Lollipop Chainsaw Event: June 2012
I’ve never considered myself someone who becomes easily star struck, but after meeting both the incredible George A. Romero and the gorgeous Jessica Nigri I will admit I fumbled with words. Most people when faced with relentless nervousness react appropriately by stuttering, trembling, blushing, squealing or freezing up completely. I did the opposite, I put on George’s glasses.
I’m not usually one for in-store appearances like these so when I arrived at the EB Games an hour before the scheduled event I was surprised to find the line up was already to the back of the store. Once inside, people were being herded into position by all the employees and that made me feel special, in the kind of way only a gigantic corporation could.
After waiting about 30 minutes the lineup got ridiculous, it had snaked all the way around the store, up the stairs, back down the stairs and out the front door. There were not as many “Lollipop Chainsaw” cosplayers as I had anticipated, however they did make an appearance among all the zombies. Many of the fans in line had “blood” smeared on their face or down their clothing, plus there were a few people who painted their faces and bodies to look quite incredible. Some of the Romero fans went as far as to show up sporting the vintage black and white zombie look; painted completely gray with heavy black eyeliner and black contouring.
The wait was about 2 hours from the moment I was placed in line to the climactic photo op. The news that there will be no autographs from George Romero was given to everyone in line by a very convincing zombie, who also conveniently gave out nifty key chains.
As I moved closer to the front of the line the setup was clear; a mini lifted stage with a fairly large backdrop of San Romero High School. Impressive. Standing on this stage, posing with one eager fan after another was George Romero and the beautiful Jessica Nigiri cosplaying Juliet Starling. A line of professional photographers were ready to snap the main photos, but there was the option to have photos taken on personal camera devices as well.
Any fan of Goichi Suda (CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture… think “No More Heroes” and “Shadows of the Damned”) would have appreciated Jessica Nigiri’s performance. She kept anyone with a view of her entertained by keeping true to the type of humour Suda is known for. Her antics even kept Romero giggling for some time. No matter what part of the store fans were in, or where their place in line was, everyone was having a great time.
During the event, Romero’s trade-mark thick framed glasses had been on my mind. Once on stage, I confessed to Romero that I adore his glasses and asked if I could put them on. He laughed, handed me his specs and posed for a second goofy photo. Even Juliet took part in the festivities, striking several pin-up style poses with Romero’s frames on.
Standing next to (the surprisingly tall) George Romero and Juliet Starling was worth every second of the wait. It was a glorious 5 minutes for Lollipop Chainsaw and Romero fans alike, and nobody was rushed off the stage. EB staff worked very hard to keep the experience casual, something the fans, including myself, appreciated. The atmosphere was friendly, the conversation was surprisingly not completely about Jessica Nigiri’s gravity defying boobs, and I wore George A. Romero’s glasses.
Unfortunately, the game was not sold early during the event like advertised, but EB Games did one better in my opinion. They were kind enough to hand out coupons for $30 off the title. Yes, $30. The offer is valid from the 12th until Sunday but I bought my copy as soon as I could on Tuesday. I can’t wait to play it.
