Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Comic-Con 2007

Hola --

How many of yall went to Comic-Con this year? Raise your hands. Me? Yeah, I went. Of course I went. And for the first time, I went all five days. Not every minute of every day, but I was physically there for five days. Heres how it went.....

WEDNESDAY
This was Preview Night. The exhibit hall was open from 5 to 9 and it was our first chance to see all the goodies. Didnt see anybody famous or anything, Justin and I walked the floor and left.

THURSDAY
Today was a... different... day. I got to Comic-Con at 2pm... alone. Justin was in Del Mar at a work thing, and so I went by myself with the expectation that he would join me later for the "Lost" panel which starts at 5. So I get there, see a couple people "in line" and decide theres no need for me to sit there with them, so Ill go look at the people signing autographs to kill some time. So I walk around the corner, heading for the door to Sails, and... I see a bunch of people sitting on the floor in a line formation. Next to them is a sign that says "Lost line starts here." So those couple people I saw "in line" before really werent. So I walked the length of the real line, followed it around another corner, and saw even more people sitting down. At 2pm. For a panel that starts at 5. Peachy. So killing time would not be an option, instead I would have to sit down and join the line. I called Justin, he said hed be leaving around 3:30, and I wouldnt be alone for long. At 3pm, the line starts moving. They opened the doors and we start filing inside. By 3:30, when Justin said he was leaving, I had already sat down and saved him a seat. Its 3:45 and Justin calls and said he was just leaving and would be there in about 20 minutes. So hell be a little late, but all is well. 4:00 comes, then 4:05, twenty minutes have passed so I call to check up and see where hes at. No answer. I leave a message and go back to waiting. 4:10, 4:15, still no word, so I call again to see whats up, no answer. 4:20 I call. 4:25 I call. No answer. 4:30 another call and finally he picks up. He cant find parking, doesnt know if hes gonna make it. 4:35, hes still not parked. 4:40, still not parked. I talk to security walking around and they say if the seat isnt filled by the time the panel starts, I have to give it up. 4:40, 4:45, still no Justin. I call again, hes still not parked, and while Im on the phone he does some illegal stuff to get himself a space. Hes now parked, its 4:50, and he still has to get inside, upstairs, and then stand in a huge line. 4:55 he walks in the room... just passed the entire line and walked right inside. Talk about cutting it close. So we watched "Lost" and then after that we went to the exhibit hall to pick up our Mini-Mate Treasure Hunt package (which we never participated in), I bought Blancas niece a special edition Comic-Con exclusive My Little Pony, and then we left around 8:00.

FRIDAY
Justin couldnt make it today, but Mary decided to come for her very first day ever at Comic-Con. There wasnt any panels we wanted to see, so for 5 hours - 2pm until 7pm - we walked the floor. Saw our share of famous people and then we left.

SATURDAY
Saturday was me and Mary again, and today was panel day. The only thing she wanted to see was "Heroes" and it started in the afternoon so we got there at 10 thinking wed have plenty of time and still be able to get good seats. Nope. Before "Heroes" was two other panels - "Bionic Woman" and some "TV Guide" thing. When we got there, we saw something rather surprising... the line was HUGE! For "Bionic Woman"? Really? We did get in, but ended up with seats at the back of the room, but it was okay, cuz when "Bionic Woman" was over, people would leave, and wed be able to much closer. Again, nope. Turns out, 95% of the room had the same idea we had: sit through the first two panels just to get to "Heroes." Thankfully, I was entertained by "Bionic Woman" and not bored with the "TV Guide" thing, and much to my surprise, I really enjoyed "Heroes" and I think I need to start watching this Not a horrible start to the day. After "Heroes" was over, we walked the floor for a bit and then decided to go get some lunch, so we left the Convention Center and walked to Gaslamp and got some pizza. Pepperoni for her, teriyaki chicken for me. And lots of iced tea. So then we head back to Comic-Con for the panel I wanted to see: "Smallville." Learning a lesson from earlier, we got there in time to sit through two other panels - "Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen" and then "The Sarah Conner Chronicles" - just to get to the third. This time, after the first ended, we were able to move closer and we got some really good seats. The Rays are entertaining to listen to just for the history that they bring so it was ok, and again, much to my surprise, the "Sarah Conner Chronicles" really kicked ass. It was an awesome action movie. Yet it wasnt a movie, it was just the pilot episode for a new tv series based on the "Terminator" mythos. I look forward to this. And then "Smallville" starts and pretty much all the secondary characters showed up to talk about season two... no Clark, no Lex, no Lana, but Lois, new Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow were there, so all was not lost. I did mention Lois was there, right? Yeah, shes cute. So that was it, six panels, 9 hours, and home we went.

SUNDAY
Today was a pretty slow, relaxed, uneventful day. Kind of like Preview Night was. Justin and I left my house around 10am and got to Comic-Con around 10:15, but drove around for like 45 minutes looking for a parking space. Well, a free parking space. Finally we just decided to pay for a spot underneath the Convention Center. So we finally got inside, walked every single aisle of the exhibit hall, and then left. Thats pretty much it.

So, another year come, another year gone, and it was alot of fun..... even if it was extremely tiring on me. I already got my tickets for next year, and I cant wait!

Until next time...

-- DBW --

No comments: