FX Show 2009
Report by CMI Toys and DB94 Comic Shop
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The FX Show, short for the “Florida Extravaganza”, started in 1989 as a small toy and comic book convention celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year. It has now grown to be one of the largest entertainment and collectible venues in the U.S.  Through my company, CMI Operations, LLC, I usually work the show in some capacity, either as IT support, convention registration, or section manager.  I also have a retail booth for CMI Toys. This year, I was a show floor assistant and my jobs entailed everything from supervising the FX Exclusives booth, network connectivity for registration, 2-way radio distribution, exhibitor booth support, to general task support as needed throughout the weekend.  The show had events for people of all interests, including a celebrity poker tournament, meeting movie celebrity guests, gaming & costume activities and a wide variety of art, toy, comic and animation exhibitors and displays.  Overlooking the show from the media play box (referred to as "the bridge" during the show), I was able to capture a few shots of the crowd milling about the lobby and of the show floor.  It was a beautiful portrayal of the entertainment industry from comics to movies.  The whole family can attend this event and embrace their interests in collectible toys, comics, art, movies, TV, and games all day while also supporting the American Cancer Society.  There was literally something for everyone going on somewhere at the show the entire weekend! 

A Celebrity Poker Tournament for Charity was held at the International Plaza Spa and Resort, the official Hotel of the FX Show.  The tournament benefited the American Cancer Society.  This was a Texas Hold’em elimination tournament and the winner chose an original art piece from the exclusive card deck used in the tournament. The winner of the tournament was James Tyson Lee (pictured left with Art Paulk, 8th Place) and he selected the Shi Queen by Billy Tucci.  Each card in the deck featured an original design by 54 different artists (see 7 of clubs pictured right).  The remaining pieces will be auctioned after the show with the proceeds also going to charity.

The guest list covered all genres of entertainment with Movies, Music, and TV stars including Adventure, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Fantasy spanning 6 decades: 1950's to present.  These stars were all meeting the public & signing autographs.  Headliners for the show included Leonard Nimoy from the upcoming Star Trek movie.  He hasn’t appeared exclusively at a non-Star Trek Show that I know of and he hosted a special panel discussion Sunday!  James Marsters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Torchwood TV series’ fame was there in his first Florida public appearance including a music concert on Saturday night at the International Plaza Hotel.  On Sunday, James worked on the FX Show Exclusive "Spike" Deluxe Statue, a 1/4 inch scale Sideshow Toys product with assistance provided by myself, Art Paulk, Maus, and Shelly.  This was limited to only 40 pieces but when looking down the line at the figures on display, it was more like a "Spike" Army!  Spectators of this event included many of the celebrities when they would take a break from signing and FX Staff including show promoter Mike Herz himself.

Other musical talent at the show included Jason C. Miller from Godhead (pictured right with Maus and Jack) and Archer Moore from Superstar 73 (pictured right with Wonder Woman).  Jason and Juliet Landau (Drusilla of Buffy and Angel TV Show fame) performed together Saturday night at the International Plaza, in their main ballroom.  After the show they were meeting fans and signing autographs.  All the celebrities I was able to meet and talk with were extremely friendly and personable.  Jonathan Frakes (Lt. Thomas Riker of Star Trek fame, pictured right) always had a smile and the beautiful Jewel Staite (Kaylee of Firefly and Dr. Keller of Stargate fame, pictured left) had such a warm and pleasant personality.  James Tyson Lee from Heroes TV Show (pictured right) took one of the segways for a test drive during a signing break.  A full list of the celebrities can be viewed at www.FXshow.com. 

 

Creator’s Alley features hundreds of comic industry professionals, artists, sculptors, creators, and authors including: Michael Golden who created the FX Show exclusive G.I. Joe Print for the show (pictured left), Tim Townsend (pictured right), and Ted Naifeh (pictured right) just to name a few.  Even on Friday, this section of the show was packed with show attendees.  Three creator anniversaries are happening at the show also.  The 20th anniversary of Dawn by Michael Linsner (pictured left), the 15th anniversary of Shi by Billy Tucci, and the 15th anniversary of the Nocturnals by Dan Brereton.  

 

One of the current trendy and popular art mediums is referred to as “Urban Vinyl”.  These “designer” toys can be uniquely painted and decorated to an individual artist’s style & technique.  Project Vinyl is FX Show’s themed event for this new artistic category with the best vinyl artists including Ron English, kaNO, Peekaboo Monster, Buff Monster, & Angry Woebot will have original works on display.  Live body painting was done during the show on the main stage and our CMI Toys guest model Yaya Han (pictured left) was painted on Saturday by Buff Monster!  The Project Vinyl event also featured the U.S.A. launch of Disney’s Stitch 626 experiment with six different vinyl Stitch Figures on sale at the FX Exclusives booth, with only 50 of each available (three cases were lost during transit and therefore, only 25 were available in three of the six figures).  Besides this, another alternative artistic event is FX Ink Fusion and will feature many well known tattoo artists that specialize in comic related artistry. 

 

The FX Show is also known for having some great swag at the show.  This year there was a huge island of free posters.  When the boxes were opened, it was like the flood gates of hell opened up and the devil himself was giving out free pints of blood to all the world's vampires.  It was a veritable frenzy of poster-grabbing mayhem! 

A number of local fan clubs had a presence at the convention including the 508th Legion, Rebel Legion, and the 501st Legion. 

 

 

 

There was a very active costume scene at the show this year.  Many of the attendees were portraying their favorite media persona (such as Superman, X-men's Gambit, Pikachu) or had a unique costume designed with a particular theme in mind such as Steam Punk or Wasteland Warriors.  Even the cars dressed up in costume, just check out the VW Bug on the right dressed up as Pikachu. 

The costumes flowed over into Saturday night when the Wolf Pack Elite hosted the FX Rocks! Party. Where else could you get a glimpse of Halo's Master Chief sitting on a bench resting outside a hotel lobby?  It was very well organized and they had multiple musical events all night as well as various performers to entertain the huge crowd.

 

 

For the active hobbyist or someone who just wants to pick up a toy or comic for fun, the FX Show has one of the largest exhibitor floors in the world with over 150,000 square feet.  There were exhibitors from around the world set up featuring a wide array of toys, comics, sci-fi, horror, sports, anime, gaming, and collectibles of all kinds.  Exhibitors included Jack Klodzinski, the world renowned collector aficionado from CMI Toys, who was on hand to answer questions about toy collecting.  For oddities, there was the contest by DB94 Comic Shop to "Guess the Joes in the Jar"!  For those Disneyana collectors, the FX Show hosted a Disney Pin Trading event with seven show exclusive event pins (two released per day and a special stitch if attendees bought the full set).  Anyone interested in having a fun and relaxing time at an indoor even should attend the FX Show next year because it is “The Coolest Show on Earth!” 

 

۞...Where
     ☻Orange County Convention Center West Concourse,
    9800 International Drive, Orlando Florida 32819
۞...When
     ☻April 17-19, 2009. 
۞...Links
     ☻www.db94comicshop.com
    ☻www.angelicstar.net
    ☻www.cmitoys.com
    ☻www.fxshow.com

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Please note that all photos and content are property of CMI Operations, LLC and may not be reproduced without permission.