San Diego Comic-Con 2015
The annual pilgrimage to San Diego Comic-Con has finally left; and needless to say, it did not disappoint. My adventure started back in February when I anxiously waited to find out if I would even be able to get tickets. I was able to snag Saturday and Sunday tickets and the hype would slowly build until the day of. Finally, July 11 came and I was as giddy as could be. I was immediately greeted by the throngs of fans with eyes wide open and smiles as big as the Joker’s. This time around I would have my brother-in-law by my side so we could geek out together. As we filed through to obtain our badges, programs, and other goodies we began planning in our head what we would actually try to see. In hindsight, I should have made a greater effort to gain access to the fabled Hall H, but alas that is the consequence of my inability to plan. Anywho, that didn’t take away from my overall sense of glee as I wandered the halls of the San Diego Convention Center. As everyone presumably dashed towards the major booths once the doors opened, my bro-in-law and I took our time to pass through the independent artists and writers that were present. Even though I couldn’t financially support all the independent vendors, I felt it proper to at least acknowledge them in some way. Then when I was talking with one of said vendors, it turns out they did appreciate that we stopped to even talk to them. As we kept moved on, I don’t even fully remember what we saw along the way, but next thing I know Batman is right in front of me. More specifically, the costumes from Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice were right in front of me. I just stood there with my mouth agape and a tear almost coming to my eye. Between the teaser trailer and pictures posted online, it hadn’t really convinced me that the costumes were right. Yet when I saw them in person, I stood there for a solid minute just admiring everything about them. The details in Batman’s utility belt, Wonder Woman’s looked perfect, and Superman looked as nice as it did in Man of Steel. As I was shaken from my trance, we slowly made our way towards the Marvel booth to check it out. It turns out we stumbled there just in time to catch Hayley Atwell and James Darcy from Agent Carter. As the pair came out the crowd roared with delight. Agent Carter deserves every bit of recognition that it can get and it was pleasing to see the crowd acknowledge them for their work. Both Hayley and James are as sweet and awesome in person as I’ve read them to be. From here we wandered on for a bit admiring the detail on figurines or seeing props from movies. We then found ourselves near the Capcom booth and in line to try out Street Fighter V. While I’m not that big into the game, my bro-in-law said there were noticeable differences from the previous iteration of the franchise and he wasn’t sure if he liked them yet. From here, we would attend our first panel; and it would go to the current writer and artist of Batman. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have done great work with the caped crusader ever since they took over. It was just great to hear their motivations, philosophies, and just what makes them tick. The line that will stick with me from this particular panel came from Scott when he said something along the lines of, “You stare into the void that is life and make it mean something.” We also got to see some panels from future issues where Gordon has taken over the mantle of Batman. It was interesting to hear their thought processes behind certain panels and the conversations that happen between the pair of them. From here, we broke away for lunch. This is a process in itself to work our way through the crowds and inevitably have to come back in. As we resumed our quest, we would split as I would find my way to the Hannibal panel and he would go on a scavenger hunt. As for the Hannibal panel, it was as light-hearted as could be seeing as the show was just cancelled by NBC. Bryan Fuller assured us he was pursuing every avenue to try and keep the series alive; and that’s all we can really ask of him. Once again, it was great to hear inside stories of what it’s been like to work on this show. The Red Dragon himself even showed up in the form of Richard Armitage. It’s a shame the show was cancelled because I’m sure Richard would do a phenomenal job if his role were to continue on past this season. As I exited that panel I met up with my bro-in-law to figure out our next move. We figured we would just hop between panels until we decided to go home since the floor was closed. As we were waiting in line, we chatted it up with this pair in the line next to ours. Turns out our luck would hold, and they had some extra tickets to attend the masquerade! I wasn’t sure what to really expect, but I was pretty excited to be able to go. As each person put on their little skit, it was amazing what twists people could put into beloved characters. From here, we would make our way home at the end of the night to try and recover for the second day.
The morning was upon us sooner than we thought, and we made our way to the mecca. While it wasn’t an official event of the convention, there was an Assassin’s Creed type obstacle course and I decided to try my hand at that. In short, I was able to finish it but there was a point that I made a mistake that could’ve ended badly. From here we went to one of the hotels that was hosting separate events. The main part we checked out was called the Xbox Lounge. It was filled with systems and demos of future games. If we had more time, we would have definitely spent a few hours here just trying everything out. From here I decided it would be a good idea to donate some blood because that’s always a good thought. However, I probably shouldn’t have considering I have a marathon coming up, but I’ll let you all know how that turns out. With that finished, we attempted to explore the main hall one more time; boy was that a chaotic endeavour. We lost each other in the crowd and figured it was for the best. All the main panels were finished and it seemed like everyone was in here trying to enjoy the last remnants of the convention. Fighting my way through the crowd I was able to see the last bits I wanted to. From costumes, to figurines, to new art, it was all calming just to be there. And with that, San Diego Comic-Con 2015 was done. It’s unfortunate that Sunday had significantly shorter hours, but that’s the life of the con-goer. We take what we can and absorb the environment as best we can. Sure there are small tweaks here and there that could make it a better experience, but for what it’s worth, I had a blast this year. Here’s to hoping that I can snag a 4 day pass next year and more can join me.