Comic-Con Recap: Toys, Comics, Celebs and Goth Prom!
Comic-Con Recap: Toys, Comics, & Cool Kids
words and photos: Bonnie Burton
So you've already seen all the Star Wars stuff I loved at Comic-Con 2008, but I also got giddy over comics, monster toys, geeky t-shirts, cute boys, costumes, celeb sightings, art and even corsets. Here's my recap of all the other stuff that made me smile.
Jessica and the Emily Strange booth
Let me start off by saying a big Jessica groupie. Every time I see her at a convention I get all happy and excited. She's always fun to chat with, and she makes the Emily Strange booth the coolest place to hang out. You just feel hipper by proxy. Also I love Emily Strange stuff, and when I'm old and gray, I'm still going to wear all my Emily stuff. It's so obvious that my fellow Lucasfilm employees were nicknaming it the Bonnie Strange booth.
Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's
Last year was Jane's first Comic-Con, so I'm glad she had so much fun she decided to come back. She's dressed as her comic book character Lady Robotika. Jane is a blast to hang out with. She always has fun wherever she is. Jane was a presenter for the Eisner Awards so I help hook her up with the 501st Legion so she could get a stormtrooper escort to the stage. I can't wait to hang with her the next time I'm in Los Angeles.
Wil Wheaton
One of my fave bloggers/actors/geeks Wil Wheaton was holding court at the Dumbrella booth, so I had to say hello. Wil is a celeb staple to Comic-Con. So I was glad he was there selling his new book and chatting with fans.
R. Stevens
The King of the Dumbrella booth is non other than Mr. R. Stevens. You may also know him from his comic Diesel Sweeties. In addition to the Emily Strange booth, I think I spent the most time over at the Dumbrella booth. These fellas know how to have fun and it shows.
Matt Groening
I've been watching "The Simpsons" since it first aired and I never stopped. I think it may be the show I quote the most on a daily basis -- "Everything's coming up Milhouse!" -- and it is quite possibly one of the reasons I got a job at Lucasfilm -- my first boss was a huge fan of the show. But ever since I took this photo and gave him my business card (for hopefully a future profile on Starwars.com) all I keep thinking is "I met Matt Groening! I met Matt Groening! I met Matt Groening!"
Corset booth
I love that there was a booth full of corsets for sale at Comic-Con. Talk about the opposite of geeky! Back in the mid-90s I collected and wore corsets quite a bit. So my old-school Bettie Page wanna be self wanted to drop my paycheck off with them and just gather up a bunch of corsets, but alas I'm more about being a geek gal than a pin-up these days. So my money went to comics instead.
Jeff Bond and the Geek Monthly magazine crew
My editor at Geek Monthly magazine -- Jeff Bond -- is a riot. Not only does Jeff know his comics and movies like a true geek, he's hilarious. I got to hang with him later with the rest of the crew at dinner where we talked about everything from annoying teen vampires to taxidermy and Star Trek over Italian food. And I'd do it again! Oh, and he's holding the issue that my profile with Milo made the cover! AWESOME!
Best Kiss
Matt and Amanda share a romantic moment at the Star Wars Pavilion.
Who knew you could buy action figures and have a smoochy on the side?
Roman Dirge and posse
Every year I go to Comic-Con, it's a bit of a tradition for me to go straight to the Slave Labor booth and give my pal comic book artist/writer/Lenore daddy a hug. So I show up, and *gasp* he's not at the booth for his signing. Not only is he not there, he was thrown out! He recently signed a deal with Random House and the Slave Labor folks decided he was no longer welcome at his own signing. DRAMA! I later found him at our hotel bar and we got to chat more than if he was at his booth. So it all worked out. I later saw him and his uber-cool peeps at Comic-Con Goth Prom. More on that later.
Best T-shirts
Comic-Con is not only a great place for comics and toys, but also about t-shirts! I saw so many tees I wanted to buy, but I have this self-imposed rule that I can't buy any more tees. Trust me, I have plenty. I really wanted this Cthulhu Calling shirt but alas held on to the last of my willpower. Best shirt slogan I saw was "I Beta Tested Your Mom."
Best Toy: Fishy
I adored this fishy toy, but never got a chance to buy him. Sad. Seriously, if you are a weird toy collector and haven't been to Comic-Con, then GO! There were sea monsters, Kozik smoking bunnies, bank robbing frogs, ape robots and more!
Best Prop: Watchmen Owl Ship
I love the Watchmen, and unlike most of the haters out there, I'm REALLY excited to see the movie. So of course when I saw the Owl Ship at Comic-Con, I literally squealed like a complete fan girl. I think I may have actually drooled on it. This is one of the major line makers of the convention. There may have been hundreds of Jokers running around, but it was the Watchmen movie that everyone was talking about it.
Best Costume: Senor Donut
Not sure if this was a fan or a really savvy food mascot, but I was sold! I would hang with this guy at parties. Ya know, I think I may have a crush on a donut. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Best Mashup: Worf and Wolf
Artist Aiyanna Udesen rocks! I wish this was a real comic. I would totally read this!
Marvel.com's Agent M
Ryan is probably one of the coolest people I've ever met on Twitter, and so it was rad to meet face to face after so much online chitchat. He's super cool and funny and man, does he KNOW Marvel comics. I missed having cocktails with him for a proper geeky chat, but if I'm ever in NYC, I'm down for a total geekout!
Kate and Batman
There's my BFF geek partner in crime -- no, not Batman -- Kate! This was her first San Diego Comic-Con and she rocked it. She kept me grounded, helped me when I was all frazzled, drank with me until the wee hours and then took a ton of photos to prove that she conquered the geeks.
Oh, and I joined the Dharma Initiative!
In addition to the usual industry parties, I went to Goth Prom! No really. Well, it wasn't called that. But it was pretty much what it felt like. We showed up an hour into it, and I stepped in some vomit by accident (just like prom!) and when I went to the bathroom to clean it off, a pregnant girl with convincing vampire teeth helped me (not just like prom!). Ironically, Chewbacca was there too. Why is it that I always hang with the Wookiees at every party I'm at?
Check out all my photos here:
Comic-Con 200
Comic-Con After Hours 2008