Posted by I visited the great state of Oklahoma this Labor Day weekend to attend Geekinomicon. This con is a first year convention that ran for three days in the Cox Convention Center located in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City.
When I entered the Cox Center, I learned very quickly that this was not a going to be a small con. The size can be summed up simply by the phrase, “impressive, most impressive indeed.” The layout consisted of two floors with the first floor being mostly made up of the vendor hall, and the top floor consisting of the celebrity room and the photo ops. I decided to start with the vendor floor first and ran into a few surprises.
The Vendor Floor
Upon entering the vendor hall, I was greeted with not one, but 5 different vehicles from film and fandom. They had the 2007 Camaro from the film ‘Transformers’ as well as the ‘Back to the Future II’ Delorian, complete with garbage compactor on back. If you like fast cars, the 1977 Pontiac Firebird from ‘Smoky and the Bandit’ was in attendance. They also had the car from Supernatural and some Zombie vehicle that I, unfortunately, failed to get pictures of. Once I finished ogling over the vehicles, I walked into the arena and looked to my right and saw a FRICKIN’ 20 FOOT TALL STAY PUFT just standing in the corner!
As I wandered the vendor floor, I took pictures of some amazing cosplay. All the cosplay at this convention was spot on and I simply could not believe some of the work that was put into their costumes. I wish I could show you everyone that was in cosplay, but you will have to settle for the pictures I managed to get.
Continuing my journey through the geek jungle, I ran into two fellow Texans that fans of this site have seen us cover before, Kat of Shadow Kat Cosplay and Marla of mCubed Cosplay. Kat was rocking her Mara Jade cosplay.  Marla was killing it in her Fem Aang  cosplay from The Last Airbender.
The Photo Op
After chatting, I ran upstairs to get a photo-op with Greg Grunberg. The photo-op lines were managed very well and I was impressed with how easily I was able to get up and get in line with very little hassle as there is at other cons. As I waited in line, I noticed John Noble sitting at a table and he graciously allowed me to snap a photo and then again when he was signing.
As I approached Greg Grunberg, I noticed he was having a great time! He was dancing with one of the attendees, made one do the shuffle in as he approached, and hugged another. The only thing I could think of to do as I approached was to shake hands and point.
The Autograph Room
The amount of celebrities at this con blew my mind! The headliners consisted of Sylvester McCoy of Doctor Who, Greg Grunberg of Heroes and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Adrean Pasdar of Heroes and Agents of Shield, and Adrianne Palicki of Agents of Shield and GI Joe: Retaliation. Let me take a breath, inhale… exhale… Okay I can continue, John Noble of Fringe, Katrina Law of Arrow, Paul McGann of Doctor Who and Tim “We Ain’t Found Shit” Russ of Star Trek Vovager and Spaceballs. There were even more celebrities then the one I listed!
I walked around and collected some autographs and met some of the actors and actresses while I had the chance. Adrianne Palicki was awesome. I asked her about her future in the MCU to which she replied she does not know anything at the moment but we have not seen the last of her. I had her sign a print of her in the Wonder Woman outfit for the pilot that never aired and we took a photo together.
Meeting The Voices of My Childhood
Two voice actors from my favorite cartoon while growing up was in attendance. No, I am not talking about Jem! I am talking about the robots in disguise, more than meets the eyes, TRANSFORMERS!! Me Slade (see what I did there), got to meet the voice of Grimlock, Gregg Berger and the voice of Bumblebee, Dan Gilvezan. There was a sense of excitement when I spoke to them. I spoke to them both a little bit about their careers and told them about the Temple of Geek. There was even an invitation thrown their way to join us on a future episode of the “ToGCast.” They both stated to contact them to set it up so stay tuned to our podcast, you never know if and when they might guest on! I collected autographed photos from each.
Greg Grunberg was absent from his table so I paced the floor to see what other mischief I could get into. There was a table consisting of 5 of the Rangers from Power Rangers Megaforce. I approached Andrew M. Gray and asked if him and his team would be willing to take a group photo. Like the leader he is on the show, he had everyone get up and take a photo. These guys were great and I hope I have the opportunity to run into them in the future.
The Greg Grunberg Experience
If you don’t know anything about Greg Grunberg, just understand that he is a geek just like you and me. The reason he was missing from his table, or why he was late to the photo-op is because he was walking the vendor floor. Upon learning this, I decided to hunt the man down so I could finally speak with him.
It wasn’t that hard to find him. After walking the floor for a few moments, I noticed a huge crowd by the Rebel Legion, Star Wars Fan Club, booth. Mr. Grunberg was apparently receiving gifts from the members. He spoke to them about how humbled he was and then invited all of the member to take a photo with him. I was able to get some photos of the presentation.
He finished his photo with the group and started to walk away. Thinking this was my chance to speak with him, I started to approach. He started to head to the land speeder photo op and I decided to follow to see what he was up to.
Now, remember how I mentioned that he was a fan like you and me? He headed to the land speeder because he wanted to get his picture. While he was in the speeder, he decided to have some fun with the Storm Trooper. Well, I’ll let the picture speak for themselves.
When he was done playing, he told everyone that he was heading back upstairs. Back to the autograph hall I went. He made it to his table and I was finally able to speak with him. We spoke about that week’s episode of Geeking Out and most of all, Star Wars. Being the good Editor that I am, I plugged Temple of Geek and invited him to our podcast. He gave me his agent’s information and took my business card. I had him sign a photo of him rocking a Storm Trooper outfit and I left.
Final Thoughts on Geekinomicon
Geek Expos put on an amazing show! I am still shocked that this was a first year show based off the size and the amount of celebrities in attendance. If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend this convention. Their next con is on December 29th 2016 in Dallas Texas. This show is the called the Marvelous Nerd Years Eve with Special Guest Stan Lee. You can check out more information by clicking here. Please give these guys a look. If they can put on a show like this in Oklahoma City, I can only imagine the endless potential of a convention in Dallas.
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