Tampa Fanboy Expo 2015! Review and Photos

Each year I find myself saying "THIS was the best Fanboy ever!" It's true, I have heard some very valid complaints but these were complaints about the staff of the hosting Hotel not the convention itself, with that said a growing Con is never going to be "Perfect" for everyone because people have different ideas of how a Con should be ran. As a Con attendee and Fangirl Fatale booth member this is my personal review.

Year three certainly takes the cake for me! All of my favorite Iconic Men were here this year! Adam West and Burt Ward (The original Batman and Robin 1966)and Dave Prowse (Darth Vader).

It was such an honor to meet them and I thank Fanboy Expo for the opportunity to be part of the family this year!

Adam West said I did a lovely Julie Newmar Catwoman and that she was his favorite Catwoman! Burt Ward took 15 minutes out of his busy con schedule to have a conversation about his Large breed dog rescue and dog food that can help your fur baby live a much longer healthier life- Gentle Giants. You could tell he is a dog lover which I can relate! He even had notes on where we could find it local in our area!

Dave Prowse surprised me the most though! Emerald and I had seen him both Friday and Saturday but Sunday I attended alone and he waved me over to his booth. We chatted for a little bit then I said I had to go make my rounds walking the convention and he asked me to return when I was done! Who says no to Lord Vader?! I was more than happy to oblige! He invited me to sit with him as he signed and we spoke for about an hour longer, just two regular people talking! No Star wars just everyday hobbies and interests. We are both interested in Kinesiology. This was an amazing opportunity and I love getting to know the man behind the mask, He is a lovely person!

Tom Rose and Jeremy Bulloch (Admiral Ackbar and Boba Fett) were both a delight to meet! They both were so kind to Emerald getting autographs and taking photos on several days! Tim Rose even playfully held the "It's a trap" sign to Emerald's baby belly! Did you know that Tim Rose has never met Erik Bauersfeld? We spoke about it as he was signing my poster and I told him I got it last year here at Fanboy Expo!

Julius LeFlore is best known for several characters in Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi including Skiff Master, Biker Scout, Stormtrooper and Stunt double for Billy Dee Williams. He is soft spoken and very open to talking with all the fans. Away from the booth He called me over to introduce me to his friends and his most lovely wife! I was probably every shade of red as he said to his wife "This is the Catwoman I was telling you about last night!" She was so nice and made me feel like things were backwards! Meaning they made me feel like a star when I was the one honored they took the time to even speak with me! This is why I love Fanboy Expo so much! The personal fan experience!

James Marsters spent all of his time at the booth laughing it up and having fun with all the fans! We seen him three different times in the hotel and each time he said hello! and yes, he does have a nice chest :P

Tom Nguyen is best know for his work on Green Lantern, Batman, Catwoman, Superman, JLA, Ghostbusters, Marvel Legendary Gaming Set and many more! I always take the time to stop and talk with Tom, he is an amazing artist and all around person! He is also the very first person I ever met at Fanboy expo year one and I had no idea WHO he was at that time! Imagine my surprise!

I have way too many photos to add them all in this review but here are a few of my favorites from this past weekend!

The Fangirl Fatale girls were a delight to work with! The guests and other cosplayers were all respectful to each other! What more can I say?

How About...

Knoxville Here I come! October 16th-18th!

I've been invited to attend with "Two Faries And A Dwarf" How could I say no to that?! I love Fairies and Dwarves! So! Be sure to stop by the booth to say hello and smell all the leather goods! Man, their booth smells amazing!

The Rise Of Superheroes And Their Impact On Pop Culture- COMPLETED!

I am a certified Geek now! Like we didn't all know this LOL, I just received my certificate from EdX for completion of the course "The Rise Of Superheroes And Their Impact On Pop Culture" I had a great time meeting fellow comic fans and reading their final projects! I can't wait to see the top 40 who make the print! How exciting!!!

Chain Female!

A few little things I've been working on! Getting ready for Tampa Bay Comic Con at the end of the month!

Gamer Parents and our kids revamp!

"Gamer Parents and our kids!" is getting a revamp!

My youngest turned 18 in May and my eldest is starting her own little family!

I'll be making some changes to the blog page soon. We will all still be here posting, the only things that have changed are the "Kids" are now adults! We hope to continue the family gaming trend on to the next generation! Emerald Dee is expecting in August 2015!

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Cosplay Interview with Emma Rubini

Cosplay interview with Emma Rubini Cosplay Character: Gaige (Borderlands 2) Facebook page: facebook.com/emmarubiniart Other Social media links: Instagram: @emmajiqrubini Photographer name and/or link: Bert Rubini and Alex Taranoff

Interview Questions:

1. How long have you been Cosplaying and why do you do it? I’ve been cosplaying since 2009. It’s one of my favorite creative outlets. I think of it as creative problem solving. My first cosplay was American McGee’s Alice.

2. Do your family and friends support you as a cosplayer? Yes! In fact, my dad and I often cosplay together (for instance, he has a cosplay from Borderlands as well).

3. What was your FIRST convention you cosplayed at? I made my first cosplay in 2009, but I didn’t wear it to a con until MegaCon 2010.

4. Are there any charities you work with locally? I haven’t done any cosplay charity work yet – a lot of my cosplays are kind of scary and from video games which aren’t very charity-friendly. But, I have a few Disney cosplays planned, so we’ll see!

5. Do you follow other cosplayers? Who inspires you the most? I follow a ton of cosplayers! Honestly, too many to even pick favorites. But, the skills I really look up to in other cosplayers are detailed sets of armor and intricately sewn costumes, because those are things that I can’t do.

6. Are you an avid comic book reader? Which is your all time favorite? I think my favorite comic series is probably Neil Gaiman’s Sandman (although I’ve fallen behind on the Overture series!)

7. Other than Cosplay, what else are your hobbies or interests? I’m in school for illustration, so most of my hobbies are still art-related. Also, I play a lot of video games.

8. Why did you choose Gaige? As soon as I played Borderlands I knew I wanted to cosplay from it. I really like Gaige’s personality and character design, and it seemed like the right about of challenge for my first Borderlands cosplay. Also, the fact that she can summon a giant robot is pretty neat.

9. Have you done other versions of this character? I haven’t, although I have cosplayed another character from the same game, Tiny Tina. However, all of the playable characters in the game have alternate skins and outfits, so I may do another version of Gaige in the future.

10. Are there any other characters you cosplay as? Yes! I think by now I have created over thirty costumes. Some of my favorites that I’ve made are Little Sister from BioShock, Toothiana from Rise of the Guardians, Emily from Corpse Bride and steampunk Tinkerbell, which was an original design.

11. Have you ever “CrossPlayed”? I’ve done a few male characters, the most recent being Newt from Pacific Rim (my father cosplayed Hannibal Chau from the same movie). It’s interesting to experiment with gender-changing makeup, but I prefer to do “genderbent” cosplays, where I reimagine a male character as a female one. Most recently I did this with Cecil from Welcome to Night Vale.

12. Do you have any upcoming appearances? My remaining cons for 2015 are Hyper Japan (in London!), Fanboy Expo, Tampa Bay Comic Con, DragonCon, and Baltimore Comic Con. In 2016 I’m hoping to make it to at least Katsucon, MegaCon, Metrocon and Dragoncon again, but it’s too early to tell for sure!

13. Can you give us a detailed description of how you made your cosplay and props? My Gaige cosplay is probably the one I’ve put the most work into. I originally started it in April 2014, and made the costume as well as Claptrap (the smaller, yellow robot) for Metrocon that year. I probably spent about three months on it. Sometime in the last year I decided that I was insane enough to make Deathtrap, which is about seven feet tall and also a robot, and I figured I might as well improve on the costume itself as well, because I’ve learned a lot in the past year. I’ve spent the last month or so not only altering most of the costume, but also creating a life-size Deathtrap, which I brought to Metrocon with me this year. My favorite part of the two Borderlands cosplays I’ve made (and the ones I’ve seen) is the cel shading, which is the comic book-y lines that I’ve applied to all of the costume as well as my makeup. My favorite part of the costume is probably my wig, which I made out of Model Magic on top of a plaster cast of my head!

The Rise of Superheroes and their Impact on Pop Culture! with STAN LEE!

I have been taking a class online through EdX, It's called "The Rise of Superheroes and their Impact on Pop Culture" and it's taught by the Legendary Stan Lee and Michael Uslan!

The course was 5 weeks long and you have the choice to either join for free using the Honor system or if you'd like a certificate of completion and a link to your Linkdin profile it's $50.00. I opted for the $50.00 verified course since I'd like to be able to add it to my resume.

Once you've decided to join the class they offer all sorts of social media communication (Twitter, Facebook and EdX) I joined all 5 of the Facebook class related groups during the class and I am now a member of the "First class" group. They have a group for Artists, writers, history buffs, Science buffs and then the general classroom group. They also have a killer optional reading list for week one, people in our class formed mini book groups where they shared their thoughts and opinions about the current graphic novel they were reading.

I found this class to be extremely fun and had a FANtastic time getting to know other fans of comics and fandom films! I was even chosen as a staff pick based on my project! That really surprised me because there were SO MANY really talented people in this class! It can seem a bit overwhelming but don't let that get to you at all because everyone was SO helpful and willing to share and help each other out!

If you are interested in taking a look at my project HERE is the link, I've set it to view