Tag Archives: SDCC

San Diego’s Comic-Con International – Through the Lens

Here’s a quick glimpse of some photos taken while walking around before preview night.

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TNT’s Legends has an eye-catching wrap on the Marriott beside the Convention Center, easily seen from a variety of vantage points the face becomes clearer as you move from one side to the other.  Yeah, they got me, I’ll be tuning in next month!

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Gotham City was still being built — but from what I saw, it has a very impressive skyline!

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With more buildings yet to come!

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ABC’s Resurrection and Once Upon A Time both have HUGE banners on the side of Petco Park.  Walking across the bridge from the Hilton Bayfront to the Petco Interactive Zone (the parking lot for Petco) you begin to realize the Resurrection banner has a side panel to it.

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I don’t know what impressed me more, the covered bridge the folks from FOX’s Sleepy Hollow built, or the water beside it, which I am 99% sure is a chalk drawing, and yet you can’t see the paint for the parking spots under the drawing!  Yes, I want to pay a visit to the Village of Sleepy Hollow before the weekend is out.

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Norton by Symantec and the X-Men are offering a chance to help us take control of our future… and next to them is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Not far away are Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, and a cosplay make-up booth sponsored by Courtyard by Marriott.

1-DSC01514 1-DSC01457Ah, the Blacklist!  Tin Fish has been themed up this year, and with quotes like that, how could I not be amused?  Especially when, as always, the food is tasty, and convenient?  (Yes, that’s the convention center you see in the background.)

SD CCI – No shortage of things to do

When it comes to the 2014 Comic-Con International in San Diego there is, simply put, no shortage of things to do.  Thousands of possibilities compete for an attendees attention over the course of 4.5 fun packed days.  And the days are packed, from early in the mornings until late at night, and for those who do not need sleep, opportunities can be found around the clock.

I for one do need sleep, and can honestly say I will not be reporting on the 2 am lines, or middle of the night movies, but in past years I have heard fantastic stories of fans camping out for a beloved show and being surprised by a promotion team stopping by to give them a back pack with a logo for a show they happened to be in to, that was stuffed full of survival rations – granola bars, bottles of waters, everything a die hard fan needs to get through the wee hours until he lines starts moving and the exhibit hall and main panel rooms re-open.

A short run down of things I found during preview night:

BBC America greenscreens fans into a photo of the clones from Orphan Black!  Yes, you could be Cosima, and Rachel, and Allison, and Sara, and Helena — all at once, side by side.

Orphan Black - to cover even half of Comic-Con, I need to be Cloned!

Orphan Black – to cover even half of Comic-Con, I need to be Cloned!

Marvel greenscreens fans into the prisoner line up from Guardians of the Galaxy.  (Looked to be the same one I mentioned from Capital City Comic Con — and yes, I still think that is a highlight and a stop that should be on the list of any fan of the Comic/Movie.)

Starz has a Castle where you can draw an Outlander prize (shot glass, bandanna, t-shirt, tote bag — from what I saw everyone wins!), and equally interesting, and fun, step inside the castle and take a look around at life from centuries ago.

ABC has a large building as well where you can go in and watch a trailer, and while the line was long enough I did not get a chance to go through tonight, my understanding is you draw a pin from a box at the end, and if you get a complete set of the pins, you could win a chance to go through an autograph line with stars from the cast of 1 of 3 shows.  (Once Upon A Time and Resurrection were mentioned.)

Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas - VintageBooks.com

vintagebooks.com

Veronica Mars and Outlander fans will want to go looking for the book publishers!  Random House had some nice Outlander Posters for the Starz show, as well as copies of the novel that started it all, tonight, and across the way I found this clever little promo item for Veronica Mars.

And over at the Marvel booth, Lola from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was on display on the main stage… though Lola will only be posing for photos through Friday evening.

Lola - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Lola – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Getting in the mood

The 45th annual Comic-Con in San Diego, Comic-Con International, is about to begin, and as you walk through the convention center lobbies and hallways you can hear the low roar of conversation as strangers become friends in line, as friends get one another even more excited about this annual five day marathon event of fandom, and as parents share their love of creativity,  imagination and the popular arts with their children.

The exhibit hall doors have not yet opened,  yet thousands of people are in lines, patiently waiting for their time among the vendors.  For some these few hours during preview night will be their only time spent in halls A through G.  Not for lack of interesting booths and vendors, in past years I’ve rarely gone more than 30 feet without wanting  to stop and see/discover more.

No, for most, the problem is the vast array of interesting panels that will begin Thursday morning and run well into the evening.  Tonight is, for many, their one chance to explore the exhibit hall without worrying about how soon they need to change focus and go line up for a panel.

Additionally,  as I explored the blocks around the convention center this morning I saw Gotham being built, heard God zillion roar at noon at Godzillacon, saw a Homer Simpson exhibit going up — and then I ventured beyond the area between the Hilton Bayfront hotel and the Convention Center.

The PetCo Park parking lot had a Sleepy Hollow covered bridge being built, with an awesome looking water way beside it.  (From the pedestrian bridge between PetCo Park and the Hilton Bayfront you can get a great birds eye view.)  PetCo Park is also where  Hello Kitty, Angry Bird, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,  Adult Swim, Amazon Lockers and a variety of others will have booths, activities and “experiences” set up.

In short, finding things to do before preview night was simple!  As always San Diego’s Comic-Con International seems to always have something waiting around the corner — even people starting the long weekend off with foam chainsaws and warnings about sharks for Sharknado 2.

 

 

San Diego Comic Con International Quick Start 2014

Comic Con Quick Start 2014 [58:11m]: Download

John Mayo, of ComicBookPage, and Kay Kellam, of PopArtsPlace, give some useful advice to get your Comic-Con international experience off to a quick start.

 

Links:
Comic-Con International: http://www.comic-con.org/cci
Discount Comic Book Service: http://www.DCBService.com
Comics Podcast Network: http://www.comicspodcast.com
League of Comic Book Podcasts: http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league/

Email us at TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com

Join the discussion on our forum at: http://forum.comicbookpage.com

This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page feed and website: http://www.ComicBookPage.com