Comic Con Day 2: Learning The Ropes

For me, Comic Con Thursday was all about Miss Alison Haislip, star of (well, special correspondent to) G4's hit tech program Attack Of The Show. She's just adorable, always seems to be on the verge of a giggle fit, and was really, really nice in person. She is now easily my second-favorite TV personality.

But before I even realized this dream, Thursday came and with it, the true beginning of Comic Con 2009.

Wednesday's preview night was fun and eye-opening, but when the real Con got underway, this newbie had a thing or two still to learn.

First off, I had pretty well mastered the public transportation thing, so I my mind was just that much more able to take in my surroundings. And as it was the day before, the costumed wonderment began right at the Qualcomm Stadium terminal. First, the coolest Robin Hood ever was on my trolley, although looking a bit out of place in the midst of the modern surroundings:

But once we were on the train, my geek radar (my geekdar?) started going off, so I snapped this photo of a fellow Con-goer:


...who looks really engrossed in his grab bag of goodies. I still don't know who that is on his t-shirt, but it looks like some actress from the 50s or something. Post an answer if you have one, please...it's bugging the heck out of me.

The excitement mounted as we got closer to the convention center, and I was happy to take advantage of my super famous writer (aka "press") pass to be able to just walk right in and avoid some of the lines for the inferior... er... regular... badge-holders. Although, just inside the doors, I ran into this sign:


...which cracks me up because they actually have to inspect the weapons brought in as part of the costumes to make sure they're not going to impale or blow up anyone. The thing is, people actually bring in weapons that could be dangerous, at least in my estimation, but it's almost like the security guards just go, "Yeah, but they're nerds -- they're not going to hurt anybody -- they're not very strong and they can't really run away. Just let them in..."

Some costumes have weapons of a different kind, as I saw when I first walked into the main hall:


...and again when I found my way over to the G4 booth and saw their walking advertisement for the new International Sexy Ladies Show (which is such an unbelievably simple and genius idea, it makes me wonder why it took this long to hit the airwaves):

...and yet again when I wandered upstairs to see what was happening around the meeting rooms:


It struck me somewhere around this point that Comic Con is like an extended Halloween, in that it's really fun for little kids but it's also an excuse for hot chicks to wear as little as possible. It's not entirely their fault, since the costumes are totally spot-on and most of them are portraying something popular to at least a fringe group of nerds. I guess it's just that in the world of comics, video games, anime, and the fantasy world, girls are rarely wearing anything more than what comes out of your dryer's lint trap.

At least Alison Haislip was dressed normally, albeit getting makeup applied by a hired professional:



...but it was probably good for the health of her fans, since there were about 9,000 of them there for her autograph session. The scheduled time for said session was 1 pm to 2:30 pm, but when I got there at 12:30 pm, the line had already been closed for about a half an hour. And another lesson of the Con was learned that day: never underestimate the popularity of anything. There seems to be a "line instinct" at the Con, basically saying that if you see a line, you should just jump in it before it gets filled up.

To my great surprise, relief and excitement, Miss Haislip was so gracious as to hang around during the downtime before they filmed her segment for the network's Comic Con Preview special and sign a few more photos for the fans. She was really sweet and talked with the small group that gathered, took pictures with us, and generally made everyone's day. It seems like doing these conventions would be so hectic and crazy for anyone of even the most seemingly insignificant amout of fame, so when a celebrity goes out of his or her way to interact with the fans, especially when it's really not expected or required, it's a real treat. Plus, she signed my photo thusly: "Dan, yay Comic Con! -Alison Haislip." It seems obvious that she's quite taken with me and my aforementioned super famous reputation, and is probably just too shy to say anything. It's OK, Alison, it happens to all the young ladies around me. It's not really something I can control; it's like a gift. You're welcome. And I'm sorry.

Since Thursday is the unofficial official beginning of Comic Con, it's also a great day to see the cool costumes. What would a nerd convention be without its fair share of Star Wars representation, from your classic storm trooper:


...to your Princess Leia (this version atypical in that she's wearing more than just a bronze bikini):


...and pretty much everything in between.

The costumes come in all varieties, from unexpected (and freaking amazing!) pairings:


...to the clever play-on-words (Master Chef is a take on the Halo video game character Master Chief, if you're out of this particular loop):



...to the classic genius:


...to the "let's do crunches for 10 months so we can pull of these costumes next year" (which might be the coolest I've seen yet):


Some guys didn't even have to move and they still drew a crowd. This guy stood in this exact pose for the entire day...and all of Wednesday night as well. I don't even think he blinked. It was crazy...almost like looking through one of those wax museums, only there were people here. Spooky.

...and of course there are always the imitators. At least this guy pulled it off like a champ, even if he was soaking wet in a mixture of sweat and some kind of red, juicy liquid:


That's always a risk you take when you dress up for the Con: repeating somebody else's costume. There were a lot of Wolverines walking around, which is understandable given the success of the movie, and quite a few incarnations of Rorschach, the ink-blot-for-a-face hero from Watchmen. For the girls, if they weren't just dressed like a slutty cat, I saw a lot of Harley Quinn costumes (the Joker's piebald sidekick in the comics):

...as well as a lot of some anime girl with blue hair and cat ears that I still can't properly identify, and quite a few of the Silk Spectre, also from Watchmen. There's always an advantage to dressing up as a couple, because it allows for more creativity that going solo, as evidenced by this sexy take on the G.I. Joe bad guys:



Really though, the unique costumes were the ones that made the best impressions, especially if they're done all the way. It's easy to buy some store-bought rag for $40 on eBay, but the costumes that are the most fun to see are typically the ones that took a long time to make and can't be found anywhere else. It doesn't hurt to dig up a classic, recognizable, but not overplayed character and do it up right:

...and it doesn't hurt to get your picture taken with a guy from the Street Fighter games either.

All told, Thursday at the Con was a whirlwind tour of all things entertainment, and my head is still spinning. And basically all I did was walk the floor looking at people and grabbing swag...oh, and picking up a birthday gift for my little sister. What do you buy somebody who got her doctorate (in physical therapy) at age 23 and has a handful of career options that all pretty much end in gobs of money? Well, without ruining the surprise, a person can never have too many superhero t-shirts in the closet...

At the end of the day, I plodded my way through the foot traffic to the trolley station to catch the train back to Qualcomm, and as if to bring the day full-circle, who shows up but our buddy Robin Hood:


That's Comic Con in a nutshell: no matter what crazy things you see, what outrageous costumes people wear, or how many autographs you get, it's still just a big group of happy nerds having the time of their lives.

And I guess I can't get away from it anymore: I am definitely one of them.