GRYPHON GOES TO G-FEST!

As a collector of old school/retro media and toys, some of my favorite places to go hunting are conventions and toy shows and occasionally, I will find several Godzilla related items. But more often than not, Kaiju will not be the main focus of the shows I go to. The only previous convention I'd been to that seemed to have stuff primarily focused on my interests was the Famous Monsters Convention held in 2017 that has never been held since and that makes me upsetty spaghetti. 

There is one convention however that I have always wanted to go to ever since I found out about it in the early 2010's, G-Fest!
G-Fest is an annual gathering of fans of Godzilla and Japanese monster movies as a whole, featuring a large number of vendors selling movies, action figures, t-shirts and other interesting products. There will also be special panels, costume contests and best of all, sometimes the film makers or the actors from the movies will make special appearances.
Naturally this convention sounds like a no-brainer for myself. Well, it wasn't until around the end of 2019 that I brought up the idea of going to G-Fest to my good buddy, Kaiju Kidd. We figured that the earlier we planned and saved the better our chances would be at being able to attend and make the most of our time there but the 2020 convention ended up being cancelled because of...things...
It really looked like we were going to be able to attend the next show in 2021, but again the show ended up being cancelled.
But as the saying goes, third times the charm. Our trip to G-Fest XXVII was a go and a lifelong dream of ours was about to be fulfilled.

DAY ZERO - JULY 14, 2022

That Thursday was mostly spent getting used to the room and the Hyatt Regency O'Hare where G-Fest was being held.
The beds in our room were ridiculously comfortable and we ended up napping for a good hour after we got settled. 
We also took the opportunity to explore the surrounding area to see if there was any places to eat and maybe pick up any drinks/supplies we needed. 
(Spoiler alert, we ended up door dashing and eating food we already brought with us.)
And can I just say I appreciated the weather in Chicago immensely more than the 100+ degree heat of where I'm from in Texas. It was a bit warm the first day, but after that it was a calm, cool and sporadically rainy weekend which I loved. 

Throughout the weekend we also watched several movies in the hotel room including Clash of the Titans, Men in Black 3 & Tremors.
One channel provided included several Japanese Tokusatsu shows including Giant Robo and Kamen Rider. The only problem was the shows were in black in white, even though the shows were broadcast in color and the picture was zoomed in to the point where the subtitles were cut off. We didn't spend too much time watching this channel. 

The first real events of G-Fest took place at a nearby movie theater called the Pickwick Theatre. Their Thursday showings included 2 double features, the first one being for Godzilla vs. Hedorah & Godzilla vs. Megalon. Unfortunately, these showings were taking place as we were landing in Chicago and settling in. We were able to catch the second double feature later that evening of the original Godzilla and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. 

Let me tell you, the joy of seeing these movies on a big theater screen with a room full of fans hollering and cheering is an experience that made me so happy. It made me wish we would have caught the earlier films, THOSE are the kind of movies you'd want to watch with fans!

DAY ONE - JULY 15, 2022

The big day came where we would finally get to experience the meat and potatoes of G-Fest. After waking up and standing in the long and somewhat confusing at times registration line, we got our passes and I ran back to the room to shower and freshen up. (convention protocol, of course)

The main event for me was the dealers room, by far. Despite being somewhat crowded, it exceeded all my expectations.
I was ecstatic seeing tables and boxes full of Godzilla merch everywhere. I saw stuff I had, stuff I wanted and stuff I never thought I'd ever see in person. 
My main goal was to target the more hard to find stuff including VHS tapes which 3 tables in particular had a lot of. The VHS's I picked up included the hard to find American version of Varan the Unbelievable, a colorized version of King Kong, Ghidrah The Three-Headed Monster, Son of Godzilla as well as the exact copy of the first Godzilla movie I owned, Godzilla vs. Megalon. 

The most special tape I found at the 'DVD World' table was of a 1987 Dinosaur documentary I used to rent from the library all the time as a kid. It's called "Dinosaurs Dinosaurs Dinosaurs" and it is one of several specials hosted by Gary Owens and Eric Boardman. These specials are very near and dear to my heart and it makes me happy that there is an upcoming Blu-ray set of the specials in the works, but having the VHS tape of one of them brings a warm feeling to my soul. 
DVD World also had a good selection of Godzilla and other monster movies on Blu-ray, DVD and VHS where I picked up DVD copies of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters and Godzilla City On The Edge Of Battle. They are from China and while the cases may say they are Region 3 DVD's, they play perfectly on my Region 1 media player. Having the Godzilla Anime Trilogy available on Netflix to watch whenever I want is nice, but I very much like to own physical copies of the media I consume, especially when it comes to Godzilla. I did enquire about the 3rd film in the series, Godzilla: The Planet Eater, and the vendor told me he did have several copies that he would bring tomorrow. I made it my goal to acquire one of them. 

I have to shout out one vendor in particular called "House of Monsters" who had a great selection of figures, books and posters. They had 2 particular items that I'd been seeking for years. The first was a book about one of my personal heroes called 'Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life.' I have a feeling this book will come in handy for an upcoming retrospective.

-hint hint-

The other item was a 12 inch Gigan figure from the US Bandai toy line that I could never find at Toys R Us when it released. I got them both at a good price and cradled that Gigan like it was my baby, a very sharp and pokey baby.

After about an hour, I decided to take a break from shopping to check out a few panels.
The subject of the first one I went to was a belated 50th anniversary celebration of Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The panel was hosted by several fans including Godzilla YouTuber named Alyssa Carpenter (Alyssa GojiGeek101. Check out her videos, they're very interesting!) The panelists spent a good deal discussing the more serious and symbolic aspects of the film while also acknowledging the more bizarre elements which I very much enjoyed.

The second panel I attended was one by an artist named Bob Eggleton, his panel was all about the MonsterVerse films and why they are important. Basically, it's because they help keep Godzilla in the public eye and introduce the character to new fans. 
Also he says he has a brief appearance in 'Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla', That's something I'm gonna have to look out for next time I watch that one. 

With the panels finished I made one more pass through the dealers room to see if the vendors had put out any new stock from the boxes behind their tables, I once again came across the House of Monsters table and I found another gem. 
I stopped in my tracks when I saw this sitting on the same rack I found the Harryhausen book. A book called 'A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series' by David Kalat. I really enjoyed listening to Kalat's many audio commentaries on various Godzilla DVD/Blu-ray's so of course I had to see what he thinks of the other films in the series.

With shopping done for the day I decided to take a break and eat dinner and hang out in the hotel room until it was time for my next event. I would return to the Pickwick for a late evening showing of 'Godzilla vs. Kong.' I especially wanted to see this one after seeing clips on YouTube from the 2019 G-Fest showing of 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters.' This showing was once again, everything I wanted and more, although it could have done without this one guy who kept simping for Millie Bobby Brown. 
Before the feature, we were treated to a special presentation called "King Kong Fantasia" a orchestral montage featuring clips from King Kong media ranging from the well known to the obscure. The ending also included a voice clip of Linda Miller from 'King Kong Escapes' saying the GVK line: "We need Kong, the world needs him."

All in all, Day One was a rousing success.

DAY 2 - JULY 16, 2022

On March 14, actor Akira Takarada passed away. He was best known for playing Ogata from the first Godzilla, but also had starring roles in several of the Showa Era films.
Me and Kaiju Kidd woke up early to attend a panel paying tribute to the late actor while also going over his life and career.
As an interesting tidbit, he was not only an actor of film and stage as well as a singer, but he was also a voice actor. He provided the Japanese voices for the iconic Disney villains Professor Ratigan and Jafar. He was also Bendu in season 3 of Star Wars Rebels (a show I highly recommend btw.)

For my next outing in the dealer room, I decided to set my sights on items I knew would be plentiful throughout the weekend i.e. vinyl figures and t-shirts. I even managed to snag a sweet looking Gamera vs. Godzilla print from Bob Eggleton's table. 

I also made sure to go back to the DVD World table to try and get a copy of 'Godzilla: The Planet Eater' and luckily for me, I was able to get the last copy they had. Mission accomplished!

As I mentioned earlier, G-Fest is usually graced with appearance by people involved with the movies themselves. However due to...things...only 2 guest were able to make it out for the show. We would have had a 3rd guest in the form of Don Frye from 'Godzilla: Final Wars' but as fate would have it, he ended up with a back injury and had to cancel. There was a special book attendees could sign with get well wishes for him, which I did.

The guests that did make it out were Hiroyuki Kawase and Tomoko Ai. Kawase played the child characters Ken from 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' and Rokuro from 'Godzilla vs. Megalon', while Ai played the iconic role of Katsura from 'Terror of Mechagodzilla.'

I got to meet them both, had them sign prints and took pictures with both. They were both super awesome to interact it and it was such an honor that they were able to make it all the way out here. 

Me and Kaiju Kidd met up to look around the model/art room. There were some really nicely made pieces in both of these rooms, I was especially pleased to see some nice Harryhausen representation. 

After more chilling/dinner in our room, our last event was the costume parade. After what seemed like a half an hour delay, the costume contest got underway and the contestants made their way out of the hall and made a quick pass for an eager audience standing outside. 
I was really surprised at the creativity and ingenuity of the costumes I saw. 

With the parade over, we were beat and decided to call it a night and Day 2 was another win for the books.

DAY 3, JULY 17, 2022

The last day of the convention started with packing up and checking out of our room. Before going back for one last dealers room run, I opened up Pokémon GO and played for the Starly Community Day. I managed to catch 9 shiny birbs.

For my final dealers room run there were a few items I had my eye on, it was just a matter of what I wanted the most and what I could afford. 
In the end, I left with 2 more shirts and a metallic colored 50th Anniversary Gigan figure. 

I also had to stop by Matt Frank's table and get a picture with him. 

During the convention, there were other movies being shown in the ballrooms, one that caught my eye was 'Nezura 1964' an hour-long biopic about the ill-fated giant rat movie that was to be made by Daiei before it was cancelled due to the rats being problematic to work with. 
Seeing this movie was going to be the last thing I did at G-Fest before leaving, but ultimately I ended up not going.

Our last moments at G-Fest were spent in the gaming room, where we watched people play some Destroy All Monsters Melee, Save The Earth and Unleashed. 
We also got the chance to play this really nice Godzilla pinball machine. For the record, Kaiju Kidd is better at pinball then I am.
There were a few panels I wish I could have attended including discussions on the 50th anniversary of 'Godzilla vs. Megalon' and the "controversial" 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.' Unfortunately, our flight was scheduled (and delayed) to leave mid afternoon and we had to leave. 
With that, it was time to bid cool, cloudy Chicago farewell and return to the kiln that is Texas...ugh.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, G-Fest was everything I wanted and more. Whether or not I make it a regular or maybe even a bi-yearly convention I attend is still to be determined. I would love to attend again, especially if they can get more guests to show up and include more special events, but with all things (especially the way things are going now) we'll have to wait and see...
I can absolutely recommend to any fan of Godzilla and Japanese monsters that you visit G-Fest at least once in your life. 


And if you call the hotel, ask them if they have a microwave and they say "no", they're probably lying. 

HERE'S WHAT I GOT FROM G-FEST

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

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