Austin Comic Con Day 1
Considering Austin has never had a con, I can say the Austin Comic Con rocks. It is just first year here, though run by a veteran con group. The guests are awesome...Walter Koenig, Lee Majors, Lyndsey Wagner, Adam West, Burt Ward, Billy Dee Williams, Nicholas Brendan, Luciana Carro, Lou Ferrigno, and so many more... Spouse and I took the little ones with us (ages 5, 3, and 1) today so they could see lots but we have a babysitter planned for tomorrow. My review, is therefore, limited as what we saw was with kids in tow. Right at the front entrance where Adam West and Burt Ward are set-up is a Bat-Mobile, definitely right out of the original live action Batman and Robin show staring the dynamic duo. Kids obviously loved that! There is a huge turn-out of vendors and artists so a true "comic" con in my mind, but with awesome media guests as well. The guests are all personable as always, but I did get a little star-struck when I went to talk to Walter Koenig. He wasn't paying too much attention to me though no one else was at his table because he was so busy laughing at smiling at my baby girl (the 1-year-old) who was flirting up a storm. I'm looking forward to his Q and A tomorrow. The biggest surprise to me was that no one, and I mean NO ONE was stopping by Luciana Carro's table to talk to her. I went up and gave my fan-girl speal, but I never saw a single other person approach her or even really give her a second glance. I asked if she was giving a Q and A session and she said no since she was the only BSG person there, but right across from her were Anne Lockhart and Herb Jefferson - so some old school original BSG alumns...Regardless, she was very nice, asked my name and seemed pleased someone had come to see her. Lou Ferrigno did a Q and A, but we only saw a small portion of it as the two littlest were pretty squirmy. One part of Lou's talk that stands out was his explanation of why the characters name had been changed from Bruce Banner to David Banner. He said the TV execs thought that "Bruce" sounded too ...and I quote... "gay." Tres interessante! Also rocking it at the con are the 501st with a truly, amazing, seemingly exact replica of R2D2. It was AWESOME. All of the guests are allowing you to snap candid photos of them at their autograph tables except Lee Majors.
Some general and minor drawbacks to the con I've noticed so far:
1) not enough aisle room around some of the Guest tables, things were congested today and imagine they will be worse tomorrow
2) there is a hidden "convenience" or "service" fee in the admission charges - plan to spend at least $5 more than quoted on the website regardless of whether you pay cash or charge
3) the Q and As are in large open exhibit areas screened off with curtains and not enough seating has been allocated. Plan to get there early for a seat or be prepared to stand, and potentially stand where you can't see through a curtain. The Question asking bit seems to be running smoothly though...
Some general and minor drawbacks to the con I've noticed so far:
1) not enough aisle room around some of the Guest tables, things were congested today and imagine they will be worse tomorrow
2) there is a hidden "convenience" or "service" fee in the admission charges - plan to spend at least $5 more than quoted on the website regardless of whether you pay cash or charge
3) the Q and As are in large open exhibit areas screened off with curtains and not enough seating has been allocated. Plan to get there early for a seat or be prepared to stand, and potentially stand where you can't see through a curtain. The Question asking bit seems to be running smoothly though...