ZomBcon 2011, Part Two

So I mentioned that we headed down to ZomBcon on Thursday, where we attended the Welcome to the Apocalypse mixer for the specialty pass holders, and attended the Late Night at the Vagimacon Panel, which was a gathering of female horror enthusiasts from a gender-centric micro-con that is hoping to have a big show in February. They had some really good stories that they read - it's not normally my cup of tea, but interesting none the less.

Alas, we missed a panel on the vampire movie Martin because I was an idiot I need glasses and read it wrong as simply the movie Interview with A Vampire, which I have never seen and never will. ;) (If you're asking how on earth I misread that, it's the fact that there was a True Blood panel and other non-zombie things going on at ZomBCon. Big oops. Yes, DH is ticked off at me. lol)

Another big mistake? We choose to stay at an off-site hotel a few doors down instead of at the Hilton. Big, huge, honkin' mistake. If you're going to attend ZomBCon, even if you live locally like us, spend the extra money to stay at the Hilton. I'm all about being thrifty and saving money, but you'll thank yourself in the long run. We ended up spending extra time walking back and forth, and with Seattle rain, it was annoying to walk around during the day feeling damp. Another plus? You can take back your loot to the room so you're not carrying it around all day. Oh, and easily change your clothes multiple times during the day. ;)

Friday morning we were up bright and early for the screening of The Night of the Living Dead, followed by a great panel called “They’re Coming to Get You, Barbara” with Judith O'Dea who played Barbara in the 1967 movie. It was fun to listen to her talk about the old farmhouse, and admit that she got into the scared frame of mind by the 3D versions of House of Wax. She also mentioned being afraid of a skeleton that in the make up area that everyone would practice with derma wax (which is what funeral homes use to fill in holes and wounds on bodies).

Next, was one of my absolute favorite panels of the weekend, called "Scanning the Zombie Brain" with Brad Voytek, PhD, a neuroscientist who talked about how the brain functions, and how the zombie brain would behave. Some of you might think this sounds boring, but trust me, it was incredibly entertaining and informative. Seriously. I walked away looking at neuroscience a little differently. Did you know there are certain areas of the brain might decay faster and create the certain characteristics of zombies - like slow zombies being uncoordinated and the inability to speak or see?


After this, DH made his way through the vendors and started contemplating what he was going to bring home. He was like a kid in a candy store. lol I just sat back and soaked it in. ;) Then I quickly drug him on over to Artist Alley, where I was able to get S.G. Browne to sign my very abused copy of Breathers. (That's what happens when DH gets ahold of my books... sigh!) I say quickly, because then it was off to the next panel...


which was with Cherie Priest. For those unfamiliar with her, she's a local (OK, sort of - she lives here but is not from here) author who has written a chunk of books, probably the best known being Boneshaker. Zombies, vampires, and steampunk - she's awesome. (insert Jedi mind trick: read her books!)

...which she brought up one of my favorite quote, "Steampunk is what happens when goth's discover brown" - Jess Nevins - which is so true. LOL It's kind of a natural progression for many. ;) I'm not giving up my bats, spiders, or gargoyles any time soon though...


Next, was one of DH's favorite panels, "Creepshow: Fear in Four Colors" with Tom Savini, John Amplas, and Michael Gornick. DH really enjoyed this one, as Creepshow is one of his favorite movies. Who can ever forget "Fluffy"? (Savini still has him, by the way) Listening to the guys talk about the cockroaches was a little on the heebie jeebie side to me. Apparently, they got the cockroaches in from Guatemala. Apparently, all they had to do was tell customs they were for a Stephen King movie, and they let them in. Geesh.

I'm not kidding about it being jampacked for us - the next panel was with Jonathon Maberry - which hey, it's a co-inky dink - his new book is out today, called Dead of Night as well as you can see Jonathon tonight on the Zombies: A Living History special tonight on the History Channel. And, yes, I am plugging him - he's another awesome author that you must read. (Look for a review of Dead of Night here on my blog, soon)


and dun dun dun... another happy DH moment, where the Night Crew consisting of Thom Carnell and Sean Smithson grilled Sid Haig - yes, Sid Haig of The Devil's Rejects fame. (I'd toss in the Tutti line, but I keep my blog "G") I'll admit I didn't realize how many films this man had been in. There was moment where he was talking about filming the prison movies in the Philippines, and he was able to visit a very secluded village and film a scene. Before he could film this scene though, he had to get permission from the tribal leader... and to do so, he ended up drinking a bowl of blood and hallucinogens. Can you say yikes? LOL