It's been a whirlwind week ever since Fan Days IV officially came to an end, but that doesn't mean there are no more reports to write up! As I head down to the Big Apple for New York Comic Con, what better time to get organized and wrap up last weekend's show?

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll be hearing on the next ForceCast: Collector's Edition, as James Burns and I walked around the exhibit hall, did a little shopping, interviewed some folks, and met some new friends.

I spent most of Friday night flying into Dallas where I reunited with the Rebelscum crew, plus a lot of the artists and a few of my fellow website reporters. There was a lot of excitement for the weekend, but mostly it was great to see old friends, make new friends, and officially meet people from social media circles.

Saturday was just much too busy to try and record anything, with back-to-back panels, a live Weekly ForceCast show, and dozens of people stopping me to get some cool buttons (or badges, if you're from the UK). And once the show ended for the day, that's when everyone rushes out to get some food, drinks, and hang out to talk at the hotel (sadly, it rained so we were stuck indoors, but that did not stop the fun).

Saturday night was also pretty crazy with the Silent Auction taking place, the "Hughes the Force" screening (a hilarious film...just wait until you see it!) and the costume contest (some great costumes from various sources were seen throughout the weekend) all happening simultaneously it seemed. I met up with some fellow fans and we went out to dinner, then finally met up with the rest of the team back at the hotel bar.

Sunday was a little calmer (it rained again), so James and I went around the exhibit hall where the celebrities were set up, the artists were busy drawing, and the dealers were showing off their cool collectibles. We went around the booths trying to find some good deals, and as always, we ran into some old friends.


In the middle of it all, artist Spencer Brinkerhoff surprised us in the hall dressed as a Biker Scout! He stopped by and chatted with us for a bit, then headed over to his table. It was great to see him having fun at the show, and he promised to wear the costume the rest of the day.


Mega-collectors Gus Lopez and Duncan Jenkins had several panels on Saturday, discussing prototypes and their passion for collecting, including a fun Q&A panel. There wasn't time for a proper interview that day, but we ran into them on Sunday morning and had a quick chat about Fan Days, their Guide to Star Wars Prototypes and the Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles books, and more. We will have both men on the show in a future spotlight.


Steve Sansweet must have thought we were stalking him, because we bumped into him at least half a dozen times just in the first hour! It's always fun to talk to Steve...and even more fun to go shopping with him!...and you can hear his thoughts on collecting every month in his special segment. Steve even took the time to sign a book for TheForce.Net's Eric Geller, and I snapped a few pics as proof!

After the show ended, nearly everyone got together for dinner and then we had a quick viewing of Friday night's episode of The Clone Wars back in the hotel room. Then it was one final night of fun at the hotel, shooting pool (and losing), before waking up the next day for flights back home.

Fan Days has been called a mini-Celebration...which is accurate to an extent. But this show is much more relaxing, and it a lot of ways more fun. Since it's not a collecting-announcement kind of show, there weren't a lot of official exclusives to try to collect. But there were a few...

Here are the various autograph collector cards that you could get and try to get signatures during the show.






Finally, here are the various badges that were made for Fan Days IV...a different character depending on what you did during the weekend.