Event Report: Monster Mania 11
Johnny Butane
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Man, I really dig this show. Yeah, it takes me between six and nine hours to get there and back, which means I really need to start going down a day early, but it’s worth it to hang out at one of the best-run and most well-attended conventions on the East Coast.
Monster Mania 11 went down the weekend of August 22nd-24th, and featured one of the most eclectic guest lineups yet; both Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were in attendance (though not in the same room), as were Jamison Newlander (aka the Alan Frog), Jake Busey (The Firghteners, Starship Troopers), Jeffrey Combs, Tyler Mane (the new Michael Myers), Derek Mears (the new Jason Voorhees) and of course the one and only Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund!
The show was packed to say the least, though it was always hard to determine just how packed since Feldman was on the second floor and has his own line of fans clamoring for an autograph and picture, while Haim and Englund were signing all day in the show’s main ballroom, so there were always people spread all over the place, though eventually they all made their way to the main floor.
And that’s where Dread Central shined. As with every show, our man Nomad came packing more giveaways than one could shake a very large stick at; goodies from Dimension Extreme, Toy2R, Level 27, Three Rivers Press, McFarlane Toys, Lionsgate and a lot more were on hand to be given to fans just for stopping by to say hello. It amazes me that no matter how many shows we do, people are still surprised that all our stuff is free. That’s just how we roll, baby!
As always it’s great working the Dread table and meeting all the fans, especially the cute female ones, but it does lend itself to me missing an awful lot of the show itself, like the Blood Night: Legend of Mary Hatchet panel on Saturday I was really looking forward to, but when the public demands you be there to greet them and hand them free horror goodies, you do what the public says. Especially when they’re cute girls.
Besides, there was plenty of time after the show closed on Friday and Saturday to get out and mingle, and mingle we did. One highlight that I just have to mention here went down on Saturday night. One of the rooms was having a party, everyone was hanging out and talking, and all of a sudden John Kassir, the voice of the Crypt Keeper, got up, took over the center of the room, and did a 15-minute stand-up routine about what TV addict he is, complete with sound effects from all the shows he grew up glued to and almost a full reenactment of The Wizard of Oz!
To say it was impressive and cast the man in a new light is underselling this performance. It’s not often one gets to see someone they’ve looked up to their whole lives demonstrate an entirely different side of their personalities, especially in public. It was simply awesome.
That same night, though hours earlier, the man who sang “Cry Little Sister” for The Lost Boys soundtrack, G Tom Mac, did a live performance of the song, along with more of his original music, and from what I was told it was pretty damn cool. I’ve heard more of his songs since and they’re a lot better than I had expected. Still, I would’ve rather seen a live performance by the sax man, if I had the choice.
Sunday started off unusually quiet but in no time became unusually busy; I don’t think I’ve seen a Sunday at Monster Mania that was as packed as this one was for the first few hours. I had to get out relatively early, since I had what I would soon discover was an 8-hour drive ahead of me, but things were looking very good when I say my goodbyes.
Another great and successful show for the Monster Mania guys and ghouls, who are becoming more and more familiar with me every time I go to the point that eventually they might like me as much as they do Nomad! If you’ve not hit a Monster Mania yet, start making plans for the next show (March 13th-15th, 2009) now; you’ll be glad you did!
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED!
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