Comic-Con San Diego. Day Two.

In case some of you don't know, I've been in San Diego attending Comic-Con International at the convention center downtown. But of course you know that, don't you? Because you read my first blog titled "Comic-Con San Diego Day One". Yeah, I'm sure all three of my readers did. Well Friday was my last day, as I was unable to get tickets for Saturday and Sunday. Instead of going into a boring explanation why I couldn't, I'm going to give boring explanations of what happened on Friday. So enjoy.

For the most part, Friday was a lot like Thursday, but better. When Eric, Matt and I went to get on the trolley, we went to the Qualcomm stadium station, which is the first stop on the route. Smart, right? Damn right it was. Because we were some of the first on the tram, we actually got seats. Great success. When we arrived there was no line for badges, so we got right in. Friday pretty much went the same as Thursday, except we didn't even bother with panels, as we'd decided they're impossible to get into unless you're actually part of the panel. I still think Seth Green would be outraged. We took a lot more pictures on Friday, partly because we wanted pictures and partly because a lot of famous people did signings on Friday. We got pictures of Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Mark Hamill (I shouldn't have to tell you what he's in), Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver, Blade Runner), Seth Green (Austin Powers), Danny DeVito (LA Confidential) , and a few more. We couldn't take pictures with a lot of them because a lot of them were charging for that. Cheap bastards. The Seth Green and Danny DeVito situation is a bit different, though.

Now since you obviously read my blog about Thursday, you know that I was pretty upset about not being able to attend the "Robot Chicken" panel. On Friday we found out that they would be doing a signing at the Adult Swim booth on the main floor, so we were again excited. We tried to go early to get in line, but guess what? Huge line. Well, that didn't matter to me, I just wanted a picture, as I'm sure I'll meet him someday (hopefully). When the signing started, we headed to the booth to get a picture of Seth Green (and those other three guys). They had it set up to where people could go in front of the table and take pictures, so I grabbed the camera and went there. Of course, there were a ton of other people there, so it was hard to get a shot. Then suddenly, the way cleared. There was nothing between Seth and I but eight feet and a table. He looked up, and we made eye contact (Eye contact. With me). As soon as we did, I lifted up the camera, and as soon as he saw it, he posed (He fucking posed). It was perfect. I quickly got Seth centered in the frame, and I pressed down on the button. Just before the picture took, someone in a blue shirt got between us, and the picture was ruined. So again, my dreams have been shattered. Of course I got another picture, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't looking at the camera. Sigh. Oh well. As I said, I'll get my chance again.

If you know me well enough, you know that I also love the show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Now a little more than a week ago, I learned that the cast of the show would be doing a signing at the Fox booth on Saturday. cool, right? No. I don't have tickets for Saturday. Now when we were walking the floor, I heard rumor that Danny DeVito (who's on the show) was there, but for something different. That rumor was correct. He was doing an interview for some horror thing he was doing, so obviously I couldn't get a picture with him or have anything signed, but like with Seth Green, a picture would've be good. The only problem was that we weren't allowed to use a flash. So Matt grabbed the camera and tried to take a picture (with flash off), but they kept coming out fuzzy. So I grabbed the camera and noticed it was set to the outdoor setting. So I set it for indoors, and Matt took the picture. Now for whatever reason, when I set it to indoor, it automatically set flash to the auto setting. So what happened? You guessed it. It flashed. After it did, we just took off without looking back. We felt bad, to say the least, but at least we got a picture. We were lucky though. The security company was the worst security company ever, so we didn't get chased or anything.

Other then that, not much else to talk about. We took a lot of other pictures. A lot of people in costumes and a few of us with people in costume (I will dress up next year, just you wait and see). Eric ate an entire Ewok, too. A real one. He just grabbed it and ate it, starting with the feet. There was blood everywhere. He didn't even kill it first. It screamed for ten minutes until it bled to death. Then he just kept eating it for ten more minutes. It was horrifying. Other than that, there is one thing I wanted to address. The security at the event.

Now when I first arrived to the convention on Thursday, one of the first things I noticed was the security company, Elite Security. The reason I noticed them is because the previous day (Wednesday) we were at a Padres game (They lost, big surprise), and the same security company was there. That should have been my first hint that they were the worst security company ever. If you do anything like the San Diego Padres do, you're already doing something wrong (Get it? Because the Padres are horrible? Eh? Eh? Nevermind). I didn't take notice of their awfulness until we angrily left the Robot Chicken panel line on Thursday. Because the line went outside, we had to walk around the outside of the convention center to find a way back in. We then found a security guard holding a door open, so we went there. But as it turns out, it was only an exit. When we got to the door, he wouldn't let us (along with a crowd of five people) in. The other people were not happy. They started asking why they couldn't go in, and the security guard said "This is only an exit, you have to use the elevator to go to the top of the building and find a way in that way". When asked why, he simply responded, "These are the consequences you face when you risk standing in a line". At this point the three of us were still there so we could see if this small, increasingly angry mob rip would this guy limb from limb, but he wouldn't budge. So he was basically holding a door open for no one (because no one was exiting). We cooperated, and took the route he told us to. After we left the Dexter line about twenty minutes later, we faced the same predicament, outside trying to get in. We passed by the same door, and we saw that a different guard was letting people in. Great organization. At this point, the signs were obvious that this security company was in fact not elite at all. Whenever you ask them something, they don't know. Either that or they just kind of say what they think might be the answer so you go away. Along with being confused, badly organized and unsure of where they are, I noticed that they didn't even have walkie-talkies. Well that's great. Not to mention that they didn't do anything when Matt and I blatenly flashed Danny DeVito in the face with a camera. I think I may have found a company I want to work for when I transfer to UCSD.

So overall, the convention was fun. I leave San Diego with many things: t-shirts, buttons, a few comics, a ton of free papers, pictures, and even knowledge that will hopefully be applied to make next year's covention even more enjoyable. I will always remember my fist Comic-Con, as I'm sure my comrades will.

Comic-Con San Diego. Day one.

A little over three months ago, I purchased tickets to an event I've wanted to go to since I was a little stupid child. I am of course speaking of Comic-Con International in San Diego. I am a first timer, and have been very excited about going ever since I bought my tickets back in April. Well, today was my first day at this glorious event, and I have much to report. If you've never been but want to go, I suggest you keep reading instead of closing this window and going back to check your Facebook. It's not like anyone wrote you anyway. If you've already closed it, then you can go to Hell.

After a twenty minute long, incredibly crowded tram ride that smelled like a wookie's feet, I arrived at the convention center (which at first somehow smelled worse than feet, even though it's outside) with my brother Eric and my good friend Matt. Since we're all first timers, we were bursting with excitement. That was until we saw the line to pick up our badges (since we only got tickets for two days, we have to pick up daily badges both mornings we go). So we got in line. At first it didn't seem so bad. It went across the front of the convention center away from the entrance, turned around at the end of the building, went back toward the entrance and went inside. As the line moved, we noticed that it actually went around the side of the convention center and that the turning point was behind the building. It still wasn't that big of a deal. But wait, when we had gome completely behind the building, we saw that the line went all the way around the marina behind the convention center and then along the bay for at least half a mile. I know that I'm probably not describing it too well, so forgive me, but you can probably see that the line was really long. It took us about two hours to get into the convention center and to get our badges. To be honest though, it wasn't that bad. We actually did get a lovely view of Mission Bay, and the line got close to a symphonic band rehearsing songs from various video games in the park. I also should mention that right behind us was a pretty interesting fellow dressed as a pirate or something (he killed a june bug with a sword). So waiting in line really wasn't that bad.

Once we got in and got our badges, we wandered the halls of Comic-Con International with absolute amazement. Personally, I had never seen anything like it. The main exhibition hall contained hundreds of stalls selling shirts, pins, posters and all kinds of other things from different websites, TV shows, comics, video games and movies. Despite all this, people don't go to Comic-Con to shop. Many people go to attend panels and exhibits from TV shows and movies, in which the stars of said shows and movies speak to fans and answer questions. What's the point of me telling you this? Shut up and I'll tell you. The night before the convention (Thursday night), Matt and I took a look at the schedules for all of the panels and discussions and picked and wrote down the ones we wanted to go to (oh... how naive we were that night). Since we had gotten in too late to go the the New Moon panel (sad face), the first event on our schedule was Robot Chicken. I was very excited about this panel in particular, since I'm a massive nerd and love Robot Chicken. The panel started at 3:00, and to insure that we got a seat, we decided to show up early, and arrived at 1:45. Despite this, there was a huge line. Determined to get a chance to speak with Seth Green, I decided it was worth it, and and we got in line. Once again, it was a really long line. As the three of us waited in line, we passed the time by making jokes and talking about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a show which I also enjoy very much. at around 3:00, the line began to move, only allowing me to think they were starting to seat us, causing me to get all giddy and excited. After about five mintes, convention workers came out and told us that the panel for Robot Chicken had filled up. To be honest, I was absolutely crushed, and a bit angry. not only was I not going to be part of what turned out to be a hilarious and informative panel about one of my favorite shows, but I sat in line for an hour and fifteen minutes with nothing to claim. It was at this point that I discovered that Comic-Con is not the well-run machine I had originally thought it was. I don't quite understand how they can just let nine hundred hopeful nerds line up for over an hour when the room only holds three hundred people. Wouldn't it make more sense to give vouchers or tickets to the first three hundred people who arrive instead of letting everyone line up, only to crush six hundred dreams? If Seth Green heard about this I'm sure he would be as outraged as I am right now. He wouldn't stand for it.

After this happened, we decided it would be smart to head over to the Dexter panel immediately to get a seat. Let's just say that we gave up on that pipe dream pretty quickly. Even though the panel wasn't going to start for two hours, the line was absurd. After realizing just how long it was, we left and headed back to the exhibition hall. The second time around it seemed to be much more crowded. It was then I realized, "holy shit, they sold way too many tickets". The massive room was absolutely filled with people. It was shoulder to shoulder, and I am not even kidding. Although this was the case, it was still fun. After about an hour, two t-shirts and four wicked awesome buttons later, we left the convention center and got on the tram (which still smelled like a cab-driver's feet) back to the hotel.

So overall, it was pretty fun, but I was very disapointed at how poorly run the panels were. So now I head back up to my hotel room to rethink our strategy for tomorrow. I'll definitely have more updates tomorrow (I haven't even begun to talk about security yet), and will hopefully be more successful in experiencing what Comic-Con is all about: making you all jealous and getting a lot of t-shirts and buttons and shit. So tune in tomorrow.