Costuming is awesome. Multiple Iron Man costumes, many of them magnificent. Lots of Jokers. Several efforts at Nolanverse Harley. A lot of cross-dressing this year, particularly from women; the men who do are mostly Joker in his nurse outfit. The women dressing as male characters seem to have delivered some of the best costumes; the translations are effective and imaginative. Standouts: a couple of feminized Fourth Doctors, one very good; Evil Dead's Girl!Ash, complete with chainsaw hand; and my favorite, Freddy Kreuger in a sweater-dress.
I shook hands with Joel Hodgson.
Repeat: I shook hands with Joel Hodgson.
As I get older, I'm more and more removed from pure fannish joy. I know a lot more about life, and how entertainment works, than I did when I as a neofan. I don't look at entertainment as magic anymore. I don't freak out over interactng with the objects of my fandom: be polite, keep it brief, enjoy the brief exchange for what it's worth.
But as I made my way up past Frank, past Trace (both of them very nice, very professional), I found myself getting nervous, because Joel was next. And when I got up to him, he said, "Oh, hi," and shook my hand -- and for a second, I felt like a little kid again.
John Ringo is a very nice man and does not wish to kill me. More anon.
