Another year at Chattanooga Comic Con means another wild and crazy adventure with Ming Chen of Comic Book Men. At this point it becomes a question of how do we keep raising the bar on these adventures. We’ve traveled the streets of Chattanooga on a Trolley and enjoyed movie quality pizza with stars of all kinds. Though for 2025 we have a tale that has us literally grabbing the bull by the horns.

Our latest party with Ming takes us to a bar called the Whiskey Cowgirl. Upon entry I was immediately searched in a way that rivals airport security. My wife and I struggled to find the VIP room as it was behind a door marked employees only. Thankfully with some help we found our way to a private area full of people I recognized right away. Saying hi to Ming, my good friends from Farleycon and people who have been on these series of Ming events from the beginning it was fun reuniting with everyone as we enjoyed chicken wings, tater wedges and brownies. The diet can take a break today.

Like last year it starts with selfies that I somewhat remember taking and am not using to try and remember the details for this story. Then Ming hands me a familiar drink from last year a shot of Malort, which I know remember the name of. I knew what I was getting into and drank it anyway with a flavor best described as rubbing alcohol. Some people were saying it wasn’t that bad……it was that bad.

Though we had to up the anti as someone brought apples that sat in Malort for some time. A smart person would probably quit here, so I had a bite. I mean it’s supposed to keep the doctor away right. Now somehow this works and it was actually really good.

Now it was time to hit the bar and see what drinks were available. Since we’re at the Whiskey Cowgirl I had the Rodeo Queen. I don’t remember anything that was in it other than Sprite but it was really good. A toast to all queens everywhere and the drink was soon gone. Soon to be replaced by another, a Sunny D Vodka. That is a dangerously delicious drink as you can’t even taste the alcohol in it and I used to drink Sunny D all the time.

Remember the apples? I sort of do, but now the same person who brought the apples had another bottle of Malort. Malort shots for everyone as the bartender poured an entire round for us all. Now I want to stop a bit and give all the kudos to the bartender as she was amazing the entire night. Back to the shots, it was rough and you can literally see our reactions to the drink below.

After a myriad of drinks it was time to venture downstairs as what awaited us was a mechanical bull. A creature of no significance prior to the drinks but now towers as a seemingly insurmountable adversary. We all had a turn on the bull but I can only really describe my own attempt in detail so I’ll skip to me.

After a couple of tries I ended up on the bull and it felt much taller than I expected. Then it starts moving and I hang on as hard as I can. You really have no sense of time when you’re on that thing I only know it felt like awhile. Then I shift a bit and well…..I hit the family jewels. I fell soon after but I was apparently determined to stay on as my hand held onto the rope for dear life. I fell the ground and my hand shoots up in defiance of gravity itself. As a result I got a pretty noticeable rope burn. I may have gotten a bruised hand but I managed 15 seconds on the behemoth and was offered a chance to try again. Though a pair of sore jewels and my now colorful hand were enough to make me realize I was not about to top my success and I decided to quit while I was ahead.

My friend Rocky and I retired back to the VIP area as we watched more people ride the bull. As we chatted and told stories of past travels our group steadily grew as more people came back for snacks and stories. It was the kind of sit down where you could enjoy the moment and not have a worry in the world it was so relaxing.

Then the dance music hits. Now I’m not a good dancer but I’ve had a variety of ways to have Malort, a Sunny D Vodka and a Rodeo Queen so now I’m out there dancing with Ming and several other people without a care in the world. We eventually stopped and resumed chatting and I think many of us thought the extravagance of the night was done.

Then in walks a woman in a bridal outfit, and then another and then about eight more. That was enough of a shock to stir up more dancing, chatter as we told more stories, ate more food and passed the time till we were told last call was within an hour. By this point many of us left and a handful of us remained. The events of the day started to make themselves known and I could feel myself getting tired. So I said my goodbyes to those who were left as I realized I shouldn’t walk back to the hotel and responsibly called an Uber.

That’s where I arrived back to the hotel and found the owners of Chattanooga Comic Con and with my battle scared hand held high I said “15 seconds.”

I just want to end this thanking the wonderful people behind the convention for creating the means to experience these amazing moments and a huge thank you to Ming who always knows how to bring the party.