Marion County

Good first day!

Wizard World didn’t open until noon today and there wasn’t much to do before then, except grab some breakfast and relax. Once I got to the con again, I only had one mission for the day: meet Ernie Hudson! He’s best known for his part in Ghostbusters, even though he’s got more than 250 acting credits to his name. I met Dan Aykroyd a few years ago, so it was great to meet another Ghostbuster since it’s always been one of my fav movies. Unfortunately I had very limited time at the con, as I had to catch a flight to Indianapolis in the afternoon, and Earnie showed up more than an hour late for his autograph session. I was happy I got to meet him though and talk a little bit about the movie.

After leaving Wizard World, I raced to the airport in a taxi and just got to the gate when they started boarding. Phew. Pretty stressful. I had a First Class ticket for the trip, in seat 1A no less, but it only took about half an hour to fly to Indianapolis, so the First Class Experience as it were was rather brief.

Once I got to my hotel in Indianapolis, the very luxurious Conrad, I left to visit another luxurious hotel - the JW Marriott which is the host hotel of HorrorHound, my second comic con in as many days. As the name suggests, this particular con is mostly focused on the horror genre.

My first panel didn’t really fit into that genre, however, but it was one I had really looked forward to: Cobra Kai. Almost 35 years ago, the original Karate Kid was released. One of the big classics of the 80s and a really great movie. This year they released a spin-off TV show (Cobra Kai) with the same characters from the movie, focused mainly on William Zabka’s character, Johnny. Zabka was at the panel along with Martin Kove who played his sensei Kreese in the original movie, and who will return in the next season of Cobra Kai.

I really liked the original movies, and I think the new show is amazing, so it was a lot of fun and very interesting to watch the panel. I got a great spot in the front row, and even worked up the courage to ask a question. I ended up asking about their experience working with Pat Morita, who played the legendary Mr. Miyagi. They shared some funny and warm stories about the late actor.

The next panel was focused on an old horror classic, Evil Dead II! I barely remember watching the movie, but I wanted to see the main star of the film, and a bit of a cult legend - Bruce Campbell! I’ve seen him twice before, but he is always very entertaining and tonight was no disappointment.

More HorrorHound tomorrow!Read more