Pop culture pilgrimage

Last year, L and I went to Comic Con in San Diego over the course of 2 days, Friday and Saturday. The first day was decent. We saw some panels we wanted to catch and were able to make our way around the exhibition floor with relative ease. Saturday, however, was an absolute mess. Lines for the panels were insanely long. The floor with all the vendors and exhibitors was so thick with people you could barely move. After having that sort of experience we decided that this year we'd attend the Wed night preview as well as Thursday and Friday. We'd leave the weekend days to the masses and hopefully have a less crowded experience.

Well, it worked....sort of.

Day 1

We packed up the car, Dudley included, and got on the road. This was the longest trip we'd been on with Dudley, so we weren't quite sure how he'd be in the car for the 2 hour journey. He turned out to be great. No problems at all. The drive was descent. Minimal traffic, which was our reasoning for leaving midday. When we got to San Diego, we headed straight to Joe and Joli's house in Coronado. We needed to drop off Dudley and kill some time before we could check into our hotel.

We stayed at the Sheraton Suites. We stayed there last year and it worked out well. Not as expensive as some of the places that were much closer, but it was close enough and cheap enough overall. The rooms are suites, hence the name. We were on the 16th floor and had a view of the El Cortez Hotel. It's one of the older hotels in SD and the home of the first Comic Con 37 years ago.

The Comic Con doesn't officially start until Thursday morning, but for 4-day badge holders and professionals, they open up the exhibit hall on Wednesday evening for a few hours. We wanted to take advantage of this to be able to walk the floor a little before the crowds. Well, it was still crowded. Not too bad, but definitely more people than we expected. It is just the nature of the beast. Every year it gets bigger and bigger. More and more people make their way here. It makes sense, I guess, since it has something to offer for just about anyone. Comics, films, television, video games, music, anime, cartoons, manga, collectors, card gamers, cos players, sci fi fans, etc. It's all represented in some way, shape or form.

After we got our badges we walked around for about an hour or so, taking it all in. It can be a bit overwhelming when you first step onto the floor and you're bombed with imagery, sounds and people everywhere. Once we took a look at the map, we got our bearings and figured out a plan of attack. We walked around and checked out various booths. We saw a lot of comic celebrities. Jim Lee and Robert Kirkman come to mind. Afterwards, we had dinner at a nearby Subway. We needed something quick and close so we could catch the shuttle bus back to our hotel. It hit the spot and we caught the shuttle. We called it an early night in order to prepare for the next day.

Day 2

We headed to Joli and Joe's to pick up Gunnar, our nephew. He was going to hang around with us for the day. He also had a couple of friends that were going so they bummed a ride off of Joli, since she was dropping us off as well. There were a couple of panels that we wanted to see throughout the day. We made it to 2 out of 3.

The one we missed was due to very long lines ...lines that literally wrapped around the building. The convention hall that holds 6,500 people was full which nullified our nearly 45 minute wait in line. Thus is the frustration with that side of things at Comic Con. It wasn't all for naught, since Gunnar was able to meet back up with his friends. They attended a panel that had Jessica Alba appearing. Meanwhile, L and I made our way to see a French cartoonist, Guy Delisle, talk about his books and experiences in North Korea and China. Afterwards, we all met back up and walked the exhibit hall. L and I bought a couple of Guy Delisle books that we didn't have and got him to sign them as well. Gunnar and his friends were off doing their own thing and would check in occasionally via cell phone. Towards the end of the day, just before we left, Gunnar's friends wanted me to buy them some weapons, since you had be over 18. One wanted a sword (a Zelda sword to be specific) and another friend wanted some throwing knives. I made them "OK" the purchase with their moms in front of me on the phone and then helped them out. I felt a bit like the shady guy buying beer for the under aged kids, but they were happy.

Joli picked us all up at the pre-arranged location. We dropped Gunnar's friends off and spent most of the evening hanging out with Joli, Joe and Gunnar. Joli made some awesome homemade chili that we ate with hot peppers from L's garden and crackers. You gotta have crackers with chili. Joe taught me that a long time ago when he stayed with us for the summer. Turns out he's right. Trust him on this one.

Day 3

We made our way to the convention center about an hour before the first panel that we wanted to see was supposed to start. The line was already wrapped around the back of the building. We were still able to get in to the much coveted Hall H.

It's the room that holds 6,500 people. They do a really good job with presentations in Hall H. They have very large, hi def video screens hanging throughout the entire space and the audio is near theatre quality. We usually sit in the back in clear view of one of the video screens and that tends to be enough. We don't need to be front and center to see the various actors, directors, comic artists and writers, etc. If the room doesn't fill up then it's less crowded in the back. It usually fills up though.

The first presentation of the day was Warner Bros. They presented a few of the movies that they had in the works. Steve Carrell was there to talk about Get Smart with some of the other cast members. The main part of the WB presentation that I wanted to see was Zack Snyder talk about the Watchmen. Zack Snyder is the director of Dawn of the Dead and 300. I liked both films well enough and was curious to hear him talk about his work on the Watchmen. I'd seen his panel on 300 last year and I wasn't too impressed with him. He was a little too "kick ass - gung ho" when he talked about everything. It just rubbed me the wrong way. This year, he turned all that around. He sat on stage for over half an hour and talked about his goals for the Watchmen. He was articulate and down to earth in his explanation and approach. He didn't show any footage at all. He just spoke and took questions. Towards the end he brought out a couple of the actors that were cast recently and he showed off a Comic Con exclusive poster drawn by Dave Gibbons, the artist for the original comics. I gained a new found respect for him as a director and can't wait to see what he does with the Watchmen.

Our plans were to walk around for a few hours and then come back later for some other panels in Hall H, but after much deliberation we decided to stay. If we were to leave we might not be able to get back in, so we broke out our packed lunch and settled in for the long hall. At the end of it all we sat in Hall H for over 6 hours. We saw some cool stuff that made it worth it and some stuff that we could've done without. The two coolest things of note would have to be a panel with Clive Owen about his new film Shoot 'Em Up (an over the top Hong Kong style action flick) and Ridley Scott and company talk about the upcoming Blade Runner DVD release. (It'll be a 5 disc set with a 3 1/2 hour documentary and 5 versions of the film. It's going to finally get the respect and treatment it deserves.)

After spending over 6 hours on a padded folding chair we needed to move around. We walked the floor for a couple of hours. One of the main things I wanted to do this year was talk to some independent comic artists and writers to find some new stuff and show some support. I managed to get a good range of stuff and talk to some really cool people. They were all eager to talk about their books and sign my copy. Most of them drew a little sketch on the spot as well. I'm eager to go thru and check out the books that I picked up in more detail. Maybe I'll post about some of the ones that stand out to me.

**NOTE TO SELF: When you're taking a picture of Princess Leia in her slave outfit, make sure to get your wife in focus as well.

It was a long day, but successful in a lot of ways. We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and picked up our car. As we were leaving we were amazed at the number of people that were pouring out of the convention center. Comic Con was wrapping up for us, but just beginning for a lot of people. As we pulled away I thought briefly about the insanity that would be Saturday and was glad to know that I would not be a part of it. We headed over to Joli and Joe's to stay the night. She made some great chicken enchiladas and we all played Rayman's Raving Rabbids on the Xbox360. It was a great way to end the day and overall trip.


Afterthoughts

Comic Con has some how evolved into an annual tradition with L and I. This is our 3rd year attending since we've been back in LA. Before that we went to Wonder Con in San Francisco (the sister convention to Comic Con). I'm lucky that she's into this sort of stuff. A lot of guys aren't so lucky. This is a quick conversation I overheard in the men's room at the Con.

GUY #1
"How's your wife doing with you coming here?"

GUY #2
"She's good. I'm missing her birthday by being here. It's tomorrow."

GUY #1
"Oh man. What're you gonna do to make it up to her?"

GUY #2
(Short pause) "I don't know yet."

Priorities are a relative thing ....I guess. It didn't really hit me until L made the final call to camp out in Hall H for the 6 hour long haul to see Clive Owen talk about his new movie. After that I finally realized that L enjoys the Comic Con just as much as I do. She's a dedicated and determined little geek. I see bits and pieces of it here and there, but it really became clear during the Con. I guess looking back over the years there were signs of her geekness. She dressed up as Astroboy for Halloween one year at work. We're talking skin tight flesh colored leotards with green underwear and red boots. That's some serious geekness right there. How awesome is that?!

As for the Con itself, it's getting a bit out of hand. The crowds are pretty crazy. It'd be nice if the people that run the Con would err on the side of less greed and limit the number of people they allow to attend. That'll never happen, but it's a thought. They do claim that certain days were sold out. It's to the point that any of the big presentations that are in Hall H require a full day commitment, which is not something I'm willing to do all that often. Each year we revise our approach to Comic Con to try and make it a better experience. This year we skipped the weekend crowds. Next year I think the thing to do is focus on the smaller panels at the convention. At least the lines for those are inside and not nearly as crazy. I say all this now, but I know I'll be in line for Hall H next year to see the latest status of the Watchmen. It's a delicate balance between dedication and torture. And lastly, I want to continue my efforts to talk to the independent publishers and artists out there. They may be small fish in a very big pond, but they have a drive and genuine sense about them that is inspiring.