Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Cons
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3471 - Part 12 of a series on the 2011 Comic-Con International San Diego: I Survived San Diego Comic-Con 2011!
And you thought the online ticket system was bad: Yet, somehow the on-site registration process for 2012 managed to be worse, much worse. Camping out all night worse. Missing all of your morning's programs worse. Waiting in line for hours and not being allowed to buy tickets because you had the wrong badge worse. Wasting over an hour and a half in line before they bothered to tell people that the registration room was full. Oh, and did I mention what was once free (Preview Night) now costs $25?! Ballroom 20 is going to need a bigger boat: Or, better yet, a swap with the programming in Hall H where attendees were walking directly in to panels most afternoons. Instead, Ballroom 20 had over 10,000 people sweltering in the sun all day, every day with lines clear out to the harbor. At Talk Back, Comic-Con President John Rogers claimed that the tv execs are afraid they won't fill Hall H AND they are AFRAID of the crowd turning on them! What, with pens to the eye? The Great Recession hits Comic-Con: The crowded aisles and long lines at Hasbro and other retailers might make you think that the recession hasn't hit Comic-Con. Think again. Noticeably absent were big budget movie panels, free preview comics and fan boy and girls loaded down with bags of swag. Reading, Writing & Comic Books: Several dozen teachers learned how the Comic Book project is raising reading and English language scores for students in the Imperial Valley School District in California. ER comes to Comic-Con: With all the alumni from NBCs long-running hit ER in attendance, I was beginning to think I'd spot George Clooney. SDCC saw Mekhi Pfifer (Pratt) at the Torchwood: Miracle Day panel; Noah Wylie (Carter) at Fallen Skies; Scott Grimes (Morris) at American Dad; Shane West (Ray Barnett) at Nikita; and Parminder Nagra in a preview of Alcatraz. Did I miss anyone? Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: A professor from Wittenberg University in Ohio moderated a panel of college students who came to San Diego to study the culture of Comic-Con. Seriously, Dude! Geek Love: Michael and I met a lovely young couple from Ottawa in the Ballroom 20 line who were ON THEIR HONEYMOON! (Geek out: the bride wanted to use a LOTR one ring for her wedding band. But, fearing her parents wouldn't understand, the groom talked her out of it!) ~ Tina LoSasso -------------------------------- Thanks, Tina, for your guest blog today ! Again, please check my Facebook Page 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics' for more photos / wall posts / etc. from the Comic-Con in the days to follow! ~Michael D Hamersky NOTE: Part 1 of this ongoing series about the 2011 Comic-Con, (Blog #3450), gave a 'general overview' of why the San Diego Comic Con / Comic Con International: San Diego is very important to me. Along with multiple links to previous years blog posts, photo albums dating back to 1973, etc, etc. Part 2, (Blog #3458), pointed out shopping tips on what we are buying to bring to the Comic-Con. I haven't missed a year since the Comic-Con first moved to the San Diego Convention Center back in 1991. I first started attending as a comic book dealer back in 1972, at the El Cortez Hotel. But I still have to plan out what to bring each year, as five days on my feet means a lot of trekking around the convention center and surrounding environs! This con is expanding out every year it seems, with programs being held at two different adjacent hotels now, at opposite ends of the convention center! Part 3, (Blog #3459), posted the links to what panels / programs I believe are the most important for those of you that are first timers to this comic convention. Plus they are the most 'representative' of what Comic-Con International is, without 'Hollywood' panels / programs being included, UNLESS they are truly comic book oriented. Part 4, (Blog #3460) posted the links to where I normally would be spending a lot of time at while on the exhibit floor of this comic convention. Where's that?! Well... When I'm not attending panels / programs with or without my wife Tina, I'll be most likely at the 'Artists Alley' or 'Small Press Pavilion' sections of this convention center. Part 5, (Blog #3461) posted a link to what is in store for those of you attending the 2011 Comic-Con and wondering about how to beat the online mess of trying to buy memberships for 2012! I don't want to 'repeat' myself here, so please look at the blog #3461 link for the 'news'! Part 6, (Blog #3462) of this series... Well, Part 5 was about the future, so here I was taking a 'look' at the 'Past'! And not just a look via my thoughts or collections of memorablilia obtained at Comic-Cons in the past... But from the collection of the 'Founder' of the SDCC himself, Shelf Dorf! Part 7, (Blog #3466) of this blog series was a brief history and a link to the online version of this week's San Diego Weekly Reader cover feature article on comics creators living in San Diego, and who will be attending the San Diego Comic Con International. Part 8, (Blog #3467) of this series was to tell you that there wouldn't be any more blogs the rest of last week or the weekend, as I would be celebrating my Birthday the rest of the week at the Comic-Con! Which would be the last year I was going to be able to do so, as the Comic-Con moves up a week in time for next year, the 2012 edition of the SDCCI. Plus that I would still be uploading photos via my camera phone by mobile Facebooking to my Facebook Fan Page, at this mobile uploads photo album. Part 9 (Blog #3468), of this series was to present to you my own personal 'Hi-Light' of the 2011 Comic-Con! Which was the Fandom Reunion 2011 - Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Comics Fandom. The blog also had the link to the special photo album which is still being added to, as of this morning!! Part 10 (Blog #3469) of this series was the first part of 'My Take' on the 2011 Comic-Con, where I covered the following topics and graded them: memberships for 2011, memberships for 2012, and pre-paid parking. Part 11 (Blog #3470), of this series was the second part of 'My Take' on the 2011 Comic-Con, where I covered the following topics and graded them: posting of the 2011 programming schedule, art show, anime schedule, Artist Alley, autographs area, Freebies table, security, Fulfillment Room, The Events Guide, the Souvenir Book, On-site newsletter, small press section, off-site parties & events.
My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,471 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link! We currently have over 2,497 'Followers'! Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!! ~ Michael D Hamersky Note: My online 'Local' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at: http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ Web Page Note: This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up differently, sorry about that! The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer. Note: As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.
To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to: Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013  Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there. Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! |
Random observations from my 11th straight San Diego Comic-Con:
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