The 2012 Comic-Con Thrill Ride

Comic-Con. What a thrill ride! I have participated in this exciting event more years than I can recall.  I may be more of a geek, when it comes right down to it, than my husband. I care more than he does about checking on his company booth and grabbing a few shots. What’s up with that?

Activision showing off upcoming games on the CC floor and Activision on the outside of our hotel wall!
Yea, that’s right. Those people just wouldn’t get out of my way so that I could get a clear shot. Go figure.

My husband and I first met while working at a movie theater. My friend got me the job  and my husband would soon become my boss. Oh, I hear all you out there. Stop it! So I dated the boss man. Get over it! We were in college at the time. And there was still a big man in charge of us all.

Well, my someday husband loved movies SO much that his path would take him straight to Hollywood. His first stop along the career path, Paramount Studios. That love of all things movies and the writing behind them never dwindled, even though he hopped over to the gaming industry. So, when we attend Comic-Con there has always been a large focus on what? None other than the big blockbusters or huge television series panels. In more recent years (since Twilight) the populace crowd has discovered the coolness that is Comic-Con and turned it into an absolute MAD House! As a result, our focus has shifted. We now enjoy more and more of the smaller panels that still have a great deal to offer.

Last year was the first year I attended a bunch of writer’s panels. As a result, I discovered I needed to be on twitter. Later that month I was on twitter. I started meeting fabulous people and making great new friends. That’s how I met Krystal Wade, and she convinced me I needed a blog. I hesitated. looked around and found Kristen Lambs social media course. A few months later I had a blog and a wonderful new network of WANA friends. I reached out and meet Christine Ashworth, and through her got connected with LARA and RWA. I’m looking forward to the many new friends I’ll make through these wonderful groups. All this because of a writer’s panel at Comic-Con. Thank you Comic-Con!

Maxwell Alexander Drake
Author of The Genesis Of Oblivion Saga

This year? This year I threw myself even deeper into the writer thing. Comic-Con added some wonderful “How To” courses taught by the fantastic Maxwell A. Drake and I was there for every single one. A total of eight in all. I highly recommend you swing by his blog and check out the courses and handout material. He has some great stuff to share! When Tameri Etherton showed up, she had me sitting in the front row like a good little student. If it wasn’t for her I might have tried to blend in with the walls near the back. LOL.

The Fabulous Tameri and Me!

Don’t worry, I got plenty of series premiers in on Wednesday evening (see previous post), plus a few scattered panels here and there to satisfy. Such as… The 10 year Anniversary: Firefly! (AWESOME) and Game of Thrones (George is a real character – that’s all I’m saying). I was falling asleep at the beginning of The Big Bang Theory and got sent back to the room (Thanks darling!). One lucky attendee won an actual trip into space! Sheldon was there via satellite. And my husband tells me The Walking Dead panel was rather boring as they weren’t allowed to talk about anything!

What else did I do, you ask? Hmm. Here is a sampling of the panels I chose:

Paranormal Love Potion was disappointing in that all the authors talked about was why they like to write about love and not how they incorporate the paranormal and love together in their stories. Hmm. I jumped over to…

The Epic Fantasy War panel. What a thrill! This hosted Patrick Rothfuss (KingKiller Chronicles), Christopher Paolini (The inheritance Cycle), and Brandon Sanderson (Allow of Law), among others. The panel was really too large for them to get through the questions in the time allowed and Raymond E. Feist (A crown Imperiled) liked to hijack the questions. Too funny! It failed to ever cover the topic titled. Oops.

What’s Hot in Young Adult Fiction was singing to a packed room. Was everyone there to see Nathan Bransford like Tameri had hoped to catch up with? 😀 Fun panel. What did they say? They can’t tell you what will be hot tomorrow. Write what the muse inspires within you.

Panel on Self-Publishing

I sat through an interesting panel on self-publishing. I gotta say, a lot of the stuff I’ve been hearing and reading lately makes me reevaluate my stance.

Somehow I ended up in Star Trek Between the Cracks again this year. How did I let that happen? Interesting project, but just like last year, it felt like a large pitch asking for money. Um, yeah. But, hey! That’s where I saw Seth Green. For those of you who have seen the picture on my Facebook page, I was not stalking the guy. He just happened to be there! I swear! Just like I happened to be in line with Supernatural’s Crowely at the Marriott’s Starbucks. I was just too chicken to pull out my camera that time. It would have looked really tacky in that setting.

I mustn’t forget that I caught Elijah Wood, Bruce Boxleitner, and Tricia Helfer in Tron: Uprising. Completely unexpected. I lost my jacket in this room, too. So if anyone finds a Polo blue hoodie, please send it my way.

Panels, panels, panels. I do so love the panels. But the heart of what Comic-Con has become known for is the crazy on the convention floor. The insane booth setups and the wild costumes people wear. You can try your hand at the latest games still in development, catch peeks of your favorite shows on video loops, ogle and drool over hundreds of outstanding props and catch stars around every corner.

Total Recall Chick – Look closely!

On the run from Alice!
Earthworm Jim!

Check out more on my Pinterest board and on Tameri’s Pinterest board as well. You may also refer to her Comic-Con post for more cool information . 🙂

Comic-Con is all about celebrating the cool factor of the Geek. They even have a contest to celebrate how creative you can get – Are You a Geek Girl Trendsetter? Totally fun, it was really amazing to see what some of the women did. They made dresses out of vintage curtains or last year’s Comic-Con bags. Favorite characters and shows were represented. And this year’s winner was… The Millennium Falcon! – of course.

Ms. Millennium Falcon

What an amazing costume that was. I was actually familiar with the winner from last year when she came as Ms. Death Star. Check this out:

Have you ever been to Comic-Con? Is it something you’d consider participating in? Are there other conventions you get involved in?

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In addition to the authors already named, the following great authors were seen through  the various panels: Tessa Gratton (The Blood Journals), Andrea Cremer (The Nightsade series), Marjorie Liu (The Mortal Bones), Shawntelle Madison (Coveted), Aprilynne Pike (Wings Series) and Kelly Armstrong (Thirteen),  Stephanie Perkins (Lola and the Boy Next Door), Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone), James Dashner (The Maze Runner series), Kami Garcia (co-author of Beautiful Creatures), Tahereh Mafi (Unravel me), Melina Marchetta (Froi of the Exiles), Lish McBride (Hold Me Closer, Necromancer), Myra McEntire (Hourglass trilogy), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies), Mark O’Bannon (Dream Crystal), E.C. “Feo Amante” McMullen Jr. (Perpetual Bullet), Jimmy Diggs (Freelance writer for Star Trek DS9 and Voyager), Marc Scott Zicree (Space Command, Star Trek TNG and DS9, Babylon 5, Sliders, The Twilight Zone Companion), Robin Hobb (City of Dragons), N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy), Rachel Hartman (Seraphina), Heather Brewer (The legacy of Tril), Lynn Flewelling (Casket of Souls) and Betsy Mitchell (legendary editor)

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Thanks for stopping by! This concludes the 2012 Comic-Con recap.

~oOo~

Remember: Send in your picture of your favorite vacation location Tell me what you are recommending for our readers and if you’d like, tell me why you are recommending it. If you posted something about your choice, send me the link. Send your picture to: Debra Kristi @ gmail . com (without the spaces).

~oOo~

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32 thoughts on “The 2012 Comic-Con Thrill Ride”

  1. EllieAnnEllieAnn

    ahhhhhh this looks like SO much awesome fun. I want to be there with you next time. =) Thanks for sharing the experience!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      You’re welcome, Ellie! Hope you are able to make it in the future!

  2. Jennette Marie PowellJennette Marie Powell

    Wow, it sounds like a great time! If I ever am planning to be in the area when CC is going on, I just might have to buy a ticket and brave the crowds. Thanks for a fun overview!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      You’re welcome, Jennette. It really is something. If you ever think you’ll be out this way in July, plan ahead. It gets crazy! If you like your games, it’s a great place to test out the up and coming!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Next year! Next year! I want to see you there next year! 😀

  3. jansenschmidtjansenschmidt

    Well, this is soooo NOT my thing but it looks like you had a blast! And there’s some big ole names you’re tossing out there.

    I’m a member of RWA so I hope you’ll find that group helpful and get to at least one of their National conventions. Lots of wonderful people and great information about writing, marketing yourself, self-publishing, etc. I’m leaving for their annual convention next week. It’s in Anaheim this year so I don’t have to go very far away from home.

    Thanks for sharing your pictures.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      I’ll be at the RWA conference next week. I need to figure out what I am going to wear. It’s not as casual as Comic-Con. Look for me!

      • jansenschmidtjansenschmidt

        Great! We’ll have to hook up.

        Of course, I may not be able to afford it next year. I’m getting almost a free ride this year as I’m driving down with a friend who is letting me share her suite for nothing. Sweet deal for me!

        Patricia

  4. Amber WestAmber West

    You made it to the Firefly panel?!?! That is so awesome!

    I’m with Karen – NEXT YEAR. Let’s do this. 🙂

    (PS – Is it weird that I LOVE that you have a photo of someone dressed as Earthworm Jim?)

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      NO! I had to grab that shot for the hubby since he worked on the windows version of the game way back in the day. I totally geeked out when I saw him on the floor. Tameri probably thought I was crazy! LOL. OMG! Nathan was so great in the Firefly panel. He kept making gestures and faces to the things Whedon was saying. It was hilarious! And Whedon said that had the show not been cancelled things might have ended differently – i.e. certain characters wouldn’t have died. Alan threw his arms up in the air with a resounding “YES!” The crowd cheered. If you miss the main panel, they replay the most popular ones in the evening so you get a second chance to see most of it without any handouts and trailers shown. BUT – if you’re willing to stand in line for the actual for several hours some of the stars (for some of the panels) will sometimes visit those waiting in line. 🙂 Misha Collins from Supernatural did. I heard there were a few others as well. Sorry for the long response. 😀

      • Amber WestAmber West

        No apologies necessary. I actually posted the panel (found it on Youtube) on my post yesterday. I also loved that Joss mentioned how Nathan let some guest star have it for treating the ladies on the show badly. (I so want to know who it was!)

        I know someone who ran into Joss multiple times and had nice chats with him – and I know he visited the people who camped out in line at like 2 30 in the morning. Gotta love people who love their fans!

        • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

          That’s right! Joss was one of the ones running around there at an ungodly hour of the morning. And I would love to know who that guest star was as well. Of course, professional courtesy will have their lips zipped.

          • Amber WestAmber West

            I totally respect that they didn’t call the guy out – but yeah, I am curious. 🙂

  5. EmmaEmma

    Great pic of yourself and Tameri. My buddy visited the Comic-Con a couple of weeks ago in London and didn’t think it was great so she’s determined to head across the pond next year for the real deal.
    Am so jealous you got to see Seth Green!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      I’ve only ever been to the San Diego Comic-Con. My husband attends the New York one for work and he tells me it’s not near as big. The original is the best! Plus there is something so cool about it having the Gaslamp district right there. So much spills over into the surrounding clubs and restaurants.

      BTW – Congratulations on your upcoming novel! I’m trying to post on your blog, but running into issues with the page freezing. I’m sure it’s on my end. I’ll keep trying. 🙂

      • EmmaEmma

        San Diego sounds like an amazing place to visit.
        Thanks, Debra. I’m not sure about posting issues, but at the moment when I click on my blog it does take about 10 seconds before the page settles. I’m not sure what’s causing it but I’ll have to figure it out as it’s driving me mad!

  6. susielindaususielindau

    This looks like a blast and you two probably had a little fun too… 🙂 Love the gorgeous photo!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      We managed to wander into the Gaslamp district for some drinks and appetizers. We also hit the hotel restaurant for a yummy dinner and more drinks. I didn’t think to bring my suit for the pool like Tameri. But then I’m used to my hubby and the go-go-go we always do when we’re down there. I’ll make sure to throw it in the suitcase next time jic.

  7. August McLaughlinAugust McLaughlin

    Such an adorable photo of you and Tameri. The other photos make the con look like Hollywood Blvd on steroids! LOL I’ve never attended Comic-Con, but I love the thriller and crime fests. It’s tough to beat being surrounded by like-minded people. Those costumes must make it even more fun. 🙂

  8. Lynn KelleyLynn Kelley

    Sounds like you and hubby had an awesome time. And how wonderful that you got to hang out with Tameri! I’ve never gone to Comic-Con. I think I’d be a bit out of my element, but I’d go just to check it out. Hey, I saw something in the paper about how they were showing the first 8 minutes or so of the new Twilight movie to the Comic-Con attendees. Did you get to see it?

  9. Reetta RaitanenReetta Raitanen

    Thanks for sharing your awesome con experience, Debra. How cool that you got to meet Tameri and be there in person in the Firefly and Game of Thrones panels. So many big fantasy names attended. I want to join the fun some day.

    Have a blast in the RWA conference. There will be lots of WANAs there, including the WANA Mama herself if I recall right 😀

  10. http://royalcitymel.blogspot.ca/http://royalcitymel.blogspot.ca/

    Wow! It sounds like fun. I’m going to try the ticket lottery for next year. I guess I’ll have to wait until this year’s attendees get their tickets, and then see what else they open up.

  11. jennifer tannerjennifer tanner

    Looks like you had a fabulous time. I’ve never been to Comic Con…the closest thing to Comic Con for me would be Halloween in the Castro. Great pics! 🙂

  12. Kristy K. James...Living, Loving, LaughingKristy K. James...Living, Loving, Laughing

    Ooh! I love Misha Collins! (and if they don’t bring him and Bobby BACK, I may stop watching Supernatural).

    Comic Con looks like so much fun! If I liked crowds better, I’d make more of an effort, so I guess I’ll just have to enjoy it via your blog (and Tameri’s).

    RWA? 🙁 There is nothing really local to me. A couple of times a year they meet within 45 minutes of where I live. The rest of the time it’s a REALLY long drive to get to the locations. I’ll have to make a better effort to find some sort of writer’s group closer to home.

    Yes, this is disjointed. I’m starting to see fluffy little sheep jumping over cute little fences in slow motion… 🙂

  13. mj monaghanmj monaghan

    Wow, Debra, those pictures are fantastic. Since I live in the area now, it was great to see a lot of CC on the local news. They had great coverage, but your insider pics and info is so much better. Glad you all had such a great time. MAYBE next year I’ll be able to attend some of it. Loved the pic of you and Tameri!

  14. Karen McFarlandKaren McFarland

    Sorry for taking so long to come by Debra. We had family here until today. It looks like you had a wonderful time last weekend. And what a lovely picture of you and Tameri. Thanks for sharing that. Hope you enjoy the conference this week. You’re a busy girl! 🙂

  15. Tameri EthertonTameri Etherton

    Your pictures are so awesome! Next year, I’m taking biggus cameraus. Little camera couldn’t handle Comic-Con. It was so much fun hanging out with you ~ and now we get to be roomies at RWA. The fun never stops!

    The front row is where it’s at, baby. Great recap of the weekend. You totally got around to see and do more than I did. I feel like I got to visit a whole new convention through your post.

  16. karensdifferentcornerskarensdifferentcorners

    I am sooo kicking myself for not going! sigh… next year. Your pictures are fabulous and I’m happy you had a great time!

  17. jbw0123jbw0123

    Where can I get a Ms. Millenium Falcon costume?

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      I am waiting for her to post the video on how she made that one. I’m pretty sure she will. She informed us it took two weeks to make. Those were full hour days. That’s what I call dedication!

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