Comic-con is a wonderful experience and part of that experience is waiting in line. It may seem like waiting in line would be a bad part, but it actually is pretty awesome. People are prepared for the wait and it's expected, so you show up hours before you want to see something and just embrace the wait. And while you wait, you get to thinking about how different this kind of waiting is from any other kind and I decided to analyze the why's and how's of this phenomenon.
1) Most of the people in line are really nice. If you are waiting in line for the DMV or even a movie premier, there is always bound to be some jerk or person who you just wish would go away, but I've enjoyed every line buddy I've made. Everyone seems pretty excited and patient and they like all the same stuff you do, so there's no need to explain what a TARDIS is or why you have on a ridiculous orange and yellow hat.
2) People bring books with them. I'm not just talking kindles or nooks, I'm talking full on novels. Like books that are over 500 pages and with small print. And not just a few people bring books, I'd say close to 40% do. And it's a beautiful thing when you don't feel a social stigma for pulling out a novel that's called Plague with pictures of superhero kids on the cover and reading it in public - a beautiful thing.
3) People are friendly, but they also don't mind being socially awkward. In the middle of a conversation, if someone gets a text (a major form of comic-con communication) that person doesn't excuse themselves from the conversation or ignore it, he/she just whips out his/her phone and starts to respond. They might even do this while still talking to you or just start ignoring you. It's totally acceptable protocol at SDCC.
4) Unlike Disneyland, the people wearing costumes are not paid to be there.
5) Strangers shout out at other strangers about what you are wearing and their opinion of it. This is especially true if you are wearing a costume or a shirt that is a subtle homage to a favorite tv show or movie. I wore a shirt last year that had the orange orange logo from Chuck - I got a lot of shout outs about that one.
6) Cutting in line is acceptable and expected. You may be one person alone in line one minute and then ten minutes later you are joined by five of your friends. No one huffs at you saving seats or spots in line because they have done it too. It's the only way to travel.
7) A three hour wait doesn't seem that long. You bring food and games and entertainment and make friends and have a seat and prepare for the journey. It goes by pretty fast and it's amazing how fun the wait can be.
Comic-con is a people watching mecca. I suggest, if you love to people watch, try to get yourself a ticket for at least one day so you can sit in line and experience it for yourself. It really is its own little world.
Showing posts with label comic-con. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comic-con. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
My Comic-Con 2011 Top Ten
I went to Comic-Con for my second time and this time I went for the whole shebang, four days of craziness. I got to do many things and had lots of fun. Some people say I have something called the luck of the Dempseys. I don't believe in luck, I think that I just have really great things happen to me a lot. Even the bad stuff often turns out to be good. But after this weekend, I have to wonder about the effects of a certain hat I wore and the amazing things that happened while I wore it.
10) We got to see so many amazing panels: Twilight, Chuck, Fringe (with a charming and living Joshua Jackson), Castle, Eureka, Merlin, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog sing along, what's hot in young adult fiction, diversity in young adult fiction (where I got to meet and talk with an author I had read recently), two tv premiers: Terra Nova and Alcatraz, and TV Guide's fan favorites with a smorgasbord of celebrities. That may not seem like much, but with 2-3 hours of waiting for each panel, that's quite a lot to accomplish. And except for the Doctor Who panel, that was everything I wanted to see! Well, I did miss Psych :( but I happened to see the main actor from that show while I was in line for the bathroom and that counts for something.
9) I got interviewed while waiting in line for Twilight. I made some references as to how I thought that some members of the panel might be more coherent than others (implying that Kristen Stewart wouldn't be so clear). That got a laugh, but I think I won't make the extras on the DVD, not like the girls screaming Twilight! I also got to meet Nikki Reed and speak with her (she had a main role in the film). We had excellent seats during the panel, got to see some sneak peaks of some scenes in the film, and heard some good questions and answers including some surprisingly insightful answers from Kristen Stewart.
8) I made many line buddies. You see, half of comic con is just waiting in lines. I mean like sitting down for 3 or more hours waiting to see a panel of people or a movie screening. And when you are sitting in line for so long, you start to make friends with the people around you. And since most of them are nerds like you, you are bound to have things in common. Things like: the Hunger Games is a great book, or David Tennant is the best Doctor, or whether or not Harry Potter will be considered a classic years from now. Also while waiting in line, you get to see lots of interesting costumes. It is a people watching haven!
7) I got to see the Doctor. Doctor Who? Yes. Matt Smith was on a panel with a whole bunch of other great people including Zachary Levi (from Chuck) and Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost). He was floppy haired and beautifully British. He was charming, but not David Tennant, but still charming. My friend works for comic con this year and he found out that I liked Dr. Who. I had to miss the main Dr. Who panel, but he said he might be able to get me in to a private signing with the cast!!! He tried to get me in, but by the time I got the text saying that I could come, I was about 2 blocks away and on the wrong floor. I ran through the crowds wearing my huge backpack, which I had just filled with 6 books I had bought (or received for free) on the main exhibition floor. At one point my backpack opened up and books spilled out. People helped me pick them up and I carried them in my arms as I ran down the hall. I got to the door and just missed them. But at least I was several feet from the Doctor himself.
6) The Chuck panel was amazing. It is the last season of the show, a show that was first screened at comic con and basically got its start and support and sustenance from the nerds there. We got free shirts as we entered (after waiting in line for 2 or 3 hours). They showed fun clips and Jeffster sang. They were super funny and entertaining. But the best part was at the end as Chuck (I mean, Zachary Levi) was speaking about why he loves comic con and how he feels about the end of his show. He started to speak about how much he loves the people of comic con and his fans and he started crying...like all manly yet choked up. And then the whole crowd just stood up and started clapping and continued clapping for several minutes. I love overly sentimental moments and this was a great one.
5) So here is one way the hat became magical. You see, last year, my friend wanted a hat from a show called Firefly. It was a sci-fi show that had a short run and a huge following. One of the gruffest characters (played by Adam Baldwin on Chuck) got a hat in one episode from his mother. Now fans of the show wear these yellow, orange, and red knitted hats to show their love for the show. They were selling them for $30 each last year and I told my friend I could make them for $10. I ended up making 4 of them (at a cost of about $10 each) and we wore them at panels where members of the cast were presenting. I was wearing the hat after the Castle panel with Nathan Fillion. A girl came up to me and handed me one of the the tickets we got during the panel. Hers had a special stamp on the back that meant you could go meet the cast at a signing! She gave it to me because I had on the hat that said I was a true fan! I gave it to my friend because she's a truer fan than I am and it would mean more to her.
4) We went to dinner at a restaurant near the convention center. I did not want to wear my hat at this fancy place, but it started to get cold and we were outside, so I put it on. One of my friends noticed an actress from the show, Firefly, was walking right in front of the restaurant. I got up and stood on the sidewalk as she passed. She looked at me, smiled and asked, "Would you like a picture?" Her husband took two pictures of us and they were so nice. I thanked them for allowing us to interrupt their evening and told her I thought she was great.
3) While crossing the street and still wearing my hat I looked at the handsome man walking toward me and threw off my sunglasses while shouting, "You're Nathan Fillion!!", yes, I'm cool like that. He said, "I like your hat," to which I replied, "I do too and you're awesome!" I would have asked for a picture, but we were in the middle of the street and he wasn't stopping.
2) My friend who works at comic con gave my friend a text during the Twilight panel: if you leave now, you can come to a private signing with the Twilight cast. We left right then and ran to where he told us to go. We waited while the workers told us if we got out our phones, cameras or pens or asked for a hug or anything but smile we would be asked to leave. Then we entered the room and met the big three: Taylor Lautner, Rob Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart. Taylor was first and he asked me how I was as he signed my poster. I responded with my usually over excited positivity and he said and I quote, "I like your energy" ha! Rob Pattinson was a little strange but even with a half shaven head, was still good looking. I felt bad about bad mouthing Kristen Stewart earlier, especially as she had actually done a really great job on the panel. So I told her I thought she had some great things to say on the panel and she thanked me and smiled and now I take back half of the things I said about her.
1) And now the most magical of all. I forgot to bring my lunch from the hotel to the convention center. One of my friends was leaving later and she promised to bring it to me. She was in a ballroom far away from the panel we were waiting for. One of my friends waited in line for me while I ran across the street to meet my other friend with the lunch. I was wearing my hat, despite the heat, mostly because I had hat hair. As I was crossing back across the street, I started to walk around a group of people walking the perpendicular direction. I looked and saw that it was Morgan from Chuck! As if I was pushed in a current of a stream, I started walking sideways the wrong direction so that I was in front of him and then I noticed Awesome from Chuck! I finally started walking the right direction (with them instead of backwards in front of them) and said, "I loved your panel, it was awesome!" Captain Awesome gave me a thumbs up and a thanks and a beautiful smile and then I heard from behind, "You've gotta be pretty brave to wear that had in public," and I turned around to see Adam Baldwin himself, the man whose character originated my hat. I turned into goo, incoherent, bumbling goo. "I've always wanted to see you while wearing this hat!" I so eloquently replied. He gave me a hug and asked for my name and said, "We're off to have burgers at the Hard Rock," I don't remember what I said next except it involved stupid words and lots of smiling. I didn't get a picture (another walking in the street thing), but I thought that was the coolest thing to say to a fan and it certainly made my comic-con.
So we have tickets for next year (which required us to wait in another 3 hour line) and although I am exhausted and thrilled with my time there, I don't know how next year can top the amazing things that happened this year. I'll be sure to bring my hat and the luck of the Dempseys.
10) We got to see so many amazing panels: Twilight, Chuck, Fringe (with a charming and living Joshua Jackson), Castle, Eureka, Merlin, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog sing along, what's hot in young adult fiction, diversity in young adult fiction (where I got to meet and talk with an author I had read recently), two tv premiers: Terra Nova and Alcatraz, and TV Guide's fan favorites with a smorgasbord of celebrities. That may not seem like much, but with 2-3 hours of waiting for each panel, that's quite a lot to accomplish. And except for the Doctor Who panel, that was everything I wanted to see! Well, I did miss Psych :( but I happened to see the main actor from that show while I was in line for the bathroom and that counts for something.
9) I got interviewed while waiting in line for Twilight. I made some references as to how I thought that some members of the panel might be more coherent than others (implying that Kristen Stewart wouldn't be so clear). That got a laugh, but I think I won't make the extras on the DVD, not like the girls screaming Twilight! I also got to meet Nikki Reed and speak with her (she had a main role in the film). We had excellent seats during the panel, got to see some sneak peaks of some scenes in the film, and heard some good questions and answers including some surprisingly insightful answers from Kristen Stewart.
8) I made many line buddies. You see, half of comic con is just waiting in lines. I mean like sitting down for 3 or more hours waiting to see a panel of people or a movie screening. And when you are sitting in line for so long, you start to make friends with the people around you. And since most of them are nerds like you, you are bound to have things in common. Things like: the Hunger Games is a great book, or David Tennant is the best Doctor, or whether or not Harry Potter will be considered a classic years from now. Also while waiting in line, you get to see lots of interesting costumes. It is a people watching haven!
7) I got to see the Doctor. Doctor Who? Yes. Matt Smith was on a panel with a whole bunch of other great people including Zachary Levi (from Chuck) and Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost). He was floppy haired and beautifully British. He was charming, but not David Tennant, but still charming. My friend works for comic con this year and he found out that I liked Dr. Who. I had to miss the main Dr. Who panel, but he said he might be able to get me in to a private signing with the cast!!! He tried to get me in, but by the time I got the text saying that I could come, I was about 2 blocks away and on the wrong floor. I ran through the crowds wearing my huge backpack, which I had just filled with 6 books I had bought (or received for free) on the main exhibition floor. At one point my backpack opened up and books spilled out. People helped me pick them up and I carried them in my arms as I ran down the hall. I got to the door and just missed them. But at least I was several feet from the Doctor himself.
6) The Chuck panel was amazing. It is the last season of the show, a show that was first screened at comic con and basically got its start and support and sustenance from the nerds there. We got free shirts as we entered (after waiting in line for 2 or 3 hours). They showed fun clips and Jeffster sang. They were super funny and entertaining. But the best part was at the end as Chuck (I mean, Zachary Levi) was speaking about why he loves comic con and how he feels about the end of his show. He started to speak about how much he loves the people of comic con and his fans and he started crying...like all manly yet choked up. And then the whole crowd just stood up and started clapping and continued clapping for several minutes. I love overly sentimental moments and this was a great one.
5) So here is one way the hat became magical. You see, last year, my friend wanted a hat from a show called Firefly. It was a sci-fi show that had a short run and a huge following. One of the gruffest characters (played by Adam Baldwin on Chuck) got a hat in one episode from his mother. Now fans of the show wear these yellow, orange, and red knitted hats to show their love for the show. They were selling them for $30 each last year and I told my friend I could make them for $10. I ended up making 4 of them (at a cost of about $10 each) and we wore them at panels where members of the cast were presenting. I was wearing the hat after the Castle panel with Nathan Fillion. A girl came up to me and handed me one of the the tickets we got during the panel. Hers had a special stamp on the back that meant you could go meet the cast at a signing! She gave it to me because I had on the hat that said I was a true fan! I gave it to my friend because she's a truer fan than I am and it would mean more to her.
4) We went to dinner at a restaurant near the convention center. I did not want to wear my hat at this fancy place, but it started to get cold and we were outside, so I put it on. One of my friends noticed an actress from the show, Firefly, was walking right in front of the restaurant. I got up and stood on the sidewalk as she passed. She looked at me, smiled and asked, "Would you like a picture?" Her husband took two pictures of us and they were so nice. I thanked them for allowing us to interrupt their evening and told her I thought she was great.
3) While crossing the street and still wearing my hat I looked at the handsome man walking toward me and threw off my sunglasses while shouting, "You're Nathan Fillion!!", yes, I'm cool like that. He said, "I like your hat," to which I replied, "I do too and you're awesome!" I would have asked for a picture, but we were in the middle of the street and he wasn't stopping.
2) My friend who works at comic con gave my friend a text during the Twilight panel: if you leave now, you can come to a private signing with the Twilight cast. We left right then and ran to where he told us to go. We waited while the workers told us if we got out our phones, cameras or pens or asked for a hug or anything but smile we would be asked to leave. Then we entered the room and met the big three: Taylor Lautner, Rob Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart. Taylor was first and he asked me how I was as he signed my poster. I responded with my usually over excited positivity and he said and I quote, "I like your energy" ha! Rob Pattinson was a little strange but even with a half shaven head, was still good looking. I felt bad about bad mouthing Kristen Stewart earlier, especially as she had actually done a really great job on the panel. So I told her I thought she had some great things to say on the panel and she thanked me and smiled and now I take back half of the things I said about her.
1) And now the most magical of all. I forgot to bring my lunch from the hotel to the convention center. One of my friends was leaving later and she promised to bring it to me. She was in a ballroom far away from the panel we were waiting for. One of my friends waited in line for me while I ran across the street to meet my other friend with the lunch. I was wearing my hat, despite the heat, mostly because I had hat hair. As I was crossing back across the street, I started to walk around a group of people walking the perpendicular direction. I looked and saw that it was Morgan from Chuck! As if I was pushed in a current of a stream, I started walking sideways the wrong direction so that I was in front of him and then I noticed Awesome from Chuck! I finally started walking the right direction (with them instead of backwards in front of them) and said, "I loved your panel, it was awesome!" Captain Awesome gave me a thumbs up and a thanks and a beautiful smile and then I heard from behind, "You've gotta be pretty brave to wear that had in public," and I turned around to see Adam Baldwin himself, the man whose character originated my hat. I turned into goo, incoherent, bumbling goo. "I've always wanted to see you while wearing this hat!" I so eloquently replied. He gave me a hug and asked for my name and said, "We're off to have burgers at the Hard Rock," I don't remember what I said next except it involved stupid words and lots of smiling. I didn't get a picture (another walking in the street thing), but I thought that was the coolest thing to say to a fan and it certainly made my comic-con.
So we have tickets for next year (which required us to wait in another 3 hour line) and although I am exhausted and thrilled with my time there, I don't know how next year can top the amazing things that happened this year. I'll be sure to bring my hat and the luck of the Dempseys.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Comic-Con: pre-'con' ceptions and post-'con' ceptions
For those of you who don't know, Comic-Con is a yearly event held in San Diego. It started as a place for comic enthusiasts to share in their common comic love and has grown to a place for nerds of many genres to unite in a four day nerd fest. This was my first year and I went because: a) I was curious b) three of my friends were going c) Twilight sometimes comes. Here are ten of my preconceptions I had before I went and ten postconceptions I now have after my foray into geekdom.
Pre "Con" ceptions:
1) We'd definitely be the cutest girls there. I mean seriously, I went to a nerdy school (with these girls, in fact) and we were considered high on the nerd/pretty scale.
2) Most of the people there would be awkward nerds who only step outside of their electronic caves for Comic Con.
3) We'd see a few things we liked and some things we didn't like.
4) I'd be tempted to buy everything with Wonder Woman on it.
5) I would get lots of free stuff (swag).
6) I would meet someone famous who would instantly see the 'star quality' I possess and sign me on the spot.
7) I would realize the extent of my own nerdiness because I would recognize and have a positive emotion toward many of the things I would see.
8) The people in costumes would be both cool and a little strange.
9) Our shirts would be awesome and people would stop us to tell us how awesome our shirts were.
10) We'd wait in a lot of lines.
Post "Con" ceptions:
1) We were not, in fact, the cutest girls there. There were some girls who were way cuter than we are...I don't know why they were there...
2) The wide range of people there was amazing. It was a people watching haven and some of them certainly fit a certain 'nerd' profile, but most people just seemed like normal, happy fans. It was actually kind of like going to UCI...
3) We got to see the "Chuck" panel and see the whole cast. That was just awesome. But I actually enjoyed the whole day. Even for things I didn't know anything about, it was really interesting to hear the panels and I had a great time the whole day. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was there with my girls, but seriously, super fun day.
4) I would have bought Wonder Woman stuff, but they only had t-shirts. I wanted notebooks and pens and useful wonder woman stuff. I didn't even see any wonder woman comic books (although I didn't really look for those). Good thing I've got my underroos (ask Auntie Carol).
5) The only free thing I got was the bag they gave me to hold all the free stuff I was supposed to get (and a magazine). I was really hoping for pens or tattoos of wonder woman.
6) No one saw my star quality. The one famous person we met (Zach Whedon) did not seem too excited about meeting us, but he was kind enough to take a picture with us and humor us as we talked about Dr. Horrible.
7) So I am a nerd. I feel like the dam holding back the flood of nerdiness was broken down at comic-con and now I have fully realized how much of a nerd I am. I love Wonder Woman (but that was well documented before all this) and Chuck and half (or more) of the other stuff we saw there. I understood most of the referential jokes made on stage (Alias jokes, Firefly jokes, Dr. Horrible jokes...). But maybe it's like my friend, Aleta, says - I'm a geek translator: I speak and understand the language, but it's not my home country.
8) The people in costumes were both cool and a little strange. Some were just fabulous and really amazing. Some were just trashy. Some were super funny. Some were just strange.
9)We made our own shirts that had "Chuck" references on them. I was told by the same guy (two times), "I LOVE your shirt!" while he jumped up and pointed at it. One of Jfo's friends twittered about our shirts and included a picture of all of us. Later on, a girl stopped us and showed us her text, "That's really strange," she said, "I just got this tweet!" We were famous.
10) We did wait in lines, but they were all so efficiently managed and we had so much food with us and the company we kept was so entertaining - it didn't matter. The lines were part of the experience and actually a great part of it.
So now that I've been, I'm pretty sure I'm hooked. And the worst part is, you don't know what people or shows are going to be there until one week before comic-con takes place. Tickets sell out long before that, so the only way to see all that you want to see is to buy a four day pass. I'm pretty sure this will become a tradition for us and the four day pass will probably be a choice we'll automatically make. Overall, I had a fabulous time, I can't stop thinking about it, and I have all the pictures to prove it.
Pre "Con" ceptions:
1) We'd definitely be the cutest girls there. I mean seriously, I went to a nerdy school (with these girls, in fact) and we were considered high on the nerd/pretty scale.
2) Most of the people there would be awkward nerds who only step outside of their electronic caves for Comic Con.
3) We'd see a few things we liked and some things we didn't like.
4) I'd be tempted to buy everything with Wonder Woman on it.
5) I would get lots of free stuff (swag).
6) I would meet someone famous who would instantly see the 'star quality' I possess and sign me on the spot.
7) I would realize the extent of my own nerdiness because I would recognize and have a positive emotion toward many of the things I would see.
8) The people in costumes would be both cool and a little strange.
9) Our shirts would be awesome and people would stop us to tell us how awesome our shirts were.
10) We'd wait in a lot of lines.
Post "Con" ceptions:
1) We were not, in fact, the cutest girls there. There were some girls who were way cuter than we are...I don't know why they were there...
2) The wide range of people there was amazing. It was a people watching haven and some of them certainly fit a certain 'nerd' profile, but most people just seemed like normal, happy fans. It was actually kind of like going to UCI...
3) We got to see the "Chuck" panel and see the whole cast. That was just awesome. But I actually enjoyed the whole day. Even for things I didn't know anything about, it was really interesting to hear the panels and I had a great time the whole day. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was there with my girls, but seriously, super fun day.
4) I would have bought Wonder Woman stuff, but they only had t-shirts. I wanted notebooks and pens and useful wonder woman stuff. I didn't even see any wonder woman comic books (although I didn't really look for those). Good thing I've got my underroos (ask Auntie Carol).
5) The only free thing I got was the bag they gave me to hold all the free stuff I was supposed to get (and a magazine). I was really hoping for pens or tattoos of wonder woman.
6) No one saw my star quality. The one famous person we met (Zach Whedon) did not seem too excited about meeting us, but he was kind enough to take a picture with us and humor us as we talked about Dr. Horrible.
7) So I am a nerd. I feel like the dam holding back the flood of nerdiness was broken down at comic-con and now I have fully realized how much of a nerd I am. I love Wonder Woman (but that was well documented before all this) and Chuck and half (or more) of the other stuff we saw there. I understood most of the referential jokes made on stage (Alias jokes, Firefly jokes, Dr. Horrible jokes...). But maybe it's like my friend, Aleta, says - I'm a geek translator: I speak and understand the language, but it's not my home country.
8) The people in costumes were both cool and a little strange. Some were just fabulous and really amazing. Some were just trashy. Some were super funny. Some were just strange.
9)We made our own shirts that had "Chuck" references on them. I was told by the same guy (two times), "I LOVE your shirt!" while he jumped up and pointed at it. One of Jfo's friends twittered about our shirts and included a picture of all of us. Later on, a girl stopped us and showed us her text, "That's really strange," she said, "I just got this tweet!" We were famous.
10) We did wait in lines, but they were all so efficiently managed and we had so much food with us and the company we kept was so entertaining - it didn't matter. The lines were part of the experience and actually a great part of it.
So now that I've been, I'm pretty sure I'm hooked. And the worst part is, you don't know what people or shows are going to be there until one week before comic-con takes place. Tickets sell out long before that, so the only way to see all that you want to see is to buy a four day pass. I'm pretty sure this will become a tradition for us and the four day pass will probably be a choice we'll automatically make. Overall, I had a fabulous time, I can't stop thinking about it, and I have all the pictures to prove it.
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