Day 2 of Comic Con 2014 began my turn at #lineacon. Due to a bit of a late start, I had to wait three hours in line missing The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones panels in Hall H. The Hall did empty out thankfully after GOT and as we made it into the Hall, Everly with Selma Hayek was being presented. After locating my seat I made a dash for some grub.
Coming back to my seat, I was faced with another great surprise-Daniel Radcliffe on the stage promoting his new movie Horns. With all those Harry Potter movies, it was hard to believe that this was Daniel’s first appearance at Comic Con. (I later saw video of him wandering around the Expo in a Spiderman costume.) While I was getting my subpar, nearly warm pizza from the concessions stand, I missed the opportunity to sing Happy Birthday to Mr. Radcliffe who turned 25 a few days before.
Daniel was self-deprecating and funny in a gentle, gracious way. The boy we all watched grow up on the silver screen was no longer the nerdy-looking kid, but an attractive young man to rival that other handsome Brit-Robert Pattinson. It was a treat to see him in person.
The next panel was 20th Century Fox with a parade of films and actors. Book of Life was the first movie and Channing Tatum was my fan fav of the panel. He was darling and sweet and gave us a dance when Biz Markie came on the stage with a rendition of “You Say He’s Just A Friend”- one of the retro songs in this animated film.
The next film was Hitman with an appearance by Zachary Quinto whose diverse repertoire of work includes Spock in the new Star Trek films and his role on American Horror Story. He is very classy and handsome.
Next was what looks to be a pretty funny movie-Let’s Be Cops with Damon Wayans Jr. and Nina Dobrev there to promote it. CC attendees also were given the opportunity to be the first to see the movie that night at a local theater.
I am sure my heart stopped a little when out walked one of my favorite actors of all, (Mark Darcy, Mr. Darcy and King George) Mr. Colin Firth with a side of Samuel L. Jackson promoting their British spy movie spoof Kingsman: The Secret Service. Colin is not an action hero actor, so his role as a fist pounding secret agent looks very intriguing. Samuel L. Jackson plays an evil villain with a lisp and an aversion to blood.
I left after the Kingsman panel and headed to The Manchester Hyatt to claim my swag from the previous day’s panels. It is pretty crazy the way the mass of attendees is herded about and crowd controlled with lines –even at the swag ballroom. We wound round and round in a snaking line. After all the circuitous movement, it was a little disappointing to receive some posters and a pair of sunglasses. I took too much time for dinner and missed my train, so spent some time in Old Town listening to some Latin tunes and enjoying one of the massive margarita’s that are the staple of this tourist destination.
Finally the 11:15 Coaster train arrived and after the hour long ride and a short drive my day ended.
I tried to get to Hall H early Saturday morning, but the wristbands for the first panel had been given out at 10pm the night before, and unlike the previous days, there were very few attendees exiting the Hall.
In reflection, I can’t believe I spent 10 hours waiting under the shade of the awnings reserved for the Hall H line. I just kept believing more people would leave the Hall sometime throughout the day. The problem was-Marvel (which is probably the most popular panel) was scheduled for 5:30 and apparently those attendees that had been willing to camp out in line all night, were going to stay until the very end.
I did escape the line a few times and did a walk through the Expo with the reward of seeing the Walking Dead actors signing autographs at the huge AMC display complete with a full-size train boxcar labeled “Terminus”. I got a few pics of them and even got a smile and acknowledgment from one of the actors.
The next treat was seeing the True Blood actors at the HBO display. I could see them on the large screens over the exhibit, but the crowd was so thick I couldn’t get near them for a pic or even a clear view of them. I could only see Anna Pacquin’s new superhero blue hair. Wow what a fan frenzy!
Back in lineacon the line had not moved an inch. I did meet some great fans and we had some great conversation about our fav movies and TV shows. There was even love in bloom in line, as a young lady from Italy and a guy from Australia met and fell in love during the long wait in line. As the Marvel panel began, those of us in line watched the Twitter feed on our phones to see what actors were there and what they were doing.
Finally the Marvel Panel ended and there was a mass Exodus from Hall H. This meant we would at least get in the Hall for the Warner Bros TV shows, including a first look at the pilot for Gotham-the new Batman TV show.
We got a cool swag bag, which was a tote bag filled with popcorn and bottle of water, lanyard, t-shirt, posters and a button for the Warner Brothers TV shows. I had already seen the pilot for the Flash so watched it again waiting to see Gotham. Gotham is the story of batman’s childhood and the young incarnation of the Batman villains like the Penguin, Cat Woman, The Joker etc. It is a slick rendition of the tale with a sort of Roger Rabbit meets Sin City vibe and looks to be a fascinating series.
I couldn’t sit through Constantine again, having seen most of it on Preview Night and the long day having taken its toll on me, so headed back to North County and bed.
I had to make a 4am airport run for a friend and had planned on heading to Hall H one more time for day four to see The Following and Sons of Anarchy but alas my spirit was willing, but my body weak, and I just had run out of steam.
As I drove back north, I made a stop at my favorite donut shop- VG’s in Cardiff-the destination of many midnight donut runs during my years at UCSD. I ordered my favorites-an apple fritter, giant cinnamon roll and of course the best ever raspberry jelly filled with an extra pink frosted donut for good measure and a cup of coffee. I went to the local state beach and watched the surfers as the sun rose behind me.
As I reflect on the frantic adventure that is Comic Con,I wonder-what is the draw? The answer comes from a saying I have heard from my business in sales-We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves so we can lose ourselves and ultimately find ourselves. The Comic Book genre continues to be strong because we long for a world where good overcomes evil. We see some of it in the world today, but more often it seems that evil is winning. The good news is the final chapter has already been written and our wish will ultimately come true. The One True Hero will win the battle and His name is not Thor, or Captain America or even the Hulk-but Jesus. Those guys with the big Yellow and black signs hanging around the Con-may not have the best method but their message is really what the crowd is longing for in their world of Fantasy.
Lord willing I will return for more adventures at Comic Con 2015.
cindybiondigobrecht 