SDCC Adventures: Day 3 & Day 4 — Awkwardness & Enlightenment

What up, Chewie?

During my last blog, I mentioned on day 2 that I was running back and forth during the end of the day to make it into the panels that really were fun and totally worth it.   Well,  during that time, I saw a Twitter alert from one of my favorite YouTube celebs, Markiplier.  He was at Comic Con! Not only was he at Comic Con but he was signing comics for fans and taking pictures at the Red Giant Entertainment booth!

By the time I got this update though, the showroom floor was already closed.  I had probably walked right by that booth several times and just had no clue.  I was internally kicking myself.  Why didn’t I plan better and keep better tabs on social media? Why was I a bad millennial? Had I missed my chance?

I tweeted at him asking if he would be there all weekend.  Of course, I don’t get a response. One of millions of fans tweeting at you constantly? I wouldn’t reply either.  But I look up the booth number and location and told myself that I would meet him on the 3rd day.

However, I also had other people I wanted to try to meet.  Not the least of which was Stan Lee.  Yes, THAT Stan Lee.  The father of Marvel comics as we know them. The guy is like 92.  I wanted to meet him while I still could.  So I told myself that, since I knew for sure where the autograph line was this time, I would immediately go there and attempt to get his autograph first thing.

Dino Security: Sleeping on the job

Well, if there is one thing I’ve learned for certain.  I will never try these limited signings drawings ever again. I stood in line for nearly 3 hours just to be able to pull only 1 raffle ticket and then, if I wanted to try again (for the same person OR someone new) I had to go back to the complete end of the line and wait until everyone else had gone through before I get to try again.  I tried once and said f@#k it.  Everyone and their mom (literally) was in the stupid line.  I didn’t have a chance and I decided right then and there that it was a waste of my time.  Never again would I stand in line for a chance at a raffle ticket.  What a bunch of balls.  No, thank you.

So I remembered my original plan, I needed to meet Markiplier.  I wasn’t sure if he was going to be there, but darn it I was gonna try.  I had failed meeting the living legend, but maybe I could actually meet someone if all I had to do was stand in a line.  So I navigated to the Con floor and sought out the Red Giant Entertainment booth.  And there he f’ing was at the corner of one of the tables.  I had a fan girl moment, collected myself, and asked the nearest booth attendant where the line ended.

This is where if got tricky.  OF COURSE he’s super popular.  OF COURSE the line to meet him was capped, but it was only capped to a certain distance so every time people moved up, other people could get in.  I talked to the volunteer manning the line cap and was informed that if I just wander around the area, she would keep tabs and prioritize those who were talking around instead of just standing around like vultures.

So that is what I did.  I circled the Entertainment Earth booth about 1000 times just waiting to get my chance to stand in line to meet a YouTube star.  There was definitely a moment where I thought that I wouldn’t ever get in the line and that, like all my previous attempts at meeting famous people, this would also end in wasted time and disappointment.  Fortunately, after I had been circling the area for a good 20-30 minutes, I was finally allowed to stand in the line.  Success! Sorta!  It was probably at least another hour before I was finally at the booth and had my chance to meet him.

Let me just say that it was worth it.  Even if I didn’t get to say all that I wanted to.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m a socially awkward person.  I’ve actually gotten better in recent years, but I’m still really freaking awkward.  This was made worse by the fact that I truly admire Markiplier as a professional.  As I mentioned last blog, I really would like to do the type of thing he does: play video games on YouTube and entertain people.   I’ve also been watching his channel for a few years now and since his great “Draw My Life” episode, I’ve been really touched by how far he has come as a person.  It is amazing how humble he is and how much he cares about his fans, even at over 8 million subscribers.

I really wanted to mention all that, thank him for his works of charity and ask him for advice as someone just starting out.  But, of course, because I’m awkward (and, let’s be honest, starstruck), I only managed to get out some awkward comments about how I had been waiting for years to meet him (I meant literally since I started watching the channel, but I’m pretty sure he thought I meant time spent in line).  I also mentioned the GameGrumps and asked him to give them myself.  He denied knowing them. Haha!  Then we took some pictures together, so I have proof that I met him.  That’s cool, but I do wish I had said something a little more meaningful. He’s literally my age and so nice.  There was no reason to be so nervous and awkward… Maybe next year.

After I got over the Markiplier encounter, I wanted to try to hit up the Funko booth.  I really needed more Funko figures in my life, but my dreams were shattered by yet another arbitrary ticketing process. It just wasn’t in the cards for me, but I wasn’t done yet.

I roamed the floor and came across the booth for the awesome guys behind the webcomic Cyanide & Happiness. Needless to say, they were amazing, I bought two of their books, a plush and a “Doctor Whom” grammar Dalek print.  Because of this, I got a giant sketch done by two of the guys.  Since I didn’t have a preferred topic, they ended up drawing “two halves of the same character”.  What it ended up being was a hilarious drawing of a half dinosaur, half elephant with boobs and a vag.  It was quite the masterpiece (I hung it on my wall, as you’ll see below). Of course, they were pretty cool dudes so they signed my copy of the books as well.

But that’s not all! Since I was at Comic Con, I felt I had one last thing to do before I was truly fulfilled in my adventures.  I needed to buy a comic.  Not just any comic.  I wanted to buy a comic I knew nothing about.   I wanted to find an artist and comic creator who I had never heard of and give it a try. But I did have an idea that I wanted it to be about a badass woman.  Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to find a comic that caught my attention.  It was Valentine: Reloaded by Daniel Cooney.  The story was described to me as “a female assassin with a heart of gold struggles with her choices and career path.”  I was sold.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to read through it completely, but I’ll be sure to share the verdict when I’m finished.  I’m really looking forward to this one.   Daniel Cooney actually was at the booth when I purchased the comic.  He was super awesome and even drew me a sketch on the inside cover of the comic and signed it too!

With that done, I roamed the halls one last time, taking pictures of awesome costumes and checking out some of the game demos again, but a sense of completion came over me.   Here I was midday through Day 3 and I felt done, complete, content, finished.  I had done all that I wanted to do at Comic Con and I was ready to head back to my hotel and rest before I headed back to L.A.

I did experience the brief wave of guilt that I wasn’t staying as long as I possibly could, but I had scoped out everything I really wanted to see (apart from the impossible Hall H and autograph signings).  I wanted to leave Comic Con on a positive note and with a positive number in my bank account.  I had achieved Comic Con enlightenment.  So I left with peace of mind.

Fact: I achieved enlightenment when I climbed through Buddha’s nose hole in 2010.

I had a great night’s sleep in my hotel and left early the next morning to drive home before traffic got too bad.  I got home so early, that I was able to spend most of the day at the beach and even got a tan/burn.   I have no regrets.  I loved my time at Comic Con and I can’t wait to go back next year.   I’ve definitely learned that I will: a) take the train,  b) sign up to volunteer, c) try to get a hotel closer and d) never wait in line for Hall H or limited signing drawings.   I also really want to cosplay next year, something simple.  I have a full year to think about it.   I will definitely be returning July 21-24, 2016.  Until then, I’ll just enjoy the Comic Con additions to my geek shrine.

The Geek Shrine (top half)

-Gretchen

SDCC Adventures: Day 2 – Best day ever!!

Portal: Comic Con Edition .. and some dude’s head

As I said at the end of my Day 1 blog, just because I had a series of disappointments and mess ups didn’t mean I wasn’t determined to enjoy Comic Con completely.

Unlike Day 1, I decided to give up on any of the big panels and big celebrity autographs. I had become content with the knowledge that it just wasn’t going to happen for me and the best thing I could do was enjoy the other, numerous things that Comic Con had to offer.

So I took to the floor once again! Truly exploring all the booths and in a particularly Dragonball themed mood. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, not only is the Resurrection/Revival of F movie coming out but the new series, Dragonball Super, has really triggered my passion for the show.  So I dubbed this day the search for the dragon balls.  Of course Dragonball related items were not hard to find.  I ended up purchasing a scouter and a set of the dragon balls for … you know… nostalgia. I also got some of the exclusive Funko pop figures: Vegeta with shiny armor and Golden Freeza with the red eyes.  They were partially impulse buys, but since I already collect those types of figures and I love Dragonball, I figured I’d give myself a pass.

Dragonball wasn’t the only thing on my mind that day though. I also finally caved and bought one of Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half books.  I was somewhat recently introduced to her blog and I think she’s brilliant and absolutely hilarious.  I also heard she might be at Comic Con, so I also bought it just in case I were to make it into her panel (Spoiler: I didn’t).  I also got some cool geeky T-shirts, checked out Super Mario Maker, Street Fighter V and some of the other demos on the floor.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get close enough to play, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching others play.

After lunch, I decided I was going to try to get into the “All New, All Different Avengers” panel.  I wasn’t really sure that I would have a chance to get in, but I actually did make it in.  I got to see some of the authors and artists of these new comics talk about the upcoming “not-so-reboot” of the Marvel Universe. I think some really exciting things are coming our way very soon.  I, for one, am definitely going to jump on this Lady Thor bandwagon.  She sounds awesome and the next story arc sounds like it’s going to be a doozy.  I’m down.

Since I had made it into that room, I decided to stay where I was to see the next two panels. The first one after the Avenger’s panel was the “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate” panel featuring the director and the lead actors for the game.  The moderator was a British comedian who definitely kept it super funny.  To be honest, I’ve never really gotten into the Assassin’s Creed franchise before, but after seeing that panel and hearing them talk about the game and show clips from the game, I honestly want to play this game now.  Seems pretty badass.  Who knows.  Maybe I would actually love the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise if I just gave it more of a chance.  I certainly plan to do that now.

The final panel in that room was “How to get a job in video games.” In case it isn’t obvious from the eclectic topics I decide to blog about, I absolutely LOVE video games.  I want to be surrounded by them, I have applied and interviewed at different game companies and I just know that it’s something I want involved in my life.  I briefly had a not so successful live stream show and a YouTube channel that I would really like to get off the ground some day, hopefully, in the near future.  It’s my dream, even if it’s a long shot.

However, as I sat there and listened to the awesome people in the industry talk, I realized that maybe I didn’t want to take the marketing/advertising/production department route into video games.  Would I still take a job at a game company if offered?  Absolutely.  But at the same time, I felt like I wanted the freedom to enjoy games, review games and share my love for games with others.  It’s been done on the internet, maybe even over done. But, even if it’s just a hobby and I’m never successful beyond my mom watching, I want to try.  It really made me want to brush the dust off my YouTube and Twitch channels even more.  I definitely plan on launching them again in the next month, but I digress…

After that panel was over, I took off down the halls to the opposite side of the building where the Dragonball Z Resurrection of F panel was going to take place.  Though I haven’t watched the dub in a while, I still have respect for FUNimation and I know it is thanks to them that Dragonball was such a big part of my life.  Also, I’m just super excited about that new movie.  Believe it or not, I haven’t actually seen it illegally on the internet, so I’m looking forward to the domestic release when I can finally see what this blue-haired Goku and Vegeta is all about.  Also that new squiggly symbol on their outfits:  WTF is that about?

Sadly, I didn’t get the answer to that question. But I did enjoy the antics of Justin Cook, Chris Ayers, Chris Sabat and Sean Schemmel.  Together they speculated about Vegeta joining the Scooby Gang and enlightened us about their favorite Goku/Vegeta bro moments.  It was fantastic and definitely one of the best panels I had been in.  They also, unfortunately, announced that FUNimation isn’t working on Dragonball Super at this time.  That’s a bummer, but I feel like it’s probably inevitable at this point.  They have to bring it over, right? I certainly hope so.

Still on the Dragonball high, I ran (again) to the other side of the convention center and actually made it into the Rotten Tomatoes panel.  That panel, let me tell you, was super fun.  If you ever find yourself at Comic Con and that panel is available, please go! It’s so much fun.  It’s audience vs. the panel of critics.  It gets really rowdy and really passionate (because movie options make people emotional), but it was sooooooo much fun.  Right after the Rotten Tomatoes panel, was the Screen Junkies panel.  The first half was mainly about their Honest Trailers series: they showed an exclusive Comic Con honest trailer and the dude with the epic voice was there, using his epic voice.  The second half was about Movie Fights, but I won’t tell you about that one.   You can watch it on their channel here.  You can actually see the back of my head in one of the frames! It’s like I’m famous! haha

That’s where the most amazing day 2 ended.  Day 3 will be up soon!  Enjoy!

-Gretchen

SDCC Adventures: Day 1 – A Series of Unfortunate Events and Naiveté

Mistress Loki and her raptor minions

No, I didn’t get eaten by raptors tamed by Loki — just barely.

I really underestimated how tired I would be after SDCC.  I passed out almost immediately every night after getting back to my hotel.  Sorry.  I dropped the blogging ball. But, as promised, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights and mishaps from my travels.  I promise to make up for all the days of internet silence… by just overwhelming you with posts. (don’t kill me)

Day 1: I was super excited.  I got up, still tired from driving down the night before (and not getting much sleep.  Think: kid on Christmas eve) but I determined to make the most of my day.  I had a “plan” I was gonna get the Doctor’s autograph and then immediately get in line to see the Doctor Who panel happening several hours later.  Then I had a few smaller things in the afternoon I wanted to see, so I thought I’d plan to get to them two hours early or so and get in, if possible.

But, I’m awkward as hell and like the n00b I was, the mishaps began before I even left the hotel.  I don’t wear make up on a daily basis.  I’d rather sleep than but a bunch of stuff on my face that is going to make my break out.  But since it was Comic Con, I decided I would put my face on.  Ended up with way too much foundation that was lighter than my face, very thick eyeliner and some clumpy mascara.  Perfect.  Whatever — I was gonna rock it. (Even with the smug that got on my contact and caused me to be half blind all day. woo!)

I get in the shuttle, graciously provided by my hotel, along with others going to the con; among those going were Funko employees.  I’m a huge fan of Funko Pop Vinyl figures.  If you follow me on Instagram (Shameless plug:  gsqgretchen), you’ve seen them.  But of course, I wasn’t gonna be the weirdo who was like “OMG you guys work at Funko? That’s awesome.”  Instead I was the weirdo who said sandwiched in the middle of them and didn’t say a thing.  Real smooth.

Once the shuttle right was over I hopped out of the van and took off to pick up my badge. I follow the long line of people, have to fish out my registration and ID and show it to multiple people before I got my badge and lanyard.

Yeaaaaahhhhh!!

But the shenanigans and mishaps were not over.  Oh no.  Once I got all my booklets and my branded, super awkward bag I saw a long line of people and a sign above it that said “Autographs”.  There were also various tables surrounding that area that were clearly made to be autograph areas.   So I thought to myself, ‘this must be the line for the limited signings with the Doctor Who cast.’ So I got in line and was prepared to wait.

The sign is a lie.

About an hour and 1/2 later, I hear the people at the front of the line start to cheer.  Naturally, we’re going to get to meet the Doctor, right? Wrong.  The line was to get into the show room floor.  In any other circumstance, I would have been bright eyed and bushy tailed, just waiting to pounce on the nearest awesome booths and swag.  But no… I was supposed to be getting an autograph from the Doctor!! Why was this happening?

So here I am racing through the showroom trying to find an exit or just a way to get back to where I started.   Which is harder than it seems, because 1.) the place is huge and 2.) not every door is an exit and the security at Comic Con strictly enforces those entrance and exit policies.

Once I finally made it back up there, I went to the autograph information booth, where I should have gone in the first place, and asked where to go.  I was on the wrong side of the building!  So I was pointed towards ballroom 20, looking for someone with a sign that said which line I was supposed to be in.  Well, because of some confusion from being screamed at “THIS WAY BALLROOM 20 LIMITED SIGNINGS” by line keepers… I ended up in the Ballroom 20 line and not the limited signings line.  When I finally figured that out, I tried to retrace my steps and finally found the right line. I thought I might still have a chance.  By the time I got back to the autograph area (which actually was the area where the original line had been) all the Doctor Who raffle tickets were gone and the line was far too long for me to get into Hall H (where the most popular things are).

Something in my mind at that point said, ‘F@#k it.  I’m just going to have fun.’  So I took to wandering the show room floor, looking at booths, taking pictures and actually enjoying myself

. 

It’s morphin’ time!

And I really did.  Just taking to the floor and exploring was one of the best things I could have done.  I had way more fun than just waiting in line. I even met Walter Jones, the original black Power Ranger!  I geeked out quite a bit over that.  I was shaking I was so excited to meet him.  Talk about a throw back Thursday!

I did manage to make it into my smaller panels too.  I ended up accidentally being in a Thunderbirds Are Go panel, knowing nothing about what it was all about.  But the episode they showed from the new series was extremely interesting and I hope they bring it to the states.  It’s a British CGI animate/miniature model series based on a live action series that aired back in the 60s.  If you haven’t heard of it, I suggest you at least check out the new series of it.  I’m not sure where they’ll go with it, but it seemed pretty cool.

Afterwards, was the Geek and Sundry trivia game. That was super fun and some of the questions were crazy difficult.  I know Felicia Day was going to be in that panel, but she turned out not to be.  It was a little bit of a disappointment, but the content of the panel still made it worth seeing.

I was also lucky enough to get into the FUNimation panel and the Nerdist panels. They were more informative than anything but they definitely wrapped up a whirlwind first day at comic con.  I was tired, cranky and couldn’t see out of one eye but dammit I was at Comic-Con and I was gonna have fun.

https://instagram.com/p/48AMZ5i1Zo/?taken-by=gsqgretchen

As the day came to a close, I got back on the the shuttle, went back to the hotel and passed out so hard.  I had decided on the way back, that I was definitely going to have a better plan for the next day.  I wasn’t going to be getting in the wrong line, I wasn’t going to miss out on fun. I was going to make the most of it….

I’ll post Day 2 shortly! Until next time.

-Gretchen

SDCC Adventures: Next time I’m taking the train!

Creepy as F@#k

I made it!

After a grueling 3 hour drive, I’m finally settled into my hotel.  I’ve never been to San Diego before and I’ve certainly never driven here from Los Angeles.  I found out there is a train that takes almost the same amount of time to get here.  Even if it takes longer, it might be worth it.  I can sleep and relax on my way here instead of driving through hellish traffic and road construction.

I’m exhausted, but optimistic for tomorrow.  I really hope I can meet Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman and make it into Hall H.  These things might be an impossible dream, but I’m going to do my best to make them a reality.  Though I didn’t get a hotel through the Comic-Con lottery, I am lucky enough to be staying at a hotel that offers their own shuttle service to and from the convention center.  I’m all registered to leave at 7:30am and come back at 10:30pm everyday… except Sunday cause I’ll be driving and parking that day. (Already got my parking reserved.  Yay!)  I also get free breakfast.  Where Comic-Con is involved, I’ll be spending quite a bit of money so anything free is awesome to me.

I can’t wait to update you guys and share pictures I take at the con.  I brought my transfer cable so I would be sure to upload images on the blog.  Tomorrow is going to be so much fun and probably tiresome.  I’ll probably spend 80% of my day in a line of some sort, but it must be worth it because so many people go every year and enjoy all it has to offer.  I’m looking at it as an epic experience.  I may not get to see everything, but I will make the most of what I can do.

I’ve got to sleep now or I will miss my free breakfast and shuttle in the morning!  Until tomorrow!

-Gretchen

Travel Tuesday: SDCC Edition

It’s really happening!!

Well, this is it. I’m all packed and ready to go to San Diego Comic-Con International! I’m so excited I’m freaking out and almost in tears.   I don’t actually leave until tomorrow, but I’ve been packing today so I can leave quickly after work. I was fortunate enough to get tickets for Thursday through Sunday.

I’ve been to cons before, but never anything like this.   I’ve been trying to plan out my entire experience there, so I know when to stand in line and when I can roam freely. It’s quite the task.   I have to choose between Doctor Who and Sherlock, The Nerdist panels and Screen Junkies, autographs and exclusive goods – It’s exhausting and difficult!

At the end of the day, I want to make the most of SDCC and enjoy myself. I’m going alone, so I won’t have to worry about getting separated from anyone. Also, I’m not cosplaying this year so I can take it all in and learn the ropes before I commit to being in character or doing something crazy.

My goal is to blog about my experiences every day and I certainly plan to include photos. Hopefully, I won’t be too wiped out to blog and con. I fully expect to be exhausted by the time Sunday rolls around.

Stay tuned!

-Gretchen