Indianapolis 500

by: Lumpy

Memorial Day Weekend, members of the Great Lakes Base joined fellow Rebel Legion and 501st members from around the country to participate in both the opening weekend of the "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" exhibit at the Indiana State Museum, but also represent the museum in the Indianapolis 500 Parade.

Representing Great Lakes Base included: marcus (Tarfful), Kristilla (Rebel Pilot) and myself (Chewbacca).  Before the museum opened to the public, we got the chance to look around the exhibit hall and checkout the exhibits and displays.  Later, we got suited up for the special midnight exhibit opening -- including a visit to the Millennium Falcon Experience

Once the exhibit hall was closed for the night, we got to stay at the museum to get a bit of sleep -- before getting ready for the parade, bright and early in the morning.  While I don't believe the bus company had Wookiees in mind when they designed the busses.  That was more than made up for when Marcus and I got to ride in style for the parade!!!!  After what can only be described as a "brisk pace" for the parade, we made our way back to the museum for a group photo and some more trooping.

One of the most fun parts for me was going down for a visit during the high school band party.  The museum invited all the bands from the parade to come out and tour the exhibit, so Chewie got a chance to mingle (and maybe have a dance or 2) with the kids.

To top off my stay, the museum folks were nice enough to let me go through the Millennium Falcon Experience and the museum exhibit one more time to allow Chewbacca some extra time in his favorite transport.  Definitely a memorable experience that ranks very high on my list of great events!!!!!

Motor City Comic Con

Motor City Comic Con has become the single largest event of the year on the Great Lakes Base calendar; and there is a reason why.

How my day started should have been a clue this year’s Motor City Comic Con was going to be an adventure -- oversleeping my alarm, and setting a new speed record for shower/dressed and out the door for the “hyperspace jump” along the Ohio Turnpike up to Michigan.  After a smooth ride all the way up to Novi (just outside Detroit) the next big surprise was the line of people already waiting to get inside; a line that wrapped all the way around the convention center! 

One of the reasons for the huge crowds (event my MCCC standards) was some of the names of the guests: including Stan Lee, founder of MARVEL Comics.  The line for Stan Lee took up it’s own section of the MCCC floor.  One of the things, which have made Motor City Comic Con the biggest and the best comic convention, is their lineup of media guests. This year’s Motor City Comic Con autograph row featured an astounding 59 media guest!

Another thing that makes Motor City Comic Con a fan favorite is their ability to bring guests with a Star Wars connection; and as such we always try to make those guest feel particularly welcomed.  This year featured Stacy Haiduk (voice actor from Star Wars: The Old Republic game) and Joe Viskocil (production team on "Star Wars" and "Empire Strike Back").  Lumpy went ahead and organized to have both made official Rebel Legion “Friends of the Rebellion” -- and we sent a welcoming committee of members over to each of their tables to make the presentation; complete with their own GLB t-shirts and award plaque.

Then there are the non-Star Wars guests that we just couldn’t ignore a photo op with.  As some of you may know: both Sam Witwer and Sam Huntington from “Being Human” were inducted as Honorary Members of the Rebel Legion, by Great Lakes Base members at DragonCon; back in 2011.  What you may NOT know is that both guys had fun teasing their co-star Meaghan Rath about the fact that she wasn’t eligible for a Honorary Memberhip or “Friend of the Rebellion” -- because she’s never worked on anything Star Wars related.  So when it was announced that Meaghan was coming to Motor City, as both Witwer and Huntington had done before her -- we decided to (unofficially) adopt her as an “honorary jedi ghost” and presented her with her own GLB t-shirt and one of our exclusive GLB Challenge Coins! (my last one, in fact).  Something she can take back to the set and show off to her co-stars… who’s laughing now boys? ;)

In addition to being the busiest day of the convention weekend, day two of MCCC was also designated “Shadow Squadron Saturday” – marking the first time we had nearly the entire squadron assembled at one place for an event.  Having marched together in the Star Wars character parade through the convention floor, the Shadows went on a recon photo-op over by “the Admiral” -- as in Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama) and his son Bodi Olmos (“Hotdog”) from "Battlestar Galactica."  The Admiral was kind enough to give our squadron an inspection and joined us for some photos.

May the Force be with you... SO SAY WE ALL!

 All this excitement made for a very busy time over at the Star Wars section; where Great Lakes Base, Great Lakes Garrison, R2-Builders and Mando Mercs all had information tables, displays and costumed members available for photos; and OMG did we take a lot of photos!  At times, it was all we could do just to huddle together in small groups to give people a chance to get a picture taken… before they’d shuffle over to the next line waiting for the next photo-op with Star Wars characters.  This was FoogyOne’s first-ever Motor City Comic Con -- and really first comic convention as a costumer -- and my padawan got a “baptism by fire” in the world of comic book conventions.

There is so much more I could tell you, and all this is just from Saturday at Motor City Comic Con.  Hopefully, this give you a better idea why MCCC has become the signature convention of the year for Great Lakes Base -- and why I am already looking forward to Motor City Comic Con 2014.

Packrat Comics

by: Cordaroyfog

"You want to rent a movie?"

May the 4th at Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio was a fantastic success!  We were told by management that their FREE COMIC BOOK DAY events has grown every year and continues to be the premier comic emporium in Columbus.  This was a great joint event between Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan.  For the majority of the day we had a few Jedi, Boba Fett and Stormtrooper.  In addition to us, there were countless comic characters in attendance, including some we have encountered at other events.  There was a well known Joker -- who won the costume contest, along with a 60's Batman to do battle with him, a hilariously in character (yet family friendly) Deadpool, Wonder Woman, Link, a few Doctor Who, and a “duct tape” Iron Man -- just to name a few.

GLB with Brian O'Halloran

The line was out the door and around the corner all day as Brian O'Halloran, who played Dante in the Kevin Smith classic “Clerks”, was on hand for photos and autographs.  He was the nicest guy ever and took free photos with the Star Wars characters.  I overhead that he had been there all night, the previous night for a meet and greet and they just hung out all night talking.  You really couldn't imagine a nicer guy!

GLB "Mission Report" photos -- Packrat Comics

Later, we got some extra support from members who had been over at Laughing Orge Comics and it really ended a beautiful day.  I forgot to wear sunscreen and didn't anticipate being outside in the parking lot all day -- so I paid for that later, but it was worth it. The 4th was with us indeed.

Holy Toledo Mud Hens!

photo courtesy
Toledo Mud Hens

The Toledo Mud Hens decided to celebrate “May the 4th be with you” (also known as Star Wars Day) and it’s sequel “Revenge of the 5th” by hosting a pair of Star Wars themed baseball games; including the team wearing special “Chewbacca” style baseball jerseys both days.  When news of the Mud Hens’ Star Wars baseball jerseys hit the web, opinions among baseball fans ranged from “awesome” to “wtf?” -- and you thought Star Wars costumers were picky?  The “Chewbacca” jerseys were drawing national attention to this past weekend’s home series at Fifth Third Field, where the Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison would be right in the middle of it!

After trooping at various Free Comic Book Day events in the morning, groups from both Rebel Legion and 501st converged on downtown Toledo by mid-afternoon.  Several of us had trooped at a much smaller event with the Mud Hens last year, so we already had a good idea of how the ballpark was setup.  Once we got geared up, we got divided into teams to cover various areas and levels of Fifth Third Field.  As a Jedi, I got assigned to “Team Chewie” -- which let me tell ya, we tease Lumpy about being a “rock star” when he’s wearing his Chewbacca costume.  However, I will be the first to admit that when you’re standing next to a 7ft tall icon of the Star Wars universe, sometimes ya just have to let Mick be Mick -- as Lumpy had a line of fans running all the way down the 3rd Base side of the ballpark. Later, our resident Wookiee took to the field to deliver the game ball to the Mud Hen’s starting pitcher.

Once the game got underway, Teams “Vader” “Chewie” and “Leia” spread out around the ballpark.  There was a photo booth setup behind home plate, but “I don’t think the Empire had wookiees in mind when they designed them, Chewie” -- so we just stepped over to the side and people were coming up for pictures all night.  As the lone Jedi that evening, I spent most of the evening dueling with kids that had lightsabers.  We were not the only ones in Star Wars costumes; many kids came to the game dressed as their favorite characters – including some homemade costumes that even impressed us!  

Unfortunately, “the Force” was not with the Mud Hens... as they lost (in 13 innings) by a score of 2-1.

For the second game in Mud Hens’ “Star Wars” home stand, we may have decided to go a bit off-script and do the things we know work at sporting events that we troop.  “Revenge of the Fifth” also happens to be Cinco de Mayo, so when Darth Vader decided he was going to wear a sombrero… how (exactly) do you tell a Sith Lord he can’t do that?  We spent more time on the concourse with fans, we posed for more pictures then even the night before and watched Leia and Chewie on the "KISS-CAM."  Later between innings, the Mud Hens’ staffers got this idea for us to go onto the field during “Harlem Shake” ... not my idea of a good time, but we survived.

The Mud Hens took a beating from the Knights by a score of 4-1.  Afterwards, we gathered the Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison at home plate for a group picture -- which (for the record) is the footage that aired on CNN, ESPN and NBC News’ coverage of the Mud Hens weekend!

Mud Hens marked the completion of a rare accomplishment for any Rebel Legion or 501st member, the “FOUR-PEAT” -- trooping 4 events in less then 36 hours! Three of us managed to pull off a FOUR-PEAT this past weekend, which help make “May the 4 th be with you” weekend something to remember for a long time.

Rupp's Comics

Just hours after FREE COMIC BOOK DAY kicked off at Carol and John’s Comic Shop, members of Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison made their way across “the buckeye state” to make appearances at comic book stores.  This was the start of a very busy weekend and we start over in Freemont, Ohio at Rupp's Comics.

photos courtesy Snips92

Rupp's Comics is much like a TARDIS -- “it’s bigger on the inside.”  For this particular event, you could say that I was on a “covert ops” mission -- as I was wearing my 501st Death Star Trooper costume. Representing The Rebel Legion were a Slave Leia (with ROTJ “sandstorm” scene cloak), Rebel Pilot along with a TIE Pilot.  Joining us there were a team from Northeast Ohio Ghostbusters; complete with their own version of the ECTO-1.  Together, we waved to cars as they passed by -- some honked their horns in return – while other just looked confused.  One slightly awkward moment as we tried waving "hello" to a local police cruiser -- who stopped, thinking we were trying to flag him down for help (complete with a suspect in the back seat).

“We’re fine. We’re all fine here now. Thank you. How are you?”

In addition to the great selection of FCBD comic books that were available, customers also got the chance to meet Star Wars artist -- and Rebel Legion Honorary Member Joe Corroney -- who was selling signed prints of his artwork as well as doing quick sketches for customer’s request.  I sat back and watched Joe crack out a brilliant drawing of Master Yoda -- something Joe admits still has an added hint of pressure, with his client standing right there and limited time to spare.  Still you wouldn’t know it by the finished product, which is why Joe Corroney is one of the premiere Star Wars artists and something Ohio comic book fans should be proud of.

After a few hours of welcoming customers, posing for pictures and doing a little shopping of our own, it was time to say goodbye to Rupp's Comics and their in-store pet cats -- what is with comic shops and cats? -- to head over to Toledo for yet another “May the 4th be with you” event: Star Wars Night with the Toledo Mud Hens.

There will be more AWRI mission reports from other Free Comic Book Day events.

May The Fourth be with the Padawans

by: Tiernan

Rebel Scum THIS!!!

For only the third time since I’ve joined the Rebellion, we Great Lakes Base members outnumbered the Great Lakes Garrison 501st by a ratio of 4-to-1.  Commerce Township Community Library celebrated “Star Wars Day” (also known as “May the 4th be with you” Day) by throwing a get together meet and great between Star Wars characters and children along with their parents.

Inside a conference room at the library, the staff had set up a variety of activity stations for visitors.  When it was time to open doors for the event, the Rebels went out to lead the small padawans and their parents into the conference room to begin the day's activities.  After some quick introductions, first task for kids was build their own lightsaber.  The first group of younglings started right away with the help of a Jedi, Endor Trooper and Rebel Fleet Trooper.

As more younglings started gathering and making use of the activities set up for them, we spread out to assist the young ones as they decorated ewoks, tested their skills in the force knocking over pictures of Stormstroopers and using a lightsaber as well as building droids making disguises and building Star Wars LEGO sets.  In between all the fun, we took plenty of pictures with the children and their parents.  Thanks to a Jedi Pilot, an extra light saber was available for the young ones to hold while having their picture taken with Star Wars characters.

photos courtesy n0c001gamertag

At the end of our time at Commerce Township Community Library all the younglings left with smiles on their faces and excited about spending time with us.  It just reminds us all part of the reason why we do what we do.

Carol and John’s

When the nerd holidays known as FREE COMIC BOOK DAY and May the 4^th be with you (also known as “Star Wars Day” ) just happen to coincide with one another, the Force is truly in balance.  For the members of Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan there is no place better to kickoff FCBD then at Carol and John’s Comic Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

For those new to this tradition, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is held on the first Saturday in the month of May, when publishers and comic book stores across the country team up to print special editions of comic books which fans can get FREE at their favorite comic book stores -- but only on that day.  Carol and John’s Comic Shop take things to the next level, hosting a special midnight release event every year to celebrate FCBD; and fans line up hours ahead of time to be some of the first to get their hands on the latest copies of these limited-edition comics.

Carol and John’s Comic Shop have earned a reputation for both their pride in Cleveland’s place in comic book history as well as their FCBD bash!  Carol and John’s teamed up with the Cuyahoga County Public Library to distribute an exclusive “Commemorative Cleveland Edition” Superman title -- with custom artwork of the Man of Steel flying over the city where he was created.  They also have veritable “Artist Ally” with 20+ local comic book artists doing sketch covers for local charity.  Then there is the famous Carol and John’s FCBD custom ale, brewed by the guys over at Cleveland Action Brewery.  If all that wasn’t enough, Carol and John’s went all out by ordering customized R2-D2 “May the 4^th be with you” patches, designed by national Star Wars trivia champ Kevin Liell -- for anyone dressed in Star Wars costumes.

Which brings me back to us -- in all my blogs, has it ever taken this long to mention the Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan? No, that is how awesome this particular event is.  While I’ve been trooping at Carol and John’s for several years now, I tend to think of both of the store’s namesakes as personal friends -- rather then just another event contact; and as such both side go out of their way to see the other is well looked after.  In return, members from all the groups showed up in record numbers to provide a fun atmosphere for Carol and John’s customers as they waited (some as early as 4pm) for midnight and the official release of the FCBD comics.

GLB "Mission Report" -- Free Comic Book Day 2013

Yet Carol and John’s midnight release is just the START of a full weekend of trooping; for some… four events (all across Ohio) in under 36 hours!