Comic Con 2010 Part Five - Sunday

So its been over a month and I'm finally putting my experiences to html, so my recollection of events is a bit foggy now.


N97 | I ran into this Batman and Robin combo early on Sunday

First thing I did that day was get to the floor to try to get some exclusives. I picked up a FOX poster tube, but missed out on the Thor and Captain America posters. I stopped at the Nintendo booth and played some Dragon Quest IX to get a XXL Slime shirt.

I got back to the hotel room and cleared the room out to check out. I have to remember next year to make sure everyone pays in advance, it would make things simpler and I get tons of points for my credit card. Those points turn into Marriott gift cards.


N97 | I found a John Stewart Green Lantern in the hotel lobby

After lunch with my roomates, I headed to the fulfillment room to pick up all my swag. There were some cool volunteers there in Team Rocket outfits. I had walked by earlier and the line was huge. This time, there was no line at all. I got some FOX animation pins, a wristband from Spartacus, a T-Shirt from Hawaii Five-0 and an Adventure Time hat.


N97 | Super cute kid Thor on the throne at the Marvel booth

I went back inside the convention center to wander. I got word that Geoff Peterson from the Late Late Show would be at the CBS booth at 2PM. I looked for a line, but the people at the booth were clueless. I decided to hang out in a spot in the back of the booth Geoff's appearance would start. Two girls next to me said "the line is over here" so I followed them. I stopped to shoot the following video. By the time I got in line, I was in a worse spot than if I had just stood there.


Flip Mino HD | Geoff Peterson

After that disappointment, I headed upstairs for the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia panel. The Glee panel had just let out and it took a very long time to get in. Luckily I didn't miss anything. They showed an episode from the upcoming season and had a much too short Q&A after wards.

Following this was one of my favorite panels, the Talk Back panel. Three members of the Comic Con board of directors try to answer questions. I missed out on some good complainers because they told people to get in line for passes for next year. This line was surprisingly long. What was worse is that Preview Night for next year was sold out.


N97 | Baby Chun Li!

With the con over, I met up with my roommates at the hotel for drinks. We picked up our gear from the bell desk and then headed over to Seaport Village for dinner. From there it was over to the train station and a quiet ride home. Here's another tip, always get a business class seat for the ride back. That way you are guaranteed a seat, since coach is usually overcrowded.


N97 | I found Indiana Jones at Seaport Village.

Comic Con 2010 Video: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia TV panel

Here's two videos from the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia panel from Comic Con 2010

The panel didn't get much time, so the Q&A was short compared to most panels.


Flip Mino HD | Part 1


Flip Mino HD | Part 2

Comic Con 2010 Video: Chuck - TV show panel

Here's a collection of videos from the Chuck panel at Comic Con on Saturday July 24, vi2010.


Flip Mino HD | Part One: Introduction


Flip Mino HD | Part Two: Cast entrance



Flip Mino HD | Part Three: Cast introductions and Q&A


Flip Mino HD | Part Four: Q&A continued

Comic Con 2010 Part Four - Saturday

For Saturday at Comic con 2010, I faced a dilemma. There were three killer panels I wanted to see that day. In Hall H was the Warner Bros panel featuring Green Lantern and Harry Potter. Over at the Ingido Ballroom, the Venture Brothers was going on. In Ballroom 20 was the Chuck panel followed up by FOX animation shows. Since Ballroom 20 had 3 straight hours of great programming, I got in line for it around 8:30 am.


N97 | Duffman waitin in line. He would be waiting more than 3 hours for the Simpsons panel

I was very surprised to find a long line when I got there. Lines have become an annoying part of Comic Con. Back in 2008, I was at a Barcamp here in Los Angeles and met a guy who had a ton of gadgets and assorted gear in his cargo pants. One piece included a small tripod chair. I found one on Amazon for $20. This thing has come in a lot of handy over the past 3 years. I combined it with a free carabiner I got the exhibit hall to attach to my backpack for when I walk around to keep my hands free.


N97 | Awesome water tank costume, possibly from SAW

The Chuck panel was a lot of fun. I was a bit dissapointed I didn't get a shirt. Only a few lucky people got them. Its a shame NBC or Warner Bros couldn't supply the whole audience. The folowing Family Guy panel was great. They showed footage from their Return of the Jedi parody. The Cleveland Show panel featured a reading from an upcoming episode about Comic Con. The Futurama panel also did a reading and will also be doing a Comic Con episode. The Simpsons panel had a lot of Q&A. This is the first year I can remember where there wasn't a question about Life in Hell.


N97 | I spotted this Homer on my way outside

Following my stay in Ballroom 20, I headed back to the Scott Pilgrim Experience. A guy from UC San Diego recognized me and we talked about how much the campus has changed while munching on more garlic bread. I scored a couple of Scott Pilgrim shirts, but they ran out of custom shirts right before I was about to get in. Dejected, I headed for the line for Hall H.


N97 | A Ramona Flowers posing with the Scott Pilgrim Garlic Bread truck


N97 | Dancing with a Na'vi

It was about 3:30 and the line for Hall H didn't seem very long. It was moving along pretty well and I was almost sure I would make it in for the 6PM Marvel movie panel. I bunked down and chatted with some people in line. I think it was around 4:30 that tweets were coming from inside that there was a stabbing. Apparently some guys were fighting over a seat and an eye got poked with a pen. The line hadn't moved much and a lot of confusion was going on with the line workers. Inside they paused all the programming and were showing trailers. By 6:30 they announced that we would not be able to get in the Marvel panel. All that time weasted...


N97 | Waiting in line with the Justice League

I called one of my roomates and we tried to find the zombie party. We ended up at a place called the Side Bar. We got there at happy hour, so I got loaded on little dime. I was quite giddy at this point and instead of finding the zombie party, we headed back for some night programming.


N97 | Drunk shot of Iron Man

I didn't do as much night programming this year compared to previous years. I missed out on Worst Cartoons Ever and two Spike and Mike panels. This year, I attended one of the best panels that made the whole cost of attendence worth it.


N97 | Tommy Wisaeu

Tommy Wisaeu was there to present his new project: The House That Drips Blood on Alex. It is a strange and funny short film that might get turned into a movie. After the amazing Q&A, I got him to sign a movie poster. Afterwards I watched a bit of the Masquerade and after party. They had a great werewolf themed drink that tasted mediciney. I also got to watch some fireworks outside.

I headed back to the hotel and ran into all my roomates at the bar. While we were there, Stan Lee walked by with a huge entourage. I ordered a Blue Hawaiian and they made it all weird and with a giant pineapple wedge. It was about 1:30AM when I finally got to sleep.

Comic Con 2010 Part Three - Friday

FRIDAY - DAY TWO

Friday at Comic Con kicked off with picking up breakfast from the hotel lobby. They had a station of ready sandwiches to go next to the Starbucks which was next to the quick exit that leads to the convention center.

I got in line for room 6A around 9am. Although I was in line for the Batman panel, there were plenty of Adventure Time fans getting there early for their panel. The Batman panel was great, they showed a new episode featuring the Bat-Mite and the Joker. They also showed a preview of the upcoming Young Justice series.

I shot some video of the Batman panel with my new Flip camera after charging it up last night.


E72 | 4 Finns and a Jake

The Adventure Time panel was great. Tom Kenny moderated the panel and was in a very goofy mood. After picking up a prize ticket, I ducked out early to go the Scott Pilgrim experience again to get another shirt.


Flip Mino HD | The Scott Pilgrim garlic Bread truck

I got in the line again and had some more garlic bread. At the base of the steps that lead up to the Scott Pilgrim Experience, there's a table that gives out movie shirts. I saw that people were getting a red stamp on their Comic Con badge after I had gotten a black stamp yesterday, so I got in line. I got denied. I planned I would have to switch badges with my roomate to get another shirt.


Flip Mino HD | The Scott Pilgrim Experience


N97 | I only saw one Ramona Flowers with green hair

Yesterday, I got an orange shirt with a black Sex Bob-Omb design on it. Today I got a black shirt with a Triple G design. While it looked good in theory, I didn't find out until a week later that the triangle wasn't properly alligned. :( After getting my shirt, I headed back to the convention center to get in line for the Adult Swim panel.


Flip Mino HD | The Scott Pilgrim Experience - custom t-shirts


N97 | This is Dr Rockzo. The Rock and Roll Clown. He does cocaine.

The line for the Adult Swim panel wasn't as bad as last year. This is perhaps due to the larger room. I got in for the preceding panel for the TV series Sparticus. The Adult Swim panel featured Brendon Small from Metalocalypse, Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick from The Venture Bros and Seth Green from Robot Chicken. They made for a very fun panel. Afterwards I hit the convention floor again to buy some Scott Pilgrim wristbands. Once the floor closed, I headed back to the hotel and found a great brother and sister KICK-ASS cosplayer combo.


N97 | Red Mist


N97 | Hit Girl

After dropping off my stuff, I hit the Gaslamp again. I found the Adult Swim ice cream truck across the street. They had this amazing fudge brownie ice cream bar. I wish I knew where to buy it.

I found the City of Heroes party at the Hard Rock Hotel. This hotel is really nice, I might stay there next year since so many stars were staying there. The party itself was hit and miss. The food was great, but the bar wasn't open. I was supposed to get into a super exclusive party at Flynn's Arcade, but my hook up failed to get me on the list. With that endeavor a bust, I headed back to the hotel. I got back in time to watch fireworks. The past two years I had always missed this show.


Flip Mino HD | Fireworks!

That ended my Friday at Comic Con. A comlete set of photos can be found here on flickr

Comic Con 2010 Video: Batman - The Brave and the Bold animation panel

This is the Batman - The Brave and the Bold panel from Comic Con 2010.

Panels highlights include:
News that Batman: BATB is coming to an end
A screening of the upcoming episode: Emperor Joker (where The Joker gets reality bending powers from the Bat-Mite)
Previews of the upcoming series Young Justice

These are my first videos using my new Flip video camera. It's a joy to use.

Part 1 - Intros


Part 2- The meat of the panel

Comic Con 2010 Video: The Scott Pilgrim vs The World movie panel

This is a complete set of videos from the Scott Pilgrim movie panel at Comic Con 2010.

Part One is an introduction of the cast and crew.



Parts Two and Three feature questions and answers from the crowd.





I didn't get a 1-UP pin :(

Comic Con 2010 Part Two - Thursday

On the Thursday morning of Comic Con, I was wandering the Gaslamp District. I picked up my lunch from Ralphs and hopped on a shuttle. I was the only person on the shuttle and talked to the driver about Comic Con.


N97 | Cartoon Network Pizzeria

I hopped off the shuttle after seeing the Cartoon Network Pizzeria. Pizza for breakfast, why not? I looked inside and saw it wasn't open yet. A crowd had gathered outside and I asked if they are waiting for it to open. They said they were waiting for CNN to show up. They said the first 25 people in line at 9:30 am would get a Flip Mino HD to use at Comic Con for CNN iReports. I was the 6th person there so I was stoked.


N97 | My new Flip Mino HD

After receiving my new Flip Mino, I headed for the convention center and sat down for the Danny Elfman panel. I then headed outside for the Scott Pilgrim experience. While waiting in line I was bombarded with weird swag and garlic bread from the Scott Pilgrim truck.


N97 | The Scott Pilgrim garlic bread truck


N97 | Bread makes you fat


N97 | Caffeinated Jerky?


N97 | Weird mullet hat

The line for the Scott Pilgrim Experience lasted about an hour. I was in line so long I got sunburn. Once inside, I got a red movie t-shirt, a custom shirt, a custom flip book and a poster signed by director Edgar Wright and creator Bryan Lee O'Malley.


N97 | Scott Pilgrim movie summary


N97 | I got the second to last signed poster signed by Edgar Wright and Bryan Lee O'Malley

I headed for Hall H and got to see the Expendables panel. Terry Crewes was the first one of the cast to come out. After being introduced, he jumped on the table, took off his shirt and flexed his pecs to the roar of the crowd. Sylvester Stallone was very entertaining in telling stories about making the movie. There was a surprise appearance from Bruce Willis. They showed two clips from the movie, which looks like a lot of fun.

Next up was the Scott Pilgrim panel. I managed to get a spot real close to the front for the panel. Thirteen members of the cast and crew were present. Even Edgar Wright's friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made quick appearances, even though they weren't in the movie. Lots of clips from the movie from the movie were shown. Pins were distributed. People with white pins were lucky enough to go see a screening of the movie with Edgar Wright and also a performance from the band Metric, who provided a song for the movie as the band The Clash at Demonhead.


N97 | At the Threadless party

Since I didn't get to go see the screening, I went to the Gaslamp to check out some parties. I had RSVP'd for a few parties in advance. This plan paid off well. By now it was about 7:30 and the first party was about to start. It was for the LA Time's Hero Complex blog. There was great food and an open Patron tequila bar. After getting some food there, I went to hit the Threadless party. This turned out to be a bad move, since Stan Lee showed up at the Hero Complex party after I had left. The Threadless party wasn't too bad. Tacos and beer were served and artists were on hand painting. I bought a shirt and headed back to the hotel to drop off everything.


E72 | Light Suit from Tron: Legacy

I came back to the gaslamp around 10pm for the Tron Legacy exhibit. One of my roomates had been running around the Gaslamp and scored passes to get in. After getting in, I walked into Flynn's Arcade. There were a bunch of video games in there, but there were all covered up. After a few minutes, a voice over played and then a door opened. It lead to a hallway with a couple of set pieces from the movie. After another voice over, there was another set with another voiceover. Finally, we were lead into a futuristic room. There were models in silver outfits serving Coke Zero and props from the movie along the walls. After a few minutes, the place would go dark and a trailer from the movie would play against the back wall. The lights in the room would sync with the trailer for a very cool added effect.


E72 | Tron:Legacy party

That ended my Thursday. The full gallery of my pics from Comic Con can be found on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drtran/sets/72157624586809866/with/4831259110/

Comic Con 2010 Part One - Preview Night

This is my long overdue blog post about Comic Con 2010. Going to Comic Con takes a lot of planning. I purchased my passes at the 2009 Comic Con. I lucked out in getting rooms at the Marriott next door to the convention center. Amtrak tickets were purchased a week in advance.

Wednesday began with a 9am train ride to San Diego. Wednesday also happens to be opening day at the Del Mar races. Between Orange county and Solana Beach, a whole lot of drunken people show up in their Sunday best to get more drunk at the races.



Upon arriving in San Diego, I walked over to my hotel and checked in. I was very pleased to find out I had a room with a bay view.


N97 | View from my room

I picked up my badge and got a Chuck Warner Bros bag. Since the exhibition hall wasn't open until 6pm, I walked around the gaslamp.


N97 | Klingons took over the trolley stop

After a late lunch, I got an alert from twitter to go find Britt Reid's garage from the Green hornet movie. After looking around a long while, I found the place next to Petco Park. I waited around for the place to open. I got inside and they had some cars from the movie. I walked up to a counter and got a white t-shirt. I headed outside and was first to get a ride in the Black Beauty.




N97 | My driver is a babe

After the ride, I walked around the convention floor a bit. Didn't get much in way of cool freebies. The floor was very crowded.


N97 | At the Pokemon booth

Afterwards, I headed to Ralphs to pick up supplies for the rest of the convention. My roommates went to get sushi while I went to the room to sleep.


N97 | The Bat Bar at Ralphs supermarket

The full gallery of my pics from Comic Con can be found on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drtran/sets/72157624586809866/with/4831259110/