Friday, July 19, 2013

Comic-Con 2013: Friday Wrap-Up

Friday was a very interesting day for me because I participated in several Comic-Con events that I usually don't have time to do. I started off the day pretty leisurely, showing up at a Star Trek Catan tournament at 9:30am to play at 10 o'clock. Now, I was rather nervous going in, worried that all of my opponents would be very familiar with that adaptation of Settlers of Catan, while I had only watched the TableTop video and read a few reviews. I was happy to have a sheet detailing the role cards, a special addition to the game (which I love, surprisingly!), as I referred to it often. Game play itself was very slow for my table, due to a resource shortage. We finished easily half an hour after one table, though probably ten minutes quicker than another. For a long time, I had no idea if I'd be able to win, and when things finally started to work in my favor, they started to work in everyone's favor. I was probably two turns from winning when the player to my left earned his tenth victory point. I was a little sad, of course, as the final game would be played against Wil Wheaton, and the prize package for the winner was quite extensive. However, I was also glad that I'd be able to head over to the convention before 4pm, so it worked out. One last note about the game: it was the first time I had ever seen every single development card be purchased!

Jonathan came to watch the end of my game, and so after I grabbed my swag for competing, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the events at Petco Park. We walked around Nerd HQ for about fifteen minutes, then hit the parking lot events, with the hope to see the Falling Skies area. The line for that one ended up being pretty long, especially for what it allegedly featured, but we were able to see a few other attractions, including a bunch of cars painted to have strong superhero themes.

We then split up so we could hit some individual interests, and I headed to the room that would host the 4:30pm panel for Falling Skies, even though it was only a little after 2. I was shocked that I was able to walk right into the room, and wound up sitting through a discussion of Assassin's Creed IV. Although I wasn't able to follow everything, I did find the preview video to be quite spectacular. I do have some notes on this panel (and all of the panels), but that'll have to be for another day.

The next panel in that room before Falling Skies was Marvel's Cup o' Joe, which is more or less a recap of what's coming up for Marvel, then a lengthy Q&A where the panel answered dozens of fan questions. I was shocked at how detailed some of the inquiries were, and then how well the panelists were able to respond! When it was over, Falling Skies began, with Wil Wheaton moderating. It's always amusing when Noah Wyle is brought out first, as the crowd then feels required to cheer as loudly for the rest of the talent. I took copious notes for this one, but let me just get out a few basics now: first, we didn't see anything super-special, as although my jaw dropped at a scene presented, it will be shown on Sunday night, so we have no super-insider information about the series. Second, there was a twitter raffle going on during the panel, but I guess I didn't win, given that I received no replies. But, all attendees did get tickets for the fulfillment room, which allowed us to get a Falling Skies poster tube with two show posters. Better than last year's bracelet, but not as cool as the 2011 hoodie.

The room then switched to movies for the 25th anniversary of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which was absolutely packed with tidbits that I ate alive. As I was pretty young when it came out (and I wasn't allowed to watch it when we first got the VHS because of the language), I had never really researched that particular film, so I was elated to learn so much about the challenges and successes it had. Once again, more later.

I ducked into a panel on body image in entertainment, but it was pretty boring (not a scholarly approach or anything), so I left after fifteen minutes to meet up with Jonathan and head over to the Marriott. We stopped in the Hospitality Suite for a few minutes, as we had never done that and I was curious as to what complimentary snacks would be on-hand. Turns out, it's chips, dip, salsa, and M&Ms. From there, we stopped by the fulfillment room before heading over to the Geek and Sundry party, as I had gotten a wristband during the morning competition. The party was nothing spectacular, the DJ was average, the bartenders weren't the nicest, and the roped-off area didn't contain anyone we recognized. So, after an hour, we left, opting to take the shuttle bus back to the hotel and spare 15 minutes or so on out feet.

Now, it's off to bed because it's late and you only ever have to get up earlier at Comic-Con!
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