Our day at the Nashville Comic Book & Horror Convention - July 2014

It was a blast!

A super-cool gathering of superheroes, monsters, TV horror show stars and pro wrestling celebs milled about the exhibit area, wooing the crowd that attended the sizzling-hot event held at the Nashville Fairgrounds on a scorching July afternoon.

Oh, and there were zombies too. Zombies! ... EEEK! There was one particularly ghoulish, ten-foot tall denizen of the undead looming about, spewing blood and grabbing at us poor innocent ladies!

Actually... he was a very nice guy.
I only pretended to be scared!

I was invited to share a booth with my dear friend, the artist Ethan Black (more about Ethan in a moment) and his lovely lady, Abigail. Did I neglect to mention that it was a blast? Well it was! The crowd was full of enthusiastic comic book/horror fans out to soak up some pre-Halloween fun that summer day. Our table had a constant stream of traffic, from the excitable very young to the forever young-at-heart older folks, all of  whom absolutely loved the spookified horrorific Halloween goodies we had displayed. 

(Oh, and the bucket loads of free candy, too. Nobody can pass up chocolate candy by the handful, can they!) 

Ethan and Abigail at our table

I brought a nice big tray load of my 'Glowy Skull Pins' that the crowd loved - wow, they sold like mad. One of my beloved 'ZomBabies,' an endearingly bloodthirsty, needle-toothed little fella I dubbed "Greedy Harold," went home with a cool new owner who told me what a big horror doll collector he is. So happy that Harold will be among a much-loved collection of original creations - but I profess, I already miss him. I think all artists form personal attachments to their creations, and are sad in a way to see them go. Ah, but that is the way of art, isn't it.

Greedy Harold and his new Daddy!

Other popular items of mine were the 'Cackling Coffins' which too found new homes to fill the air with their chills-inducing laughter from beyond the grave. Was really hoping that my sculpture art dolls, 'Winifred in her Finery,' and 'Fenwick P. Mossbottom' would have found new homes as well, but alas, that was not to be... just yet.

Ethan stands at attention behind my display of goodies

Was thrilled to see another good friend of mine there - TV's one and only Dr. Gangrene. He took time off from his popular local Nashville horror cable TV show to mingle in the crowd, meeting fans and doing promotions. I just love him!
http://drgangrene.blogspot.com

The Doctor is in...SANE!  

All in all, the day was superb. Just a taste of what looms ahead as we inch ever closer to the Halloween season. You want to see the dead really come to life? Be here when October rolls around!

Now a bit about someone I admire greatly - Ethan Black. 

Just a few members of Ethan's 'family'... mua-hahahaha!

Aside from being an astoundingly talented and highly-accomplished artist whose award-winning works have been featured on TV (History Channel's 'Ancient Aliens' and props/set designs for early episodes of the Dr. Gangrene show among them), Ethan is just a super sweet guy I am proud to call a friend. A digital artist/animator who also teaches art at a local school here in the Nashville area by day, but by night, he comes alive in every sense of the word. You need to see Ethan's sculptures in person to truly appreciate them - they are life-sized, eerily organic, and quite simply unique. His styles range from old-time horror, vintage Halloween, to uber-creepy representations of Lovecraftian nightmares, depicting monstrous legends and myths of the ancient past. Like me, this kindred spirit lives and breathes Halloween 24/7, and he too loves pumpkins and Jack O'Lanterns. His entire home is adorned with all manner of the bizarre and undead, looming from every darkened corner. Oooh, utterly creepalicious indeed!

Ethan and Abigail pose in front of one of his creations

Just so you know, I'm not merely heaping platitudes here, folks; I'm honestly blown away by Ethan's drives and talents. He deserves much more recognition than what he already has. Somebody needs to give him his own show! Seriously, why hasn't that happened yet? 

Just some of his 'Children of the Night'

Pay a visit to his websites and see for yourself... if you dare!

http://ethanblackmonstermaker.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/ethanblack1313