The Dudas Abides

I have been doing this “Star Wars” thing for a long time!  Have been trooping with Rebel Legion for just over 10 years; longer if you count the days under the banner of the local Fanforce chapter.  As a result, there are certain events (and hosts) which have become not just annual tradition – but in some cases, long-time friends.

The Free Comic Book Day midnight release party at Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop is one of those times!

Free Comic Book Day is a nationwide initiative to promote reading, where comic book publishers issue special editions of popular comic books that are FREE (hence the name of the event) to pickup at comic shops and libraries all across the country.  What makes FCBD at Carol and John’s so unique is that they host an annual celebration the night before, with local comic fans lined up around the block, leading up to midnight when the doors open and fans can be the first to pickup their FCBD comics.  I’m 100% serious: there are people lined up as early as 4:00pm for comic books that will be available al over Cleveland the following morning.

photo courtesy: cleveland.com

Yet it’s NOT just a race to get your hands on the latest comic book that makes FCBD at Carol and John’s so special… it is the party-like atmosphere that draws the “true believers” to Kamm’s Corner; and that’s where we come in.  Every year, John Dudas (the “John” in Carol and John’s) invites Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison, Rancor Clan and joining us this year was Heroes Alliance to help entertain the crowd waiting outside.  As you’d expect, we take A LOT of pictures with people; many of them wearing costumes of their own.  Over the years, I’ve start to recognize faces in the crowd, because of the loyal following Carol and John’s has among the comic book community in Cleveland.

GLB "Mission Photos" - Carol and John's FCBD

At 10:00pm the “official” party begins!  In addition to the store being open late, Carol and John’s also uses an empty store as an “artist’s row” – with various local comic artists selling sketch art they create that evening.  There is also an art gallery, with comic book related artwork, available for sale.  Carol and John’s also works with local brewers to create special craft beers for the occasion; this year’s bottles were themed after the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Eventually, the clock strikes 12:00 and fans pickup their favorite FCBD comic books!  I have been trooping FCBD at Carol and John’s for as long as I can remember and look forward to it every year!  John Dudas and Carol (his mother) are two of my favorite people to work with in planning events in the “Cleveland” system. Only 51 weeks to go until Free Comic Book Day 2016…

The Dudas Abides!

Rockin' Yuri's Night

I have been trooping at Yuri’s Night since 2009, since the event first started in Cleveland.  As a kid who grew up a fan of both a Star Wars and NASA, this event is one of those dream trooping opportunities where I can enjoy both hobbies at the same time.  That is why I never pass up a chance to bring Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison, Rancor Clan and R2 Builders to the Great Lakes Science Center!

photo by: Joe Sokol

Yuri’s Night Cleveland is part of a worldwide celebration of space exploration; named after Yuri Gagarin – the first human to launch into space (April 12 th, 1961).  It also is the date of the first Space Shuttle launch back in 1981.  The event is also known as “World Space Party” in some places.  The event held at Great Lakes Science Center is covers all three floor of the museum, where guests can enjoy food, drinks, dance floor with live bands and DJs, as well as full access to the museum and NASA Glenn Visitor’s Center (located inside GLSC)

While many guests dress up in sci-fi or space-themed costumes, everyone is amazed when they see our crew of Star Wars characters walking around.  However, once again it was ScottyK and his R2-D2 who stole the show!  Being a Rebel Pilot, I love working with his R2 droid because it presents the opportunity to have a little fun with the guests as I play-acting "talk" with R2-D2 for everyone to hear… and Scotty (just a few feet away) can use his remote controls to move the droid to respond back to me.  Meanwhile, there are Stormtroopers, Jedi, Mandos spread out on every floor of the GLSC interacting with guest and posing for photos.  Honestly, once R2 has his line of photo requests next to the Skylab 3 module, my night consists of patrolling the museum checking on the rest of our crew.  Also happens to be a nice excuse to explore the GLSC! ;)

photo by: Joe Sokol

 This was a busy weekend on the Cleveland lakefront, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (next door to the GLSC) was kicking off their Induction Week festivities; with FREE admission and a fireworks display off the deck of the steamship William G. Mather, docked between the two museums. 

After about three hours in costume, most of our guys change over into street clothes and enjoy the party!  Following the traditional balloon drop and march of the “Sam Adams" (one of the event sponsors) cardboard cutouts onto the dance floor, it’s time we make a discreet exit after yet another successful Yuri’s Night Cleveland.

The Folly of TK-421

Now that the official announcement for Celebration Art Show has gone public, I am pleased to report that Chris Trevas will be one of the featured artists!  In fact, not only is the Michigan native and his latest work: “The Folly of TK-421” going to be available during Celebration VII… but we can now report that several members of Great Lakes Base were used as reference models by Chris while conceptualizing this particular piece of art.  I had the chance to speak with Chris about this, once the “Imperial blockade” on information was lifted.

AWRI: What inspired you to bring a previously unseen moment from the SW saga such as "The Folly of TK-421"to life?

CT: I always wondered what happened off-screen during that scene.  While working on various Millennium Falcon technical books, like the Haynes Millennium Falcon Owner's Manual, I would imagine different scenarios while looking at the floor plan of the ship.  What was the best way to ambush two pairs of Imperials as they came on board?  I pictured Chewie coming from the rear engineering area and Han from the cockpit side, their unsuspecting targets caught between them.  The smuggling compartments are the perfect place to hide the bodies of course!

AWRI: Fun fact = You held a small photo shoot during our GLB 5 year anniversary celebration where you used GLB members Kieron Dillon (as Han Solo) and Chris Blackstock (as Chewbacca) reference models.  How helpful was it for your creative process to have a pair of Rebel Legion costumers to visualize the scene in real-life ahead of time?

CT: It's extremely helpful to have detailed reference especially for a piece this large.  I first planned out the scene with 6-inch scale Black Series figures to get the basic perspective and composition down.  Shooting the action with live models I can work it out in more detail and really bring a scene to life.  Their accurate costumes let me get the lighting, fabric folds, Wookiee hair, and all the other little details just right.

AWRI: Celebration VII is big opportunity to have your artwork exposed to a wider audience, how would you rank "The Folly of TK-421" in your collection of work?

CT: It's hard for me to pick favorites from my work, but I'm very proud of my Celebration print series from the last few years and I think The Folly of TK-421 is a worthy successor to the others like “His Vision Returns” and “The Hunter and His Prey.”   Star Wars Celebration is usually the only convention I set up at so I spend a lot of time planning and doing my best work for the Art Show.

A Special Wish

Micah, an 8 year old who recently underwent heart transplant surgery, wanted more then anything to play the NEW “Star Wars: Battle Pod” game at Dave and Buster’s for his birthday.  Well, thanks to A Special Wish foundation he got a little more then that as members from Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan were also there to help celebrate his BIG day.

Missions like this are why many of us join these Star Wars costume groups!  Our guys arrived early on a Sunday morning at the Dave and Buster’s in Westlake, Ohio and quickly were hidden away in one of the private party rooms.  Just as Michah and his family arrived, we were standing there to greet them along midway leading into the D&B arcade.  Several of local news crews were also there as Micah came running up to us to give Darth Vader a big hug.  And since it would be rude to show up to a birthday party without a gift, we presented Micah with a gift bag filled with Star Wars toys, books and fun stuff.

You can watch WOIO 19 Action News footage of Micah's arrival at Dave and Buster's HERE

From there Micah lead us, especially Darth Vader – by the hand – straight to the “Star Wars: Battle Pod” game where he played the Battle of Yavin level.  From there he wanted to drive race cars with us, but he couldn’t reach the foot peddles (despite our best efforts) on the first game… so we packed up and moved to the next game where he could reach the gas pedal on his own.  We cheered on Micah as he played and even joined him on a couple video games and winning tickets to exchange for prizes in the D&B shop.

Eventually, it was time for us to head back to our “transport” for the long trip home, but not before this Rebel Pilot got a chance to try out “Star Wars: Battle Pod” for himself!  The game is AWESOME and you feel like you are living out the movies; especially when you are dressed for the part! ;)

I love the smell of pancakes in the morning...

...smell like VICTORY! (tastes like it as well)

After a bitterly COLD winter that would cause even Tauntauns to seek warmer climates, the Rotary Club of Canton, Ohio annual pancake breakfast and health and wellness screening event is a welcomed sign of spring.  Members from Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison, Rancor Clan and Dark Empire assembled at Canton McKinley High School on this cold and rainy morning.  Of course, nothing helps you feel better on a morning like this then the smell of fresh pancakes, maple syrup and glass of orange juice!

The public was treated to something of a “character breakfast” as our guys mingled around the cafeteria, stopping to pose for pictures and interact with guests as they enjoyed their meal.  “Slider” from the Cleveland Indians was also there, and you know we had to get a few pictures with him as well.

The McKinley Jazz Band performed during the breakfast, and these kids were pretty good!

Later on, we got the chance to suit out and enjoy some breakfast for ourselves.  The food was great and so was the hospitality of our hosts.

The slogan for the Rotary Club of Canton is: “Service Above Self” – which is a very good way to describe why we troop events like this.

Kourageous Keith

“The Rebel Pilot hides in the basement, alone, hoping to avoid detection at all cost…”

No, that’s not the opening line of the latest X-Wing series novel -- just me being the first to arrive at a surprise birthday party request that came in to Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan this past weekend. 

 The birthday party was for a brave kid known as “Kourageous Keith.” Keith just turned 8 years old and he is fighting a rare form of pediatric cancer called “undifferentiated soft tissue sarcom” -- for the second time.  His mother sent in a request for a few Star Wars characters to make an appearance at his birthday party, an invite our guys were glad to accept.  As you’d imagine, we tend to get a lot of birthday party event requests (for various reasons) -- yet we tend to only accept ones involving kids with serious medical issues.

Once the rest of the guys joined me in my underground hideout/basement, everyone got suited up as quietly as possible. After a while, Keith’s mom comes downstairs to check if we’re ready.  She goes back upstairs and announces that there’s some “special guests” who’d like to wish Keith a happy birthday; which is our cue to start heading upstairs.

In case you were wondering how many adult-sized Star Wars characters can fit in your standard-size living room = the answer is four; yet we somehow managed to fit six of us in the room!

After the rush of kids and parents taking cell phone pictures of Keith with all of the Star Wars characters, you can’t come to a kid’s birthday party without bringing some presents!  Bunch of the guys donated various Star Wars coloring books, toys and Hot Wheels cars for Keith’s birthday.  Keith tried on my Rebel Pilot helmet, which went along with his “Rebels Rule” t-shirt, and checked out one of the Mercs’ blaster rifle.  Then it was time for us to load up the spaceship and leave Keith and his family to enjoy the rest of his party.

You can find out more about “Kourageous Keith” by visiting his facebook community page:

https://www.facebook.com/KourageousKeith

GLB five-year Celebration

This year, Great Lakes Base has been celebrating it’s five-year anniversary with The Rebel Legion!  As one of the largest Bases within Rebel Legion, this milestone says a lot about not only the current members, but also the many people who’ve come and gone over that time.  One of the best ways to honor the legacy of Great Lakes Base is by coming together to celebrate the occasion with our fellow band of “Rebels.”  That is precisely what happened this past weekend in Maumee, Ohio.

Jed’s Fireball and Brew has become the (unofficial) center of Great Lakes Base.  The sports bar is located just outside of Toledo, with easy access from either the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton or Detroit regions of either Michigan or Ohio.  As many of us travel these “hyperspace routes” to and from events on a regular basis, finding a centralized location to host a rally for a volunteer group is helpful. This year’s holiday party would be extra special because it also served that the five-year anniversary celebration.

BrianKenobi and Lumpy welcomed everybody to this special occasion with a brief “State of the Base” address; pointing out the fact that Great Lakes Base is the third largest Base in Rebel Legion, that we’re tied for the largest population of Wookiees within RL, and that for the third year in a row GLB has trooped +100 “missions” over the course of the year.  BrianKenobi also introduced Moff D, the original Commanding Officer for Great Lakes Base, who helped keep this group together during some rather difficult times and thank him for helping build the Base we have today.

Then came time for the announcement of this year’s “Skywalker Select Awards.”  The Skywalker Select Award is presented to a GLB member from each state “for outstanding commitment, devotion and contributions to the Great Lakes Base.”  This year’s recipients were Foogy One (Ohio) and kcjohnson (Michigan)

Once the “rebel briefing” was taken care of, it was time to celebrate and HAVE FUN! Sheikahchica hosted her annual “White (Bantha)” gift exchange, which is a huge hit with the crowd.  For reasons I can’t get into (for now), Lumpy and Bacca9 decided to suit up in their respective Wookiee costumes for a while – which made the evening feel a bit like the “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

Here’s to another five years (and more) of Great Lakes Base!  Because when it comes to this Star Wars family having a good time… “it’s what we do!”