This past Saturday I attended the Motor City Nightmares horror convention. I got there pretty much when they opened at 10 am because I started vacation on Sunday and still had a crap-ton to get done before rolling in the next morning. So, the goal was to get in and out before the Saturday crowd showed up.
I could be wrong, but the lineup seemed slimmer than years past. Even so, there were three autos I wanted to add to the collection. Those being Melanie Kinnaman, Ron Sloan and Dee Wallace. Melanie and Ron were my 7th and 8th autos from Friday the 13th Part V and getting them this year was significant being that the film turned fourty back in March.
I headed to Melanie's table first. I actually just got her auto on one of my horror auto cards during last year's Monroe Comic-Con that matches my other Friday V cards, but I've been messing with tweaking the design just a bit. So this one will serve as an auxiliary to the others as a special edition "Final Girl" card.
The main change was making the picture frame a little larger and a bit rounded like an older tv screen's shaping. I added some other little accoutrements as well to set it apart from the regular design, but the larger picture was the main objective.
Melanie seemed to like the card but honestly got a bigger kick out of the previous one; taking a pic and posting it to her Facebook page. As for me, I like this one a little more finding it to be a tad more stylish... plus it's got the added coolness factor of being signed during the movie's 40th anniversary year.
I'm one of those horror film obsessed types and I've been making my horror autograph cards for quite some time now with very little change outside of dressing it up specific to the particular movie with coordinating colors, logo and art. I really like the design as it's an original of mine. But, going forward, if it's a movie I've not made horror auto cards for before I'm going to start using the 2.0 template. But, there's not a ton of horror movies I haven't covered, so I suspect they'll be few and far between. If I've already made auto cards I'm going to continue to use the original version so it'll match the previous cards made. I'm a bit anal about that part. The exception would be making alternate "Final Girl" versions when applicable like I did here.
Ron Sloan was next. His table was three down the line from Melanie's, bookending the two other New Beginning alums in attendance; Bob DeSimone and Dick Wieand (both of which I've got cards signed from). Ron was really, really nice and was really loving the card. He stood there looking at it and smiling for what seemed like an awful long time. Finally, to sort of break up the awkwardness I was feeling, I asked "could you use red to sign?" and that seemed to snap him out of his trance. I love that he inscribed it with his character's name. After signing he asked if I wanted to take a selfie with his Junior prop head. As politely as I could I just declined explaining that I wasn't much of a selfie taker. His table assistant guy piped in questioning if I was sure that I didn't want to take a picture with the head from the movie, to which I replied "that's THE head?" then getting a sly nod as confirmation. "HELL YES I do!", and just like that my shyness was remedied. [I thought it was just a replicable prop he brings with to dress up hi table] If I had it to do over I would have also bargained for a picture of my card with the head. Next time!
Last was Dee Wallace. I've gotten her auto a number of times through the mail. I've got a Topps E.T. card, one I made of 1985's Secret Admirer and The Howling. The seventy-six year old horror icon was very sweet, like a kindly grandma. She complimented my card. I got the Cujo card done to match the one I have signed previously by Jerry Hardin. If I see her again I'll get a Critters card done.
Each card also has a unique back giving them provenance to the event in which they were signed at.
Before heading out I added some DVDs, a Blu-Ray and a VHS to my physical media hoard. Then it was home to pack.