BotCon 2005 - Sharon "Tut" LaBorde

Am I the only person who distinctly recalls there being no word of another BotCon until the early part of this year--then no date until the beginning of summer? A sign of things to come, perhaps?

So I had to be brilliant enough to issue a challenge to the Universe in
general by saying last year that I probably wouldn't go to another BotCon. Then the new organizers had to hold it in Dallas, a city that's like a second home to me -- in a suburb right down the road from another convention haunt, no less! I suppose it's like luring Robin Hood by holding an archery contest; I had to show up. And since the website and phone tree for Fun Publications were never updated, I decided to show up at their physical address immediately following my annual Labor Day convention in downtown Dallas, Anime-Fest.

Next time you get anything BotCon-related in the mail from "225 Cattle Baron Parc Drive", that's not some office in downtown Fort Worth like I had envisioned. It's been mailed to you from a very nice, two-story brick house that on casual observance would total about six thousand square feet and value at close to a million dollars. The gated, upscale neighborhood sits outside Fort Worth proper, and I spotted at least two SUV's parked in the back of the house. I don't know who exactly lives there, but apparently several women were working in the upstairs offices. After a long several moments somebody greeted Daryn and I at the door, (the doorbell wasn't working so we had to knock,) where we explained that we wanted to know about dealer spaces. They excused themselves to go and fetch some applications and flyers from upstairs. We must have sat outside in the hot afternoon sun for twenty minutes in all, no invitation to come inside, no offer for a cold drink made. We got our information finally. I guess after that initial impression our attitude was "let's see how this goes".

Three weeks later on the Thursday of the convention we nonchalantly headed out around lunchtime, as opposed to the last couple of years where we set out at least a day in advance! It was a little after dark by the time we finally got to the Embassy Suites; we actually had a hotel room down the road at a Courtyard by Marriot, but when you're a dealer, the convention check-in is typically your first order of business.

I parked by the front door so I could just "breeze in" and get our check-in done... then no less than four friends came out at different points and greeted us! Amidst the hugs, quick discussions of food and hotels, and the blissful revelation of who wasn't going to the convention this year, I finally got our dealer package. We had dinner and stopped by the Parts Party (held in honor of Particle Man, who also couldn't make it this year) to discover that everyone had already drifted off for food or sleep. Sleep sounded like a good idea.

BotCon 2005 Hasbro VIPs with their gigantic Optimus Prime statue

Friday morning was setup. Typically I'm a basket-case until setup is finished, because I have to get an entire booth arranged on my own within two hours. Finally I got everything ready, including Table-Dancing Galvatron(tm), back for his first BotCon since 1998 in Anahiem. Truthfully, a day-by-day account would get rather dull, so here's a lump sum of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The giant Optimus Prime statue and the big gonfalons advertising the upcoming movie were a neat touch. Too bad our camera died beforehand! I got to spend some time talking with friends, including meeting an old 'net friend for the first time ever -- Kendrick Chua! He earned himself a tackle-hug. His girlfriend is a class act as well.

Chatting with Wally Burr sporadically was also cool. We'd met Michael Dobson a couple of years previously for AnimeFest, so it was great seeing him again and getting to meet his two brothers. You can tell they're related.

Event-wise, the best part was the panel on making the original Transformers: the Movie. The British gentleman who hosted it was the same one I bought my UK Movie poster from in 1998, and he put together a fantastic presentation including storyboard, matching soundtrack and comparisons between the DVD picture ratio and the original 35mm. (Contrary to popular belief, the movie was never in widescreen.) I found it to be both educational and inspiring...meaning, after I'm done with convention reports, I have a lot of drawing to do!

The convention itself left a lot to be desired, though. It was genius of them to put the schedule on the back of the tags, but handing out so many freebies and letting both Hasbro and IDW Comics set up a mini-store in the corner of the dealer room all but killed our business. We didn't quite break even this year, which is a first for us at a BotCon. Daryn and I also didn't take too kindly to being shooed out of the dealer room at five each day, either. I'll withhold my comments on the matter, for politeness' sake. Some attributed the poor business to Hurricane Rita, but I disagree. We did better business at MechaCon, which had to close three hours early because of Hurricane Katrina, which was much closer in proximity!

That brings me to another point. Several fans we talked to expressed dissatisfaction with the announcement that next year's show will be at the same time in September, negating many former attendees' ability to go. I realize what I'm about to say will seem like a plug to some -- instead, please consider it my personal invitation. The second MechaCon will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana next year, in the middle of August (they're working right now on a final date that won't conflict with other big shows), and it is devoted to anime AND Transformers. If you recall the Optimus Prime, Arcee and Megatron costumes from BotCon 2001 in Durham, North Carolina, those are the folks who organized MechaCon. In fact, next year they plan to unveil a Rodimus Prime and Galvatron costume. This year they held a special viewing of "Transformers: the Movie -- Reconstructed" as well as subtitled episodes of "Headmasters". Even if you aren't a big anime fan, you will have fun at MechaCon. So if you can't make it to BotCon, get together with your friends and plan to go to MechaCon instead! You won't have to join some collectors' club, there won't be some pack of exclusive recolors to buy, so you can save your money on having a good time. Daryn and I will be more than glad to hang out with you there!

And as for BotCon itself... well, I won't be going as a dealer next year, that much is certain. Where they host it will probably have a bearing on whether I go at all. But if they hold it in Dallas again, I'd like to get together with friends beforehand. My one regret this year is that we didn't have the chance to go down to Dealey Plaza and see the Sixth Floor Museum, (Daryn wants to play Lasertag on the grassy knoll!) then have lunch in Reunion Tower and see Dallas from fifty stories up. The offer's open, convention or no, for anyone who'd like to get a personal tour of "Big D".

So that's it for this year's BotCon report! Oh, and as you surf for convention photos online, be on the lookout for pictures of my Starscream plushie -- he's not done yet, but once he is, you'll be seeing him for sale!

Peace out!

--Tut