Today was a LOT better than yesterday, thank God!  Today, only me, my little brother Anthony, and my sister Jennifer went to the con, leaving my leach of a cousin at home.  We left an hour late again, but it was for the best, since it was raining. =^(  We got there without a hitch, but as we got off the train, it started raining again, argh!  Oh well, we run inside, and we're off.  We first head off to check out Ray Park because he's doing some kung fu stuff in one of the rooms, but it's already filled, so we head to the thick of it, the main room.  I tell my sister to take my brother so I can go off on my own.  She agrees.  I figure no one else I probably know is there that early (Magic Boy SHARD was SUPPOSED to meet me at around 2 or 3), so I decided to hit the bins.
    Boy, did I score big time!  I got tons of old comics, mostly for 25 cents, which I'm very thankful for since I blew almost all my money the day before.  I got about 40 books for 10 bucks.  Not too shabby.  What to do next, though?  I only have ten bucks left.  Hmmm....
    I next decide to hit the Wizard Wheel of Doom.  The game goes like this.  You tell them ANY kind of category, they ask you a question.  You get it right, you get to spin the wheel and get free stuff, you get it wrong, you could still get the free stuff, but you got make an ass out of yourself.  I get up there, and naturally ask for a question about Savage Dragon.  "Uh.... Who's the last guy to be shown to wear the Overlord armor?"  Where the hell are we, the sixth grade?  It's ****** duh! (I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet)  I spin, I get a free 1/2 comic.  yay!  Boba Fett 1/2 is now mine (Although I wouldn't have minded some of them Wiz Bucks...)
    What's the time?  1:00.  Time to find the siblings so we can eat.  I find them.  They're watching a wrestling match that Wizard is sponsoring.  It's so cheesy, but funny as hell.  This time, though, we brought our OWN food, 18 bucks for pizza my ass!  We ate our sandwiches and split up again, planning to meet back up at 2:30.
    I go off.  Hmmm, what should I do?  Look for Erik Larsen of course!  But where should I look.  SHARD told me to go by Gary Carlson.  Chances are he'd be there.  Off to the Artist's Alley.  Hey Gary, what's up?  Hmmm, don't see Erik anywhere.... Loudspeaker comes on.  Erik is now signing at booth murmur, murmur, murmur.  Crap, I didn't catch that.  I start to panic and look everywhere for where Erik might be.  FINALLY, they say where he's signing again.  I go.  The line is wrapped around the booth about 3 times.  Crud.  Oh well.  I get in line.  I pull out my Wizard Ace Edition of Megaton #2 that Gary Carlson gave to me for free last year.  It has his signature on it, and soon it'll have Erik's too.  I also have my SD #1 from the mini.  Hmmm, don't see anyone I recognize (or should recognize) in line.... some of them MIGHT be FAO, but I ain't going to make an idiot out of myself and start asking.
    Waiting in line, doody doody, doo... hey, there's Sgt. Kabukiman from TROMA video!  Hey Sgt. Kabukiman, let me take your pic...!  Aww, he left, the rat bastard.  I remind myself to blow up my copy of Sgt. Kabukiman when I get home.
    Finally, I get to Erik.  Hey Erik.  I don't know if you know me or not, but I post on the Forum.  I'm Johnny Bubbles.  Now here's where I expect "who?  that's nice kid."  BUT since Erik's the coolest guy on God's green Earth, he actually KNEW who I was!  Woohoo!   He said, "really?  Cool!"  He said cool!  I almost fainted!  Then he asks if I'm going to be at the FAO get together tomorrow.  I say yeah, but I'm not sure where to meet up with everyone.  He tells me the where and when.  Tres cool.  I walk away light as a feather.
    Hmm, wonder what time it is.  2:28!  Crap, gotta meet the sibs.  Run, Johnny, run.  *whew*, made it.  Hey, where are they?  Dammit, now I gotta wait for them.  I dig through the bins some more, buy some more comics.  yadda, yadda.  I see them, hey guys!  Guess who I talked to?!  That's right.  THE MAN.  We go off to look at some more stuff.
    Then I remember that i want David Lapham to sign my hardcover.  Off to the Stray Bullets booth.  David Lapham is my second favorite comics guy next to Larsen.  He is very cool, and his wife is super nice.  We talked and talked, and he not only signed my book, he drew a full body pic of Joey, the little crazy kid from Stray Bullets!  AND took a picture with me, my book, and himself!  Booyah!  Wow, great talking with ya, David.  I'm glad you got a kick out of me using your "Johnny Bubbles" character for my screenname, and I'm double glad you didn't slap a court order telling me to stop using it. =^)
    What now?  What now?  I don't know.  I don't see anyone I'm supposed to meet.  Greg "Magic Boy SHARD" Aubry is nowhere to be found.  Hopefully, he'll be at the FAO thing tomorrow.  I already caught Erik once, and I don't want to start leaching on him.  Hmmm, well, I only got a few bucks left, I buy my brother a Watto toy for 5 bucks.
    I check the program schedule.  Hey, a satellite panel with the guys from the Mystery Men movie!  Too cool, we go like 40 minutes early so we can get good seats (and free t-shirts).  When we get there, there's already a long ass line.  Yikes!  We get in though, and the panel is great.  Paul "Pee-Wee" Ruebens is so freaking awesome, he steals the show practically. =^)  It was cool, and we got three free shirts.
    What's the time?  5:00.  We walk around a little more, but my little bro is getting tired.  Oh well, time to call it a day.  It was great while it lasted, and tomorrow, I'll be flying solo.  Can't wait.

*Brigade #7
*Brigade #13
*Brigade #6
*Bloodstrike #5
*Bloodstrike #11 (Cyberface issue)
*G.I. Joe #1 (F. Miller cover)
*Normalman #9 (early Valentino)
*Marshal Law #4
*The Mask Returns #1
*The Mask Returns #2
*The Mask Returns #3
*The Mask Returns #4
*DNAgents #2
*DNAgents #4
*Toxic Avenger #1
*Toxic Avenger #2
*Toxic Avenger #3
*Toxic Avenger #4
*Toxic Avenger #5
*Toxic Avenger #6
*Toxic Avenger #7
*Toxic Crusaders #1
*Toxic Crusaders #2
*Toxic Crusaders #3
*Toxic Crusaders #4
*Lobo Infanticide #3
*Lobo's Back #2
*Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction #1
*Boba Fett #1/2 Special Wizard Edition
*Terminator:  Enemy Within #2 (Biz cover)
*The Thing From Another World #1
*The Thing From Another World #2
*A Touch Of Silver Four
*A Touch Of Silver Five
*Cyberfrog #1
*Stray Bullets #15 signed by Lapham
*Stray Bullets #16 signed by Lapham
*Stray Bullets #17 signed by Lapham
*Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher:  Hearts of Darkness (Drawn by JRJR)
*Punisher War Journal #42 (JRJR)
*Mars Attacks the Savage Dragon #2
*Mars Attacks the Savage Dragon #3
*Altered Image #1
*Altered Image #2
*Altered Image #3
*Big Bang #7
*Big Bang #8
*Big Bang #11
*Velocity #2 (guest stars the Dragon)
*Masters of the Universe #4
*Masters of the Universe #8
*Wizard Ace Edition Megaton #2  signed by Larsen (already signed by Gary Carlson)
*Savage Dragon #1 of the mini signed by Larsen (woohoo!)
*Watto toy