I just realized that I've been so behind on posting my San Diego Comic-Con report. Alas, as you have read, my laptop broke in San Diego so I don't have any pictures to share. Still, if you can get through the text, some cool stuff happened! If the laptop is fixed soon, I'll post those pictures as soon as I can. You can hear about my trip on the recent
episode 150 of Comic News Insider. Also, I didn't include the Pushing Daisies stuff since it was such a huge part of the trip, I figured I'd do it separately. There's also a special Pushing Daisies episode of Comic News Insider being released on Saturday. Meanwhile, enjoy!
Wednesday: I take a leisure train ride down to San Diego from LA. Upon arrival, I immediately feel the Con madness. Sweet! Off to the Marriot hotel to drop stuff off and then meet Cass for a late lunch. During lunch I meet Michael Uslan through Cass. Yep. SDCC has started. I head to the con to pick up my badge and find a way to get through pretty quickly. I start at A and do a walk through. See friends and meet new folks. Shocked at the amount of people who didnt try to pitch me or sell me on staff as my badge clearly said "Press". (Rant on that later). I hook up with some friends for drinks and debauchery. For some reason, I started drinking a lot really fast and got kinda hammered. I run into Tony Lee at the Hyatt at 1 or 2am and realize I already lost the fashion contest. Realizing my inebriation, I bounce off without telling folks and literally crash onto the rollaway bed around 2 or 3am.
Thursday: Hungover like a mofo, I sleep in quite late. I get out around 12 to meet Cass for lunch. Not feeling well at all. Run into Layman and Baron at lunch. I head back to the hotel to chill before heading over to the EW Visionaries panel with Cassaday, Jim Lee, Kirkman, Fraction, Morrison, Doran and Mignola. Interesting panel and pretty funny. Naturally, Cass got asked the Planetary #27 question but was able to joke his way out of it. After, it was time for the big Podcasting panel at 5pm. Thanks to Lin Workman for the underwear. The panel went very well and we had over 100 people show up! You can hear it through Comic Geek Speak and various other sites. Fred Van Lente was a great moderator. Panelists included myself, Peter and Bryan from Comic Geek Speak, Charlito and Mr. Phil from Indie Spinner Rack, Josh and Connor from iFanboy, and Bob and John from Comic Book Page. Post panel, Josh and Kat (Utopiates/Titanium Rain) ask me to pose for some shots cuz they want to put me in their comic! Sweet! I walk around with Unemployed Skeletor, Snake Eyes and Priscilla dressed as Delirium. Needless to say, we were stopped every few feet for pictures. They think it was for them, but we all know it was for me. I walk the con a bit more and then head back to the hotel to chill. Grab some eats and then off to the IDW party with Cass and Jenny Robb. Hang with Tony Lee a bit and Jenny introduces me to Judd Winick and we chat for quite awhile. It was hot and crazy, so we bounced out after and went off to the Hyatt for more drinkage. Wee hours again.
Friday: Another late start. I run over to the con after 12 as I was promised an interview with Attack of the Show host Kevin Perreira. Thanks to G4 publicist, Kristina, for hooking that up. Kevin was awesome and really funny. I walk around a bit more and try to set up some interviews. I run into Tony Lee and we decide to do a nice lengthy interview as well. I run over to the Joss Whedon panel and try to get in with my press pass. They tell me to go to the back of the line. I explain how I got in last year this way and they didn't care. RANT! I decide to skip panels after that as I'm pretty pissed off. Apparently, the Press pass doesn't mean shit. Later I chatted with a TV Guide reporter who was even more pissed than I and she made a good point. More people listen to Comic News Insider, read her publication and other press than read Johnny's blog. I decide to hit the floor a bit more and then call the Pushing Daisies publicist, Rayna, about when/where to meet Bryan Fuller for our interview. At 4:30, I go to the Warner Bros. booth. A giant 2 story monster with a replica of the famed water tower. Rayna brings me up and puts me in the lounge with Bryan. 2 leather couches and a bartender! More on that interview in the Pushing Daisies post. After a tech snafu gets fixed, Rayna introduces me to another publicist who hooks me up with both Josh Schwartz (Chuck) and Josh Friedman (Sarah Connor Chronicles) for some quickie interviews. I head out for a disco nap at the hotel and then dinner with some of the west coast Browncoat crew. Off to meet Cass and we go to the DC party. Loni Peristere joins us as well. We head off and somehow get into the Maxim party. NAME DROPPING POWERS ACTIVATE!!! I immediately see Sam Jackson, JJ Abrams, Damon Lindeloff, Masi Oka, Zachary Quintos, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Stacey Keibler and more. Stacey Keibler came and talked to us and squeezed my hand for a minute. I havent washed it since. Finally, I see a star I know. Frank Miller. We chat with him for a minute. And then we ran into some hookers who didnt realize we were making fun of them. Seriously. One said she worked for H&R Block. Go ahead, I made the joke too. H&R Cock. More Hyatt action. Thanks to Jah Furry for hooking me up with all of that swag late in the night.
Saturday: I get up in time for lunch with Pope. He had gotten in late the night before. I pass Seth Green in the lobby who always looks angry. We head over to the con as Pope has a signing for his Kid Robot toy. Which is awesome if you haven't gotten it. I run around a bit and meet up with Kristina from G4 who gets me into the AOTS panel. Crazy shenanigans happen. I was hoping to chat with Olivia Munn but I have to bounce out to the Pushing Daisies press conference. Rayna, the publicist, got me in and sat me at a table. I had never done one of these so didn't know how it worked. Somehow, I had a table to myself and sat down with Swoosie Kurtz! Uh oh. Battery alert. And I left the batteries in another bag. I panic and run out to ask people in line. After 5 minutes of panicked begging, a security guard gives me 2 AA batteries from his mag light! Back in and I get Field Cate, Ellen Green and Kristin Chenoweth. Off to the green room and then the Pushing Daisies panel. More on all of that in the Pushing Daisies and special on Comic News Insider! I head back to chill and off to dinner with friends. It's a no go on getting into the EW party with Cass and Joss, but at least they tried. The EW rep, Nisha, is all kinds of cool and did her best to get me in too, but powers that be said "no". We go back to the Hard Rock hotel where they were staying and witness the "Wrath of Con" party going on at the floor below. Boobies!!! There were girls in short pants and no top with just tape in the shape of an "X" over their nipples. They saw us looking at them and waved and one started shaking 'em. Free show! I stop back at the hotel to get my flask. I witness Jim Steranko, Steve Rude and Neal Adams chatting. My head almost exploded! Meet Pope at the Top of the Hyatt for drinks and finally Cass downstairs later. Yes, much late drinking was had. Hit a party in Jim Lee's room and on my way back to my hotel...FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA!! Love that guy. He, his wife and I chat for a bit and then it's off to bed for me.
Sunday: Meet Jenny for lunch and pass Ron Perlman walking a little dog in the lobby. Hellboy shouldn't have no little dog! If you're in San Diego, go to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant outside of the Marriot Marina Hotel. Off to the con and I immediately run into Jay from The Lost Podcast with Jay & Jack. We decide to do a quickie recap of the Lost panel with him, Colleen (His girl and Metrobuzz podcast host) and Cliff (Friend and director of their vidcasts). I run and find Howard Shum of Gun Fu fame and we do a quickie interview as well. Next, it's Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man) and yep...again with the tech difficulties. Apologies to Shannon and thanks for his patience. We'll get him for a phoner. Had told Christian Gossett of The Red Star comics we'd chat, but it was too late, so again..a phoner in the future. Kevin Conn and I do a recap about his work as Unemployed Skeletor with SpikeTV. P.S.: Keanu's a dick.The Con ends and Cass and I do our post-con decompression with a drink at the bar. Then dinner at the Strip Club. Not that type of strip club! It's a steak house where you cook your own steaks. Awesome sides.Truffle mac and cheese!!! Off to the Dead Dog party where a great tribute to the late Dave Stevens was going on. Many a drink, Thomas Jane, and other friends around. Pedicab it to the Hyatt and we argue with the pedicab guy who tries to charge us $15 per person!!! We don't pay it. Drinking with Heidi MacDonald (The Beat) and Ben McCool, Grant Morrison, etc. Finally see Charlito and Peter after barely seeing any of them all weekend. Had run into Pants, Murd, Jamie D., (CGS) and Phil (ISR) and others on the floor randomly. Another late night party in a room and finally...back to the Marriot. Apparently, I missed a big fight downstairs. 1 hour of sleep and off to the airport.
I know this was more of a decompressed version of my trip. Usually, I'm much more funny and descriptive. With the laptop drama and stuff, it just wasn't in me. Hope you enjoyed though!
