I didn’t have this website until this year (2017), but I wanted a place to collect my Comic-Con memories, something I could look back on and enjoy.
My fourth Con! Paul’s second Con, and Vivian’s (Paul’s sister, my SIL) first Con! I am super surprised and delighted Vivian was able to get a badge as a first-time attendee. The ticket-buying system is still f’d, so that was a long time of waiting, hitting refresh, and hoping to get in without getting kicked out. Kudos to her for persevering. As returning attendees, Paul and I had online preregistration, which made it easier for me to buy our badges.
This was a really fun year. The bigger the group, the better the experience. It was my fourth year meeting Robert Kirkman (and he still has no idea who I am, haha), but this year I decided to take a photo with him, rather than just of him, so that was a win. And I finally realized I should ask him to sign my The Walking Dead tote bag– I purchased it at SDCC 2010 and used it every day. Now it is framed. Attended The Walking Dead 10th Anniversary panel for the graphic novel, yay! Another highlight of this year’s Con was Legendary’s Godzilla Encounter off-site after-dark activation. It was a long wait, 2013-wise, but really not that long compared to now (as I’m writing this in 2017), and the setup and experience were soooo fun. It really felt like you were in a skyscraper with Godzilla climbing outside. One of the most memorable and immersive Con experiences I’ve had.
Attended some great panels in Hall H. The line formed the night before, and it was a giant slumber party with 2,000 of our closest friends at 1:30 am. Hall H doors open at 8:30 am. By 8:30 am, the line was over 1 mile long and looped back around the convention center into downtown. Panels we saw: first panel of the day at 10:00 am The World’s End with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and moderated by Chris Hardwick (my crush since Singled Out!), Veronica Mars, Kickass 2, AMC The Walking Dead (this one started at 1:35 pm), Game of Thrones, Robocop, The Mortal Instruments, Riddick, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, and final panel Spider-Man (when this panel started, they pulled back the side curtains to reveal surround screens. Everyone wet their pants).
Saw Adrianne Curry with Alicia Marie (made Vivian take a photo with them, haha) and Alyssa Milano! AMC The Walking Dead photo ops were off-site this year at Petco Park, on the Con floor they had zombies wandering around the West Georgia Correctional Facility, Game of Thrones off-site activation (rare headless Ned Stark Funko Pop), “drove” the Mad Max car, attended the Vampire Diaries panel, Arrow panel, saw TOM CRUISE and EMILY BLUNT signing autographs on the Con floor for Edge of Tomorrow, True Blood cast signing, Futurama cast signing, How I Met Your Mother cast signing, Once Upon a Time cast signing, Tom Hiddleston signing at the Marvel booth, and It’s Always Sunny cast signing.
So many toys, exclusives, impressive cosplay, celebrity sightings, just another fantastic year at Comic-Con!
