Posts tagged: Wally Wingert

CONvergence Badge Art: #CVG2010 Guests of Honor

We’re getting close! CONvergence is IMMINENT as I count down to CVG2012 on July 5-8, sharing more art I’ve done for badges for the Guests of Honor of CONvergence 2010.

#CVG2010 - Chuck McCann

#CVG2010 – Chuck McCann

#CVG2010 - Jeremy Bulloch

#CVG2010 – Jeremy Bulloch

#CVG2010 - LA Banks

#CVG2010 – LA Banks


Chuck McCann has had a lengthy career in acting and comedy, but two of his signature credits are impersonating Oliver Hardy and a series of “Hi, Guy!” commercials for Right Guard deodorant.

“Boba Fett? Boba Fett, WHERE?” Yes, I went there on Jeremy Bulloch’s badge.

An elegant design based on a character from L.A. Banks‘ writing. She is missed.

#CVG2010 - Paul Cornell

#CVG2010 – Paul Cornell

#CVG2010 - Wally Wingert

#CVG2010 – Wally Wingert

#CVG2010 - Bridget Landry

#CVG2010 – Bridget Landry


British writer Paul Cornell had recently written both Black Widow and Captain Britain for Marvel Comics. It seemed like a fun idea to cross them with those other Avengers.

Wally Wingert’s obsession with the Adam West Batman appeared again, this time mashed up with Wally’s new gig as the announcer for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.

Yep, it’s another plain Connie badge for cosplay queen of the rocket scientists Bridget Landry. I wanted to produce a new badge in the style of the 2010 Guest of Honor badges, but I made sure the scale and position of the Connie figure was the same as her previous badge, so the costume overlays I was providing her with would work equally well with the new badge. I didn’t try to keep this plan a surprise this time, and contacted her in advance of the convention to ask if there were any planned cosplays I could match.

#CVG2010 - Bridget Draco

#CVG2010 – Bridget Draco

#CVG2010 - Bridget Kira

#CVG2010 – Bridget Kira

#CVG2010 - Bridget Maleficent

#CVG2010 – Bridget Maleficent


So we got Draco Malfoy, Mirror Universe Kira, and Maleficent overlays for Connie, to go with Bridget’s planned outfits for the weekend. The next time she returns as a Guest of Honor, we’ll continue the series!

If you’re coming to #CVG2012 be sure to look me up! I’ll be doing two signings and on a bunch of panels.

CONvergence Badge Art: #2008 Guest Badges – 4 of 4

We’re counting down to CONvergence 2012 on July 5-8, with the last batch of badge art for the massive number of Guests of Honor of CONvergence 2008.

#CVG2008 - Wally Wingert

#CVG2008 – Wally Wingert

#CVG2008 - Marv Wolfman

#CVG2008 – Marv Wolfman

#CVG2008 - Bridget Landry

#CVG2008 – Bridget Landry


Wally Wingert, with his obsession for the Adam West Batman again infecting his voiceover personas, this time his role as Jon Arbuckle on the new Garfield Show.

Marv Wolfman, who was only the writer when Dick Grayson got his first Nightwing costume in the pages of New Teen Titans.

And finally the badge for Jet Propulsion Laboratory rocket scientist Bridget Landry.

What’s that, you say? Bridget’s badge looks a little plain? She probably thought that, too when we first gave it to her, although she was too polite to say anything. But you see, we had a little surprise for her. When Bridget was first a Guest of Honor at CONvergence 2006, we learned that she was a cosplay maniac with a special love of original series Star Trek cosplay, appearing in several different spectacular costumes that weekend, all of her own creation. So what I did was I created this very simple badge for her featuring Connie, but then additional created several transparent overlays on lamination material, that featured paper-doll style costumes scaled and positioned to dress the Connie on her badge so she could cosplay WITH BRIDGET! These overlays were given to Bridget at the Guest of Honor Reception after she’d already gotten her badge and she was delighted!

The images below show the various cosplays provided on overlays to Bridget.

#CVG2008 - Bridget Red Shirt

#CVG2008 – Bridget Red Shirt

#CVG2008 - Bridget Blue Shirt

#CVG2008 – Bridget Blue Shirt

#CVG2008 - Bridget Gold Shirt

#CVG2008 – Bridget Gold Shirt


The three divisional Starfleet Uniforms were pretty basic.

#CVG2008 - Bridget Rand

#CVG2008 – Bridget Rand

#CVG2008 - Bridget Medical

#CVG2008 – Bridget Medical

#CVG2008 - Bridget Mirror

#CVG2008 – Bridget Mirror


These cosplay overlays were based on costumes I knew Bridget had: Yeoman Rand, Nurse Chapel, and Uhura’s Mirror Universe uniform.

And that’s finally the end of the #CVG2008 badges! On to #CVG2009!

If you’re coming to #CVG2012 be sure to look me up! I’ll be doing two signings and on a bunch of panels.

CONvergence Badge Art: #CVG2007 Guest Badges

It’s another 2-post day as I count down to CONvergence 2012 on July 5-8, sharing more art I’ve done for badges for the Guests of Honor of CONvergence 2007.

#CVG2007- Lois McMaster Bujold

#CVG2007- Lois McMaster Bujold

#CVG2007 - Emily Hagins

#CVG2007 - Emily Hagins

#CVG2007 - Brian Keene

#CVG2007 - Brian Keene


For author Lois McMaster Bujold I broke my rule again about not using Connie on badges for first-time Guests of Honor. When I break that rule it’s usually a sign of desperation. The four hands are a reference to the Quaddies from Lois’ work.

Emily Hagins is a remarkable filmmaker who wrote, produced and directed the zombie movie Pathogen at age 12. She’s still going strong, working on new films!

I hated to go to the “zombie well” yet again, but it seemed appropriate for The Rising author Brian Keene.

#CVG2007 - John Kovalic

#CVG2007 - John Kovalic

#CVG2007 - Wally Wingert

#CVG2007 - Wally Wingert

#CVG2007 - Bernie Wrightson

#CVG2007 - Bernie Wrightson

John Kovalic’s badge featured a notoriously over-crowded page from the Dr. Blink comic written by John, drawn by me, and lettered and colored by Melissa Kaercher.

Wally Wingert’s badge referenced his role as one of the Almighty Tallest from Invader Zim, and his obsessive love of the Adam West Batman series (a man after my own heart!).

Bernie Wrigthson’s badge refers to the author page on the first printing of Bernie’s magnificent illustrated edition of Frankenstein, which gave a full bio of Bernie including where he resided with his two dogs, but merely said of the author “Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is dead and has no dogs.”

If you’re coming to #CVG2012 be sure to look me up! I’ll be doing two signings and on a bunch of panels.

Back from Gallifrey

Chris & Dalek & Hal

At Gallifrey One 2012


Last month I had the pleasure of returning to the great Los Angeles Doctor Who convention Gallifrey One. I started to draft an extensive write up on the trip, but upon my return found myself so busy I haven’t been able to finish the blog entry – until now!

I traveled to the convention with the ever-lovely and photogenic Hal (she who is awesome and built this blog), who was making her first visit to Los Angeles. After checking into the convention hotel we made our way to Hollywood Boulevard to meet my friend Josh Elder for dinner. We arrived a little before Josh, so Hal and I spent some time exploring the Hollywood Boulevard tourist attractions, primarily Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Hal at Graumans

Hal at Grauman's Chinese Theater

The forecourt in front of Grauman’s is of course home to its famous collection of celebrity signatures, handprints and footprints in the pavement. Hal is generally not big on seeing famous landmarks or other touristy stuff, but she was still pretty delighted to find the signature and handprints of William “The Thin Man” Powell and the ENTIRE CAST OF STAR TREK! The cast members all left hand prints in addition to their signatures. It should be noted that James Doohan used his right hand with the missing finger (good for him), and Leonard Nimoy placed his hand in the position of the Vulcan salute.

Star Trek Cast in Cement

Next to Grauman’s is the Hollywood location of Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum. We didn’t buy tickets to go in, but coincidentally I noticed Morgan Freeman standing near the entrance. I went over to say hello and compliment his work on the Electric Company, but apparently he wasn’t interested in discussing that era of his career and wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. Maybe if I’d asked him to narrate a documentary of some kind…

Morgan and Me

Morgan and Me

After dinner with Josh, Hal and I headed back to our hotel where we eventually met up with Mike and Alicia with whom we were sharing a room for the weekend. The next morning the convention began, and the first tasks at hand were to pick up our badges and get my art entered into the Gallifrey One Art show.

Chris at the Gallifrey One Art Show

I feel obligated to mention that the various Doctor Who-related prints I had in the art show are available in my Etsy Store. If you don’t want to pay the shipping fees, look for me at my next convention appearance.

The rest of the weekend was largely a blur of panels, celebrity spotting and enjoying amazing cosplay (see below). I had a chance to reconnect with a few folks I don’t often see, and got to meet some great new people. One highlight was getting to witness what was unquestionably the highlight of Hal’s weekend: Meeting John DeLancie. John was at the convention because of his role in Torchwood: Miracle Day, but ever the Trekkie, Hal was excited to meet him because he was Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Note the difference between Hal’s usual, easy smile for the camera and the extra-wide grin that threatens to rip her face in twain in the picture below.

Hal with John DeLancie

Hal with John DeLancie

We met a Cyberman, but he seemed to take to Hal more than he did to me.

Hal & Cyberman

Hal & Cyberman

Chris & Cyberman

Chris & Cyberman


I got to meet K-9, which was a treat. This replica looked *perfect* and was zipping about on remote control, as there were no 1970s-era BBC-TV cameras to interfere with it or vice-versa. I also got to see the beautifully restored TARDIS console prop on display at Gallifrey One. This prop was the centerpiece of the TARDIS set that was arguably the best thing about the 1996 Doctor Who TV-movie. You can read more about the loving restoration of this prop here.

Chris & K-9

Chris & K-9

Chris and TARDIS Console

Chris and TARDIS Console


This photo doesn’t fully convey how fabulous this lady was. The wheelchair was totally tricked out with Tron detailing.
Wheelchair Tron

Wheelchair Tron


Idris made a cosplay appearance at the convention, as well as several suitors.
Idris and Suitors

Idris and Suitors


The Tiki Dalek made an appearance at the con, along with Tiki Davros. Yes, those are coconut halves serving as Dalek bumps.

Tiki Dalek

Tiki Dalek

Tiki Davros

Tiki Davros


Oh, so this happened.
Hal vs Dalek

Hal vs Dalek


Then this happened.
Dalek vs Angel w Hal

Dalek vs Angel w Hal


While Hal was pleased to use the recently-announce Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover comic coming from IDW as an excuse to wear some of her standard Star Trek costumes at the convention, she did don her Novice Haim outfit, complete with fur-covered mask by Bill Hedrick.
Hal as Novice Hame

Hal as Novice Hame


Hal and I both huge fans of NBC’s Community, and are particularly enamored of their recurring references to Inspector Spacetime, a Doctor Who pastiche. So we were delighted to meet Inspector Spacetime himself, Travis Richey, at the the convention!
Hal & Chris meet Inspector Spacetime

Hal & Chris meet Inspector Spacetime


The convention was a lot of fun, and I hope to be there again for Gallifrey One in 2013!
So long Gallifrey One 2012

So long Gallifrey One 2012


The Monday after the convention Hal and I rented a car and changed hotels, as we were parting company with Mike and Alicia for the remainder of the trip, and the Mariott’s convention rate was over. I found a fun, inexpensive little hotel called the Tangerine Hotelin Burbank, centrally located for the remainder of out plans in Los Angeles.
Tangerine Hotel

Tangerine Hotel


That afternoon we attended a taping of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. We primarily learned three things:

1) The Late Late Show studio is even smaller than you’d think from watching the show on TV. Imagine how big you think it might be. It’s half that size.

2) All the pre-show coaching and the warm-up comedian made the experience feel like a job interview to Hal.

3) When you hear that a studio is kept cold, make sure Hal brings a winter coat. Seriously.

That said, it was fun seeing Craig Ferguson in person, especially when I’d just done a print riffing on Craig’s Doctor Who fandom. No, I didn’t get to give Craig a copy. You can’t bring ANYTHING like that into the studio and there’s a policy against trying to do that sort of thing.

Tuesday was a very full day. We started out by visiting the DC Entertainment offices in Burbank, and I got to finally meet Jim Chadwick, who has been my editor on Young Justice since I started work on the title a year ago. That’s part of the fun of the comics industry – you do so much long-distance collaboration and often never meet the folks you communicate with by email and phone.

Saray Gaydos, Jim Chadwick, Batman and Me

Sarah Gaydos, Jim Chadwick, Batman and Me


The DC Entertainment offices are very cool. Like the DC Comics offices in New York they have a ton of fun memorabilia on display, but the DC Entertainment building is a little newer and has a slightly snazzier feel. Jim and his assistant Sarah Gaydos were good enough to give me a tour, and I got to see everything from the library to the bullpen where all kinds of digital production work is done in-house using tablets and other hardware that would make any computer graphics person drool.

After leaving DC, Hal and I met Greg Weisman and Kevin Hopps for lunch at Warner Brothers Animation. Greg is a producer and the head writer for the Young Justice animated series and Kevin is a writer for the show, and together they write the Young Justice tie-in comic that I draw. I’ve met Greg before on a few occasions but I hadn’t met Kevin before. I got to see the offices where the Young Justice staff work, and Greg and Kevin and I got to talk about plans for the comic as well as the peculiarities of the comics and animation businesses. All in all it was a grand time.

Me with Greg Weisman and Kevin Hopps

Me with Greg Weisman and Kevin Hopps


I wanted to share an observation I’d made when I’d visited DC and Marvel Comics in New York and it was true at DC Entertainment and Warner Brother Animation as well. There is a cubicle farm quality to some of the office space at all of these places, similar to what you might see in offices at any large company. But think of all the clipped out newspaper cartoons, calendars, and personal effects reflecting every possible personal interest those corporate workers might have that is considered permissible to have in their workspace. Now replace all of that with comics stuff. Cover art. Cartoons. Action figures and toys. Just massive amounts of the stuff, piled on every horizontal surface and pinned to every cubicle wall. With high-end prop replicas and movie memorabilia in glass display cases and lighted alcoves. And the people working there are all creative, talented people doing something for a living that’s somebody’s dream job.

THAT’S what it’s like visiting these places. It’s fantastic.

Wally, Adam and I

Wally, Adam and I

With Rob and Bob. Bob's looking at me.

With Rob and Bob. Bob's looking at me.


Tuesday night we met up with voice actor Wally Wingert and director/producer Robert Meyer Burnett for dinner at a restaurant of Wally’s choosing. That ended up being the Bob’s Big Boy within walking distance of our hotel. Hal and I arrived first, and were just starting to chat with Rob after his arrival when Wally called and said his was three minutes away and we HAD to meet him out in front of the restaurant. It was obvious he had something to show us. We dutifully assembled at the front entrance of the restaurant in time to see Wally pull up in his newly acquired Torino that was a perfect replica of the Starsky and Hutch car. Dinner was lovely, and afterward Hal and I paid a visit to Wally’s apartment which is packed to the gills with Wally’s amazing collection of Batman, Star Trek, Any Kaufman and other pop culture memorabilia. I never got to visit Forrest J Ackerman’s Ackermansion, but getting to visit Wally World took a little bit of the sting out of it.

After that it was back to the hotel for some sleep, since we had a redonkulously early flight back to Minneapolis the next day.

It was a grand adventure, and I can’t wait to visit LA again next year!