was probably the biggest part of the weekend: The Superman Celebration.
I’ve made my grumbles about long car rides (you can read about that more here). Honestly, after 1.5 hours, I’m completely done being in the car. So the 3ish hour journey to Metropolis, IL this weekend did NOT sound like a great time for me. But, the drive itself wasn’t terribly difficult, and 3ish hours isn’t SO bad, I guess.
I’ve been meaning to head to Metropolis for a while, now. While the big blue boy scout isn’t my favorite, I do love comic book history and nerdy travel destinations (obviously). I knew I couldn’t pass up a Super Museum in Metropolis. What better excuse to go, though, than during the Superman Celebration.
From the site: The Superman Celebration is an annual four-day festival sponsored by The Metropolis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Metropolis – The Official Home of Superman.
What started as a 1 day “Homecoming” for the local residents has now evolved into a 4-day celebration that attracts Superman Fans and families from around the world. 47 States and 6 different countries were represented at the 2016 Celebration. 2017 marks the 45th year that Metropolis, IL has been designated as the adopted “Home of Superman.”
The Celebration this year will be dedicated to the memory of Noel Neill, who portrayed Lois Lane in the Adventures of Superman television series. Neill, was a repeat guest to the Superman Celebration for many years and was even given the title “First Lady of Metropolis” when a statue of her portraying Lois Lane was revealed in her honor. Neill passed away in July of 2016.
Pretty awesome, right?
It was like a festival / con hybrid of awesome that I was not fully prepared for! Comics, guests, collectibles, food, cosplay, etc.
Guests included: Dean Cain, James Marsters, Margot Kidder, and Sarah Douglas. Plus Artist Alley guests like Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, John Ostrander, and Todd Aaron Smith.
But, of course, there was the big thing I’d wanted to come see: The Super Museum.
I plan to just touch on this, today. I was rushed for time while I was there, and forgot my camera for better pictures. So I plan to go back sometime soon with better planning.
As I said, I’m going back with my camera and more time, so I’ll do a proper post on it, then. BUT! This place was incredible! For a Superman fan, comic nerd, collector, history buff or even someone just casually interested. It’s just $5 to enter, and totally worth it.
My haul:
Keep in mind, I also stopped at Villainous Grounds on my way to Metropolis, and bought that Catwoman in the Walgreens in Metropolis haha.
Some Harley issues I decided to take along for Amanda and Jimmy to sign.
WAAAAAAY more exciting, was this print from Todd Aaron Smith, who worked on Batman the Animated Series. He was an animator for my Harley! This is definitely an amazing addition to my Harley collection.
Over all, the Superman Celebration was actually super fun. (Giggle) I plan to go next year with more money and a better game plan, because it was far better than I had anticipated it would be!
Did you attend the Superman Celebration? What did you think? Grab anything cool, or check out the museum? Let me know in the comments!
-Angel
Wonder Woman Day
This is the year Wonder Woman gets the respect she’s deserved. A solo movie, and now her own DAY?! YES!
While I thought Wonder Woman day was cool all on it’s own, I was more excited for two little girls:
Wonder Woman Day
Before the movie.
They’re out of school, and I took Friday off from work, so we caught an early showing of Wonder Woman on Friday (after I had my first, child-free viewing on Thursday haha) – and they LOVED it. Obviously, they come from a family of nerds, and their grandma is a HUGE Wonder Woman fan, so they were already familiar with Wondy. But they came out of that movie gushing about how amazing she was, and how they wanted to be just like her. So, it was well timed that the next day, they’d be heading to Wonder Woman Day events with their grandmother and I.
We picked Barnes and Noble over a shop because 1.) it was closer and 2.) we knew there were activities for the girls at Barnes and Noble, which we weren’t so sure about for shops. Either way, we grabbed our special Wonder Woman day freebies, did some coloring, and grabbed a few Wonder Woman things to bring home. My mom made a pretty decent haul:
I bought this pretty little lady for my desk at work:
Now, some spoiler free chat about the movie:
Last week was an AWFUL week for me, personally. By Thursday, I was sort of dreading the movie, just because I anticipated it would be ruined for me by the unending bad things going on. But I was completely taken into the film and given the escape I desperately needed, and came out feeling somewhat better despite the fact that everything was still a mess in my real world.
The movie left me with a reminder of my own strength, and a feeling of empowerment despite how helpless I’d felt before. Maybe it was the escaping, itself. Or maybe it was watching Gal Gadot kick major ass, or knowing how significant all of this was.
There were several times I caught myself smiling. Not because of something funny or sweet specifically happening, necessarily. But just the general enjoyment of what I was watching. It wasn’t just me loving it, though – it’s my mom’s new favorite movie, and my 6 and 7 year old nieces couldn’t look away. The 6 year old sat perfectly still, the entire time, her eyes wide.
When we left the theater, she told me she hopes to be as brave and kind and strong as Wonder Woman, some day. I wanted to cry. This is the role model my nieces, as well as other girls like them, have needed. Someone that they look to their morals and strength before mentioning their beauty. Someone that even I can look up to, though I’m closing in on 27.
To put it simply: Wonder Woman was… wonderful.
~Angel
Wandering NerdGirl 