Originally posted at SDCCBlog.com:
http://sdccblog.com/biggest-disappointments/2555/
Jeremy Rutz | August 4, 2011 | 5:53 PM
There’s a lot left to think post-mortem about this year’s Comic-Con. Certainly there were some big issues that didn’t sit well with a lot of you. Generally, we were pleased with this year’s convention, but everyone’s a critic and we’ll take our turn with what we thought could have gone better, with the hopes that CCI is watching and will make the necessary improvements for next year.
All in all, we can lump our thoughts into three main topic areas. Click the jump to read our thoughts on each.
Programming Schedule
When the final schedules were announced for the four days, many, including us, were confounded by the sporadic must-see panels slated for Hall H, including a complete void of anything interesting on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ballroom 20 was a logjam of popular television shows, creating a situation where many waited in line for hours without ever making it in the room.
And it was this same story, all weekend.
We can label this the “Game of Thrones” problem, because that is the one panel that really made the issue with Ballroom 20 scheduling so evident. It makes sense that CCI would put it in Ballroom 20, because that is traditionally the biggest room for television shows. But Game of Thrones, along with Doctor Who on Sunday, made it perfectly clear television has a legitimate place in Hall H.
And what about that Hall H schedule? We’re just as confused as you are. Thursday, which had a decent enough slate of panels had hardly a line and graciously accepted a walk-in audience. As a matter of fact, the annual EW Visionaries panel with Guillermo del Toro and Jon Favreau was only half full at its start. Hall H didn’t have much of a problem the rest of the weekend accommodating anyone who wanted to walk right up at the start of a panel, aside from Sony Pictures on Friday and again during the aforementioned Doctor Who on Sunday.
The Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront was also playing to packed crowds and mammoth lines thanks to some big names and popular shows making an appearance next door. 6BCF was an odd choice to house the Legendary Pictures panel mid-day on Friday, and it showed when it stranded many in the line outside.
There’s not much CCI can do without having an additional large room to split the burden of hosting some of these popular panels. Regardless, we thought they did a better job of crowd management last year. Until the expansion of the convention center comes to fruition, the best it can do is spread out the schedule and give folks a reason to leave their seats in one room for another.
2012 Onsite Pre-Registration
If there is one hot-button shared by most attendees, it’s the way CCI elected to handle onsite pre-registration for 2012. Concerns about ticket availability started a year ago, the day we all found out Preview Night tickets were sold out at the show. Even with the surge in popularity over the past few years, no one had ever experienced – let alone expected – this situation happening. Everyone thought, if Preview Night could go that fast, so too would other tickets once they were made available to the general public. And so when tickets were made available online, the system crashes famously followed. CCI never anticipated the amount of traffic they experienced last fall. Even when TicketLeap had the benefit of such data when they took over in February, they too were blindsided by just how many people rushed the system at once.
The inevitable part of this story is that Comic-Con is awesome, and like all good things, the word is out. The economics of the situation have made us all victims. It’s a simple case of supply and demand. The number of tickets have not increased, but at the same time the number of people hoping to attend have soared to amounts inconceivable.
Appeasing 140,000 people is impossible. Saying that, CCI has done their best with a difficult situation. The only other way they might have done this better is to implement a lottery for pre-registration among ticket holders, but even that model would have had its detractors. If they kept pre-registration to Sunday as in years’ past, the line of people on the last day of SDCC might have stretched quite literally to La Jolla.
The whole pre-registration process was different than last year because it had to be, because of increased demand. Yet lines were still long – longer than probably CCI had expected and intended. No one would have expected the line to stretch a mile and a half or people to camp out overnight. No one. It’s because the panic, carried over from the previous year and during online sales, still ran rampant among attendees.
If there is any good news here among those feeling slighted by the process, it would be that there is still online registration to fall back on. And when the remaining tickets go on sale, most likely in the fall, Preview Night will be among them because CCI learned their lesson from last year and held back a certain number for the general public.
Hollywood
We wrote before SDCC that we expected some surprises from Hollywood. After all the hoopla about the big studios sitting out this year’s con, we figured it couldn’t be all right. Could it?
Well, we were wrong.
There were no surprises from Hollywood. No Hellicarrier. No S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. No Ballroom 20 event on Sunday. No nothin’.
That’s not to say there wasn’t anything to do at Comic-Con. On the contrary, there was still a whole lot more than a busload of geeks could do at once. So we’re not complaining. We’re just eating crow on this one.
Which makes good advice for next year – believe it when you see it!
Wait, we’re talking about next year already? Better start packing!
Well, quite awesomely, yesterday he thought we were the bomb for thinking he was the bomb, and tweeted it to all of his followers:
https://twitter.com/zacharylevi/status/99538622499389440
Thanks to Zac for bringing attention to the site and the article. After his tweet, the number of views exploded to over 5000 yesterday alone.
I'm seriously going to work on making a trophy to present to him between now and next year's SDCC.
Originally posted on SDCCBlog.com:
http://sdccblog.com/top-five-favorite-moments/2450/
Jeremy Rutz | August 3, 2011 | 4:29 PM
Comic-Con 2011 has come to a close, and our sleep-depraved minds are still reeling from the whirlwind four days of lines, panels and offsite events. And because there was much more to see and do at the con than one person could ever dream of, we went to Twitter and asked our awesome readers what their favorite moments of 2011 were.
@SD_Comic_Con
SD Comic Con ExpertWe’re looking for your favorite moments from #SDCC to be included in a future post. Tweet us your favs using hashtag #ccfavs!
FavoriteRetweet
Click past the jump to see the top five.
5. Conan O’Brien
No one was expecting this. If anyone predicted Conan would be on our top five list, we’d have all thought it was the upcoming fantasy reboot, right?
Our favorite late-night host surprised the convention by opening up his own offsite location in the Gaslamp – The Museum of Conan Art – to promote his new animated venture, The Flaming C. He event went as far as crashing the Green Lantern Animated Series panel to show off his new project, much to the audience’s approval.
Not only that, but Conan tweeted some of the most memorable lines from Comic-Con:
@ConanOBrien
Conan O’BrienI have arrived @Comic_Con. The air is thick with the smell of Cheetos and celibacy. #SDCC
FavoriteRetweet
@ConanOBrien
Conan O’BrienCurrently walking around @Comic_Con. Good god, Batman has really let himself go. #SDCC
FavoriteRetweet
@ConanOBrien
Conan O’BrienHad a great time @Comic_Con, but I’m kind of regretting this “Vampire Diaries” tattoo. #SDCC
FavoriteRetweet
4. Spielberg and Jackson (oh, and Tintin)
Who would have thought a week ago the first appearance of Steven Spielberg at Comic-Con would rank toward the bottom of our list? Well, that’s SDCC for you – always surprising us and providing the crowd-pleasing moments from where we didn’t expect them. That’s not to say this isn’t one of them, because it made our list after all, but Steven Spielberg, joined by a surprise appearance by Peter Jackson, and a hysterical pre-production look at the mo-cap technology and it still couldn’t make it past Nathan Fillion? And that, loyal readers, is pure Comic-Con.
Jackson didn’t give any reveals on The Hobbit worth mentioning, but Spielberg did announce that Jurassic Park 4 has a story, has hired a writer, and that we should see it in the next two to three years. Quick, someone email him the “Dinos with Guns” concept we all read about, before it’s too late! Nada on an Indiana Jones IV film though.
In all seriousness, how awesome is it for everyone in attendance to say they were once in the same room as Steven Spielberg? The sizzle reel of film clips prior to him receiving the Inkpot Award is evidence he is the reason why everyone in that room is the person they are today – including Jackson. Spielberg’s influence on the Comic-Con crowd cannot be overstated. Just ask the guy with the t-shirt.
3. Nathan Fillion
What more can be said about Nathan Fillion? He’s a SDCC favorite because he loves the con as much as the con loves him. Very few embrace and give back to the welcoming audience as much as the former Captain Reynolds does. Not only did he participate in the Castle panel on Sunday, ironically titled “One-on-One with Castle Star Nathan Fillion”, but also at Zachary Levi’s NERD HQ across the street from the convention center. Sadly, he wasn’t able to participate in the Firefly reunion at NERD HQ, but there certainly was enough of Mr. Fillion to please the con-goers during the weekend.
And what a crowd pleaser he is. Fillion doesn’t just show up to a panel, the man is prepared. He plans his bits and executes them flawlessly, judging from a cheering and hysterical audience. He speaks the geek lingo. He is, quite frankly, one of us, descending upon San Diego during the annual geek pilgrimage for the same reasons we all do. Heck, he even wandered the show floor in his spare time (in disguise, no less).
He’s frequently referred to as The Mayor of Comic-Con, and we agree. There is no better celebrity to bestow this title than Nathan Fillion.
2. Cowboys and Aliens Premiere
When Jon Favreau announced he would be bringing the worldwide red-carpet premiere of his new blockbuster film, Cowboys and Aliens, to this year’s Comic-Con, it was the biggest news of the pre-convention season. Sure, we have special screenings for fans, such as the free Attack The Block and the invite-only Captain America ones from this year, but rarely if ever have we had one with such attention. If that weren’t enough, Favreau reserved 2,000 tickets for SDCC attendees.
The internet was buzzing about how these tickets would be distributed. What chances did we have of attending? How difficult would it be to get a ticket? We all found out shortly before the start of the con, where we had heard gold bricks would be handed out to attendees at random locations and times, and within each gold brick was a chance to win tickets to the premiere.
The news of these appearances came fast and furious. Multiple times per day, announcements were made via text and Twitter, and fans dropped what they were doing and rushed the location where they were being handed out. It was a cool promotion – the “bricks” were just paper, but inside everyone who grabbed one got a C&A t-shirt, and among them a few even got to go to the Saturday star-studded premiere. The cool thing about this was, no matter who you talked to during the con, you undoubtedly knew someone or ran into someone who won the tickets. That made the event feel less-exclusive and more of a gesture of gratitude toward the fans as it was intended.
For that, Mr. Favreau, we say on behalf of the Comic-Con crowd, thank you!
1. Zachary Levi (Chuck, Nerd HQ)
What a year for Zachary Levi. Traditionally a favorite among the Comic-Con crowd, Levi this year really propelled himself to the upper echelon of geekdom with two big events during the weekend.
First, it was an emotional and tearful send-off to NBC’s crowd-pleasing Chuck, entering it’s fifth and final season, and it’s final panel at Comic-Con as well. Levi and cast were on hand to kick off the crowded Saturday schedule and show their thanks to the welcoming crowd for the past few years of support. Few shows speak so directly to the Comic-Con audience – The Big Bang Theory and Community among them – which made this last appearance for the show in Ballroom 20 a heartfelt goodbye and with a standing ovation.
But it’s what Levi did outside of the con that propelled him to our number one spot.
Across the street from the convention center, Levi took over Jolt’N Joe’s restaurant in the Gaslamp with NERD HQ, an alternative to Comic-Con offering four days of events packed with big names like Nathan Fillion, Zachary Quinto, Dominic Monaghan and other friends of Levi’s. NERD HQ was an intimate setting which proved more accommodating to fans than the huge Ballroom lines and ticket registration insanity that Comic-Con has become. It also partnered with companies like Xbox to provide hands-on game previews of top upcoming titles, hosted a Tweet-Up with Xbox’s Major Nelson and held the second annual Nerd Party. On top of all this, 100% of the cost of the tickets for each panel, called “Conversations for a Cause”, raised over $40,000 for charity.
Levi made himself accessible to fans and could be found signing autographs and posing for pictures, always with a smile on his face. It seemed as if NERD HQ was the party Levi always wanted to throw at Comic-Con, and had a blast doing it for his fans. He’s already announced he’ll be doing it again next year, and we can’t wait. We hope this grows bigger and better every year!
What were your favorite moments of Comic_Con 2011? Let us know in the comments!
Wondering where I've been for the past few weeks? If you have, you've probably noticed a big gap in time between my cross-posts from SDCCBlog.com. That's because since the end of June, I took the reigns while owner Zack Young was away. I've been so busy manning the ship in his absence and preparing to attend the big event, I just didn't have the bandwidth to selectively post articles to here, as part of my blogging portfolio. And it didn't make sense to cross-post the whole lot of stories here either, because that would be just too much noise to sift through over the long-term.
But now that we're drawing the curtains on Comic-Con 2011, and my current freelance assignment is coming to a close, I'll redirect any free time to posting my usual, random musings for your amusement and enjoyment.
Talk to you all really soon!
Originally posted on SDCCBlog:
http://sdccblog.com/interview-the-aquabats-super-show-will-save-the-world/2485/
Jeremy Rutz | August 2, 2011 | 10:40 AM
For the uninitiated, Comic-Con can be a pretty daunting experience. There’s the crowds, and the lines, and the sheer magnitude of the event to deal with. And on top of that, there’s all the super villains lurking around every corner. Like Man-Ant, The Time Sprinkler, and the Sand Fleas.
Only one team of super heroes can save us from such threats. Justice League? Naw, too old fashioned. The Avengers? They’re too busy prepping for their Hollywood debut.
It’s…The Aquabats. Stopping intergalactic terrorism through pop/punk/ska music since 1994, the California outfit known for their over-the-top live performances is comprised of bassist Crash McLarson (aka Chad Larson), guitarist Eagle Bones Falconhawk (aka Ian Fowles), keyboardist Jimmy The Robot (aka James Briggs), drummer Ricky Fitness (aka Richard Falomir), and lead singer MC Bat Commander (aka Christian Jacobs, Yo Gabba Gabba).
And this fall, they’ll be flying into action courtesy of The Aquabats Super Show! on the Hub TV Network.
Only The Aquabats, in their first official appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, could announce a children’s television program and at the same panel entertain a raucous crowd by performing a full-on back-flip from the Q&A table in room 5AB and closing it out with a full-on, riotous, and totally impromptu, kaiju battle with costumed audience members. It’s the closest Comic-Con has come to some cosmic Jerry Springer segment, but that’s an achievement they were able to reproduce the energy frequently on display during their live shows.
Following the panel, the band, staying in character of their onstage alter egos (“We play tennis in these costumes,” MC Bat Commander revealed), sat down with us to talk about the upcoming Hub TV show, how it came to be, and what hijinks we can expect from the greatest crime-fighting super group ever assembled.
If you’ve ever seen the Aquabats live, there’s a good chance you’ve seen The Aquabats Super Show! in its infancy. Since 2008, the band has shown clips of a pilot episode during their concerts, and they’ve been shopping it around to networks ever since.
“It’s crazy, we’ve been trying to do the show for so long. I can’t even remember how long we’ve been trying to do this,” says Crash McLarson, as MC Bat Commander holds up three fingers to remind those around him of the number of years. “But, I think, where we’re at now is the best possible way this show could have happened. It’s the only way the show will come out as awesome as it’s going to be.”
The Aquabats have released five albums in their fifteen-year existence, their latest Hi-Five Soup! released in January 2011, but they’re a live band, first and foremost. The best way to describe them is a cross between the Japanese kaiju shows of the ’60s and ’70s and the theatrics of Gwar, frequently engaging in epic, onstage battles with costumed villains. They’re aiming to take that same crazy energy to the small screen.
“The pilot was 50-50. 50% animated, 50% live-action. We did that for a strategic reason – some networks like cartoons more than other networks,” says the Commander. “We wanted to say, ‘this could be both shows’. But really what we always wanted to do was be a ‘live-action cartoon show’. And in talking to the Hub about that, that’s what they wanted, too. They saw the strength was in the live-action show, because it’s, like, nothing else really out there on TV. I mean it is, but it’s totally making fun of that stuff, [like] Power Rangers, but it’s totally silly and crazy, and [with] music. So we slimmed down the animated portion of the show and cranked up the rock.”
Why The Hub, a Hasbro-owned cable network that’s known primarily for My Little Pony, The Transformers and G.I. Joe? Not that we mind, because we love all-things Hasbro. And judging from the lines at the HasbroToyShop booth at Comic-Con, we’re certainly not alone. But The Aquabats could be seen as strange bedfellows, given their pedigree of playing to a mosh pit of sweaty twenty-somethings.
“Because The Hub is not afraid, ” the Commander adds. “They’re looking at new programming and doing things differently, from a different standpoint that a lot of networks are still scared or they aren’t able to do. The Hub is fresh and new so they can take new ideas and new shows, things that are kind of funky, or things that other networks would say, ‘The Aquabats? That’s stupid! Those guys are old and fat!’”
McLarson interjects. “Whereas The Hub goes, ‘The Aquabats? Those guys are old and stupid and fat! Perfect!’”
The more MC Bat Commander talks about the relationship with the network, the more sensible it sounds. “Hub is an incredible experiment by bold and risky pioneers in the industry. Hasbro put their money where their mouth is, doing movies, they’re making a TV network. I mean, this is incredible, it’s unprecedented, really to go all the way to do that.”
With The Aquabats Super Show!, the format of the show will attempt a traditional narrative. But as MC Bat Commander explains, ‘it’s more of a magazine for older kids as well because it weaves in here and there” – fake commercials like those shown at their live shows, animated segments and music videos that go along with the story, “a la a musical”.
“You know, singing about desks and dancing with trashcans, whatever they do in musicals.” The Commander looks around the room. “What do they do in musicals?”
“I’ve never seen a musical,” admits McLarson.
“Singing in the rain!” The Commander reaches a moment of faux-inspiration. “We’ll be singing in the rain. In the show.”
The Hub’s key demographic plays to kids between the ages of 6 and 11, generally younger than the band’s typical audience. But as MC Bat Commander explains, they’re prepared to turn kids of all ages into a legion of fresh, new Aquacadets.
“I think we’ll want to put things in there for an older audience, because we realize we have an older audience, but then also we want the young kids, to not have it go over their heads. You can’t put a six year-old in front of Lost and really expect them to care from episode to episode. Each episode is pretty self-contained, but there will be stuff that carries through from episode-to-episode. And stuff that doesn’t make sense at all, just for fun.”
If anything, the band has been evolving toward a younger audience for years. Take off the mask and wipe off the painted-on mustache from MC Bat Commander and you get the co-creator of everyone’s favorite kids’ show, Yo Gabba Gabba. Airing on Nickelodeon since 2007, the show has been popular with kids and adults alike, spanning several seasons of retro-inspiration, celebrity guest stars, and popular music acts – The Aquabats among them.
Jacobs…ahem…The Commander explains. “We hold the record on Yo Gabba Gabba for Best Band. We’ve been on Yo Gabba [Gabba] the most, they keep calling us back for some reason. There’s just obviously something about the costumes and being super heroes that really appeals to younger kids, and I think we always knew that as a band. And we get excited to see parents with their kids at shows, three year-olds on their shoulders, kids getting thrown off balconies into the mosh pit. You know, things like that. We’re really excited about that. Family entertainment. Of course we’ll have to tone that down a little bit now with the world watching us…”
The Commander continues. “I think it’s exciting, it’s definitely helped. I think its opened it up to bringing The Aquabats kinda out of the basement a little bit, and exposing people that normally wouldn’t maybe find The Aquabats, especially kids, through Yo Gabba Gabba. I mean, we’ve been on the show three times or four times? With [Yo Gabba] Gabba, the idea was creating a new show, too, that parents could watch with their kids and not be like, ‘this show’s just for my kid, I can’t stand it’, but something that’s for everybody. Same as The Aquabats Super Show! Little kids will watch it and compare it to Batman ’66. When I was a kid, obviously we loved that show, Batman was so awesome. I watch it now and love it even more because it’s so silly. And it’s so obviously silly. They were all having a good time making that show. And that’s what I hope people can see, that we’re just fantasy fulfillment, doing something that’s just too fun.”
Look for the premiere of The Aquabats Super Show! on The Hub this fall. Which, ironically, is a year before the dreaded apocalypse of 2012. “It’s fitting that we would have a show come out on the last year on Earth”, says MC Bat Commander.
And if there’s anyone who will be able to save the world from certain doom, it’ll be The Aquabats.
Originally posted at SDDCBlog.com:
http://sdccblog.com/video-games-sdcc-2011/1621/
Jeremy Rutz | June 20, 2011 | 12:01 PM
Comic-Con isn’t just for comics anymore, this much we know. But over the past couple of years, video games have been taking a more prominent role on the show floor. With E3 just past and video game companies prepping for a big push into the second half of the year, expect this year to be no different.
Let’s take a look at some of the video game companies we might expect to see at this year’s con.
The Big Three
Sony had a huge presence last year. Their console business was demoing the Playstation Move motion controller and games, and at a separate booth Sony Online Entertainment was showing off games like Clone Wars Adventures and DC Universe Online. Now that the PS Vita has been announced, expect to go hands-on with demo units, as well as continued support for SOE MMOs that continue to draw the Comic-Con crowd. Also expect to see some of their bigger first-party releases such as the God of War: Origins and ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus collections.
Nintendo was also at the con last year with two booths on the floor. One was a slime-designed booth promoting Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS where they offered SDCC-exclusive downloadable quests to attendees. The other was to promote their Pokemon franchise, primarily the card game. Expect Nintendo to return to the show with the 3DS, but don’t get your hopes up expecting to get your hands on a Wii U. In the same way Nintendo wasn’t pushing the 3DS last year ahead of its release, I’m afraid they won’t be bringing the Wii successor to the con this year.
Microsoft had a tiny booth last year, and instead opted to set up shop across the street at the Hard Rock Hotel. This allowed attendees to experience the Kinect motion controller with a more generous space without the show floor’s huge crowds. If E3 was any indication, then they’ll probably be pushing Kinect hard this year as well. That’s okay by me, because between Mass Effect, Star Wars and Forza 4, there’s plenty of Kinect-ready titles that I’d want to play. Plus, there’s new Gears of War and Halo titles due this fall that should have playable builds on-hand. Whether they decide to bring a bigger booth to the show floor or once again maximize the available space outside of the convention hall, I’m certain they’ll be back big.
Third Party Companies
EA also set up across the street in the Gaslamp Quarter, giving attendees a “behind closed doors” look at Dragon Age II, complete with required NDAs from those eager to get an early peak, and playable kiosks of Dead Space 2. This year, they’ve got the aforementioned Mass Effect 3, plus their answer to the Call of Duty juggernaut, Battlefield 3, and the forever-in-development Star Wars MMO The Old Republic. With show much riding on the success of their upcoming titles, I would expect them to return to the con and its crowds in order to generate some good press and positive word of mouth.
Harmonix had a big stage for Rock Band 3, but with the music game genre all but drying up last year, a return should not be expected. The same canot be said for Capcom, who set up a fighting ring to promote their Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with fighting tournaments throughout the weekend and exclusive character reveals. Expect a rematch in the ring for their new upcoming Street Fighter vs. Tekken game. Capcom also gave attendees early access to Fortune City, with kiosks of a playable Dead Rising 2. There’s more Dead Rising to come this year, but more exciting is the return of franchise favorites Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Expect Capcom to have a big presence with a return appearance on the show floor.
THQ pushed their new entry to the Red Faction series last year with a stunning booth sporting a giant posable mech and regular developer-led demonstrations for attendees. This year, fans would go nuts if the collaboration with Red Faction-developer Volition and con-staple Guillermo del Toro had a presence, either with some lifesize models of his signature creature designs, or better yet an appearance by the man himself. At the very least, Volition could show their newest entry to the multi-million selling Saint’s Row series.
Activision had exclusive Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions reveals during the con last year. Now that the Spidey series is an annual franchise, look for them to demo the new Spider-Man: Edge of Time for lucky True Believers. Another Marvel title, X-Men Destiny, is due from Activision this year, so you can bet that will be at the show, too. And a recent tweet from Marvel Studios games division indicates there will be more surprises in store:
Telltale, leaders of the modern-day adventure game genre, had a small booth last year but weren’t showing their most anticipated title, Back To The Future, ahead of its winter release. Now that they have the upcoming Jurassic Park, as well as games based on comic favorites The Walking Dead and Fables, it’s expected they will return, hopefully with more to show this year.
MMO Heaven
NC Soft bought the latest installments of their Guild Wars and City of Heroes RPGs in their booth, during panels and even throwing a big offsite event at the Hard Rock. They’ve already confirmed they’ll be back promoting City of Heroes (at booth #5345, to be exact) and an NC Soft Meet & Greet at the Hard Rock Hotel. No further details yet as of press time. But they will have an SDCC-exclusive Mk-VI “Victoria” costume code for those who stop by the booth and meet the developers.
To answer the SOE’s DC Universe, Marvel has two MMOs to cover a wide spectrum of players. They have their Super Hero Squad Online MMO for younger fans, but more interesting is the long-rumored and recently-confirmed Marvel MMO from Secret Identity Studios. The latest on this project is that its being written by Brian Michael Bendis, so it has some real star power attached. It would be nice to see Marvel finally give some more information on this project, either at their booth or, even better, at the aforementioned Marvel Games panel (which yours truly will be there covering, natch).
And Panels, Too!
And it’s not all about the show floor – throughout the weekend, expect scattered panels on some upcoming video game releases. Last year, David Jaffe was on hand for Twisted Metal, Warren Spector pushed the much-hyped Epic Mickey, Cliff Blezinski was showing an early build of Gears of War 3, and Bungie and 343 Industries had Halo: Reach panels. It’s a sure bet video game developers and publishers will return to the panel schedule to promote their 2011 releases and use Comic-Con to connect with fans ahead of September’s Penny Arcade Expo.
What games are you excited about that you want to see at the con? Tell us in the comments below, or shoot me a tweet at @SpotAnime.
Originally posted on SDCCBlog.com:
http://sdccblog.com/sdcc-newbie-guide-part-iii-groceries-and-smartphones/1618/
Jeremy Rutz | June 14, 2011 | 8:43 AM
Okay, your plane landed, you’ve checked into the hotel, and you’re ready for Comic-Con to start. You have your schedule planned, you’ve booked every offsite event you could get in to, and you’ve got a room full of packing supplies to ship home all that great stuff you’re going to get. The lobby is crazy with people, the streets filled with attendees buzzing with excitement. It’s electric. And you’re there, baby. You’ve made it. It’s happening, and you’re a part of it.
Get ready for one of the best times of your life.
And to do that, there’s just a few more tips I want to share to make sure you are as prepared as you’ll ever be.
You Are What You Eat
You’ll want to stock up on food to carry with you while at the con. Expect to be on the go from early-morning to the early-evening with rarely a break from the frantic pace to refuel. Sure, there’s restaurants all around and enough fast food to fill Hall H, but if you want to survive the weekend, you’re going to want to eat smarter. Not only that, but even the hot dogs and pizza slices in the convention center will set you back a pretty penny, and we all know that would be better spent on, well, anything.
Make a grocery list of items to get you through the weekend. Plan for breakfast, lunch, and snacks in between. Here’s what I carried with me last year:
I’m not going to get all preachy on eating healthy, and you know what works best for you. The key here is to stay energized, eat on the go and save costs.
The easiest way to stock up is to hit the Ralph’s grocery store on 101 G Street. It’s just three blocks up from the convention center, and last year it was fully stocked throughout the weekend. For one person, groceries for the long weekend should cost you altogether as much as one or two junk-food meals.
If you’re traveling with a group of people, and you don’t have time in your schedule to hit the grocery store, Vons is a regional grocer which will deliver an order of $49 or more to your hotel. The delivery charge depends on whether you want a one, two or four-hour window for delivery. If you have perishables, most hotels will store it in their kitchen’s refrigerators if you arrange upfront. As always, call ahead and make sure your hotel will accept delivery in advance of you checking in.
I Left My Heart In San Diego
Your smartphone is going to be your best friend while attending the show. From checking Twitter geo-updates from attendees to monitoring exhibitor announcements to catching the can’t-miss surprises of the show, your phone needs to stay on and by your side at all times.
Network coverage is going to be spotty. It’s a given that you have more than 100,000 people jammed within a few city blocks all simultaneously calling, texting or tweeting. Expect frequent outages and poor signal strength. Also, beware of any WiFi networks broadcasting as “Free Public WiFi” – you run the risk of connecting to a computer broadcasting a signal only to steal login information and other data from your connection. There is usually free WiFi offered by the con, just ask a staffer what the network name is – and be prepared for it to be slow and sporadic based on time of day, number of users and location.
Also, make sure you carry your charger at all times. Not only is constantly searching for a 3G network taxing on your phone’s battery, but so is the endless hours of playing Fruit Ninja or constantly refreshing your Twitter timeline while waiting for that next panel to begin. You’ll be stationary long enough to plug in for a few minutes at a time, and sometimes that’s all that’s needed to stay charged throughout the day.
But the best use I found for it last year was to stay in touch with of all the great people I met at the con. You’ll never be surrounded by so many who share the same interests as you, and everyone – with one exception last year – is as friendly as they come. Twitter and Facebook are good tools for meeting up with newfound friends throughout the weekend, and hopefully well past the last panel on Sunday.
Are there any other tips you are interested in hearing? Let us know in the comments below or contact me on Twitter at @SpotAnime.
Originally posted on SDCCBlog.com:
http://sdccblog.com/sdcc-newbie-guide-part-ii-merchandise/1561/
Jeremy Rutz | June 9, 2011 | 11:50 AM
For those going to SDCC for the first time this year, your expectations are that you are going to get swag. A lot of it. And you are correct. Bags, t-shirts, posters, comics and other tchotchkes handed out seemingly at every turn on the show floor. And that’s in addition to all the stuff you’re going to buy at the con, because there’s no shortage of exclusives and other hard-to-find merchandise lining vendor booth walls.
In my previous post, I offered tips for saving money for meals and for setting expectations on panel and event scheduling. This time, I’m going to help you find all that great exclusive merchandise, and, more importantly, how to get it home.
Geek’s Booty
You’ve seen here, and you’ve probably read elsewhere all the great stuff that will be available only at the con this year. And if you are budgeting based on previous years’ exclusives, you’re going to need a small fortune to get it all. That I can’t help you with, because when the blast of energy from the show floor hits you, there’s no such thing as willpower.
First, get a list of which exhibitors have the stuff you want. If Hasbro is on your list, you’ll want to hit them first because lines are long and toys go fast. Most exhibitors allocate only a certain amount of their stock per day, to ensure people have a chance to buy until the last day of the con. So if you want the awesome Marvel Masterworks Sentinel figure, and it sells out on day one, you have another shot the next day. Now here’s the bad news – since Hasbro’s exclusives are so popular, they sell out early in the day. Last year, Hasbro was one of a few exhibitors which handed out tickets before the show floor opened which would secure you a timeslot to stand in line. These tickets were hot, and would frequently be handed out hours before the doors opened. I also ran into more than a few upset ticket holders who had timeslots for later in the day, and by that time the stuff they wanted was gone for the day.
Now, there was an exception to this rule which I’ll share but won’t guarantee it will be allowed again this year. If you got to the booth within minutes of the show floor opening, line security would let a few non-ticket holders in line before it got too long. So if you aren’t able to score a ticket for a timeslot that day, try to get to the booth as fast as you can and see if they’ll let you in line anyway.
There is another way around the ticketing system that Hasbro and Mattel used. Last year, Mattel allowed attendees to pre-order their merchandise online and pick up during the show. This was a sure way to get what you wanted, but the problem was in the way Mattel handled the pick-up process. They only had one or two times during the day in which pre-orders could be picked up, and they were on the busiest days and peak hours, frequently conflicting with popular panels. The other problem was that the line to pick up the pre-ordered merchandise was longer than the line on the show floor. The positive was that you were guaranteed to get your merchandise, at the expense of a two-hour wait. I would still recommend pre-ordering any merchandise you can when it’s offered by the exhibitor, and I hope that companies can find a better way with pick-up and queue management at the con this year.
Second, plot your course. Everyone in attendance will get an events guide with a map of the convention center and layout of the show floor. The layout will list where all of the exhibitor booths are. Remember that list of exhibitors you made? Find where each of them are located on the floor and when those doors open, walk (no running allowed!) straight there – do not pass “go”, do not collect $200.
When you’ve made it to your top booth in record time, only to find a line a mile long, no doubt you’ll be wondering, “where did everyone come from?” Well, that, my True-Believers, is what I’ll share with you next. Most people line up in Sails Pavilion, on the upper level of the convention center, before the show begins. It took me a couple days of starting here and finding the line to the booth I was headed to was already cut off for the day within a couple minutes of the start of the show to realize there was a better way. Indeed there was. Around Ballroom 20 at the east side of the convention center, there is another line. If you get there at a decent hour, you’ll get a great shot of being among the front of the pack.
Up, Up and Away!
Now, for those of you who will be driving to the con, getting all of these goodies home won’t be a problem. But for those who have to get on a plane, packing up all this stuff in a suitcase is no small feat. That’s why you’ll want to bypass the airlines altogether – along with their crazy luggage handling fees and tendency to lose checked bags – and ship your stuff home.
To do this, you’ll want to first sign up for an account with one of the big shipping companies. FedEx works best, although you can call ahead to your hotel and see if they also do pick-ups from UPS, DHL or any other shippers. You don’t even need to be a business to have your own account, and it’s free to sign up. You’ll be asked to enter a credit card and billing information when you create your account, but this is a good thing. By having a billing address on file, all you have to do is write your account number on the shipment and the shipping fees are all billed to that account. No settling with the hotel or worry about how much postage you’ll need. Lots of people use this method to ship their luggage when traveling nowadays, and I’ve used this method on several occasions and swear by it.
Now if your luggage just won’t have enough room to bring home all the stuff you’re planning to buy, or if you don’t think you’ll be able to securely pack it to survive the trip home without breaking valuable merchandise, there’s an important second part to this tip. We all know Staples, right? Well, you can order all your shipping supplies from Staples.com and have them delivered directly to your hotel in advance of your stay. This is what you’ll need:
One other thing to note, most everything you order from Staples comes in bulk, so try to find someone to go in with to save on costs.
It’s as easy as that. Just call ahead to make sure you’re hotel will receive shipments ahead of your stay. Also, if you’re hotel doesn’t offer pickup services from your shipping company of choice, just go on their website and find one in the area that will. Being in the center of the city, most likely you won’t have to go far to find one.
Like what you’ve seen so far? Then keep an eye out for my next Newbie Guide post coming soon!
Is there a specific tip you would like to learn more about? Leave a comment below or find me on Twitter at @SpotAnime!
The Ghost Rider sequel, scheduled to hit theaters in 2012, looks like it will be giving us all nightmares with some sort of presence at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the dynamic directing duo who gave us Crank and its sequel Crank 2: High Voltage, will be directing Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance with Nicolas Cage returning as Johnny Blaze.
Neveldine and Taylor posted/ the good news via a series of tweets from their official Twitter account a few days ago:
“GRSOV update: this movie is fucking badass…can’t wait to reveal the evolved GR…… comicon seems like a year away…not sure where the last one came from, but this GR comes from nightmares”
The directors have gone on record to say that this sequel will be more like a reboot, with the only thing staying the same from the original film would be Cage returning as the lead. They also said they’re going to make this sequel the movie they wanted to see, which could be good or bad depending on what you thought of the original film and their previous Crank films.
What do you think? Will you attend a panel even though the original was a massive disappointment?
