All this talk of the new Trek movie has me in a Roddenberry state-of-mind. One of my oldest loves is Star Trek.

My dad and I used to watch Star Trek reruns. We saw the Star Trek movies. Then someone with money and power decided to throw a bone to the Trek fans and give us The Next Generation. There was sunshine in the world again. By this time my friends and I were having our own Trek conversations and debates. We all purchased the Klingon Dictionary. Eventually, they gave us Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. I fell in love with Data (I met Brent Spiner!). But this post isn’t about Data, it’s about Klingons.

Worf is the man. Michael Dorn somehow conveys a full range of emotions despite the head gear and rough voice. Worf isn’t just a security officer or tactical man; he is a father, a widower, and an ambassador. I urge you all to go beyond The Next Generation and watch Deep Space Nine to see the complete Worf arc. Good stuff.

Every year at Dragon Con there’s a massive Klingon presence. It’s the home of the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant. My friends Lissa and Ash have attended the pageants as spectators and tell me it’s loads of fun. I want to make it to the pageant this year. The costumes look great. They always impress me. It’s a big undertaking: armor, prosthetics, and make-up. The men and women in Klingon wear have it down to an art.

So now you know, I like Star Trek and Trek costume creations. The pageant is on Sunday, August 31. Stay tuned for pictures and recap of the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant.

Well folks, there’s about a month left until Dragon Con. I still have quite a bit of work to do on my costumes. While I work on my armor, we’ll walk down memory lane of Dragon Cons past.

My first D*C was in 2006. It was a whirlwind of people, costumes, and celebrities. I had a blast. Lucky for me I knew other attendees who knew the ropes. I only had two costumes that first year, Kaylee Frye and Inara Sera. I wasn’t there for the costumes, though, I was there for the spectacle. Every minute of each day was loaded with lines to get into panels, with panels full of engaging stars, and with people expressing themselves. It was great.

I met the men of Battlestar Galactica. I got in Mickey Rooney’s way. And I picked up Erin Gray’s (very charming) autograph for my dad. Someday I’ll make a Col. Wilma Deering uniform. All the incredible costumes got under my skin and I had to come back and bring more than two outfits.

When I returned to Dragon Con in 2007 I was more prepared for all the excitement. Though I admit you’re never really prepared. D*C expands each year to include more fandoms, more costume contests, and more tired bodies than you can count. We entered the Whedon Track contest and took Honorable Mention.

I watched person after person ask for ManWithPez’s picture in his Serymour Krelborne costume. I talked with the incomparable Ron Glass. This time I got an autograph for my mom from William Katt. My highlight was swooning over Brent Spiner. Yep, I’m one of those. Heh. All in all it was too much to take in just a weekend’s time.

This year promises to be even bigger and better. Sean Astin and Adam Baldwin are the big question marks. Each year they plan on attending then cancel at the last minute due to work commitments. I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll both make it to Dragon Con this year. While I don’t think I’m ready for the big time contests yet, I am going to try to participate in the more informal Hallway Costume Contest.

I want to thank the Wolfpack Elite for taking me under their wings and helping with techniques. I look forward to meeting them and seeing their incredible creations. These folks are very talented and versatile.

One more thing, I’m claiming a prime curbside location for the parade this year as well as hitting most of the contests. You’re going to see some incredible stuff when I get back. Just you wait!

I haven’t forgotten my other costume, oh no. The one you voted for me to create for Dragon Con. I have progress on Kitty Pryde. Yay!

The UPS man dropped off my body suit today. It’s matte black and super soft. I love it. When I tired it on I went ahead and put on my boots to see how it looks. I don’t have any other parts to the costume made yet, but I think you get the idea. I grabbed Ampersand to stand in for Lockheed in a picture for you.

The next step will be making the yellow accent, belt, and gloves. I’m thinking yellow vinyl. Any suggestions?

I talked with Sanford Greene a bit and he was just as friendly as I remember him being. He’s very excited about work. I was worried about his passion waning like so many artists and writers, but no him, not yet. The Industry has not got Mr. Greene down.

Most of my time speaking with Sanford Greene was to talk about costumes and the looks he creates for characters. There wasn’t a simple aha! answer to his process. He just works it out, plays with possibilities until he captures the essence. But where does he start? He starts with fashion and music magazines to get a good feel for current trends in youth culture. He checks MTV occasionally too. Then he mocks up sketches to work out the kinks.

I told Sanford Greene (penciler) and Nathan Massengill (inker) that I was trying to make the Wonder Girl armor. They were thrilled. I have their blessings and their good luck wishes. That means quite a lot. I hoped to find out from Mr. Greene what the material was he had in mind for the white part of Wonder Girl’s armor. He laughed. Turns out he hadn’t had anything specific in mind other than it looked good. He suggested it would probably be a heavy cloth or leather. I’m glad he said that because I was worried it might be a layer of armor. I wasn’t looking forward to making that. After much talking about design and industry we agreed it should be a leather-like material. So that’s that. The artist himself has given me suggestions and a green light.

At Heroes Con he was pushing his latest project, a Method Man comic book. I think it’s a big step for comics because it has the potential to bring in a lot of new readers. His work is dynamic. It doesn’t look like every other comic you pick up to read. It’s different and hard to pigeonhole. There is a certain animation feel to his art, but I don’t care about that. I like it because it’s good. It’s pretty and sets itself apart. Each of his projects have their own identity. Even in his own work things change and evolve.

If you pick up one his comics and are taken aback by the look, don’t give up on it. Give it another try the next day and the day after that. You’ll begin to see the appeal.

Well things have wrapped up here at Heroes Con. It was a great weekend. I had a wonderful time and met a lot of incredible people. I can’t wait to go through all my pics and see what I captured.

I sat in on a panel by Savannah College of Art and Design about character design. It was very informative about motivations and costume design. I talked details with Wonder Girl artist Sanford Greene. He is excited about my attempt to create the armor costume.

I’ll tell you more this week after I’ve rested up and edited some photos. I hope your weekend was as packed full of incredible moments as mine was.