Four cons in one weekend! Including a rare sports meet for me.

In one weekend I would attend a total of FOUR different cons (and one of them I would go twice).

On Friday of that weekend I would go to Monstermania in Oaks, PA which had quite a few names for me. The main one being Omri Katz from Hocus Pocus and Eerie, Indiana fame. This was his first con and he seemed to enjoy it. 

I would also get Tony O'Dell from the original Karate Kid, Carl Thibault and Lisa Fuller from Monstersquad, Kim Coates from Black Hawk Down, Sons of Anarchy, and more.

Then Jacob Bertrand from Cobra Kai, Malcolm Danare from Christine and National Lampoon, William Ostrander from Christine, Doug Tait from Freddy vs Jason (and he also played Big Foot). I also finally caved in and got Ron Thomas from Karate Kid after seeing him at cons for years. 

Thankfully the virus did not ruin any of the photo ops I wanted as they did in Monstermania Hunt Valley. The only one was William Ostrander who wanted you to be distant for the shot (which is fine).

A friend of mine was there. He was getting Ross Marquand who I already have. I took his solo shots then was invited to get in the shot by the handler, the celeb, and my buddy. So I took the free group shot. 

Full list of Monstermania photo ops

That Saturday I would start with CSA show in Chantilly, VA. I went in and got a photo op with Cathy Rigby, an iconic gold medalist and also played Peter Pan on broadway. Got the op for only $10.

Cathy Rigby

Left and went to Baltimore. There were two cons on the very same street, 2-3 blocks apart from one another. TF Con at the Hilton and Baltimore Comic Con at the convention center. Found metered parking for $6 right by those cons. So I took it rather than drive around to look for free parking and having to walk to the cons. Plus it allowed me to go back and forth to the car if I needed to.

First up, TF Con. I got a photo op with Transformers voice actor Hal Rayle. He also voiced the Predator in the second Predator movie. I also got a free photo op with Bob Budiansky who is best known for the Transformers comic book and creating many of the characters. 

Then I went to Baltimore Comic Con. My main want was Karl Kesel who worked on the Death of Superman storyline. Also needed Brett Breading autographs despite meeting him before. Sadly my main want, Karl, canceled within the last two days. PUNCH! 

Another want of mine John Beatty who worked on Batman comics was charging $10 an autograph. So I opted for the free photo op. I got ops with several comic book names some were fresh some like Jim Shooter was an upgrade. Thankfully the only one who kept the mask on was Bob McLeod who I already had. I got Brett Breading to sign 5 items at $5 per item. 

TF Con and Baltimore Comic Con photo ops

Signed Superman comics part 1

Signed Superman comics part 2

It doesn't show in the photos, but those three trade paperbacks also have Dan Jurgens on the front cover.

That Sunday I went back to CSA show. This time for baseball legend Roger Clemens. I figure he's a pretty big name in baseball and he has been in a few movies. But he was $200 a pro op (before even buying a jpeg) and $175 and up for the autograph. Obviously I had no interest in paying these prices for him. But I found somebody with two items to get signed so I held his autograph ticket and I was hoping he would do free table ops. And indeed he did! 

Roger Clemens

A couple of quick airport meets in October

 A couple of quick airports meets. First off, Leslie Jordan from Will and Grace, American Horror Story, and more. He came through and his mask was down. Candy to my eyes. Was super nice as he did combos.

Leslie Jordan

Autographs

Leslie Jordan signing for me

Next up, comedian DL Hughley. Sadly he wouldn't take off the mask. Likely cause he collapsed on stage due to COVID. One of the photos I had him signed was a picture of the Gadgetmobile from the Inspector Gadget movie. He saw the photo didn't even know where it was from. I then told him. I find that funny cause that movie was the reason I actually went for him.

Masked DL Hughley

Autographs

DL Hughley signing for me

Best days of 2021, photo op of the year!

October 2021 I would skip NYCC for the first time since in 10 years! But following that, I had a very successful few days, probably my best days of 2021. 

First off, actor David Strathairn from movies such as LA Confidential, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Godzilla (2014), its sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and many more. At first he only wanted to sign and do no photo ops saying "you already have a picture" (referring to my 8x10s) but another combo hunter talked him into the ops! Victory from an actor who normally does no ops!

David Strathairn

Autographs

Next up, Simon Rex (from the Scary Movie franchise) and other cast members of the movie Red Rocket at the airport. First op, director Sean Baker and actress Suzanna Son. Both were cool but Suzanna didn't remove the mask. However when they went outside I asked her again and she did the photo no mask. 

Then actress Brittany Rodriguez who was also cool. Then the main guy Simon Rex who was super cool. Signed and he removed the mask without me even asking. Finally actress Bree Elrod who was cool.

Simon Rex

Full list of photo ops

Autographs

Next day I had two main objectives, actresses Dakota Johnson and Ann Dowd (Marley & Me, The Notorious Bettie Page, among others). I arrive. Not long after I happen to be standing in the place where Dakota is walking with her guards. I ask for the op she goes "hiiii" and the guard says "not right now we're in a hurry" and taps me on the back.

Then I see Ann Dowd, ask for the op. She's about to take it and I ask about the mask. She puts it down! I get the proper op and get autographs.

After an hour or so I see Dakota walking back. Rather than run after her I go around to try to intercept her but she doesn't show! I wonder if they snuck her somehow, but turns out she was in a room doing interviews. So I wait, eventually she comes out and I ask. Was getting ready to selfie the op. Her handler from earlier said he would take it. I give him the camera. He said no touching which I had zero issue with! And BOOM the money shot! Photo op of the year right there! At this point the objective is down I try to persist for an autograph to no avail. I then leave.

Ann Dowd

Dakota Johnson

Autographs

And finally had a time and place for actor Kenneth Branagh (Wild Wild West, Cinderella (2015), Thor, Murder on the Orient Express, among others). He arrives and the nicest celebrity you could ever meet. Don't think nicer exists. Most they can do is match him. Took off both his mask and hat without me even asking signed no issue.

Kenneth Branagh

Autographs

A WWE airport haul in 2021

So I decided to do a WWE airport run with two others. Markedout board member adelta and one other. I had a few people's flights confirmed but most I didn't. I figured I see who I see. I was also worried about mask shots, and sadly those ended up happening. I tried pleading people to remove the masks, but that did not work. My items for autographs were volumes 3 and 4 of the WWE Encyclopedia. 

However, some did in fact remove masks by default. So I also got no mask shots and lots of autographs. For people I had that didn't take off the mask, I didn't bother with a photo op. For people I had that did take off the mask, I got an update.

Frist up was T-Bar (fresh). He was super cool, took the mask off. A good start. Sadly this would be the only no mask shot for a while. 

Next was a mass flight. Reggie, Mace, Tegan Nox, Austin Theory, and Xia Li were names I didn't have. NONE removed the mask. Mace had no luggage so I chased him outside and he still didn't remove mask saying the wife will kill him. Also tried to chase Austin Theory outside after he got his bags but no dice on the no mask op. Got autos from Reggie, Mace, Rhea Ripley. The big punch here is Rick Boogs was on the flight but I never saw him. He must have had no luggage and slipped out in the chaos. And he is one that would have removed the mask. Wow that was painful. Also found out Rhea did no mask shots I would have taken an update. We saw the group Hit Row (2 of the guys and the girl) but they refused photos of any kind, probably cause they don't want their arrival to the draft to be revealed. 

Next up saw randomly Omos. He didn't remove the mask which really stung cause he's so huge the shot would have been epic. He signed as well. He went outside and was chilling without the mask. I tried pleading for a no mask shot to no avail. Saw Liv Morgan she removed the mask but I have her. Saw Drew McIntyre got him to sign. Also saw Michael Hayes and got him to sign. He declined photo ops even with mask thankfully I have him. 

Next mass flight was the peak of the evening where we were running around all over the place. That was chaos defined!

First up followed a guy out cause he had no luggage and was leaving. Didn't recognize him with the mask. He did remove the mask for the ops but it was Drew Gulak who I had. 

Saw Apollo, Commander Azeez, and Ricochet outside. I tried for the Commander Azeez shot but sadly he kept the mask. Got Apollo to sign. Was going to ask Ricochet to sign but he was on the cell phone and there was too much stuff going on. So I aborted that mission. Saw Sasha Banks. Would have tried for an auto but I know she is foul and again there was too much stuff going on.

Got autographs from Elias and Drake Maverick. Mansoor sadly kept the mask. John Morrison removed the mask and I got an update after many years. Got autos from him as well.

Then an awesome thing happened. Saw Veer and Shanky together. They did awesome dual shots without the mask and signed. Both are fresh meets. They were super nice! 

Riddle was in character and super nice. I go up to him and say "broooo". Got the combo no issue and he removed the mask. Also got Ibar of the Viking Raiders to sign.

Got a no mask update with Karrion Kross and an auto. He said I looked familiar. And I told him I met him at a con in Jersey. Also got Toni Storm sadly she kept the mask on.

Now the peak/chaos was winding down. There was someone who I didn't recognize hanging out with Drake Maverick. They both exited. Then I thought to myself, "damn I should get a photo op with him". So I ran outside and chased them, asked this guy for a photo op (he had already removed the mask at that point) and he did the op! Upon further research turns out it's Shane Thorne AKA Slapjack from Retribution. YES! Fresh meet no mask! 

We see Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza with masks. They were cool and signed and did ops. Angel Garza removed the mask.

The storm ended. We see Jinder Mahal who was super nice, did no mask shots and signed. Then see David Hart Smith. I hadn't marked his pages and I couldn't find his single entries on the encyclopedias. So I quickly went to the Hart Dynasty entries and had him sign them. He then exited. I was told he did no mask shots. WTF! I didn't get him since 2010. So I ran outside, he entered the shuttle to the rental cars. I went inside, asked him for the op, then got the update after 11 years!

It was a calm flight for Riddick Moss, whom I never met. We followed him outside and he was super cool doing no mask shots. 

See Keith Lee and got him to sign. Then wait for Bobby Lashley whom we had a flight on. But turns out he canceled the flight. But saw both Jamie Noble and D-Von Dudley. While they were searching for the rental car shuttle I got Jamie Noble to sign but D-Von wouldn't sign.

This ended the airport trek.

All in all, I got 5 fresh no mask shots, 7 update no mask shots, and lots of autos. So I was definitely successful. However, 9 people I needed photo ops with didn't take the mask off. To say that was devastating and heart breaking is an understatement. How awesome would it have been to get 14 fresh ops in one evening! Wow just wow. 

Now, on to the photo ops

T-Bar

Shanky and Veer

Shane Thorne AKA Slapjack

Madcap Moss AKA Riddick Moss

Full list of photo ops part 1

Full list of photo ops part 2

Autographs obtained

WWE_V3

David Hart Smith (Hart Dynasty entry)
Michael Hayes (Freebirds entry)
Jinder Mahal
John Morrison

WWE_V4

Akira Tozawa
Angel Garza
Apollo Crews
Drew McIntyre
Elias
Humberto Carrillo
Jinder Mahal
John Morrison
Keith Lee
Rhea Ripley
Riddick Moss
Ibar (Viking Raiders entry)
Michael Hayes (Freebirds entry)
Drake Maverick
David Hart Smith (Hart Dynasty entry)
Jamie Noble

Inside cover

Veer
Shanky
Karrion Kross
Reggie
Mace
T-Bar
Omos

Monstermania Hunt Valley and epic success at a movie set!

My wants at Monstermania in Hunt Valley were only a handful. First off, got Stacey Nelkin from the Halloween franchise. Split a combo price with someone.

Then went to Suzanne Snyder and Grant Cramer from the Killer Klowns movie. Also split a combo price. I asked for one photo with the Killer Klowns mask and one without. Because I like Suzanne Snyder from other stuff like Weird Science.

I also wanted Brooke Bundy and Ronee Blakley from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, but sadly both wanted you to wear the mask in the photo op.

Stacey Nelkin

Suzanne Snyder and Grant Cramer take 1

Suzanne Snyder and Grant Cramer take 2

Next up, I go to a movie set where Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, and Lena Headey are filming. Have Woody need the others. I park for free, I find the movie trailers. Then I get a fat black woman (FBW from here on) approaching me. The conversation went like this.

FBW: Can I help you?

Me: Oh I'm just hanging out.

FBW: We need people to keep moving along.

Me: It's a sidewalk I can hang out.

FBW: We can't have people hanging out by the trailers.

Me: Ok. Well, I want to hang out by the trailers. You can call the police if you want.

FBW: I'm going to call the police.

Me: Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere, we can be friends or we can be enemies.

She makes like she's on the phone calling the cops. I just disregard her. Eventually she goes back to her post, which is a good distant from me and the trailers. Then she eventually gets dismissed from her shift as she takes her chair and goes away. This would be the last I saw of her. No cops ever came. Eventually another combo hunter joins me. 

We wait and eventually see Justin, who is nice and does photo ops. Success! Sadly turns out Lena left the set. I then go to the hotel and check the restaurant/bar and there's some kid of cast and crew dinner. So I buy the cheapest thing on the menu (a glass of pineapple juice which was $8 after tax and tip) and blend in. I have a mask on cause I don't want Justin to recognize me from earlier. I see Woody doing photo ops but I don't bother him as I don't want to blow my cover. I also see the director David Mandel but also don't bother him.

Eventually I get a better look at the table and dammit Lena isn't there. Turns out she never came. I promptly exit. 

I am not deterred as I go the next day. This time free parking is non existent. So I park illegally by a fire hydrant across from the movie trailers. As I park I immediate see a woman enter a trailer. I see her from the back but I figure it must be her. I wait for her to exit, and I see her from the back. I run from my car to the woman and it is indeed her. I ask and she denied. I plead and she accepts. She was on the phone and the first shot her hair is covering her face. I plead more saying it got sun bombed and she takes another shot! VICTORY!

I run back to my car. Thankfully no ticket. Then I see the director leaving the trailer. I'm about to run up to get a photo op. But then I see he has a mask so I don't bother. 

Justin Theroux

Lena Headey take 1

Lena Headey take 2

A video report showcasing various autographs

Google video link

The return to the Big Apple after 18 months!

Last I was in NYC, it was March 2020, shortly before apocalyptic times hit us. Then things started coming back, but I still refrained from NYC due to mask ops. Then I saw masks dwindling, and there was a week with a lot of events, so I thought what the hell, time to make my return. 

Day 1

I arrive in the evening, and I catch the tail end of an event. I got G-Eazy, actress Madison Pettis, among other things. 

Madison Pettis

Full list of Day 1 photo ops

Day 2

This day would start with WWE flights at the airport. Sadly I screwed up cause I should have been at another spot earlier where I heard actor Simu Liu stopped. The WWE trek was a disaster mainly because none of them would remove masks. 

Shotzi and Nox came through and were nice as can be but despite my pleas would not remove masks. I got the dual op but I don't count mask ops. I got them to sign the inside cover of my WWE_E V4 (the one released in 2020).

Apparently at one point Rick Boogs came through but I never noticed him. He is one that may have removed the mask. 

Most everyone else I saw I already had and did not even bother to ask them to remove masks. But I salvaged a little by getting autographs on two WWE_Es. This is a summary of autographs.

WWE_E V3

Big E (single entry)
Finn Balor
Sami Zayn

WWE_E V4

Shotzi and Nox (inside cover)
Big E (single entry)
Big E (New Day entry)
Cesaro
Finn Balor
Baron Corbin
Kevin Owens
Nakamura
Liv Morgan
Sami Zayn
Tamina
Edge (single entry)
Edge (tag team entry)
Beth Phoenix

Went to another spot which was letting out, but didn't get anything good. Then to another spot where we got blown off by tennis players, and that was about it. 

Full list of Day 2 photo ops

Day 3

For this day I go to a spot to try to redeem Simu Liu, but sadly never see him. Could have gone to WWE spots but everyone had masks anyway. I guess I could have gotten autographs. 

Then to the evening spot where I get some successes, like singer actress Tinashe, singer Julia Michaels, among others. 

Full list of Day 3 photo ops

Day 4

Start at a spot and would get some results. Got fresh names in actor Laura Harrier, singer Charli XCX, actor Andre Royo, singer Addison Rae. Got repeats in actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse and singer Rita Ora. Also got trans actor Tommy Dorfman.

Got a shot with Eiza González where I had to wear a mask, but that's ok cause I have her from before. Also singer Saweetie who I never heard of did mask ops. 

Went to a spot for tennis player Emma Raducanu but she blew everyone off. Got another shot with model Winnie Harlow. Went to another spot but it was a dud.

Full list of Day 4 photo ops

Day 5

Start the day at the same spot I started the prior day. Cause actress Sofia Boutella and possibly Pom Klementieff were there. I get country singer Maren Morris, actor Joseph Sikora, among others. 

Nicky Hilton is walking the street with her daughter. I then run up to her as she is getting papped and ask for the photo op. She is nice as can be. 

Finally after hours of waiting I see Sofia and manage to score a combo. Never see Pam (spoiler alert, I would see her somewhere else another day).

Go to another spot with Ben Platt and Amandla Stenberg. I have Ben need Amandla. I stupidly leave that spot and forgo Amandla to go to another spot with quantity. And that spot was a bust. 

Go to another spot for the evening, and get some actors from Gilmore Girls. Then the last spot with some rappers. I stupidly miss French Montana cause I was waffling around. Not a name I'm a fan of but would have gotten if there. Got other names I never heard of. 

Nicky Hilton

Sofia Boutella

Full list of Day 5 photo ops

Day 6

I start the day at a spot with singer Avril Lavigne. She did photos the night before when I was a block away, so I wanted to remedy that. Sadly I would find out the photos she had been doing were mask shots. I failed to get the op cause I wasn't aggressive enough as it was a mask shot. I did get autographs though. 

While in the same spot I got fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Melissa Gorga. Saw Audra McDonald and Lili Reinhart who didn't stop but I have them.

Now for the evening there were two spots, both a block or two from one another. I stand at one of them. I actually score Pom Klementieff there and Elon Musk's wife and singer Grimes.

Also get a Korean rapper CL, Kim Petras in a horuse outfit (repeat), and a mask shot with Lee Pace (whom I have no mask). Singer Rihanna did 2 ops and blanked everyone else.

Sadly in the other spot people get Taika Waititi, Simu Lui, and Billie Eilish! Guess I should have been there. This was the biggest blunder of my week.

Move to another spot where I find out Billie did combos not long before I got there. That spot was done so I leave. Then a block away where I score a slew of names including actress Laura Harrier no shades, actress Julia Garner, Adam Sevani, among others.

Pom Klementieff

Grimes 

Julia Garner

Full list of Day 6 photo ops

Day 7

Start at around noon, and I score a Hailee Steinfeld shot. Not the greatest shot, but no mask and better than what I had (which was nothing). Get some other shots like Leslie Grace and Storm Reid before giving up.

My final stand for my time at NYCC would be an evening spot with Jessica Chastain. Already have her but other people could show up (and they did). I got Richard Kind (repeat) and Jessica Chastain (repeat, but she looks much nicer as she is dressed up). Maggie Gyllenhaal shows up but sadly doesn't stop. Peter Sarsgaard (who I have) is with her too. I see actress Cherry Jones who I need and she stops, but sadly a mask shot. I redeem this spot by chance as young and upcoming actress Rachel Zegler is walking around and is nice as can be. Try out one more spot for the evening but it was a dud. This ended my time in NYC.

Hailee Steinfeld

Rachel Zegler

Full list of Day 7 photo ops

And the Autographs obtained.

Overall I didn't do as well as I had hoped, and I had blunders and misses, but I'm glad to have gotten a taste of how things were before the virus hit, getting some new street photo ops again, and seeing and hanging out with the NYC graphers whom I hadn't seen in over 18 months. It was good to catch up with so many of them again.