Much to my surprise, when I started investigating the Comicon website, I learned that there are tons of things to do. They bring in movie and TV stars, authors, illustrators, comic book geniuses, pop culture gurus, etc. They also have ordinary street people, aka "The Fans", organize panels on their favorite subjects.
The list of panels long long LONG! I can't remember how many someone said they had, but it was, I believe the official term is, "A BUTTLOAD." There were like 15 or so every hour for four days. How do you choose? Luckily, there weren't a ton that I thought the kids would sit through ("luckily" or "sadly"?), so that made it easier. First I picked all the ones I really really wanted to go to. Then I picked the ones I thought the kids would love. There was a lot of overlap, and I'm not sure if that speaks more about me or the kids.
Anyway, I was really excited about the panels before we got there. Most of them were huge letdowns. Part of the problem for me was that... ok .... I need presenters to be smarter than I am. That's not a huge order. Really. Maybe I just went to the wrong panels? Anyway, for my own memories, here are our panels and a few thoughts.
Adam Rex
I admit that we know very little about Adam Rex , (and if you click the link of the heading, you'll see that "LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT ADAM REX", so I am not alone!) other than that he did a magnificent job illustrating Neil Gaiman's "Chu Day", which we completely love. I had added his panel to my list, because... well, Neil. I was pretty surprised to find him sitting at a booth, with no "handler". He had some of his books out, and was drawing pictures in exchange for a VERY VERY small donation to the Red Cross. Seriously, how could you pass that up? Sadly, we kind of did. The kids couldn't decide, so A asked for a Chu, which of course is adorable and cute, and Z said he didn't want anything. And I didn't think to ask for one. We planned to return, but never made it. So we have one original Adam Rex drawing of Chu.
The man himself- he was very nice. Apparently, he lives in Tucson. Who knew? A really wanted to go back and ask him about being a writer and illustrator, because that is on her growing list of things she wants to be when she grows up. Since he's local, hopefully he'll be around some other time. I've checked out his Twitter feed, and not only is he talented, but he's also clever. The two don't always go hand-in-hand. We did not make it to his panel, logistics were a nightmare.
Terry Brooks
Oh my god, Terry Brooks! I didn't get to see him. I didn't think I'd get to. But he was there, and that was cool in and of itself. He started me on this path many many years ago with The Sword of Shannara books.
John Barrowman
Captain Jack Harkness, Face of Boh (sorry, spoilers!)... we didn't do any panels or photo ops, but did see him walking with a very lovely LV messenger bag, so ... yeah, he wins. Hubba hubba.
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| John Barrowman, Dalek, Empty Child |
Others
Wil Wheaton, who was in my hotel. Didn't get to see him, would have loved to have posed with him and some twine. And this happened, uhm, I believe the correct response in fangirl is: SQUEE!
The girl who played Kaylee on Firefly
Some Walking Dead people
Some True Blood people
Avengers Assemble
This was the first one we went to, and it was a little awful. A little great, too. The cosplayers from Arizona Avengers (who we ended up seeing a LOT of) were in character, taking questions from the audience. The first problem, I think, was that no one had any questions. The second problem was the guy who seemed to be moderating the panel - he was playing Tony Stark, not Iron Man. He was a little obnoxious, but not in the funny clever way Robert Downey, Jr. portrays him. Just obnoxious. Eventually, people started asking questions. Ada asked a question, or rather, she had a comment. She wanted to tell Bruce Banner that she knew how he got his Hulk powers. Unfortunately, between her articulation problem and the acoustics in the room, he thought she wanted to know how he got his powers. She lost it a little. It was very sad. Then Zane asked something about "the real Iron Man", who was standing off to the side. "The Real Iron Man" came down the aisle and gave Zane a hug, and I wish I had a better angle and more warning, because it was one of the cutest things in the world. Ada was still sad, so we wrapped it up and headed down to the exhibitor's hall.
Pre-Con/Coz Whostraviganza!!!!
I had my hope pinned on the Doctor Who crowd, which was led by AZ T.A.R.D.I.S. And this panel has four (FOUR!!!!) exclamation points, so it had to be great, right?) For the most part, they did not disappoint. This was their first panel, and they made a point of saying they were very inclusive, they didn't discriminate, they welcomed everyone. But... I did find them a little cliquey. Anyway, the panel itself wasn't all that interesting, more just information about the group, which I already knew, and about the activities for the weekend, most of which I already knew. The guy leading it was good, and truthfully, I discovered that a good moderator really makes a difference. I knew of him from the group Facebook page - he does a mean 10th Doctor. The kids got a little bored, and they were tired, so we didn't stay for the whole thing.
Doctor Who in Pop Culture
The moderator was great. I wish he had done the panel solo. It had great potential. I think my expectations are way too high. It's great that fans pull this off. They put a lot of work into it. But... I wish they were all performer-grade. I need my panelists to be smarter than me. Not asking a lot. Yeah, I'm a snot. I've been told that.
Magic Wand Making
This was a fun one for the kids. But since it involved hot glue, I had to do most of the work. It took place in the big Kid's Need to Read art room, so we didn't get out of there for a few hours.
How to Be a Mermaid
Surprisingly (not) this was a huge hit. The girl running it was carried out in full mermaid regalia (tail), and the kids were hooked. I think Z lost interest a little bit, but A was enthralled. Both of them want tails. And so do I.
Learn to Dance The Thriller
Z was the most excited about this one when I told them it was a zombie dance. They have never seen the video, or probably even heard the music. God, my kids are sheltered! Anyway, the group running it does a flash mob and was recruiting. A and I did the whole lesson, and signed up for more lessons when they get closer to flash mob time. Z wasn't into it after about 10 minutes.
I have to say that it was awesomely cool to see about 100 people in all modes of costumes dance to Thriller. The best ones were right in front of us - Batman and Robin. So cool.
I enjoyed that one a lot.
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| Batman and Robin dance Thriller |
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| A and Z kind of dance Thriller |
Justice League Training Camp
AZ Justice League put up things the kids could do. They bent steel with Superman, broke through a wall with Wonder Woman, shot Baterangs with Batman and Robin, and a few other things. It was really cute and cool. The people in this group are awesome, very good with the kids. The only thing I wish they could have done (impossible given the crowd) was go a little slower for photos.
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| Bending steel with Superman |
Avengers Obstacle Course
Much the same as the Justice League, except the kids had to choose only one area. That kind of sucked. Z cheated and did his, then went behind A and did part of her area. Oy. But again, the people in this group are amazing, and as I've mentioned, Z has a little boy crush on Captain America.
Party Like a Time Lord!
This was the Doctor Who TARDIS party. We got there an hour after it started, and actually had to stand in line around the building to wait to get in! Very popular. Mostly it was just a dance party, but they had a Doctor Who and Companion costume contest that was kind of fun. There were a few really good costumes, but truthfully, the best costumes I saw were elsewhere. The kids and I danced a little, talked to a few kids and their parents, mingled. It was a party, and I kind of really hate parties, so we didn't stay long. It was the only party we went to, although I had wanted to hit Geek Prom - obviously that wasn't possible with the kids in tow. Oh well, another time.
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| The only picture of the TARDIS tutu. Not a great picture, AT ALL, but it's what I've got. Somehow I ended up wearing the Harry Potter glasses. Lovely. |
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| Hermione and the TARDIS |
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| Z and I while A danced |
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| Z and A dancing |
Kid's Fashion Show
We almost didn't make it to this, and that would have been so sad. It was one of my favorite events. Only about 20-25 kids showed up, so there was plenty of time for each kid to walk the runway (not that mine took that opportunity), and they were so stinkin' adorable.
Part 4, The People
Part 5, Reflections - in the works
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