InConJunction 08

[Crazy1van]

I've never heard of this Con before, but I find I'll be in Indianapolis that weekend, so I'm gonna go; last chance to attend a Con before leaving the country for 7 months.  Anyone else going?  Anyone in the area that might just wanna meet for coffee on July 5th or 6th?

[MonsterArt]

Never heard of this con before either, Ivan. Out of curosity I googled it and found their website. I did not recognize one single guest on their guest list. Apparently this is a specialized con, that does not deal with movie or tv or comics celebrities. In fact, I couldn't figure out exactly what the focus of that show is supposed to be. I'd be curious to hear your report upon your return!

Frank

[Crazy1van]

Sure thing Frank.  I'll take lots of pictures, too.

[Crazy1van]

Well, I'm back, and the Con was fun.  It's held every year by the Circle of Janus, a local Indanapolis sci fi fan club that specializes in Dr Who, but the con itself is non-specific.  The discussion panels were all locals, some club members, some published writers, but all local.  One man in particular, Mark Williams, ran a discussion centered on picking the top ten monsters.  As he didn't know quite how to organize such a forum, he made it about voting for the top monsters in each of ten categories.  As I was wearing my WHAT WOULD WOLFMAN DO? shirt, I think it was obvious who I campaigned for.

The next day, the same Mark Williams led a panel and a slide show titled Evolution of the Universal Monsters.  He went back to the stage versions of Jekyll / Hyde, Dracula, & Frankenstein, hit the German Expressionism heavily, and by the time Lon Chaney Sr was first mentioned, it was already 40 minutes into the presentation, which was only alloted 50 minutes by the con organizers.  I wore my UMA shirt to this forum and got a copy of Mr Williams' powerpoint slideshow, if anyone is interested in it.

There was a seminar on prop-building which I missed, but it was immediately followed by Kit-Bashing, which I made.  Everyone who participated in this one got to play with glue and old Ertl model parts, and we all walked away with free SPACE 1999 SET 3 dvds.

Finally, the vendors room had no national presence; strictly local stuff, which suited me just fine.  Plenty of books, old fanzines, t-shirts, etc. to be found.  I managed to snag an unopened Universal Monsters Chess Set for $50, so I'm a happy camper.  And I may have conviced Mr Williams to check out the UMA online, or at Monster Bash, which he's attended a few times already.

Oh yeah, and unbeknownst to me and the other participants, everyone who donated (or attempted to donate) blood at their blood drive received a prize.  So that was cool, too.

Over all, a most enjoyable experience.   

I have an album going at Facebook


Mark's presentation; not Mark's head.


Monster fans Ivan Schablotski and Mark Williams (I'm the one in black & white).


My fave find from the con, and only $50!


This is the Shrink Ray I created at the Kit-Bash.  It WAS full-size, till it backfired...

[Crazy1van]

Is there any interest in the EVOLUTION OF UNIVERSAL MONSTERS Power Point presentation from the con?  It's 12MB, so I could find a host for it.