Comic-Con Nerd Overload - Part 2

Ballroom 20, originally uploaded by kardinalsin.

I still haven't uploaded the entirety of the photoset, but that doesn't mean I have any less story to tell. Oh yes, the Con drama continues.

Sunday, I woke up bright and early with the intention of getting in line to help out my compatriots who had not yet been registered. I waited for an extra half hour for the trolley (in which time I could have walked to the convention center) and made my way up through the Sails Pavilion and towards the line for ballroom 20. Why Ballroom 20? That's where the Heroes panel was taking place later during the day.

Little did we expect an enormous line to be in place before we got there.

Little did we expect an enormous line for the exhibit hall as well.

So I stood in line for the exhibit hall, in which I was determined to pick up a few things before heading to the ballroom itself. An hour and change later, the line started to move steadily and quickly once the doors opened. We got in and walked around in the semi-filled hall for a bit before realizing that all the things I had wanted were already sold out. It was then I decided to make a try for the Ballroom.

Standing in line again, I heard the beginnings of the Bionic Woman panel. Lucky for me, I was able to join Grace, Amy, and John on the inside shortly. We saw the first 30 minutes of the pilot, which was fairly intense. Michelle Ryan, who now plays the modern Jaime Summers plays the role with such innocence and vigor, it reminded me of Jennifer Garner's as Sydney Bristow on Alias. In my opinion, it's some high praise, but the show really excels when Katee Sackhoff shows up as the original Bionic Woman. The show itself shows great promise, with some good action sequences and decent effects, but it has a lot of cheesiness to escape before it can prove itself as a hit drama.

Following the Q & A session, the ballroom emptied a tiny bit and made way for the TV Guide Hot List panel for the fall season. Truthfully, it was a tad boring, and the most exciting part was listening to Tim Kring and Masi Oka talk about the new season of Heroes. You could tell that there was a palpable Heroes fervor in the air by the audience reaction to their presence, so why not just recap the Heroes panel.

The highlight of the early afternoon was definitely seeing the entire cast of Heroes at the panel. Everyone from Adrian Pasdar to Hayden Panattiere was there to "thank" the fans for making the show such a big hit. They were humble and awed by the fan response, but made it a great point to show their appreciation. Most of them joked and expressed their great fortune for working with some of the best people in television, some of them even wore some hilarious t-shirts. The highlight might have been Greg Grunberg giving his t-shirt out to his biggest fan in the audience, but the real highlight was the clip they premiered for the new season of the show. I can't go over it all, but it looks just as exciting as the first season.

We shot out to the convention floor for a short stint in which I picked up a couple of toys and some new Copic markers. The girls then decided to head home after a good four hours of convention madness and Alvin and I decided to try and make into Hall H for the Marvel Studios panel.

The line was enormous.

However, we did have a good chance of making it in. The studio heads showed up in the beginning and joining them were the stars of the Incredible Hulk, Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. There was a brief shot of the Hulk's new look, a promise for a new beginning, and a proclamation by Ed Norton that he had written the screenplay. Undoubtedly this was most interesting.

Immediately following this panel, was the second highlight of the day, the cast and clip of Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious. Gwyneth Paltrow is phenomenal. Terence Howard is enthusiastic. None of them could match the raw excitement and hype of Jon Favreau. For the high action and comedy element of a Summer film, Mr. Favreau is an excellent choice. Anyone who has seen Elf knows he can direct a funny movie, but the high marks for Zathura were somewhat unexpected. He's accomplished, dedicated to the material, and incredibly pumped to see the movie released as a dedication to the original source material. After a brief introduction and exposition, they unveiled the first footage of the Iron Man film, and it was awesome. The bits of Tony Stark they showed were reminiscent of Michael Keaton's portrayal of Bruce Wayne. The effects shots were gorgeous. My favorite had to have been their application of practical effects versus computer generated imagery. Everyone in the crowd loved every second of footage they showed so much, they played it twice.

More excited than ever, we breached the convention floor for the last time. I made my way to the Flight Comics and Ms. Clio Chiang who drew an excellent sketch for me. I didn't get to chat much with most of the artists as their booth was swamped, but I still love going by and showing my support for what they've been doing.

With that, Alvin and I were off. We finished our night off in Old Town and crashed for the weekend. It was a truly excellent trip, and reminded me why I'm such a fan. Seeing as the final three days of the convention sold out, it would be a great idea to register well in advance for next year. Until then, I would have to say it was the best convention I've been to yet.