Naturally, after attending Chattanooga Comic Con 2026, I’d have another interesting story to tell. Due to a lot happening right before the convention, the event was unable to do a ticketed Ming event this year. That didn’t stop us from having our own, as Ming was a guest again this year, and he was ready to hang out. After all, we have a city of fun things to do, several places with exclusive drinks, and a concert as our destination.
After planning to hang out, we met at a familiar place called Goodfellas Pizza. I haven’t been here since the Pizza Party in 2024, so it was a nice blast from the past to sit there and hang out with Ming and a few long-standing attendees of our various escapades. Which is probably why a good bit of our chat included remembering all of the fun times we had while we were there last. It was nice to just sit there and have a fun conversation while we ordered the drinks Goodfellas has as part of the convention. I ended up with one drink, and my wife had the other, but she didn’t finish it, so I ended up with the rest of it. After all, what’s a good story with Ming without a few drinks?
It was getting closer to the time of the concert at Wanderlinger, so we paid our tabs and made our way out, only to soon realize we were going the wrong way. So we changed directions and realized that was wrong too. So after stopping and figuring out where to go, we ended up walking through another nearby bar to get to a point where we knew where we were going. Chattanooga is a surprisingly easy place to get lost walking around in some areas.
Now, with a clear route to our destination ahead, we continued, and one thing to know is that Ming is a very fast walker. As in, I’ve got some serious calf muscles from losing 100 pounds by walking, and I’ve won a walkathon and still felt the struggle of keeping up. However, as we made our way forward, we soon found a couple of the other guests making their way to the concert. Fans of My Hero Academia might recognize the voices of Ray Hurd and Bryan Massey. So now our traveling party included a reality TV star, two voice actors, and a random writer going to see voice actress Brina Palencia sing.
Another blast from the past is the fact that Wunderlinger was right in a very familiar area. When we did the Trolley Pub with Ming, we ended up at a bar very close to here for a good part of our trip. So we get to the Wunderlinger, and my wife and I ordered two of the special drinks they had and wasted no time socializing with all of the amazing people there, which included our traveling companions and the convention owners. All of whom I’m always happy to chat with. The concert was amazing as Brina wowed everyone in the building with her incredible vocals and creative original music. Like with Goodfellas, I finished my drink off rather quickly, and my wife handed me what she was unable to drink. So I’m feeling pretty good by this point.
After an hour, the concert ended, the drinks were finished, and my wife and I were really feeling the day’s worth of events. So after taking some photos to remember the experience, I couldn’t help but fixate on something Bryan Massey said, where he noted how great the vibe was for the convention. When you can enjoy a weekend and end it with adventures like this, it’s impossible to disagree.
My wife and I made our way back to the hotel with the owners of Chattanooga Comic Con, and the flashbacks kept coming as it was very similar to when I walked back to my room from the Trolly Pub with the owners of Farleycon years prior. I don’t know what number wind I was on from this point, but it was well past my second one, and the exhaustion was setting in. I can’t remember what compelled me to say “I’m lucky to be walking straight” as I said that with such confidence, and immediately lost my balance. I wasn’t drunk; I’m just clumsy, but also tipsy.
Laughs and fun conversations ensued as we eventually parted ways and made our way back to our room. The night was a clear reminder of why I enjoy doing trips like this and why Chattanooga Comic Con is one of my all-time favorite events. So here’s to seeing what adventure waits in 2027.