The Wanderlust Librarian | And there shall be Comic-Con

Another ComicCon year has passed and I was able to fulfill a fantastic dream and go to this magical place with my daughter, Scout! This year was a little different than previous years. First off, there was no Doctor Who panel (ludicrous given the fact that the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi, was to make his debut a scant few weeks AFTER the Con). Secondly, we were making the trip by car. 

By. Car. 

Keep in mind that the only way I had traveled to San Diego was in an airplane. Last year, I did this as a bucket list item upon arrival. 

The drive was long and full of traffic. And traffic. And some weird car issues that I'd rather forget (like those stupid hotel nachos). On the bright side, Scout and I had a proper road trip, enjoyed an overnight with friends in Los Angeles and listened to a ton of David Sedaris thanks to OverDrive and the library's audiobook collection! We took some time to stop and have some fun to and from San Diego. 

Drinks are the best reason to stop! 

Someone needed to get their energy out. 

I don't want to cheapen my experience at ComicCon by telling you that it was fun. It was more than fun. It was simply... amazing. 

The picture doesn't really show just how close she is! 

No, Michael Rooker... YOU rock!

We spent a lot of time going to panels at Zachary Levi's Nerd HQ. It's at Petco Park. It's free for anybody to go and enjoy. There are tons of free video games, picture opportunities and lovely views of the Padre's ballpark. I spent many happy hours off my feet in a stadium chair enjoying the breeze. One of Scout's big deals was being able to attend the Walking Dead panel there. For the bargain basement price of $22, she sat withing feet of the cast as fans asked questions about the show. It was worth it to not sleep outdoors for the panel at ComicCon the next day. The questions were asked in an intimate setting as opposed to a 3500+ seat auditorium. During a free panel at Nerd HQ, Scout was able to get Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon-Walking Dead) to pose for her. For $20, you can get a picture with one of the parade of stars coming to do panels at NerdHQ. Scout got her picture taken with Zac Levi !

Yeah. She went crazy before and after
this picture was taken. 

There were a lot of free things to do if you weren't able to snag a ticket to get into the ComicCon proper. Outside of Petco Park, the parking lot was taken over by many booths and MORE free stuff! Out of the many booths behind the stadium, I really enjoyed a couple. Every Simpsons Ever advertised the showing of every Simpsons episode and gave out free blue (Marge hair) cotton candy and donut pillows. There was a Hello Kitty Experience which allowed you to take a picture with the iconic Sanrio character and get free nail art! All of this was free!!!

It wouldn't be ComicCon without the costumes. Cosplay (as defined by the Oxford dictionary) is: the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and and anime. Many people also dressed up as their favorite television characters. 

 I love this Up cosplay. Kevin is a girl! 

People get darn creative!
I love this DeadMaus/Nyan Cat mashup!

         

Stars from the show, "Heroes of Cosplay"

Movies, television and video games are heavily promoted at ComicCon. From booths to bags, posters to pins, there was never a lack of free items for one to snag. I met and discovered a lot of amazing artists at ComicCon. They had booths in an area called Artists Alley. Some of my favorites are: 
Katie Cook, Patrick Ballesteros, Karen Hallion, and Pascal Campion

I have a friend who is an expert (to me) on comic book art. He took me around to every booth and we looked at every bit of art. My friend talked to a lot of the artists and I appreciated the work they did and how iconic they were in the comic book stratosphere. It was one of the best walking days I've had. I learned a lot about comic book history and appreciated the talent that was at the show. 

Mockingjay had a huge presence at ComicCon.
Scout rebels against the Capitol! 

ComicCon is the perfect place to advertise
new games....and pose with them! 

Selfies in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace! Our hotel had a free photo booth to advertise
the show Ascension. As  you can tell, we took full advantage of it. 

Security was a large presence in the hotel entrance and lobby. The entrants had to go up to the 4th floor pool entrance (our floor!!) to get to the party so it was easy to loiter around and sneak a peek before the celebrities went into the fete.

Scout and Matt Bennett

Saturday night was a huge night for Scout and the other kids in our room. It was the night of the Entertainment Weekly party. With good eyes and polite asking, Scout got a hug from Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead (Daryl Dixon), a dark (not visible at all) pic with Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Matt Bennett (Robby Shapiro) from VicTorious. Scout wants to add, "If you want to take a picture with a celebrity, make sure to call them by their REAL name and not the character they portrayed. 

This didn't mean that I didn't see anybody noteworthy! I had my share of elbow rubbing. I had to be quick on my feet and ready to ask at a minute's notice. I was starstruck by the passing by of Orlando Bloom, so my friend took a quick picture. 

Andy Serkus (voice of Golem) and
Orlando Bloom walking around.

This year was made extra special by having Scout with me. It was truly a dream come true for me and an amazing experience for her. Should you do it if it's your dream?

Yes. 

Like I said, even if you don't have a ticket to go into the convention center, there is SO much to do in and around ComicCon. 

Until next time, SCIENCE! (and a picture of me with Grant Inahara).

I ran out of line just to take picture with Grant Inahara from
Mythbusters!! 

The ride home made us sad.

Books On Film (Special Edition) | SDCC for Book Readers

Everyone knows that San Diego Comic Con draws in comic book publishers, artists, and fans. Did you know that San Diego Comic Con also draws in general book publishers, authors, and fans, too?

There is a whole section on the exhibit floor that is full of nothing but book publishers. Big and small publishers are there with books for sale at a discount, advanced copies of upcoming titles, and book signings with authors.

One might think that publishers might only bring science fiction or fantasy titles to Comic Con, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. There are displays for children's books, teen fantasy, adult urban fiction, and much more. The titles span every fiction genre and there books for readers of all ages.

Publishers also host panels to showcase upcoming titles. Panelist, including authors, do book talks and answer questions about their titles. Aspiring writers also have the opportunity to attend panels about writing and publishing lead by authors and industry experts.

Of course, since book to movie/tv adaptations are all the rage there are plenty of book derived things to see, too. To start, all the halls at the convention were decorated with giant banner's from the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series!

While at the convention, I attended a panel for the television adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome, walked through a set & costume display for the movie adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, the cast of the movie adaptation of James Dashner's The Maze Runner were present for a panel, and I passed by a huge decorated booth giving out t-shirts and posters for the movie adaptation of Veronica Roth's Divergent---just to name a few things.

 

And, of course, no one can't forget the costumes! There were plenty of Harry Potter and Game of Throne characters, of course, but I also ran into at least one Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and these Warm Bodies cosplayers.

All in all, San Diego Comic Con is a fun time for comic book fans, anime lovers, gamers, tv and movie watchers, and readers!

All photos taken by me at San Diego Comic Con International 2013.