The weeks leading up to the 2003 Pittsburgh Comicon were a tumultuous time in my life. Senior year of college was coming to a close and many things in my life were up in the air. But one thing was certain, I was headed to the 2003 Pittsburgh Comicon come hell, high water or even the zombie plague.
Day 1: April 25th, 2003
Headed out (alone) to Pittsburgh from Shippensburg at around
7am. Grabbed some Red Bull and some Sheetz MTOs and started out. Got
there around 10am and headed to get my tickets. Got my tickets and hung
out with my friend Mike at the one booth that sold the 25th anniversary prints
for charity. After hanging out with him it was time to see some old
friends. I of course had to say hello to Nick Tallo, Nick is a hoot and a
holler when we talk, he was happy to see me and vice versa. Sitting right
next to him was Ken Foree, every time I see this man he always likes to give me
hell about being at the same shows he is. After giving me a big hug and
chit chatting I moved to see David Emge and David Early. Then Jim Krut and
Lenny Lies had a booth together and I stayed there for a while, it was nice to
talk to those guys, Lenny, Jim and myself always have a good time talking.
Most of that day was hanging out with those guys and finally meeting my friend
Markus from Germany. I was so anxious to meet him because he kept talking
about this weekend for as long as I had known him and finally we met. I
also met up with my friend Lee from GA. He was there and actually had a
gift for me. It was a Dawn of the Dead logo/Monroeville Mall logo polo
shirt. I liked it so much I put it on right away.
There was the usual Q and A session around 4:30, I stood in
the back and taped it. It was mostly stuff I heard two years earlier but
with the addition of Clayton Hill, Greg Nicotero, Sharon Ceccati, William
"Butchie" George, G. Joe Butler, and Tommy Lafite they added some new
stories to the mix, and I was glad to meet them. After the show closed
down, I went up to the penthouse and had some drinks with the cast members and
Kyra from Night of the Living Dead showed up and I got to talk to her, it was
nice that she remembered me from other shows and online :).
Around 9:30 it was time for the mall tour. I was
in the first group that Ken led. It was funny because he sometimes
couldn't remember where scenes were filmed and us fans helped him out. My
friend Lee and myself kept thinking of ways to get pictures of places we weren't
allowed to go, and we never did get caught. The tour took us around the
usual places and then we went into the broiler room. Which is located on
the first floor and is really tiny. We saw the little office where they
turned on the muzak. The stairs that go up to their "hideout"
are actually on the first floor right behind the broiler room. Nice trick
photography George!
That should have been the end of my night after the
tour, wrong. Heading through the lobby to my car to grab some stuff I meet
up with Greg and Ken who ask me if I was coming with them to grab a drink and
something to eat. Like I was going to say no, so I said hell yeah.
We piled into the car with Mike from the Comicon and two other guys whose names
I forget and if they are reading this, please email me. We headed right
down the road to TGIFriday's and from the start, our waitress never had a chance
with Ken and Greg. They picked on her about every little thing and she
fought back with them which was even funnier. Ken, Greg and myself decided
to all get Long Island Ice Teas, big mistake, damn there is a lot of liquor in
those things. Then I had a few beers while Ken and Greg did a few
shots. As if that wasn't enough, we closed down the bar in the hotel as
well. Hanging out a little after that was enough for me and called it a
night.
Day 2: April 26th, 2003:
This day didn't start out too well. That hangover was
probably the worst ever, LIIT's mixed with Budweiser doesn't do a body
well. That is why some of the pictures of the show with me in I look like
I was a zombie. Not too much happened that day, I hung out with the guys
at their booth, especially Nick Tallo and Ken. They had me watch over
their booths if they went somewhere to do something, I felt honored that they
let me do that. Later that day I went to eat with Lee and his girlfriend
and I believe that is when I got food poisoning. I felt so horrible the
rest of the weekend and I mean terrible, it was a long night. We were
shown a 16mm print of DOTD provided by Greg Nicotero, which only made halfway
through because of my illness. Later I walked around the hotel, saw some
people and hung out and called it a night.
Day 3: April 27th, 2003: The
Last Day
Still not feeling well by the time the airport tour started
but I was a trooper. Ken and I sat next to each other on the bus over and
had some really deep conversations about the stuff that was going in my
life. We got to the airport and this was David Emge's time to shine.
He lead the tour around the airport which basically looks the same as it
did. The small shack is still there, as well are the pumps and buildings
were Flyboy checks out the junk airplanes. Jim then told us of his scene
the how and where it was done. Very informative and something very nice to
have seen. We then walked around for about another 20 minutes taking
pictures and asking questions. After that it was back to the showroom
floor to hang out until the early afternoon. About 4pm, I said my goodbyes
to the cast and all of my new and old friends at the show. I hated to
leave but school was calling, I had a ton of work due the week after the show
and I had to start cracking on it. After the show, graduation from SHIP
and real life started. That is why it's the end of July and I'm writing
this now.
Also I believe the reason I have neglected this was because I
felt burnt out with Dawn of the Dead. I had been immersed in it for so
long I needed a break to let it have some meaning again. I'm starting to
become more active again because of the remake sparking some interested and buzz
again so it's like a fresh breath has been breathed into Dawn of the Dead and
myself.
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