Monsterpolooza!

Good evening, Steemit! I’m mustering the last of my energy to make a post while on the road. I’ve been shooting in LA since Friday. This is the first leg of my biggest annual tour through Los Angeles and Vegas during the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend. This year, bigger than most, as my “Dark Pinup” book release party is in a few days, Thursday April 19th at The Artisan Hotel.

Speaking of “Dark Pinup”, @wcpublishing and I had a contest to resteem the ad for the book. I’m happy to announce, chosen by random lottery, the winner of the autographed copy is @carolkean! @carolkean, if you’re on Steemit chat, message me, or email [email protected] with your mailing address, and we’ll send your book out in the next couple of weeks. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who participated.

This trip started out rough. I’m over traveling, and have been for a while. I missed @vermillionfox and @guthrie while I’m gone. My first couple of days, I was uncharacteristically melancholy. Yesterday, I did a session of family portraits with clients that wanted pictures inspired by The Addam’s Family. An adorable little girl that I attempted to recreate the twins in The Shining […we’ll see how that turns out].

After the shoot, I asked “…what are you guys doing for the rest of the night?”. The replied, “Probably going to Monsterpolooza.”. I sulked a bit, jealous of my friends that were attending over the weekend. Finally, my client said “Why don’t you just go? You know you’re only ten minutes away, right?”. I Googled it, and it was true! I postponed my second shoot by a few hours and drove to the Pasadena Convention Center. $30 for the remaining two hours, but the moment I walked through the doors, I knew it was worth it.

I’ve been going to comic book conventions since the late 90’s. I attended a few horror conventions as well. None of them excited me like Monsterpolooza. So much of this convention was focused around the industry, the sculptors and the SP/FX make-up artistry, it was an entirely different theme then the t-shirt hawking horror vendors I was used to. Every table displayed brilliant sculptures, casts, model kits and masks. The cosplay was a calibre I’ve never seen before […even at huge comic-con’s like C2E2], like this terrifying Pennywise the clown from IT.

I made a few rounds and eventually found my way to Olivia de Berardinis’ booth. An artist I’ve collected and admired since I was a teenager […not exaggerating] and has painting my lovely friend @masuimimax multiple times. In fact, one of her collectable trading cards may have been the first time I’d seen @masuimimax. I rarely fanboy, but it was tough to contain my excitement meeting someone I’ve admired for so very long. I bought a few copies of her pinup art books, then made my way to the final hall.

It was here that I stood, reasonable shaken, realizing the short line to my left lead to Doug Bradley. You’ll probably know him better as Pinhead from the Clive Barker horror classic, Hellraiser. Hellraiser has been one of my favorite horror films since my late teenage years. As I mentioned, the decision to attend Mosterpolooza was so last minute, I had no idea who would be appearing and signing. Less than ten minutes, I had an autographed 8” x 10” by the original Hellraiser.

The only thing that could have made my night better was getting to see @dressedtokillyou and @allangraves, and as fate would have it, I did! After my second shoot, I made my way to Hollywood to pick up my Londonian friends. We had a chance to eat and talk comics, horror and crypto. @dressedtokillyou did a wonderful job of hiding our rather obvious bromance. I love @allangraves. Even in the short time we went in to Rite•Aid, we all went our own ways. By the time I was ready to check out, I was looking for them. I found @allangraves, 40 years old, standing in front of the toy section…..at Ride•Aid! Staring at knock off action figures, paddle balls, matchbox cars. HA! It was so great to know of all the things you need from a drug store while traveling, he went straight to the toy aisle.

That’s all I’ve got for tonight, friends. I have a big shoot tomorrow with Micheline Pitt for La Femme En Noir. I really need to be on my A-game, so I’m going to call it a night and try for 8 hours of sleep. Thanks for reading. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!