The Nerds Are Back in Town
by Ruth West
It’s finally here! San Diego Comic-Con 2014. Months of planning does not truly prepare you for what’s in store at the convention until you walk through those doors and behold the thousands of people around you, all dressed in elaborate costume. Since this is my first year at Comic Con, I spent most of my day trying to learn the ropes. I knew there was going to be 100,000+ people this weekend, but I wasn’t prepared for the massive amount of attendees I was navigating through all day. I was also not prepared for how large the convention center actually is. The ground floor is transformed into a huge bazaar of various exhibitors, all selling or promoting different things from T.V. shows to movies, collectibles, and new comics. You can even get a 3D printed action figure of yourself! I ended up spending a couple hours alone in the Exhibitor Hall just browsing the many booths and looking at all the merchandise.
Before driving down to San Diego on Wednesday night, I put together an agenda for each day, including details about each event I wanted to go to, such as location, time, and level of popularity. Some events/cast panels are much more popular than others, and it is often wise to line up 2-3 hours before your desired event. The good thing about Comic Con is that they never kick you out of a room when an event is over. A common strategy of attendees is to secure a seat in a room a couple events before, and simply wait. The downside to this is that squatters can take away a seat from someone who truly wants to be at an earlier panel.
My own agenda for the day was to make it into the 24: Live Another Day panel with Kiefer Sutherland and Jon Cassar. I’ve been watching 24 religiously since Season 2, and I could not pass up the chance to see “Jack Bauer” in person. The panel was held in Ballroom 20, which is one of the more popular, so I knew I had to get there early in order to have a chance of getting in, and I wasn’t wrong. After arriving at the convention center at 6:45 A.M., I found the line to get inside wrapped around the building and went down the street. And this wasn’t even the line to get into Ballroom 20! When they opened the convention center around 8 A.M., I raced inside to try and get a good spot in line for the panel. There were still about 500 people ahead of me at this point, but some long-time attenders assured me we would get in and they were right! I ended up in the fourth row from the front on the left, with a perfect view of the stage. The panel was amazing to be at, and I learned some very interesting facts about the making of Live Another Day, as well as the previous seasons. There was also a Q & A time at the end, with some hilarious questions from the audience. One of my favorite moments from the Q & A was when a fan asked Kiefer, “Who is more bad-a**, you or your dad (Donald Sutherland)?” to which Kiefer replied, “I could kick his a**.”
To close out my first day at Comic Con I attended the Sharknado 2 cast panel and a Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog sing-along, hosted by California Browncoats. There was a costume contest for Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, and Penny, as well as Best in Show, all of which was concluded by watching and singing along to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It was an excellent day, and I am certainly excited to share more about what I’ve seen at Comic Con. Enjoy the photos below of some interesting and exciting sights at the convention.
Outside the convention center:
Backdrop of Gotham City and a zip-line:
24: Live Another Day cast panel with Kiefer Sutherland and director Jon Cassar:
Get a picture and autograph with Lou Ferrigno, but don’t make him angry:
More autograph signings, but with Lee Meriwether!
And finally, a little bit of horribleness:
