D23 and Comic Con were back to back weekends. Why would I subject myself to such a strenuous schedule? I wouldn’t have it any other way, feeding the inner nerd two weekends in a row was definitely tasking on the body but it was so much fun.
This weekend was jam packed, one of the places I went to was the #14thfactory next to the Lincoln Heights jail, east of Elysian Park. The 14th Factory is a multi-media art experience. My main reason for going was the recreation of the room from 2001: A Space Odyssey;
The 2016 San Diego Comic Con International (SDCC) has come and gone. This year is the first time that SDCC is implementing the RFID badges, where you have to scan in and out. It worked very well.
This year I focused on people rather than seeing and buying things. It was great to run into people, really reminded me of how SDCC used to be.
Didn’t spend the bulk of my time hanging out with my usual friends, but I got to meet up with other friends, which is always great.
Wondercon 2016 has come and gone. This year it took place at the LA Convention Center, while not my favorite convention site, they did a great job utilizing the space. But you had to walk out to LA live, past the Staples Center, to attend certain panels and screenings. That was weird and sort of confusing at first, but the offsite events might’ve eased up on the congestion in the exhibit hall.
This year also introduced the new RFID badges, you had to scan everywhere.
Anyway, had a lot of fun this year, and #whonewpodcast was spreading due to word of mouth, hehehe.
Another comic con has come and gone in beautiful San Diego. This year wasn’t the same, I wasn’t able to walk the floor with my usual buddies. I also didn’t spend hours upon hours waiting in line to get a ticket to wait in another line. The only full day I spent at the convention center was Sunday, and that was bargain hunting day, which worked out pretty well this year.
I went to the premiere of Justice League Gods and Monsters, and the Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment Screening TV Panel.
This year I made it a point to meet up with people, comic con used to be a time where I’d run into friends that I hadn’t seen in a while, or would only see at comic con, now it’s a mad house. I know other friends were there that I didn’t get to see, sorry I wasn’t able to hang out for a bit but there was too much foot traffic.
Thank goodness there wasn’t an exclusive figure at the Hasbro Toy Shop that I had to get this year.
This past weekend was the Anaheim 2015 Star Wars Celebration. This is the first time I went to a Star Wars only convention, I was a bit skeptical leading up to the event. I had never been, and having in Southern California was a plus, meaning that I could attend. But I was most fearful of being able to “walk” the floor in only an hour or two and then be done. so glad that I was wrong, I ended up spending nearly 8 hours at the Anaheim convention center.
I actually went to a panel as well. What made the time there great was spending it with friends, so the line waiting wasn’t that bad. The costumes of attendees were also ‘most impressive,” most if not all of the costumes were on the higher end of the spectrum.
But what made it extra fun were the photo ops that were throughout the floor. The detail in re-creating sets and props from the movie was absolutely amazing.
Wondercon 2015 has come and gone. It was rather warm this time around. I got to meet up and hang out with a couple of friends, it’s nice geeking out together.
The layout of the exhibition floor was rather chaotic this time around. The vendors where next to artists and other odds and ends, you couldn’t exactly “section” aisles of as, this is where you buy shirts, this is where you buy art… and so on. It’s probably the Anaheim convention center’s layout.
Oh and one thing that bugged me to no end… artist alley had pillars in the aisles, why not have the artist tables with the pillars? Strange just to bump into a pillar.
I’ve been catching up on my podcasts, and I got around to the latest Harmontown episode. They talk about comic con and sum up some of the same feelings that I share. Take a listen here.
In particular Spencer‘s comments on purchasing exclusives at the con. He’s put in to words what I’ve posted about.
For those of you who don’t know, Harmontown is Dan Harmon‘s podcast. He’ll talk and rant about something in the beginning, if you’re lucky he’ll freestyle rap, then some guests come out and join in the fun. Then at the end… at the end, they play Dungeon’s and Dragons! Always a pleasure to listen.
I remember going to comic con to find stuff that I couldn’t get, whether that be comics or old toys, but then with the internet and ebay, everything became more accessible, and if I didn’t get it at the con I would get it on ebay. But I still made the effort to buy one comic at every comic con, because it’s called “comic” con.
Then I started to attend panels, screenings, and meet and greets with autographs, long gone are the days when you could walk in to a room and take a seat. I did this to find a place to sit down in peace, away from the security guards telling me I was blocking a fire exit. Now you have to camp out or spend a whole day waiting in line to catch a barely visible celebrity.
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