Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Comic Con Super Envy Attack!

Although I am a fairly new comic book lover (Archie comics and sunday strips aside, I never gave them much of a chance until about 3 years ago), I am a life-long nerd girl. Because of this, i've always had a deep love of conventions. Whether they be comic conventions, anime conventions, sci-fi conventions, even renaissance festivals, I love the all-out geek-a-thons that occur throughout this country year after year. However, I have yet to venture out to the Holy Grail of the Nerd: the San Diego Comic Con.

The San Diego Comic Con (or simply, THE Con), is well-known as the is-all be-all of comic conventions. This year, my friend Anthony is going to be in attendance (rather, his plane left for Cali on Monday so I'm sure he's been geeking it up at what I'm sure are numerous con-friendly events in the area.) I, unfortunately, am unable to attend this year. Should I start a collection to see if I can save up for the convention by next year? Maybe. Thinking about it... But for now, i'll be realistic in my poverty and instead make my fantasy list of all the things i'd do and people i'd wait in line for hours to see where I to go to this year's con. And maybe, just maybe, one of you will be fortunate (and financially stable) enough to attend and do all that I was unable to do.

Without further ado...

70 MUSTS @ THE CON
(It was only going to be 25... but I couldn't help myself. And I still held back.)

1. Watch the Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings of Human Target, V, and The Vampire Diaries just because you can.
2. Disney 3D Panel (they'll be showing clips of the new Alice In Wonderland and A Christmas Carol flicks!)
3. Archie Comics: Archie Marries Veronica Panel (because Archie will always be my first true comic love)
4. Dante's Inferno Panel (discussing how Dante's Inferno has penetrated pop culture... Just sounds interesting in general!)
5. Go see Ray Bradbury and get him to sign that old high school copy of Farenheit 451 you had to have loved as much as I did.
6. Wonder Woman: Female Power Icons In Pop Culture Panel (go swoon while watching alien ass kicking Sigourney Weaver discuss the role of bad-ass women in comics and pop culture! Too fucking cool!)
7. Sit in on the Underground Comix panel and thanks Denis Kitchen for creating Kitchen Sink Press.
8. Check out Hope Larson, buy one of her comics and get it signed!
9. Grab copy of Hellraiser and get it signed by Clive Barker!
10. The Myth and The Superhero Panel seems to promise some riveting discussions.
11. Go hang out with the cast of MythBusters! Or maybe get your dvds signed. Or a stick of dynamite perhaps?
12. Watch the Burn Notice Panel, but only when Bruce Campbell is talking (saw him a few weeks ago at a con down here and he's pretty hilarious in person too!)
13. Have Jim Caviezel sign your Shroud of Turin replica.
14. Have Adam West sign your straight jacket. Or ask him to hum the Bat Man theme song on your cellphone and make it your new ring tone.
15. Bill Plympton movie screening AND Q&A! Do it!
16. Go to the Robot Chicken panel and ask Seth Green if he's planning on doing a sequal to Airborne, and follow up the question by asking if he has any idea what ever happened to Garrett from Swan's Crossing (and a third follow up: did Seth and Sarah Michelle Gellar ever discuss the disappearance of Shane McDermott.)
17. BEG Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, and John Dimaggio to PLEASE go back and do the voices for the new Futurama or we'll surely go and die in a mass suicide booth.
18. Tipping Point for LGBTQ Portrayals in Comics panel will definitely be insightful!
19. TERRYGILLIAMTERRYGILLIAM OMFG TERRY GILLIAM!!! Seriously go see this neius of a man talk about The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus!
20. The Physics of Hollywood Movies panel - science geeks rejoice!
21. The Unlocking Arkham: Forensic Psychiatry and Batman's Rogue Gallery panel sounds like the stuff panel dreams are made of! Plus I get giddy whenever the word "forensic" is thrown in to anything..
22. Get a pair of silicone implants signed by Elvira! Okay, fine. Maybe just get her to sign a Halloween pumpkins or something instead.
23. The Anthropology of Star Trek panel WTF! As an anthro major, I would be thoroughly psyched by this. Rock on, social sciences!
24. I've been getting in to Korean film lately and as such, I would not want to miss a chance to watch the latest Korean vampire flick - Thirst.
25. Finally! A screening of Trick R' Treat! Front row and center, baby, yeah!
26. Friday is STAR WARS day at the con. I'm a recent convert (I know.. what took me so long? I don't know. But I finally had a marathon viewing early in the year and it was basically as awesome as everyone always made it out to be, and now I don't feel so out of the loop!)
27. Batman: The Brave and the Bold Screening and Q&A (plus a showing of the Batman animated musical... I'm just really curious...)
28. Get some Neil Gaiman time in at the Coraline panel. He's a pretty cool guy, or so his Twitter leads me to believe.
29. True Confessions: LGBTQ Slice-of-Life Comics panel is definitely of interest!
30. Say hi to Lucy Lawless at the Spartacus panel. Tell her she looked amazing on the X-Files!
31. Stalk Kiefer Sutherland before and after the 24 panel. Tell him you fell in love with him in the Lost Boys. And again in Flatliners. And definitely in Dark City. And make sure to take a lock of his hair and cast a love spell on him... Uhm. That is. Hrm. :x
32. Tell Kathy Najimy she rocked in Hocus Pocus.
33. There are several Comic Book Law School panels which should be of interest to anyone who might be interested in pursuing a career in comics and comic publishing!
34. The Graphic Novel panel should be good, regardless of the lack of a creative title for it, heh.
35. AVOID The Mighty Boosh panel at all costs. I saw an episode of this and knew the creators must have been lobotomized a long time ago. *shudder*
36. Go to the FEARClinic panel and see the scary man himself: Robert Englund (aka Freddy Kruger)!
37. Run in to James Cameron and ask him why he left us in the cold by not making Terminator 3 and 4, since obviously everyone else turned it to shit.
38. Attend the Eisner Awards! Feel privileged to be in a room of sheer genius (and Eisner rejects... since you know, they can't ALL win.)
39.Grab a beer and some vegan food with Jane Drano (aka Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's fame) if you get the chance.
40. Pull Peter Jackson aside and thank him for Heavenly Creatures and tell him that it should be part of the cannon of films for all young girls growing up with a brain. And then tell him you're mad he didn't just let Sam and Frodo make out the way you know they both wanted to in the film. And that he owes you at least $20 for those last 45 endings in the final Lord of the Rings.
41. Give Danny Devito a high-5 at the Blood Factory panel. Just cuz.
42. Watch the Owly movie! Because Owly is the fucking shit. And by that I mean, he is amazingly awesome!
43. Have your moment of zen at the Spirituality in Comics panel.
44. Stop at the Women in Manga panel. We need more women in the comics/manga/graphic novel world. Period! *giggle*
45. Tell Seth MacFarlane he really shouldn't be such a jerk to Lorelai Gilmore. It wasn't her fault Emily brought in a movie crew to their graduation. Then take him to your hotel room and tell him to talk like Brian and turn off the lights... and... uhm. Yeah.
46. Futurama: Life of Death?! panel might finally put to rest what the fate of Futurama will be. And maybe you'll even catch a glimpse of Hypno-Toad!
47. Drop in at the Steampunk Meet-Up and pick up some tips for your newest and boldest look! Steampunk is the latest in sexy.
48. Mike Judge has a new movie! Watch Extract and ask Judge if he can help you make the decision to have a child or not after watching Idiocracy. Having an intelligent child could mean saving the fate of the world. On the other hand... if you're the only one.. what a lonely existence, huh?
49. Simpsons Panel! Matt Groening! Need I say more??
50. I'm sure the Gender Poster Panel will really get you thinking...
51. Don't waste your con time watching Zombieland OR 2012. They'll be out soon anyway and I doubt they're that incredible (i'll watch them, but not when there are more convention-y things to do!)
52. Mike Mignola talks Hellboy (haven't read the comics, but Tony swears by them and I trust his judgement so why not?)
53. Buy COMICS! Sometimes people get caught up in the hubub and forget to buy shit.
54. Love Is In The Air: LGBT Romance Comics sounds like a lovely panel to swoon over.
55. TRUE BLOOD PANEL AND Q&A!!!!!! Do it! Make your own bottle of True Blood (O+ is best, I hear) and get it signed by the cast if you can! Tell Bill Compton you leave your bedroom window open at night just for him. And tell Lafayette you would probably stop watching the show if he ends up ever leaving! And tell Sookie that no one has ever made the gap-toothed smile look as utterly sexy as she has! And.. and.. and!!!
56. Say Hi to Kevin Smith. But don't get him started or he'll talk for a few days straight. Just smile politely and tell him he's best as Silent Bob for a reason.
57. Gays In Comics panel! Why the hell not?!
58. Watch the Venture Brothers panel... because well, they make me laugh.
59. I haven't seen Torchwood OR Doctor Who, but they're on my list of things to watch soon and since I hear great reviews, check out the screenings if you get a chance!
60. MYTHBUSTERS Q&A time! How DOES he get that mustache to curl no matter what?
61. Although i've been a bit remiss about Weeds as of late, i'd like to go and ask Jenji Kohan a thing or two at the Q&A... and maybe ask Andy is he's at all related to Harry Connick Jr. And see if Silas will smoke me out and give me a cookie after. *rowl*
62. Watchmen: Director's Cut, anyone? I STILL haven't finished the novel (I know, I know) but i'd still like to see it.
63. Saturday Night Comic Con Masquarade?! LOVE THIS!!!
64. There will be a plethora of anime playing every day of the con, so catch up on some of your favorites and learn about some new ones!
65. Meet cute uber-geek blogger Bonnie Burton and thank her for Grrl.com, one of the first female-run websites I ever saw that inspired me to get in to the world of blogging.
66. Dress up! Dress up because you can! And take pictures with people who are also dressed up! It's all about the CosPlay, baby!
67. Haggle on Sunday! While you're making purchases, you should always try to talk the price down. But this is especially true on Sunday when vendors are trying to get rid of as much as they can.
68. Buy some artwork! Add it to your collection. If you don't have a collection, buy your first piece.
69. Get as many freebies as you can! Conventions are loaded with vendors looking to give out free samples of comics, artwork, stickers, postcards, etc. Bring a big bag to throw it all in!
70. Promote yourself! Wear a tshirt with your website address on it or hand out cards/flyers to passers-by so they can check your work out as well!

Hope you enjoyed that laundry list of things to do. Now please, get off the internet and hit up the con!

1 comment:

48crash said...

Wow.. Swans Crossing...I used to love the whole Mila/Garrett/Sydney love triangle bit...SMG was always better as a brunette...thanks for putting up that info about the Grove block party festival...love latin jazz fusion/ dub beat music