Comic Con 2009: Day 1
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoI'm searching for a way to describe this event in words that sound more sophisticated than "TOTAL NERD-GASM" or "OMGOMGSQUEE!" and coming up with very little; the Con is amazing, fun, and ultimately, exhausting. My sophisticated turns of phrase will have to wait until I've caught up on my sleep a bit more, I suppose.
For starters:
* I spent an hour and a half in line to pick up my badge this morning. I've been in long lines at the Con before, but the line stretched around behind the building, through the Marriott parking lot, past the harbor, then doubled back on itself and lead back around the building. All told, by the time I got in, I missed my chance to go hear the panel on "The Hobbit" film, but by that time, I was so excited to be inside, I didn't care.
* I felt the building rock beneath my feet while I was sitting in Ballroom 20 listening to Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zoe Saldana, and Eliza Dushku talk about being women in Hollywood today. What a great panel that was! Sigourney Weaver is very articulate and had lots of interesting stories about how "Alien" got made and what kind of a hero Ripley is (apparently, SW wasn't interested in the film until she saw the Geiger concept art and then realized it was something that no one else had done before). Likewise, Elizabeth Mitchell was really charming in person; however, she was incredibly cagey about whether she would be appearing on the next season of Lost or not. ("It all depends on whether Jack's plan worked. I don't know.") Eliza Dushku had nothing but nice things to say about Joss Whedon. Zoe Saldana stole the show when she talked about the lack of parts for women of color and suggested that we the audience vote for what we wanted to see with our dollars and feet.
* I bought a new addition for the action figure collection. Toshiko Sato is having a nice time hanging out with Locke, Martha Jones, Belldandy, and Invader Zim. :D
* I met the artist who does Lackadaisy! Tracey Butler was super and did a great sketch for me for a very paltry sum. I want more people to buy her book!
* I heard Charles Vess speak about fantasy and comic art! He had some great pieces, but his talk was rather rushed. I wished that he could just speak about a few of them and let the audience in on his great knowledge of what he was speaking about, instead of going through everything. I did see some great pieces I hadn't seen before, though.
Obligatory pictures link:
My photos so far are here. I'll continue to update as the con goes on.
Overall impressions so far:
OMG, people: this is the craziest I have ever seen the con. I mean, I am happy that so many people are interested in comics and pop culture; my heart sings when I see a kid picking up a comic book because I know that they'll read and (hopefully) get interested in literature as a result; I love to see great new talent and meet cool people. That said, navigating the exhibit hall is getting to be an exercise similar to traversing the Tokyo subway system during rush hour. I'm not particularly agoraphobic, but I do feel the crush of people rather much more than I used to, even just a few years ago. Still, it's an amazing event; I'm just wishing we could have an 'adults-only' day, or at least sequester the Twihards to their own little building somewhere else far, far away. Oh, no, was I being snarky?! ;)
I do like the fact that there are still a lot of people getting their start at the con and that the Small Press area continues to be the most interesting and fun place to be. I've met some talented people there and had great conversations, and I cannot wait to check out those booths again! I also like the fact that most artists and writers (at least, those who haven't hit the big time yet) are very willing to talk to me about their process and answer all of my philosophical questions about what goes into that kind of storytelling.
Anyway. 3 days to go! Dr. Who, Hope Larson, and more great panels to look forward to! I can't wait!
For starters:
* I spent an hour and a half in line to pick up my badge this morning. I've been in long lines at the Con before, but the line stretched around behind the building, through the Marriott parking lot, past the harbor, then doubled back on itself and lead back around the building. All told, by the time I got in, I missed my chance to go hear the panel on "The Hobbit" film, but by that time, I was so excited to be inside, I didn't care.
* I felt the building rock beneath my feet while I was sitting in Ballroom 20 listening to Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zoe Saldana, and Eliza Dushku talk about being women in Hollywood today. What a great panel that was! Sigourney Weaver is very articulate and had lots of interesting stories about how "Alien" got made and what kind of a hero Ripley is (apparently, SW wasn't interested in the film until she saw the Geiger concept art and then realized it was something that no one else had done before). Likewise, Elizabeth Mitchell was really charming in person; however, she was incredibly cagey about whether she would be appearing on the next season of Lost or not. ("It all depends on whether Jack's plan worked. I don't know.") Eliza Dushku had nothing but nice things to say about Joss Whedon. Zoe Saldana stole the show when she talked about the lack of parts for women of color and suggested that we the audience vote for what we wanted to see with our dollars and feet.
* I bought a new addition for the action figure collection. Toshiko Sato is having a nice time hanging out with Locke, Martha Jones, Belldandy, and Invader Zim. :D
* I met the artist who does Lackadaisy! Tracey Butler was super and did a great sketch for me for a very paltry sum. I want more people to buy her book!
* I heard Charles Vess speak about fantasy and comic art! He had some great pieces, but his talk was rather rushed. I wished that he could just speak about a few of them and let the audience in on his great knowledge of what he was speaking about, instead of going through everything. I did see some great pieces I hadn't seen before, though.
Obligatory pictures link:
My photos so far are here. I'll continue to update as the con goes on.
Overall impressions so far:
OMG, people: this is the craziest I have ever seen the con. I mean, I am happy that so many people are interested in comics and pop culture; my heart sings when I see a kid picking up a comic book because I know that they'll read and (hopefully) get interested in literature as a result; I love to see great new talent and meet cool people. That said, navigating the exhibit hall is getting to be an exercise similar to traversing the Tokyo subway system during rush hour. I'm not particularly agoraphobic, but I do feel the crush of people rather much more than I used to, even just a few years ago. Still, it's an amazing event; I'm just wishing we could have an 'adults-only' day, or at least sequester the Twihards to their own little building somewhere else far, far away. Oh, no, was I being snarky?! ;)
I do like the fact that there are still a lot of people getting their start at the con and that the Small Press area continues to be the most interesting and fun place to be. I've met some talented people there and had great conversations, and I cannot wait to check out those booths again! I also like the fact that most artists and writers (at least, those who haven't hit the big time yet) are very willing to talk to me about their process and answer all of my philosophical questions about what goes into that kind of storytelling.
Anyway. 3 days to go! Dr. Who, Hope Larson, and more great panels to look forward to! I can't wait!
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 03:50 am (UTC)That sounds like an absolutely amazing panel and amazing day. Thanks for the photos, too - one of the best things about cons is the peoplewatching. I love the sleepy little Supergirl :)
Can't wait to hear about the rest!
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 03:58 am (UTC)Jealous :)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 04:36 pm (UTC)I'm sad to miss Comic Con this year, but it sounds like I couldn't handle the crowds anyway.
P.S. I *love* the Amy cosplay! :D
no subject
Date: 2009-07-25 03:21 am (UTC)