Fans and Their Xs

What kind of nerds would we be if we didn’t attend our homegrown geek fest? Embarrassingly shameful ones, and that’s saying a lot because, as non-apologetic nerds, not much shames us. Hence, Jason and I went to FanX again this spring and avoided that unimaginable disgrace.

John Cleese
John Cleese is every bit as crabby and comical as you’d expect.

While this FanX was smaller than some of its predecessors, it still had more panels and hall space than we had time to experience. So, no complaints here about size.

Shazam!
We got a picture with both Bastons.

We attended the John Cleese panel as our first order of business. John was hilarious and not at all PC. He dropped five F bombs, despite the instructions he received not to… or maybe because of them. He brought up politics frequently, another no-no. John was controversial, cantankerous, and enormously entertaining. What would you expect from a cofounder of Monty Python?

Garrett Wang
I’ll never skip an opportunity to meet a star star.

Next, we went to the Warwick Davis panel. Warwick Davis has been in a number of iconic fantasy and sci-fi franchises including Star Wars, Willow, and Harry Potter. He had a rich diversity of stories to share about his time on these film series.

Warwick Davis
Warwick’s career has encompassed many quintessential films.

Our last panel of the day featured the accountants of The Office. Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, and Oscar Nunez were all quirky and lovable. Surprisingly, they displayed characteristics contrary to their screen personalities. Go figure.

the accountants
Accountants don’t usually have this effect on me.

The second day, we dressed in our Fantastic Beasts getups. These were popular with the assembled fans, and we ended up stopping for pictures frequently. We were okay with that. We brought balance to the universe by getting our own photos with the stars of Shazam and the accountants of The Office. In between some exhibit hall wandering, we also went to the Evermore panel and learned about Mythos enchantments. There be dragons!

princesses of power
If you haven’t seen the new She-Ra series, I would highly recommend you do so.

Jason and I were cool with this smaller FanX affair. The only thing this con was missing was a meetup with friends over a meal. Conflicting schedules and MIA associates made our usual dinner with recaps a no-go. We’ll get you next time Gadget!