There are all kinds of good reasons to go to Comic-Con: the freebies, the previews of upcoming projects, the chance to meet your favorite author or illustrator, the opportunity to attend professional or informational panels, chances for interviews, autographs, and networking. And then there’s the other reason: the spectacle.
I spent a lot of time at the Suvudu “booth,” that gray area between the Del Rey booths and the Crown booth*. But on occasion I extricated myself from those tight confines to wander the floor and take in the sights and sounds, which were both bright and loud, respectively.
In fact, that’s kinda the problem. Just walking around you are pounded with so much sensory intake that overload can occur within just a few paces. The sounds begin to blur and bend, forming one loud off-color chorus of explosions, booth music, half-yelled schmoozing, and jangling, rattling costumes. The closer you get to the bigger event areas (the movies, games, and special theme places), the more difficult it can be to separate what you’re trying to listen to from what you’re trying to ignore.
The sights suffer from a different problem: the crowd. It’s hard to admit that Comic-Con needs more space than the several-city-blocks long and wide San Diego Convention Center, but walking the Con is an exercise in moving with and against the mob. So you end up flowing past displays without necessarily noticing them.
Still, despite all this, Comic-Con is a helluva lot of fun to attend in person. It almost demands that you attend in person, but because not everyone is able to hop on a plane and jet off to San Diego (though you should at least try it once, you won’t be disappointed, even if it isn’t for Comic-Con), I took it upon myself to attempt to capture a few of these sights for you.
It wasn’t easy.
Some of these pictures I’m quite pleased with, others I’m not as pleased with, but considering I was in the middle of the crowd at almost all times, I’m not that displeased with any of them. Some of the more interesting displays, in my eyes anyway, were the Lego creations (especially the Star Wars items, which you’ll see below) and, of course, the replica items scattered throughout the Con floor. I wish I could have captured everything there, but I couldn’t; it’s too big a task to even attempt. Instead, I captured what follows. I hope you enjoy the show.
Oh, and if you have pictures of your own in a Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, or other photo site that you’d like to share, why don’t you tell us about them in the comments section?
The Toys of Comic-Con: Legos
I had my biggest geek-out moment at the Legos play and display area. I loved legos as a child and I’ve always enjoyed seeing the intricate things that others can build with them. It doesn’t matter if it’s just assembling a kit or creating an original piece on your own (though the latter is usually more impressive), I just dig these blocky representations of real world(ish) things.
This year, there was a heavy emphasis on Star Wars Lego creations, but as you’ll see, there were plenty of other snap-together statues standing around. So what was on display in Legoland? Check it out below:
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The Replicas of Comic-Con
Perhaps the most photographed and easy to find items are the Replicas. Well, the big ones anyway, from full-sized mech suits or Transformers (hiya Bumblebee), seemingly ready-to-roll Batcycles, to scaled-down Voltrons and life-sized cartoon statues, there are all manner of replica items on display all over the floor at Comic-Con. Unfortunately, my catalog here isn’t a complete catalog of all the replicas to be found, but it’ll give you a good idea of what types of items you might see.
*A situation that gave me a working appreciate for what China Miéville was driving at with the spaces overlapping Beszel and Ul Qoma in The City & The City. And if you aren’t sure what I just said, then you really should discover his latest book, it’s noir-scifi/fantasy fun.
