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The Cool:
This year the con had more of a multimedia approach. We got
to sit in panels hosted by such diverse folks as Ray
Bradbury/Julius Schwarz, Joe Quesada, Matt Groening
(Futurama) and Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls.) The
check in for the press was extremely well organized this year,
and much appreciated. We had our own press desk to check
into, and it was a heck of a lot easier than in years past.
The Costume Contest this year was extremely well organized.
Instead of the MC having to read out loud who was wearing the
costume, who made the costume yadda yadda, it was put up on
the viewing screens scattered around the new massive
auditorium. It saved a lot of time and made it easier on all of us.
However, they didnt have all the kinks worked out, and the
contest started late, due to the extremely long lines.
I got to see Ray Harryhausen in person!! Woooooohoooo!
Wish I could have afforded his $1000+ statues. Still, seeing the
genius of stop motion animation in person was a real thrill.
And speaking of real thrills...
The Really Cool
The entire Collector Times staff that was at the con played
extras in Mark Hamills movie. Yes, we got to participate in a
project with Luke Skywalker! Have no clue whether well end
up in any of the audience scenes, but it was a thrill to be there.
And I got to *leer* at Mark Hamill, not only during the making
of the movie, but also the day after when I found him shooting
various scenes around the convention center. I can die happy
now. Anyway, the film will be out on DVD in February. Its
entitled "Comicbook: The Movie." When we get a copy, well
let you know if we are in there or not.
That was a fabulous time anyway. Mark had other folks helping
him with the film, and he had selected his voice over buddies
from the cartoonverse. We were entertained by the folks that
bring you the voices of Wakko and Yakko of Animaniacs,
Pinky and the Brain, the Tasmanian Devil, Winnie the Pooh, The
Mayor of Townsville from the Powerpuff Girls, Fry from
Futurama and Space Ghost. In fact, Gary Owens moderated the
crowd which entertained us while we waited for the movie to get
started. These actors are talented AND funny. Very, very funny.
I dont think I have ever been in a more entertaining panel.
Mark, by the way, shared that he was attending comic cons long
before he was Luke Skywalker. He says hes one of us :)
The Pro Fan Trivia contest got changed this year. This year it
was in conjunction with Comedy Central and it was the The
Geeks from Beat the Geeks versus the comics pros.
The Comic Geek had brought 2 of his friends along for the
contest. The pros consisted of Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Len
Wein. This year our friend Tom Galloway was the judge and
scorekeeper. Our own Sidra got to play the Vanna White of the
panel. She kept time and reset the buzzers and handed out t-shirts
to the fans who played "stump the pros" at the end. Joe
Singleton and I were sitting right up front, and the Movie Geek
and the Music Geek ended up sitting right next to us, waiting to
be tag-teamed in. The Music Geek ended up being a Legion of
Superheroes fan , which to us in the Legion Cult, is a big plus.
The Pros kicked the Geeks butts, but they gave it a valiant
effort.
A lot of folks from the movies put in appearances. Ben Affleck
showed up at the Dare Devil panel, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd,
and Dominic Monaghan (Frodo, Pippin and Merry) joined
Lawrence Makoare (Lurtz) and Sala Baker (Sauron) at the
official Lord of the Rings panel.
The Not So Cool
Security is on our shit list again. AJ Reardon showed up in
costume with a staff on Saturday. Almost immediately security
was on her, wanting her to relinquish her staff. She ended up
having to check it in. Mind you, AJ weighs about 100 lbs
soaking wet, and I doubt seriously she could wield the thing as a
weapon. What really pissed me off was that all day I saw great
big burly men with staffs parading all over the convention center.
I guess its easier to harass young women than it is to approach
great big guys who might actually be able to use the staff they
are carrying. Anyway, we were not impressed.
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