San Diego Comic-Con 2007 - Part 1 · 31 July 2007
The day started at 5:00 a.m., not because I was committed to being the first person in the convention center, but because my mom and grandmother needed a ride to the downtown airport. After dropping them off, Jackson and I circled the gas lamp district, looking for decent parking under $20.00, and then trekked off to breakfast.
Since this blog is just as much about food as it is about the enjoyment of books and other nerdy pursuits, I’m going to spend a few minutes here describing breakfast. We ate at Richard Walker’s Pancake House which is a 3 location chain. There are two odd things about this chain. The first is that one location is in San Diego, and the other two are in Illinois. The second is that the menu is almost exactly like The Original Pancake House which I have loved for years and is where I was planning eat breakfast on Sunday.
Just about anything would have tasted spectacular by the time breakfast was served. Waking up earlier (far earlier) than my normal routine always leads to early morning hunger for me, probably because I’m burning more calories than normal. Jackson and I ended up splitting the Apple Pancake and a Cheese and Broccoli Omelet with a side of hash browns. I prefer the Apple Pancake at the Original Pancake House, but this one was also tasty. The difference between the two is the density of the pancake. Both are quite dense, much more so than your traditional flapjack style pancake, but the Original Pancake House version is a bit more on the fluffy side, and is also a bit thicker (as in taller). It was like the difference between an extremely fudgy brownie and one that is almost entirely fudgy, with just a hint of cake like characteristics to it.
The omelet, however, was spectacular. I have no idea what they did to the cheese, but it was the gooiest, most melted (but not greasy) cheddar cheese I’ve ever had. The eggs were also incredibly fluffy and the huge chunks of fresh broccoli were the perfect healthy compliment to the rest of the meal. The hash browns, unfortunately, were mediocre but provided fuel for the event-filled day to come.
The doors to Comic-Con opened at 10:00 a.m., and by 8:30, we were done with breakfast. Having little else to do, we walked over to the Convention Center, picked up our badges, and sat around looking at our programs. We’d previously mapped out our wish lists of panels to attend, and had to make some final cuts to panels that conflicted with each other.
By 9:45, we decided to head down and get lined up for our first panel (The Simpsons at 10:45) and found that the floor was already open. This first half hour walking the floor was the time I enjoyed most. The crowds were still relatively thin, and we saw some of the flashiest exhibits during this time. Comic-Con seemed to have a few overarching themes.
Firstly, Star Wars and its 30th anniversary celebration were huge. They had an entire section dedicated to the history of Star Wars, including the artistic take-offs on Darth Vadar’s helmet pictured above. Star Wars costumes also trumped all other franchises. I counted about 20 distinct storm troopers (black and white) and a half dozen Princess Leias and Darth Mauls. There were even a few kids dressed as Yoda. The Gentle Giant booth had a large (possibly lifesized) Jabba the Hutt you could take your picture with that previews their forthcoming Jabba the Hutt statue The Lego® booth had Lego® statues of Chewbacca and R2-D2. The official Souvenir Book also featured Star Wars on its cover.
A few other themes vied for dominance with Star Wars. There were several booths hawking Labyrinth and Dark Crystal wears as part of the promotional engine for the Legends of the Dark Crystal and Return to Labyrinth mangas. Labyrinth was my absolute favorite movie for about three years in my youth, and still ranks pretty high. It was really fun to see all the paraphernalia, and the cover to the first edition of the manga is absolutely beautiful. It’s available from Tokyopo but sadly didn’t seem to get very good reviews.
Despite our original action-packed panel schedule, we only attended three. It had been years since I’d gone to Comic Con, and a few things have changed. I had no idea that seats in the prime “ballroom” type panel rooms were so coveted. I suppose it should have dawned on me when they announced twenty times that they didn’t clear the rooms out between panels, and that they were giving away concession tickets so that you could return after eating, but it didn’t. So, when Jackson and I saw a line of people I estimate to have been about five hundred waiting in line for a seat in a few of our panel rooms, we decided to skip them.
What we did see were The Simpsons, a panel on podcasting, and Penny Arcade. The guys from Penny Arcade were great. The others were not. Before any Simpsons lovers stone me, let me say that a more ardent fan of The Simpsons may have liked the panel better. It was a Q & A format, and there were 8 people on the panel including Matt Groening, Al Jean, and Yeardley Smith. I think the girth of the panel prevented them from really talking about anything substantive. Also, the questions they got were mostly phrased along the lines of “I love The Simpsons sooooooo much, don’t you?” which made the panel sound like a big pat on the back. We did get to see one outtake from the Simpsons movie and a preview of this year’s Halloween special, but I think that I can sum up my lack of enjoyment with the panel as a whole by saying that my favorite moment was when one of the writers went out of his way to tell the audience how all the panel members have amazingly hot wives and girlfriends, and strung it out to the point where I think even the audience felt he was embarrassing himself.
After sitting in horrible conference chairs for almost two hours, I had to evacuate the room or risk my lower lumbar region audibly screaming at my fellow chair-sitters. Unfortunately, this meant missing the Focus panel (at which the super-secret screening of Coraline was to be announced) but it turned out that I couldn’t have possibly stayed long enough for it anyway (insert obligatory tongue-in-cheek “I’m getting old” statement here).
Next up was a quick walk outside and a hike to our next panel. The podcasting panel was a non-starter for me. It was billed a discussion on podcasting topics and audience building (subjects that are relevant to bloggers too) but after sitting through half an hour on microphone selection and how to use sound editing software, I left.
Counsel of the Soratami by Gallegos
We had a bit of a break before our next panel, and walked the floor, resulting in some great finds discussed below including the artwork pictured directly above this paragraph. Then it was on to the Penny Arcade panel. Mike and Jerry from Penny Arcade were hilarious (as you’d expect guys who write an online comic to be). They had great crowd presence. I also strolled by their booth earlier in the day and watched them interact with the crowd a bit. They seem like genuine guys. Even though their game
Now to the sad, sad part of the story. I was really hoping to get Neil Gaiman to autograph something, since I missed his panel and signing on Friday. I stopped off at the Froud’s booth having read that Neil would be signing with Brian, hoping to snag a quick slash of the pen, only to discover that Neil wasn’t there. The booth mistress pointed me over to a poster table, where it became apparent I hadn’t read the latest update, and that I needed to purchase a poster for signature, which included a signing ticket. I watched two girls buy their posters, then a guy who was told “Lucky you, you’ve got the last ticket!” Boo!
But, each cloud comes with a silver lining. I wasn’t familiar with the work of the Frouds before, and I got to view them up close and personal for my introduction. There were many beautiful pieces, including this one by Brian Froud of the Magician (pictured at left). I thought it was an appropriate piece to use as an example of their work, as it reminds me both of the characters from Last Call and of the Goblin King from Labyrinth.
Other artists I discovered were gallegos whose Counsel of the Soratami is pictured above, Stephanie Roberts who does beautiful Art Deco Fairy Drawings, and the dragon art of Heather Theurer. It’s a good thing I only have one room to decorate at the moment, or I would have ended up with a handful of prints from these guys.
The Source of Desire (left) and UnderPinnings (right) by Stephanie Roberts
By the time we were ready to brave the floor looking for publishers, it was packed, and everyone was a bit tired and cranky. I blame the tiredness on having to get up so early. I don’t know how the cranky people around me were justifying their mood (especially the pushy people who kept stepping on me . . . grrr). Needless to say, I didn’t have the stamina to pursue the publishers to the extent that I’d have liked. I did snag a few cool previews, which I’ll share in my next post, since this one is getting ridiculously long already.
Brian Froud,
Comic-Con,
gallegos,
Gentle Giant,
Heather Theurer,
Labyrinth,
Neil Gaimain,
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness,
Penny Arcade,
Richard Walker's Pancake House,
Star Wars,
Stephanie Roberts,
The Original Pancake House,
The Simpsons
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A Las Vegas Strip Sandwhich San Diego Comic-Con 2007 - Part 2
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Chris · 31 July 2007, 22:59
I’m officially jealous ;) From the pancakes to the cool schwag, sounds like a great time. Bummer about the panels…the first two really do sound like they were a drag!
I’ve always been a big fan of Brian Froud. He’s one of Megan’s favorite artists and has become one of mine. I really want to get a copy on one of the posters that they’re selling at ComicCon…I’ll be checking eBay for that one ;) Stephanie Roberts’ stuff looks really cool too.
I’m so glad that you got to go! Hope you had a good time.
Dark Orpheus · 31 July 2007, 23:19
Ah man! I’m envious! Sounds fun!
Nymeth · 1 August 2007, 04:25
I LOVE the cover of the Labyrinth manga… makes me want to read it even though the story may not be so great.
I love Brian Froud. I wonder what the poster looked like – it’s with one of my favourite Neil poems, instructions, and sadly I haven’t been able to find pictures online so far.
It sounds like you had a good time, despite the tiredness and the less-than-good panels. I wish I could have been there!
The Book Swede · 1 August 2007, 08:57
That does sound fun. Living in the UK we have very little like it, or rarely many conventions—that I know of!!?
Thanks also for your comment on my blog :)
I hadn’t noticed your blog until you commented, but I shall add you to my blogroll of Interesting Blogs when I next update =D
bellezza · 1 August 2007, 10:55
Oh, man, just reading the beginning of your post about Walker Brothers makes me salivate! I remember The Original House of Pancakes, where I always ordered French Toast as a kid. At the end of the meal, they gave my brother and I balloons on bamboo sticks with which we would smack each other on the ride home. I drive to The Walker Brothers’ Restaurant on the way to my mother in laws, but my favorite one is in Evanston where I have such fond memories of eating the apple pancake and hash browns with my best friend. Thanks for the lovely reminders! Now I wish it wasn’t so far away.
p.s. It was nice to have you visit my blog today. I look forward to more chats.
Kim · 1 August 2007, 23:52
Everyone – It was really fun; I’m glad I went.
Nymeth – Apparently the cover was done by a different artist than the manga. I didn’t see the Labyrinth manga at the show, but I saw a few comments that the interior art wasn’t as good.
I saw a fleeting glimpse of the Froud poster. It looked like a woodland scene, but that’s about all I could see as they were rolling up the copy.
Book Swede and Bellezza – Thanks for visiting!
Debi · 2 August 2007, 10:34
Okay…I’m now officially ravenous!
I just popped over because I wanted to tell you how much I loved your tiny tale over at Carl’s. I thought it was simply outstanding!
Kim · 2 August 2007, 21:09
Thank you Debi! Your story put a smile on my face. It reminded me of myself as a young girl (my poor parents).
jean pierre · 3 August 2007, 06:51
oh, kim, you discovered some gorgeous art! wow.
charlotte, my wife, loooves “labrynth” and “the dark crystal” and would’ve loved to have seen all that stuff. news about the manga stuff they’re doing with it is exciting. we have the world of the dark crystal by brian froud (or something like that) and its very cool. his work is amazing!
comic con sounds cool but very stressful. it almost sounds like one would need a guide to help one get the best experience!
Carl V. · 13 August 2007, 11:41
I am of course extremely jealous that you were able to attend this as it is an every year dream that I have.
Sorry the Neil signature didn’t work out.
I love that Labyrinth statue, I’m going to have to keep my eye out for that.
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