BURBANK : Hundreds Beam Up to Sci Fi Convention

Fandom is a way of life.

Just ask the hundreds of dreamers who wandered through displays of movie props and fantasy paintings at the Burbank Convention Center Friday and the hundreds more expected over the weekend for the science fiction, fantasy and horror convention being held at the center.

“It’s a very family thing,” said convention manager Roxanne Smith. “I’m odd, you’re odd. We can all be odd together.”

Fandom is everything from science fiction movie props to comic books to paperback horror stories to model spaceships. It’s the Viking hat with a propeller taped on it that computer programmer Keith Thompson wore while flipping through books. It’s also the white face paint and Dracula fangs Kristine Cherry donned before heading to the convention from South Gate.

“Mostly I go for the parties,” said Jonathon Hammar, 32, who drove to the convention from San Jose. “You do a lot of drawing, swap sketches and watch cartoons.”

Phil and Ed’s Excellent Convention is named for the two aerospace engineers who created it: Phil Broad and Ed Zamora. According to Zamora, there are at least two such conventions in the country every weekend. Science fiction and fantasy buffs traveled to Burbank from as far away as Germany to see the masks from “Planet of the Apes,” play Dungeons and Dragons for hours, and meet such stars as Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl Barbara Gordon in the 1960s television series “Batman.”

“I didn’t even know about (science fiction) conventions four years ago,” said Craig, almost unrecognizable without her bat costume. “But I went to one in Georgia and it was the best experience, it was just amazing.”

For a $40 weekend pass, the convention-goer can chose seminars from subjects ranging from “The Changing Faces of Fandom” to “Sex in Space.”

On Friday afternoon, dozens of people, some dressed in medieval costume, some in jeans, others in flowery dresses, browsed through movie stills, soundtracks and jewelry between seminars.

Thompson said he made the trip from San Diego for the people he would meet.

“It’s a normal bell curve with the middle missing,” he said. “It’s full of people who understand my humor.”