Slade vs. Amazing Houston: A Con That Is Every Bit Of Amazing

Another week, another convention for the Temple of Geek crew. This time, we traveled to Houston Texas to attend the Amazing Houston Comic Con. This convention has been going strong for three years in the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. This year the convention brought out their guns by given fans three amazing headliners, Chris Claremont, Kevin Eastman, and Steve McNiven.

The Amazing Houston Headliners

Upon entering the doors of the convention floor that Saturday morning, I knew I was in for a special treat. My first stop was Kevin Eastman’s booth. His line was massive and he was signing all sorts of Ninja Turtle goodness. I snagged a print, autograph and a handshake from the man himself!

 

Continuing on my journey of Geeky Goodness, I stumbled upon Chris Claremont’s booth. He was signing comics for fans and was taking time to talk to each and every person that came to his table. I spoke with Mr. Claremont earlier that morning at the hotel so I decided that I would come back later. Cosplayers started to arrive and I wanted photos.

Cosplay Galore

For a convention named Amazing Houston, the cosplay did not disappoint. From Wolverine to The Walking Dead, almost every fandom was represented there in some form. My personal favorite was Wolverine. After I took his photo, I asked if he was getting tired flexing for everyone. He stated “Nah, it is a great workout!” Below is just a small sample of the cosplay that was present.

Chuck Huber

I was really excited to learn that Chuck Huber was back this year. Last year, we met him and talked to him about doing a podcast and I forgot to get an autograph from him. This year, I was not leaving until I got my signed pic. Chuck was entertaining as always and spoke to me a bit about the site. He signed a Star Trek Continues pic for me writing “Dammit Danniel, I’m a doctor not a picture.” I had my signature.

Chuck Huber was in a couple of panels this year. I attended the Esports Main Event featuring Street Fighter V, more on that later, and Game Church. In the program guide, Game Church was described as “Fringe science, spooky action at a distance, morphic fields, electric universe, lucid dreaming, ancient aliens, metaphysics, reality… Have you ever had the sneaking suspicion that life is a video game and all the players guides and walkthroughs are designed to keep you an NPC? Join Chuck Huber and attend a service whose Patron Saint is St. Tesla and become part of the newly formed wiki to really craft a player’s guide for life.”

Sandy and I attended the panel to see what it was all about. During that hour we learned about his premise of what Game Church is and the philosophy behind it. He states that when you play a game, you are willing to take risks to further the story or find secrets. He suggests that you live your life like you are playing a video game to get more out of life. I want to know more about this and have reached out to him to guest on a future episode of the Temple of Geek ToGCast.

The Library Bards

Before coming to this convention, I knew of Bonnie Gordon being the voice of R. Mika in Street Fighter V (one of my favorite franchises). What I did not know was she was one part of a two part singing act called the Library Bards! They are a group that takes Top 40s hits and turns them into songs relating to the geek culture.

Xander Jeanneret and Bonnie Gordon are hilarious! I spoke to the both of them prior to the Esports Main Event featuring Street Fighter V (I am getting to that, I swear!). They signed a poster for me and also signed their CD which contains 7 of their songs. One of my personal favorites is Red and Black which you can watch the music video by clicking here.

Esports Main Event featuring Street Fighter V

Xander hosted the Esports Main Event featuring Street Fighter V. This is where fans got to play Street Fighter V against the voice actors Bonnie Gordon, Chuck Huber, and Keith Silverstein. This was a very entertaining presentation that consisted of technical issues, jokes, voices, and a lot of button mashing. I really hope that Amazing Houston puts this event on again next year because words cannot describe how entertained I was watching this event take place.

Final Thoughts

Being that this is my second year attending this Amazing Houston, I am quite impressed. This con does not try to be big and flashy like the other guys. It is a more intimate setting where fans can meet their favorite comic creators and voice actors without having to feel like they are being rushed. I will be attending this con in the future and highly recommend that you take the time to attend as well.