San Diego Comicon 2010 - Day 3 - Saturday

One thing about Comic Con is that it's filled with difficult decisions. Do you try your luck on the floor and see what you can see, or do you get in line for a panel that you may or may not get into? Well, looking at the schedule this year I made my decision early that Saturday was going to be my big "panel day". Luckily for me, my wife agreed.

The schedule made it easy for me: Venture Brothers, The Guild, Community, and Attack of the Show all in the same room?! It was like they read my mind... thank you!



After only 4 hours of sleep, we made our way down to the new Indigo Ballroom in the nearby Hilton. The line at 8:30 am wasn't bad at all, but after an hour of waiting it grew to an astronomical size. I kid you not, the end of the line went far out of my visual range. It appears people enjoy the same things as us...

The good news was that we arrived early, and were in a great spot. The new hall had a capacity of about 1800 people and we were probably within the first few hundred people there.










After sitting through the panel for SyFy's Sanctuary and quite possibly one of the worst Christopher Walken impressions I've ever seen it was time to witness the Venture Brothers panel!

Venture Brothers - I had seen this panel a few years ago, and was interested in seeing what they had to show us this time around. The audience was treated to creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer as well as the voice talent of Patrick Warburton (Samson) and James Urbaniak (Doctor Venture). For the next hour the cast told ridiculous stories and were exceptionally hilarious. My only qualm with this panel was the extreme lack of direction. For example, Doc Hammer talked about some obscure Jason Patrick movie about a guy who reproduces famous art for a living... for about 15 minutes.








Next up was The Guild. I've been a fan of The Guild for a few years now, and love that the show has become so popular. From what I understand the hall was completely full by this point, and hundreds of Guild fans could not get in (sorry guys). The entire cast was on hand as well as the co-creator and producer Kim Evey. Wil Wheaton who plays the villain Faux was there to tell stories and reflect about his past as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek. The cast gets along so well and it's awesome to see a group of people who are so passionate about their ever expanding project. I also love that Microsoft is giving them the cash to fund the show so they don't have to produce it out of pocket. Felicia Day really appreciates her growing legion of fans, you can just tell. We also got a glimpse of their new music video "Game On!" which was so well done.

After a few more panels I won't even mention, it was time for Community. The Community panel was probably my Comic Con highlight for 2010. The cast of Community was just brilliant, and so full of raw energy. Seeing Chevy Chase up close and personal after watching him my entire life was cathartic. He essentially is his character from Community, there is very little acting going on.





Allison was charming and even fielded a few questions about her upcoming role in Scream IV. The cast discussed their first encounters with one another, and how they get along when not at work. Troy and Abed bonded instantly when Abed offered to help Troy move. Chevy really liked the script and now just shows up for work because they're his friends. And Gillian said that she pretty much IS Britta, just hopefully not as boring.


The Community Rap, I managed to record!

Finally it was time for the Attack of the Show panel. I've attempted to get into this panel for two years, but this time I made sure it happened. Why do I love AOTS so much? It's a show specifically designed for ME. With; crappy internet videos, toilet humor, video games, movie reviews, pop culture, and hosts I can really relate to, Attack is just what I need before I go to bed. I watch AOTS almost every night and always laugh at least half a dozen times. I'm a big fan, what can I say.



The panel was pretty awesome, but the cast seemed exhausted having just finished a live 4 hour broadcast minutes before the panel started. Many odd things were witnessed from double rainbows to Sasquatch reading twilight. Sadly, the audience questions were pretty awful (I should have asked some myself).







After a long day in the Indigo ballroom we were free to roam the town and see more unique and bizarre sights. The decision to stay in Indigo all day was well worth it!

San Diego Comicon 2010 - Day 2 - Friday

Friday is when the real con-chaos begins. All the big studios arrive to show off their latest and greatest. Cosplayers flood the isles showing off all their hard work, and people start to get a bit crazy. @Chrisfits and myself had big plans for Friday. I personally wanted to see 12 panels on Friday alone, but I knew deep in my heart that it would be impossible.




We decided to attempt to get into Walking Dead, and after about an hour wait we barley made it in. At the walking dead panel we were treated to a first look at footage from the new series on AMC as well as a nice discussion panel with the cast, crew, and creator of the comic book. The series looks pretty true to the comic. I think A lot of people will be talking about this one when it finally premieres this October. A very twisted, dark and gritty tale of survival. Question: can you really make the Zombie survival story that "never ends", when you have to spend millions of dollars an episode to keep it going?
We really wanted to get into Ballroom 20 for a variety of panels that were happening in the afternoon, so we arrived about 3 hours early for the panel we wanted to see. Sadly, for the first time in my 8 comic cons the line for ballroom 20 was capped. Not a single soul was getting into that place... defeat...

So we gave up on that adventure and wandered the halls for a good portion of the afternoon.




executioner!













Jessica Chobot!













Ugly Dolls (tm)!













A Golem Kid?
















Abbie Heppe!













We then made our way outside to the amazing Scott Pilgrim pavilion where bands had been battling for supremacy for days and the cast and crew were on hand, serving garlic bread and screening T-shirts for everyone. Ran into this guy... who was putting on an elaborate disguise...










Hit up the Gears of War 3 Panel after my wonderful wife yelled at the line attendant due to their inability to control the crowd. One sympathetic security guard told the crowd we were with Microsoft and whisked us past the masses into the packed room. After an afternoon of failure and hall hiking, we were about to witness an amazing testosterone filled panel all about Gears 3! It was pretty damn remarkable... if you're a fan of the series you'll love what they have in store. We got a look at the 4 player campaign co-op, the new Carmine, beast mode, Cliff Blizinzki, all moderated by Adam Sessler. It was a great panel, and it made April 2011 seem very far away.



We then left and walked around town for a bit, and made our way to the Patton Oswalt show at the Hard Rock. I wish I wasn't as tired as I was during this show, because it was funny as hell. With stand-up by Patton, Chris Hardwick, and a surprise appearance by Tim and Eric it was a pretty full roster... I may get flamed by people for this, but I pretty much find Tim and Eric to be the most annoying people on the planet. Nothing they did or said was even close to funny. I know, I know for some reason not telling jokes is supposed to be "the joke", but my lord it was just fucking painful.

San Diego Comicon 2010 - Day 1 - Thursday

@Legsarebroken here, What a difference some sleep can make. After almost 10 hours sleep I was recharged and ready for Con-mayhem. @Chrisfits and myself were excited to get back to the convention center and see all the glorious pop-culture vomit that was spewing everywhere. Matt and Melissa didn't have Thursday passes so they decided to wander the town and do a bit of exploration.


Thursdays are generally my favorite Comic-Con days for a few reasons:

1. Everyone is still in a great mood
   
2. You are still excited to be there and don't mind people wiping their FUPAs on you!
3. There are still three more days to correct your mistakes!
   

We planned for Thursday to be fairly relaxed with a few panels broken up by some time on the floor and hopefully ending with the amazing Scott Pilgrim panel in the dreaded Hall H (6,500 person capacity). Sadly things don't always go according to plan... (dramatic music)

Stop 1 was to check out the line for G4 TVs X-Play. I've been a fan of Adam and Morgan for nearly 10 years now. At one point I remember going to the studios in San Francisco with Mark and Cohen in a viscous attempt to kidnap Morgan Webb. For one fleeting moment in 2002 we saw her walk past us, but we lost our nerve and retreated to the shadows.

Why do I give a shit about this show? I love video games. I always have, and I always will. When I'm not playing video games, I love to read about video games, and watch other people talk about video games. It's a sickness that many of you probably don't understand, but it goes way beyond a "hobby" for me. It's a passion that I'm proud of.

After sitting through a few panels (Jeff Smith and Chris Gore), it was time for the X-play crew to take the stage.


<-----Notice Abbie Heppe giving me "eyes". Yep






What happened for the next hour was pure hilarity. Audience members were turned into "interns" and made to do some truly terrifying acts such as: Playing Crisis Core, making rancid ham sandwiches non stop for the entire duration of the panel , and grooming Blair's chest live in front of everyone in an awkward display of fandom and homo-eroticism.



It was great to see the cast and crew of a show I truly love interact and joke around, not more than 5 feet away. I instantly started hatching up a new kidnapping plan... with Morgan so close, I could easily complete the task that I had foolishly botched so many years ago. However, being a newlywed, I don't think my wife would appreciate our new roommate.



After about an hour, it was all over.

I had been a part of X-plays very first Comic-Con panel and I was in nerdy bliss. If only I could meet Morgan and tell her about my kidnapping plan... oh wait... I did! Please note: The face I am making in this picture is pure "nerd joy", you will probably see it a few more times... sorry?

After a few more hours of floor chaos, we attempted to get into Scott Pilgrim, and by attempted I simply mean we looked at the line (about 5 hours long), and said "nope". So the one massive panel I really wanted to see this year was out. Will I ever get into Hall-H again? Probably not.

We stalked the floor looking for swag and people of interest. And saw the usual mix of robots and slutty vampires. Thursday was turning out to be a great day!









We decided to try for the Children's Hospital panel featuring a ton of comedians I've been watching for years ( David Wain, Ken Marino, Rob Huebel, Rob Corrdry, Lake Bell, and Erinn Hayes). It was great to see these maniacs interact together. The first five minutes consisted of the cast sprinting around the floor like deranged rock stars while Van Halen's Panama blasted in the background. Ken Marino was teased for his early catch phrase "I'll dip my balls in it", which brought a nerdy smile to my face. The panel was nothing but controlled chaos and ended with the worst "blooper reel" I've ever seen. About five minutes of actual medical operation footage followed by a whopper of a grand finale... A large African American woman giving childbirth on a 20 foot screen... Placenta and all. wow....




The day was not even close to over. After shuffle walking the floor a bit more we decided to go outside and check out the line for Bioware and Dragon Age 2. Now the majority of the 10 people that read this blog probably won't care too much about what I'm going to say here, but after getting a hands on with the game, I can honestly say it's going to blow everyone away; Streamlined controls, improved voice acting, new graphical style, amazing looking spells and armor... I got to hang out for about 30 minutes with the producers of the franchise and just pick their brains. It was just fucking great.


"There's a dragon behind me again huh?"

Ended the very long Thursday at the Digg nation after-party at the House of Blues, which was pretty much a recreation of their Digg nation podcast live on stage. It was funny, but the number of assholes in attendance was purely astounding. -We are talking a new level of douchery here. Nerds are one thing (I am one), but nerds with a false sense of "cool" and self confidence? Now you're no longer a nerd, but some other beast entirely. See you tomorrow.

San Diego Comicon 2010 - Day 0 - Preview Night

Back on the road again to San Diego Comic Con! Thanks to my friend Mike, and a last minute text message, Christina and myself were able to get lodging, as well as passes for the entire weekend. There would be a few "catches" to the deal, but we were very lucky to be able to go. We left Asheville NC on a small jet, survived a few screaming hippy kids (Yes... hippy kids), and eventually arrived in sunny San Diego.

With just enough time to shower, wipe the airplane flu off, change clothes and unpack we started making our way out to the convention center for preview night. After a few bus rides and a bit of a wait... we were there.

For those that don't know, preview night takes place for a few hours the night before the convention officially begins. This year preview night was CRAZY. Wall to wall people, all eager to get their hands on something nerdy. Sadly it dawned on me that Preview night has become the day that toy collectors gather to stalk the floor and try and get that one "con exclusive" that will make their collection all the more... useless?
Toy collecting has to be the biggest waste of time I've ever participated in, and now sadly I hold hardcore toy collectors in the same light as those overly enthusiastic Anime kids with the 6 foot cardboard swords... Lost souls

The one great thing about preview night is seeing all the amazing stuff that you really can't see anyplace else. Like this mech from Avatar in full 1:1 scale. Fat kids dressed up as Yoda, and bikini clad female Punishers.

Being the colossal nerd that I am, I raced to see the newly announced Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. I played MVC2 constantly in college (round 1) and was insanely excited to see it making a comeback a decade later. After a short wait I got my hands on the game, picked my team (Hulk, Wolverine, and Dr. Doom..natch) and beat the snot out of the kid next to me! The game is going to be a massive hit and I cannot wait for it to go gold.


After waddling around for a few more hours we made our way back to the hotel and finally passed out. I can't remember the last time I was as tired as this particular preview night. Age was not my friend this year, as I was actually seeing double. After being awake for about 23 hours, it was time to black out and get some rest.

Coming soon, Day 1.