Comic Con 2012: Thursday/Friday
In general, things I am loving this year: people and conversations over the most random of things. With a few exceptions, it's been a big fannish love fest so far.
Things I am not loving: The number of zombies and zombie-related crap. And the Christian group that has brought megaphones with them and yells at us every time we go in or out of the convention center about how Jesus Christ died for our sins and we are worshipping false idols. Yesterday, a lone guy tried to engage them in debate by yelling back, "This is NOT the way to convert people!" but had no effect.
Specifically, Thursday: I spent much of Thursday outdoors while waiting for my cousin to arrive with our passes and got a fierce sunburn to show for it. There is actually quite a bit going on around the Convention Center. I saw the giant Finn head Cartoon Network has put up near the children's museum, and then was approached by a group of actors trying to get me interested in some horror movie or TV series entitled "Coma". (Given my intolerance for all things body horror of late, I did not opt to go and see the trailer.) There are a bunch of themed restaurant spaces this year, and the usual number of handouts and freebies, the most useful of which was a flyer for Postal Annex which featured the line, "Are you still carrying those collectibles around?!" The MAC store is doing some tie-in with Archie comics, supposedly with the aim of determining whether you're a Betty or Veronica. I also got to finally stop in at the Chuck Jones animation gallery, which has some gorgeous and lively artwork--at a very hefty price, unfortunately. I also checked out the promo areas for Grimm and Revolution, both of which did not charm me. In the case of Grimm, there was a small replica "Grimm forest" with dry ice smoke and a lot of fake plants. There was almost no one else inside when I went in, and I kept waiting for something to jump out at me, but nothing happened. Instead, there were just little placards with information about the monsters on the TV show, very dull to boot. There was a second part of the walk, to look at some props, but the line was huge, and I was really disinterested in the whole thing. It was as if the studio had said, "We MUST create an EXPERIENCE of this show!" without really thinking what experiencing the show would really be like. "Revolution" had the same problems, and a staff that really didn't know anything about the show itself and couldn't answer the question I had about it. Also annoying, they were distributing freebies amongst themselves but told myself and the people milling around to come back in an hour to get them. Exceedingly unimpressive.
I then headed over to the Hilton side of the Convention center, pausing to have a brief conversation with a passerby about how the Con had changed. The Hilton lawn is playing host to all six of the Batmobiles, and even I, uncaring about cars as I am, have to admit these are pretty impressive. There was one guy whose job it was to keep buffing and polishing them while everyone was looking, and I was under the distinct impression there were more than a few people in the crowd (buffer guy included!) who would have happily jumped into any one of those cars and driven away.
Then I waited on the steps of the Center for my cousin, got a grievous sunburn, and generally people-watched.
figgy_newton came out and waited with me, and that was great. We saw Sandeep Parihk, who plays Zaboo on "The Guild", and the following dialogue and actions ensued:
Me: Look, that's Zaboo!
Her: What? OMG!
(At this point, he and I make eye contact, and in an effort not to seem like a crazy fan, I waved at him and smiled a friendly smile. Then he came over to us.)
Him: Hey, how's it going?
Me: Great!
Her: Yeah, we're having fun. Can I take a picture with you?
Him: Sure!
(At this point, the girl who was with him volunteered to hold my camera so I could get in the picture.)
Him: Oh, sandwiched between two ladies? Sweet!
Me: Uhm, I'm not sure my husband likes where this conversation is going.
(O was overcome by giggles. Then my camera decided to act up, and he kept making jokes about keeping the sandwich going for a long time, and then I couldn't stop laughing.)
So that was incredibly silly, and we were still laughing about it when my cousin showed up with the tickets. By this point, we'd missed the panels we were planning on, and just went around the exhibit hall floor instead. I met Becky Cloonan and complimented her on the Dracula, and I got Alison Bechdel's autograph and talked to her just a little bit. We also managed to get the Dalek hats the BBC America booth was handing out and for about fifteen minutes after that, we were the hippest people at the Con, with everyone coming up to us and asking us where we'd gotten them. (They are the best freebies I've seen so far!) By the time we'd done all that, it was time to go home.
And also Friday: We did not get to see the Community panel due to a babysitter complication, and by the time we got down there, a staffer told us Ballroom 20 was closed until well after the Korra panel was over.
yebisu9 and I walked around the Exhibit Hall and took in as much as we could, and by in large, it was really good. Lots of people, tons of costumes, a whole lot of fun. Then we went to the Kate Beaton panel and ... well, it was pretty much the best thing that could have happened. I have not laughed until I cried in a long time. And she was super nice, and fielded my question about the possibility of her creating a more serious work about the places and people in her past with a positive, but slightly hesitant, answer. After that, Yebisu headed off to the Marvel panel and I went down on the Exhibit Hall floor again. I saw Ryan at Elephant Eater comics, who was stellar and fantastic, as always (and he's getting married in a week!!!). I also picked up some gifts for my parents and family. No super freebies today (and one annoying one that I'm on the verge of giving up on), but who knows what tomorrow will bring?! Yebisu rejoined me after his panel and we headed home on the early side, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor and hurt feet and all that.
For those who just want to see the pictures, check them out here.
Tomorrow: Adventure Time panel! I will be in costume all day! Hopefully reconnecting with some friends! Stay tuned!
Things I am not loving: The number of zombies and zombie-related crap. And the Christian group that has brought megaphones with them and yells at us every time we go in or out of the convention center about how Jesus Christ died for our sins and we are worshipping false idols. Yesterday, a lone guy tried to engage them in debate by yelling back, "This is NOT the way to convert people!" but had no effect.
Specifically, Thursday: I spent much of Thursday outdoors while waiting for my cousin to arrive with our passes and got a fierce sunburn to show for it. There is actually quite a bit going on around the Convention Center. I saw the giant Finn head Cartoon Network has put up near the children's museum, and then was approached by a group of actors trying to get me interested in some horror movie or TV series entitled "Coma". (Given my intolerance for all things body horror of late, I did not opt to go and see the trailer.) There are a bunch of themed restaurant spaces this year, and the usual number of handouts and freebies, the most useful of which was a flyer for Postal Annex which featured the line, "Are you still carrying those collectibles around?!" The MAC store is doing some tie-in with Archie comics, supposedly with the aim of determining whether you're a Betty or Veronica. I also got to finally stop in at the Chuck Jones animation gallery, which has some gorgeous and lively artwork--at a very hefty price, unfortunately. I also checked out the promo areas for Grimm and Revolution, both of which did not charm me. In the case of Grimm, there was a small replica "Grimm forest" with dry ice smoke and a lot of fake plants. There was almost no one else inside when I went in, and I kept waiting for something to jump out at me, but nothing happened. Instead, there were just little placards with information about the monsters on the TV show, very dull to boot. There was a second part of the walk, to look at some props, but the line was huge, and I was really disinterested in the whole thing. It was as if the studio had said, "We MUST create an EXPERIENCE of this show!" without really thinking what experiencing the show would really be like. "Revolution" had the same problems, and a staff that really didn't know anything about the show itself and couldn't answer the question I had about it. Also annoying, they were distributing freebies amongst themselves but told myself and the people milling around to come back in an hour to get them. Exceedingly unimpressive.
I then headed over to the Hilton side of the Convention center, pausing to have a brief conversation with a passerby about how the Con had changed. The Hilton lawn is playing host to all six of the Batmobiles, and even I, uncaring about cars as I am, have to admit these are pretty impressive. There was one guy whose job it was to keep buffing and polishing them while everyone was looking, and I was under the distinct impression there were more than a few people in the crowd (buffer guy included!) who would have happily jumped into any one of those cars and driven away.
Then I waited on the steps of the Center for my cousin, got a grievous sunburn, and generally people-watched.
figgy_newton came out and waited with me, and that was great. We saw Sandeep Parihk, who plays Zaboo on "The Guild", and the following dialogue and actions ensued:
Me: Look, that's Zaboo!
Her: What? OMG!
(At this point, he and I make eye contact, and in an effort not to seem like a crazy fan, I waved at him and smiled a friendly smile. Then he came over to us.)
Him: Hey, how's it going?
Me: Great!
Her: Yeah, we're having fun. Can I take a picture with you?
Him: Sure!
(At this point, the girl who was with him volunteered to hold my camera so I could get in the picture.)
Him: Oh, sandwiched between two ladies? Sweet!
Me: Uhm, I'm not sure my husband likes where this conversation is going.
(O was overcome by giggles. Then my camera decided to act up, and he kept making jokes about keeping the sandwich going for a long time, and then I couldn't stop laughing.)
So that was incredibly silly, and we were still laughing about it when my cousin showed up with the tickets. By this point, we'd missed the panels we were planning on, and just went around the exhibit hall floor instead. I met Becky Cloonan and complimented her on the Dracula, and I got Alison Bechdel's autograph and talked to her just a little bit. We also managed to get the Dalek hats the BBC America booth was handing out and for about fifteen minutes after that, we were the hippest people at the Con, with everyone coming up to us and asking us where we'd gotten them. (They are the best freebies I've seen so far!) By the time we'd done all that, it was time to go home.
And also Friday: We did not get to see the Community panel due to a babysitter complication, and by the time we got down there, a staffer told us Ballroom 20 was closed until well after the Korra panel was over.
yebisu9 and I walked around the Exhibit Hall and took in as much as we could, and by in large, it was really good. Lots of people, tons of costumes, a whole lot of fun. Then we went to the Kate Beaton panel and ... well, it was pretty much the best thing that could have happened. I have not laughed until I cried in a long time. And she was super nice, and fielded my question about the possibility of her creating a more serious work about the places and people in her past with a positive, but slightly hesitant, answer. After that, Yebisu headed off to the Marvel panel and I went down on the Exhibit Hall floor again. I saw Ryan at Elephant Eater comics, who was stellar and fantastic, as always (and he's getting married in a week!!!). I also picked up some gifts for my parents and family. No super freebies today (and one annoying one that I'm on the verge of giving up on), but who knows what tomorrow will bring?! Yebisu rejoined me after his panel and we headed home on the early side, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor and hurt feet and all that.
For those who just want to see the pictures, check them out here.
Tomorrow: Adventure Time panel! I will be in costume all day! Hopefully reconnecting with some friends! Stay tuned!