Once again we had a great time at Comic-Con this year. We saw great panels, had a blast on the floor, & got some really good interviews. This was our 3rd year at SDCC and each year we have set out for drastically different experiences.
In 2007, our first SDCC, we had nothing planned for certain, we didn't even know for sure we'd be able to get in (thank goodness for the on-site press registration which no longer exists). A friend of ours ended up getting us some last minute (and highly unexpected) interviews with Chris Ryall (Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing), David Arquette, & Paul Reubens which we did with nearly no prep time. We spent countless hours on the floor. We waited in lines for hours to get into panels of interest (and sometimes spent hours in line only to find out we were too far down and would not make it in). We even went to the hotel next door to the Convention Center to watch a screening of Superman. We did everything on a whim and had a great time. We spent Comic-Con costume free but wore our super-hero/geeky shirts each day.
At our second SDCC, in 2008, we decided to spend all our time on the floor except for 1 or 2 panels. We did not have the patience to wait. We were unable to schedule any interviews and we were more interested in capturing the scene with our new video camera (and figuring out just how it worked) than we were in trying to snag people to talk to. We decided to focus more on the fan experience. We pushed through the crowds to try and snag all the freebies we could and we occasionally stopped celebs for pictures. We tried out demos and even stopped at a booth for a chance to get our voices in a video game (in case you couldn't figure it out we were not chosen but I hold out hope that someday I will be a voice in video games and/or cartoon). We found nooks to rest our feet and watch as Futurama's Bender pushed his way past Harley Quinn & a bunch of pirates. We laughed at the bizarre groups of costumed fanboys and fangirls congregating together. We spent time on the main floor, the artists area, the free stuff area, and everywhere else we could find. We got to have a wacky time at a fan hosted party (though we ended up being practically the only ones there and it turned out to be at a gay club which makes for a better story). No real costumes but I did wear my Robin shirt. Once again it was a unique experience.
This year we actually started planning in advance. We scheduled interviews (and even though one of the big ones fell through we were more than pleased with the 2 we ended up getting). We interviewed Cameron Rains about the new Astro Boy video game and we talked to Rod Roddenberry & Trevor Roth about "Days Missing", Roddenberry (the company), and Star Trek/Gene Roddenberry. We planned our questions ahead of time and were pleased at what amazing interviews they turned out to be (by the way, tune into Geek World this Thursday on
925kyhy, August 6, to hear them - and by the way KYHY has gone mobile so check it out & listen on your blacberry or smart phone). We looked at the schedule ahead of time and worked out the panels we most wanted to go to. Aside from Dollhouse/Joss Whedon we decided to go for the less hyped panels. We skipped Iron Man 2 because we knew most of the media outlets and bloggers would be attending so we wouldn't get any info you couldn't read everywhere else. We went to the screening/Q&A for Human Target early which gave us an opportunity to catch the tail end of the panel for Green Lantern: Blackest Night as well as having the opportunity to attend the Ray Bradbury panel (check out the previous posts to read about all the silliness we encountered) before Human Target began. We spent time on the main floor though did not check out every nook and cranny as we had in the past. I wore my Robin shirt and a mask and Dave wore his Spiderman suit shirt. Not full costumes but good enough to get the feel.
So the question is what do we do to enhance the experience next year? Well it seems to me there is only one thing that we haven't done yet, we have not yet attended any industry parties. So next year the plan is to schedule some interviews early and try to get some big stars if we can (Geek World is going to be a household name before you know it so Joss Whedon we're talking ot you - hee hee), we're going to go through the main floor and the other other sections though maybe we won't toil so laboriously over everything, we're going to look ahead and find the must-attend panels (and figure out how early we'll have to get in line to ensure we can attend), and most of all we'll go to at least one big party. In the best case scenario we'll be at SDCC with other hosts from KYHY. The only other plans to enhance the experience would be to go in full costume. Dave may not join me but I intend to buy or make at least one full costume though I'm not sure who I'll be yet. Next year's Comic-Con should once again be a totally new experience and we can't wait! SDCC 2010 we're ready for you (even if we haven't recovered from SDCC 2009 yet)!
-AnnaMay
