Thothblog

Technically the San Diego comic con begins its annual festivities on Wednesday night.  However, for a solid majority of those at the con, the real day of fun is Thursday.  This is when the magical nerd gathering takes place and all of us crazy convention goers beam with the hope and enthusiasm of a fun filled con.  Of course by Sunday this has all gone away but no reason to jump into that yet.  Thursday is the day of gathering…information of course.  Even the little inkling in the back of your brain reminding you of hours that will dwindle by as you are confined to line after line does nothing to quell the pure excitement of the comic con atmosphere.  For the Thursday morning con goer, the promise of schwag, promos, and exclusive memorability are drive enough to get us through the day.

As Thursday’s go, this year had two very interesting highlights.  First, the volunteer aspect of my badge and entrance needs.  Having missed the 4 day pass, I instead opted to go to the con entirely for free by volunteering for a 3 hour shift during the day.  What an amazing decision.  I had to work the end of the day (4:00 - 7) and armed with my intense self and a hefty dose of huzpah I embarked on a 3 hour journey that was easily worth the reward I received (free pass into the con).  I began my shift by standing around for 30 minutes.  First by a planter, then by some ropes and ultimately back by the planter.  This I got to walk in another line and go through a second checkin process.  By now I had already begun my clever ways seeing as how I had wanted to see the dexter panel from 5-6 pm.  I few kind words at the first checkin desk got my assignment for the next day posted before my shift (guess the checkout doesn’t have to go through the system).  Then a few more flattering words to a young blonde in check in 2 (an attractive young woman who i think was just happy not to have another guy avoiding eye contact because he was unable to form a cohesive sentence) scored my the coveted Ballroom 20 position.  Of note, there were 7 of us in a group of 80+ who got to work ballroom 20.  Interestingly, that is where the Dexter panel was.  Beaming with energy, us hearty 7 made our way towards ballroom 20 with the distinct pleasure of!!!!!  guarding locked doors next to lines.  This would not do at all.  After about 10 minutes I wrangled my way back to the hall with the doe eyed fawn look and the willingness to be the head coordinator’s lackey.  Lackeys have great privileges, not the least of which is getting to watch the panel in question while the staff talk crap about other staff members.  Remember folks, ALWAYS know your place.

The other notable piece of Thursday was the Twilight panel.  This is not to say that I would go or be caught there, however the notable fact is that this brough a ton of various people out into the light of day.  Tons and tons of 12 - 30 year old women who are in love with the head vampire.  Oddly, this demographic (the 18+ at least) did wonders for the attractive women rate at the con.  Previous years have relegated the “hot girls” to models working booths or the occasional girlfried that was tricked into coming to the con.  (Of note, you will never see the girlfriend a second time as this would imply dating continued after the previous con outing.)  This year the aggregate rate rose dramatically and higher rates are expected all 4 days.

So what did we do??  Besides volunteering, I scored some wicked new sketches (will pic and upload tomorrow), purchased some quality books, both comic and trade, and cultivated some excellent Sunday purchasing relationships.  Sadly nothing new to the WTWTA book yet, but I have a couple prospects to add to the book in the next couple days.

Also had a chance to listen to Geoff Johns speak about some various projects current and coming up, so I do have a few spoilers for everyone.  After blackest night, there will be a Flash Blackest Night which will include some of the dead rogues.  Johns will be working on Adventure Comics at some point and a Superman secret origin.  One of the big pieces was a questions asked that resolved around Johns taking over Batman.  Sounds like that could happen next April, but with John’s amazingly poor lying ability, should be a shoe in.  He chatted about the Flash movie briefly and the Green Lantern movie,  He also referenced two books that helped him:  The Writers Journey and Shot by Shot are in his list of great books, so check them out.  No word on a white or rainbow lantern, but apparently the codename for this project was care bare lanterns, so it sounds like some jokes have been made.  John’s will also be doing some work on Justice League (again, crappy liar) in the coming future.

Finally, I did get to see the premier for the Green Lantern cartoon.  Looks amazing, spectacular and advances the story quickly through the movie.  A defininite purchase by any fan.

Well everyone, I am calling it a day.  Have a great night and check back tomorrow for more info!