Here's part one of my MegaCon report...

I arrived at the show early... early enough to be #2 in line. My good buddy, John Higashi had already claimed the #1 spot. We spent the time until the show opened looking at art, talking to other collectors as they arrived, playing "war" [at one point I had Higashi down to just two cards and he came back to take the lead... finally I begged for mercy and a stop to the madness].

When the show opened Higashi and I made a bee-line to Adam Hughes's table. Allison was trying to bring order to chaos. There was something like 22 dealers already in line before the doors opened. Higashi and I made the list as #1 and #2 for the "fan list." We visited with Allison for a bit and then Higashi was off and I was in his wake... but before I scooted, I was able to set up a commission with Phil Noto!

Our next stop was Josh Middleton's table. Josh does great work, but it just wasn't in the budget this time. Someday... I hope!

I then headed over to John Beatty and Alberto Ruiz's table. We were laughing and cutting up when James Howell walked by. I asked James if he wanted to take a walk around artist's alley. He said, "Sure."

So here we are strolling through artist's alley. Talking to artists, checking out the folks in costumes, greeting other collector's and just having a fun morning.

All of a sudden a guy steps in front of James and swings up his camera. James brings up his arms in a "What the heck are you doing gesture." The guy lowers his camera and points at James. The guy then brings his camera up for a picture.

I'm looking at both of them wondering what the deal is when James suddenly yells, "I'm not in a @$%*%! costume." Then it dawns on me. The guy thinks that James has come to the show dressed as Kevin Matchstick from Mage.

I bust out laughing which makes James turn a darker shade of red. James looks at me and says something to the effect of "He thought I was in a costume." I'm fighting back the tears as I point to him and answer, "You are!"

What's that saying about deaths of famous people happening in "threes? Today, I'd like to discuss a different kind of three.

It was announced today that Dennis Weaver passed away on Friday. Weaver, was by any definition a celebrity. He has over 100 credits listed on his filmography. Weaver was an actor, director, composer and more.

My fondest memories of Dennis Weaver always involve my grandfather. We'd watch Gunsmoke [Weaver played Chester the deputy who always seemed to be yelling "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon!"] and later McLoud [the country cop who ended up in New York City]. My grandfather and I really enjoyed Dennis Weaver in any role. So wouldn't you know it, we watched the world premiere of "Duel" [directed by Steven Spielberg]. I can remember, during commercials, my grandpa and I talking about how exciting the movie was.

Of course Weaver was known for many other roles. He starred in the Gentle Ben tv series, had a role in Orson Welles' classic "Touch of Evil," memorable guest appearances on all kinds of classic shows and headlined dozens of other movies. Still it is those three roles that I cherish most. It's obvious why.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Dennis Weaver's family, friends, and fans.

Pictured above are Darren McGavin and Don Knotts who appeared together in Disney's No Deposit, No Return. As many of you have already heard, both reecently passed away within a day of each other.

Don Knotts, best known as the bumbling but loveable Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith show, died on Friday from pulmonary and respiratory complications. Knotts appeared in more than 25 films and seven tv series but it was his role as Barney Fife that brought him the most awards [five Emmys] and fan recognition. Looking at Mr. Knotts' filmnography, it's obvious that he would have had a successful career even without the role of Barney Fife [over 50 years in the business, movies, tv, etc.], but the world would have been a bit sadder place.

Darren McGavin, 83, passed away on Saturday from natural causes. Although Mr. McGavin had a long, successful career in movies and on television; there were two roles that standout for me. The first was as newspaper reporter, Carl Kolchak who discovered a real vampire in modern day LA in the made for tv movie "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." [Although I was never a fan of the series that the movie spawned...] The second role was that of Ralphie's dad in the classic "A Christmas Story."

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and fans of both Mr. McGavin and Mr. Knotts.

The other day I linked to an article that discussed Frank Miller's upcoming graphic novel, Batman: Holy Terror!

Miller's novel is getting a lot of press and it doesn't even have a publication date yet. Of course the subject matter [Batman takes on al Qaeda] is pretty controversial.

If you want to see what Miller actually said about Batman: Holy Terror!, his work on Sin City, Daredevil and more, then click HERE for a transcript of an interview posted at Newsarama by Charles Brownstein.

Wolverine used to be one of my favorite comic characters.

Of course that was back in the day. At that time, he was the mysterious little guy with the beserker rage. Chris Claremont or Frank Miller were penning his stories and John Byrne & Terry Austin or Miller & Joe Rubinstein were providing the art. Yeah, like I said, it was years ago.

Still the latest issue of Previews had two covers featuring Wolverine that were pretty cool. The first, the cover to Wolverine: Origins #1 is by Joe Quesada. The second, the cover to Wolverine #41 is by C.P. Smith.

I haven't read a great Wolverine story in years. Maybe one of these issues will break that bad-luck string.

Yesterday, my buddy, John Higashi and I got together over lunch to discuss our "strategy" for next weekend's MegaCon.

For those of you who don't know, John Higashi is considered the "master" in the art of getting commissions from artists. Don't believe me, then take a look at John's personal collection.

Unbelieveable, huh?

We're both hoping to get on Adam Hughes' sketch list. If you're not familiar with Adam Hughes' art, here's a link to his site. Check it out and I'll be here when you get back.

Wow! You were gone quite a while. I can't blame you though because Adam is such an amazing artist. Now you can see why everyone - including John Higashi and me -- hope to get something from him next weekend.

I'll be sure and let you know how it turns out.

I came across this cool Mike Zeck Punisher piece the other day. It was first used as a pin-up in an issue of Marvel Fanfare and then later turned into a poster.

When Mike decided to do a pin-up of the Punisher with a huge gun against a grafitti-filled wall he was left the the problem of what to use for the graffiti. He decided to fill it using the names of friends. In some cases the friends were "couples." As a joke he listed "Zablo and Sly" because of my admiration for Sylvester Stallone.

If my memory serves me correctly he poster was made about about 15 years ago. [Yep, years before the StalloneZone was created!] Unfortunately some of the folks listed on the poster have passed on. And in many cases the couples have split up.

Last I heard though, Zablo + Sly were still going strong.

I know that many of you ZONErs [like me] are big fans of Frank Miller.

If that's the case, then check out THIS ARTICLE to find out about Miller's Batman: Holy Terror! graphic novel which pits Batman against al Qaeda!

You can also click HERE to check out Newsarama's coverage of a Sin City screening with Frank Miller.