Phoenix Comic Con

(WARNING – PICTURE HEAVY!)

At the end of May this year, I attended the Phoenix Comic Con. The biggest draw for me? The 20th Anniversary of Babylon 5. In my humble writer’s opinion, this is one of the best science fiction stories (television, movies, books) of all time. Sure, there are flaws, but overall? Stunning series with characters both sly and Shakespearean.

I met some of the cast members and obtained a fair share of autographs. (Click image below to see full-size version of the names I wrangled).

All were friendly and warm. A few were downright joyful, namely Claudia Christian and Peter Jurasik. Claudia was the first autograph I received and she refused to charge me for it. Most of these events require $20-$50 per autograph and while I get that this is the way that some actors make money at these conventions, smallfolk (and not-s0-rich-folk) like me, cannot always afford to dole out hundreds of dollars.

She was very mindful, very present, smiled and joked. I purchased her book and read that on the plane back home. Great, fun read. This is a woman who has lived to the hilt and has experienced the good and bad that comes along with that. I hope it’s really just the first stage of her career. Her screenplay, “The White Buffalo,” sounds fascinating. Hollywood needs to step up.

Peter Jurasik was a blast. We probably spoke to him for a good 15 minutes (he and Stephen Furst).

Here is a pic taken of my husband (left), Stephen, Peter, and myself.

I put it in black and white because the florescent lights inside the convention center were truly horrific. My blonde hair looked canary yellow and Peter and Stephen looked like they were both wearing orange makeup (they weren’t, I assure you!). Not pretty.

Peter’s run as Ambassador Londo Mollari in the series is one of the greatest of sci-fi series performances. What’s even more grand is that Jurasik seemed to embrace this role, had fun with it, and loved talking about it. He even spoke to us in Londo’s dialect just for fun. He also told us that it’s the fans who make this whole experience worthwhile. He seemed so sincere and gracious. He and Stephen both.

JMS was very attentive when I approached him. He’s one of those writers that you look in the eye and see things working, see that sparkle. Smart, clever, and a little mischevous. That’s what I got from my meeting with B5’s creator.

Pat Tallman was a hoot. Very sparkly and shiny. Apparently, she also doesn’t age because she looked so healthy and vibrant. Funny. Liked to joke around a lot.

We also talked to Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi in the series). Very genial guy, very easy to talk to. He made some great jokes about politics, talked about his radio show and such.

Walter Koenig (Chekhov from Star Trek and Bester from B5) was soft-spoken and friendly. Mira Furlan (Delenn, and Danielle Rousseau from LOST) was very kind. She said that she is into science fiction now and was reading a lot of dystopian/apocalyptic works. Here she’s telling my husband about why she likes science fiction so much.

Again, had to gray-scale it because the lighting was awful!

Overall, a great convention. I read somewhere that over 50,000 people attended. I think that’s a record-breaker for Phoenix. Loved the city. Loved the people and the celebs.

We chatted with Sam Witwer (Being Human, Clone Wars, Battlestar Galactica) and he was probably the most down-to-earth of all the celebs we met. Smiled, had fun with his fans, talked to us for a while.

In terms of dining, I highly recommend Barrio Cafe (as known from Dives, Drive-Ins and Diners on the Food Network). I’ve never had better Mexican cuisine.