Greetings and salutations, GNP readers! I hope you’re all doing exceptionally well!
As of last week, another G-Fest is officially in the books. This year’s con (number XXVIII, to be specific) flew by in a blur of panels, purchases, and wonderful people; it might be the fastest G-Fest I’ve ever attended. But WOW, what a great weekend it was.
As is tradition, I’d like to take a few paragraphs to reflect on my time at this year’s convention and share just how grateful I am to everyone who’s paths I crossed between Thursday and Monday.
Let’s dive in!
As always, my G-Fest weekend kicked off with a trip to the beautiful Pickwick Theater for a lineup of kaiju movies. I was only able to attend the first double-bill, but there was no way I was gonna miss Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla 1998 on the big screen! The latter was a surprise on multiple levels; not only was I not expecting G-Fest to acknowledge the film’s 25th anniversary, but the genuine enthusiasm from the crowd was a treat. After a quarter of a century, seeing the film (as controversial snd flawed as it is) get a warm reception was genuinely nice to see.
The remainder of my weekend was split between hosting and attending panels, doing some shopping in the dealers room, meeting the special guests, and – most importantly – connecting with friends and readers. As always, G-Fest is all about the wonderful people – old friends and new. The camaraderie and kindness I was shown from online pals, fans of the GNP, and random attendees who complimented my panels was tremendous. “Grateful” doesn’t begin to describe how it all made me feel.
As always, the special guests were an absolute highlight of the weekend. It always means so much to see these incredible individuals, many of whom literally travel around the world just to see us. While my crazy schedule prohibited me from meeting every guest (I was particularly bummed about not meeting MonsterVerse Godzilla no-cap actor T.J. Storm), but the guests I did get to spend time with were incredible.
Kiyotaka Taguchi, an incredibly talented tokusatsu director who got his start on fan films and is currently directing Ultraman episodes for Tsuburaya Productions, was a last-minute addition to the guest roster. After introducing the screening of his new movie Daikaiju Bugon, I managed to sneak in an autograph between two panels I was hosting. It was a thrill to meet him!
Another surprise guest was Eiji Kaminaga, President of the legendary Marusan toy company. Marusan was actually tabling in the dealers room this year, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to buy a unique original kaiju sofubi direct from the company that literally invented the art form. Kaminaga-san was kind enough to sign the figure’s foot for me. How cool is that?
Last but not least, it was a surreal honor to meet the one and only Yumiko Shaku, A.K.A. Akane Yashiro from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. It’s no secret that Akane is one of my all-time favorite characters in the entire franchise, and the opportunity to meet Shaku-san – who rarely makes public appearances – was a chance I simply couldn’t miss. Getting that chance required jumping through some unconventional hoops; Shaku-san was only signing autographs for a few hours on two days of the three-day convention, and the lines just to purchase her ticket were insanely long. Thankfully, with a little patience, I was able to secure one and – after waiting in another line – got my autograph and photo. I’m still pinching myself.
Of course, no G-Fest is complete without a trip (or 20) to the dealers room! I was on a tight budget this year but managed to snag some amazing new additions to my collection. This year’s haul included a handful of new VHS tapes and Bandai vinyls, a handful of curios (including program books, pins, DVDs, and posters), and some new nerdy apparel! (One of the absolute highlights of the weekend was finally finding a classic Bandai Megalon figure for a reasonable price, courtesy of my bud Jay Key at Toku Toy Town. It’s a figure I’d been trying to get without breaking the bank for years, and not only was Jay offering it for cheap, but he still gave me a substantial discount! Thank you so much, Jay. Your generosity touched a lot of hearts this last weekend.)
And then, of course, there were the panels! I’ve been so grateful to co-host these wonderful and informative discussions at the con these last few years, and this year, I appeared on six. Between Friday and Sunday, you could hear me chatting with my awesome co-panelists about:
– The 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (which can be viewed on YouTube here!)
– The 90th anniversary of King Kong (watch it here!)
– The yearly Kaiju Writers panel (which I’m honored to have officially co-inherited, along with Nathan Marchand, from former organizer Neil Riebe)
– 60 years of Matango
– The politics of Atragon
And…
– Korean kaiju cinema (watch it here!)
(HUGE thanks to Kaiju Kim, her awesome husband Roy, and Greg Noneman for filming and sharing these! Please subscribe to their channels and check out the other cool stuff they do!)
And speaking of Kim, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk a bit about the big announcement she made after her Mechagodzilla II panel…
Kim is directing a brand-new animated short film focusing on the character of Erika Shiragami from Godzilla vs. Biollante, and I’m on board to write it!!
A full post on this project is coming to the GNP website soon, but until then, check out the trailer here, and set a reminder to back the Kickstarter when it goes live on August 1st right here!
As cool as the panels, guests, movies and toys of G-Fest are, the most humbling aspect of the con was the kindness I was shown by way too many wonderful human beings to list here. I lost count of how many people stopped me to say how much they enjoy my writing, the panels I appeared on, my podcast appearances, and the writing advice I gave during the annual G-Fest writers panel. I even received fan art from my good bud Brendan Morley from Autistic Lizard Productions!
Words can’t describe how much every interaction, every kind word, and every moment of support meant to me this past weekend. If you’re among the G-fans who chatted with me, the readers who supported me, and the dear friends (many of whom are seen below) who showed me so much love, please know how deeply grateful I am for your kindness. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.
To wrap up this lengthy post, this year’s G-Fest left me both fulfilled and exhausted (in a good way!) It’s always sad to see G-Fest end, but as with every year, I left fulfilled, rejuvenated, and feeling truly blessed. From seeing friends and shopping to paneling, meeting guests and readers, and co-announcing Kim’s short film, this was a con I’ll never forget.
So… G-Fest 2024, anyone?
The Godzilla Novelization Project 