It takes a lot to fill my little geek heart but, luckily, the Fan Expo team puts on two annual conventions locally that bring enough goodness to last me 365 days.This weekend’s smaller of the two events, Dallas Fan Days, promised Power Rangers and Riverdale, so of course, I packed my backpack full of memorabilia and ventured to the Irving Convention Center to meet some high-school aged fictional characters that have had a profound effect on me.
Two major highlights, while meeting the personification of these fictional characters:
Fawning over Betty Cooper – If you have even read one article that I’ve written for Super Kaiju, it should be no surprise that I love Riverdale. And with Mark Waid’s run on Archie as well as The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I’ve become a pretty big Archie Comics fan, too.
So when Fan Days made a last minute announcement that Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper from the CW show) was coming I was immediately filled with excitement … and then seconds later, I was filled with dread. I slowly realized that I would now have to have a conversation with the Betty Cooper, arguably the best character on Riverdale please @ me I love talking about Riverdale with people my own age.
I grabbed my ‘The Archies’ print by Joe Eisma (which I purchased Fan Expo Dallas earlier this year) and I got in line. I had even rehearsed some light conversation about how Betty was my favorite character across all the Archie mediums (editor’s note: the Archie Expanded Content Universe, the AECU) and that she does a fantastic job bringing the character to life.
But when I got up there I didn’t say any of it.
Instead we exchanged pleasantries and we talked about how cool the print was as she signed it in a gold sharpie. Then she complimented me on my Rocko’s Modern Life shirt and I got frazzled. It’s mostly a blur.
Meeting Tommy Oliver Holy Crap – Fan Days 2018 continues my quest to meet the Rangers of Angel Grove … and this time I got my chance to meet the Green Ranger himself.
A regular on the Dallas Comic Con scene, Jason David Frank was one of the more personal con experiences I’ve ever had. While waiting in line to get my photo and autograph, JDF (we’re cool now, I can say that) would regularly stop to engage with the entire line. Although it took me over an hour to get my VHS copy of the Green Ranger story arc signed, I felt like I got to know him as a person. He knew everyone was here for their love of Power Rangers and wanted to make sure everyone had a memorable experience. Whether getting the line to sing the MMPR theme song or doing some playful banter with Jaleel White at the table next to him (editor’s note: wait what), JDF made the hour fly by.
Tommy Oliver grew up and so did I, but while in that hour-long line, we all were able to celebrate childhood and the legacy of the Green Ranger. JDF also mentioned a Power-Rangers-focused convention, Power Morphicon, to be held in Pasadena, Texas in April. Which I’ll probably go to. Like 80% chance I’ll be there.
We had bought tickets to try out a portable escape room with a Harry Potter theme, but I unfortunately missed it (while in the hour-long JDF line). From what I heard from the rest of our party, though, it was a fun experience that could have definitely been enhanced if it was in a more permanent space.
Bandai was also there, celebrating another stop of the Dragon Ball North American tour, which I took full advantage of (see pictures).
Dallas Fan Days was a huge success for me and a memorable first convention for my girlfriend. I honestly don’t think I’d have as much of a personal experience with these pop culture icons at a big city comic convention or even at Fan Expo Dallas. So I’ll probably return again next year.
Like 95% chance.
