Comic-con recap
I went to ComicCon and all I got was a crappy "Get Smart" t-shirt...and a cool "Bionic Woman" t-shirt...and a truly bitchin' "Watchman" poster...and etc. etc. etc.
The White Stripes say I can't be a pimp and a prostitute too, but I beg to differ. With that said, I hereby present:
So, here's the thing...as a scholar, I'm increasinly fascinated by the corporate co-opting of fandom, and this being my first time at Comic-con, I did a lot of asking those who had been attending for years about their perceptions re: the differences pre- and post-Hollywood invasion. This is not to say I thumbed my own nose at all the hype and freebies, if anything I was completely fixated on it...granted, I was not willing to wait in line for more than 2 min for anything, so that ruled out a sweet "300" DVD promo shield, but I did make a point of gathering up swag to bring to friends and/or bring home to add to our dorktastic pad. I drew the line firmly at the Superman Doomsday/Smallville ginormous bags that functioned as glaring sandwich boards (whoever came up with that at the WB should get a raise, as they got several thousand walking billboards out of the deal, and one guy who hilariously started wearing his naked-hillbilly-barrel style). My experience was also complicated by the fact that I was on the other side of the promotional fence all day Saturday, for Ghost Whisperer, which is another post for another day...needless to say, it gave me a good deal to think about, being one of the people being lined up around vs. one of the people lining up. I got props from everyone for being so "good" with the crowd, which I found amusing as I was mostly just treating them with the respect and sympathy that those scenarios call for, and I always like hearing people stories, so chatting them up wasn't so much to diffuse annoyance but rather because I wanted to get a sense of who everyone was and what had brought them to Comic-con.
As for the panels, Thursday we got in late but managed to catch Ray Park and Ray Harryhausen (who I had the great honor of meeting and speaking with a couple of years ago), and then George Romero and Max Brooks (both of whom I have intense love for, and I was thrilled that we got a bit of news both on "Diary of the Dead" and the "World War Z" adaptation that's in the works). Good stuff.
Friday was primarily determined by Luke's mancrush on Zak Snyder and all things Star Wars, followed by the ever-amusing rambles of Kevin Smith. The WB panel we began the day with pissed me off to no end, for a number of reasons:
1. the statistically inaccurate and wholly obnoxious "Hey, I think I see a girl out there, you're gonna get lucky in this crowd" wink-wink-nudge-nudgery. *eyeroll*
2. "Invasion." I frakking hate you, Invasion. I hate that you're trying (and, from everything I've seen, failing) to work the hat trick on IotBS...we already had one amazing remake (and how rare is that?!), leave it alone already.
3. Shaynnon(or however you spell her silly name) Sossamon doing everything short of sighing repeatedly to make it clear she was so put out to be talking to a room full of dorks.
4. Joel Silver looking like a coked-out fruit salad (honeydew suit, watermelon shirt, cantalope skin)
5. Them vamping and re-running the "Whiteout" trailer to stall for Kate Beckinsale's arrival, thus cutting into the time devoted to talking "Watchmen," which I guarentee 95% of the crowd was really there for.
Saturday was promotional Ghost Whisperer day, so I was on the floor making sure the signings ran smoothly and giving out swag, meaning that I missed nearly everything I had been most psyched to see, including: Bionic Woman, BSG, Supernatural, Joss, etc. Sigh. Granted, I probably would have only managed to get into a handful of these, if any, but it was still a little disappointing. We did catch the masquerade that night (hilarious) and then I bumped into titti and her friend (whose name I never caught, I'm sad to admit, especially as she was rocking a Phoenix Rising pin) while waiting for the trolley. Being the rock star she is, she and her pal had been to nearly all the panels I had been hoping to catch, so I ended the evening with the scoop on all the important stuff, like whether the "Supernatural" fans had revolted over being fed the 'you'll like the new gals, we promise' line.
Sunday, we did a half day (me dressed as Starbuck, which I did on Friday as well...surprisingly little BSG representation on the cosplay front, I was a little dumbfounded)...Luke scored a force fx lightsaber for free, having made pals with the Master Replica guys the day before. My big event for the day was getting my "Feedback" comic signed by Feedback and seeing the rest of the motley crew from that televisual trainwreck "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" Good times.
More thoughts later, pictures of me dressed as Starbuck with old school centurians and pics of me with Chewie here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pebler/sets/72157601090869857/
Best costumes featured in the set: Ash (good chin for it, too), Monarch (from Venture Bros.), Janitor!Greedo, WoW quest kid....also, me wantses the SW: Legacy mural...the precious!
The White Stripes say I can't be a pimp and a prostitute too, but I beg to differ. With that said, I hereby present:
So, here's the thing...as a scholar, I'm increasinly fascinated by the corporate co-opting of fandom, and this being my first time at Comic-con, I did a lot of asking those who had been attending for years about their perceptions re: the differences pre- and post-Hollywood invasion. This is not to say I thumbed my own nose at all the hype and freebies, if anything I was completely fixated on it...granted, I was not willing to wait in line for more than 2 min for anything, so that ruled out a sweet "300" DVD promo shield, but I did make a point of gathering up swag to bring to friends and/or bring home to add to our dorktastic pad. I drew the line firmly at the Superman Doomsday/Smallville ginormous bags that functioned as glaring sandwich boards (whoever came up with that at the WB should get a raise, as they got several thousand walking billboards out of the deal, and one guy who hilariously started wearing his naked-hillbilly-barrel style). My experience was also complicated by the fact that I was on the other side of the promotional fence all day Saturday, for Ghost Whisperer, which is another post for another day...needless to say, it gave me a good deal to think about, being one of the people being lined up around vs. one of the people lining up. I got props from everyone for being so "good" with the crowd, which I found amusing as I was mostly just treating them with the respect and sympathy that those scenarios call for, and I always like hearing people stories, so chatting them up wasn't so much to diffuse annoyance but rather because I wanted to get a sense of who everyone was and what had brought them to Comic-con.
As for the panels, Thursday we got in late but managed to catch Ray Park and Ray Harryhausen (who I had the great honor of meeting and speaking with a couple of years ago), and then George Romero and Max Brooks (both of whom I have intense love for, and I was thrilled that we got a bit of news both on "Diary of the Dead" and the "World War Z" adaptation that's in the works). Good stuff.
Friday was primarily determined by Luke's mancrush on Zak Snyder and all things Star Wars, followed by the ever-amusing rambles of Kevin Smith. The WB panel we began the day with pissed me off to no end, for a number of reasons:
1. the statistically inaccurate and wholly obnoxious "Hey, I think I see a girl out there, you're gonna get lucky in this crowd" wink-wink-nudge-nudgery. *eyeroll*
2. "Invasion." I frakking hate you, Invasion. I hate that you're trying (and, from everything I've seen, failing) to work the hat trick on IotBS...we already had one amazing remake (and how rare is that?!), leave it alone already.
3. Shaynnon(or however you spell her silly name) Sossamon doing everything short of sighing repeatedly to make it clear she was so put out to be talking to a room full of dorks.
4. Joel Silver looking like a coked-out fruit salad (honeydew suit, watermelon shirt, cantalope skin)
5. Them vamping and re-running the "Whiteout" trailer to stall for Kate Beckinsale's arrival, thus cutting into the time devoted to talking "Watchmen," which I guarentee 95% of the crowd was really there for.
Saturday was promotional Ghost Whisperer day, so I was on the floor making sure the signings ran smoothly and giving out swag, meaning that I missed nearly everything I had been most psyched to see, including: Bionic Woman, BSG, Supernatural, Joss, etc. Sigh. Granted, I probably would have only managed to get into a handful of these, if any, but it was still a little disappointing. We did catch the masquerade that night (hilarious) and then I bumped into titti and her friend (whose name I never caught, I'm sad to admit, especially as she was rocking a Phoenix Rising pin) while waiting for the trolley. Being the rock star she is, she and her pal had been to nearly all the panels I had been hoping to catch, so I ended the evening with the scoop on all the important stuff, like whether the "Supernatural" fans had revolted over being fed the 'you'll like the new gals, we promise' line.
Sunday, we did a half day (me dressed as Starbuck, which I did on Friday as well...surprisingly little BSG representation on the cosplay front, I was a little dumbfounded)...Luke scored a force fx lightsaber for free, having made pals with the Master Replica guys the day before. My big event for the day was getting my "Feedback" comic signed by Feedback and seeing the rest of the motley crew from that televisual trainwreck "Who Wants to be a Superhero?" Good times.
More thoughts later, pictures of me dressed as Starbuck with old school centurians and pics of me with Chewie here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pebler/sets/72157601090869857/
Best costumes featured in the set: Ash (good chin for it, too), Monarch (from Venture Bros.), Janitor!Greedo, WoW quest kid....also, me wantses the SW: Legacy mural...the precious!