SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON WRAPUP: DAY ONE

Comic-con is on! For those of you stuck at home, the Ace of Geeks is here to fill you in on what's been happening - be sure to check out our twitter account during the show for live updates, videos and photos. We'll also be providing wrap ups of each day here on the blog. Today, we've got Justin Rhodes and Megan Marie Fox with their thoughts on Day One.

Justin Rhodes & Megan Marie Fox

 

Slouched out of bed a bit before 8. That’s actually sleeping in for a cosplayer. After we slapped on some TNG tunics and light make-up we set off for the day. Many “Live long and prospers” from random strangers later and we were back inside the convention center.

I bid Megan adieu and trekked (pun intended) to my first panel of the day “Show Your Story, Don’t Tell It” with Maxwell Alexander Drake. The panel was a one-man show of writing advice, complete with power-point presentation, and it was good advice. How-to panels are not usually counted among the main draws of the convention, but this was an hour well spent. For aspiring creative types you should do at least one panel dedicated to improving your craft per con if not more.

Megan and I reunited to follow through on our plan of participating in as many convention adjacent activities as possible. There are so many events that take place outside of the convention center that are just as worthwhile as some of the things that happen inside of it. With that in mind, and knowing that Thursday would likely be the least crowded day for such misadventures, we made our way to the Nerdist Borderlands themed laser tag.

While waiting in line to sign our release forms,  we noted the scoreboard we could watch for the games currently in progress. In the 3 games we witnessed, the Hyperion Blue Team scored about triple the points of the Dahl Green Team. This lead to wild speculation:

A) The Blue Team consists of combat marines.

B) The Green Team consists of children.

C) The Blue Team is provided with insider information or equipment.

With our freshly procured Hyperion Blue Team guns and sweatbands, we were rushed into the combat zone. Smoke billowed about sporadically while we ducked and weaved our way around the landscape shooting like crazy. I managed 517 shots with 9 confirmed kills and 9 confirmed deaths. Megan faired better with some 400 odd shots, 14 kills, 14 deaths. It was exhilirating despite the fact that the net result of our efforts meant zero for the team. (God, work on your K/D ratio, n00bs. -Ed)

Next, we grabbed tickets for the Adult Swim Fun House & Meatward Dome Experience for later in the day. Sat for a spell as the weather here is a million degrees hotter than San Francisco, then ventured back to the convention center for another panel, “The Most Dangerous Women at Comic-Con.” For the second year in a row we listened to industry professionals discuss their favorite female characters in pop-culture, what makes a strong female character, and which strong female character they would want to be with during the inevitable zombie apocalypse. My favorite responses: Ripley and Buffy Summers.

We dove back into the sea of people to return to the Adult Swim Fun House. I can only describe it as hilariously disorienting. Megan took some GoPro footage of the whole ordeal which she will upload later. My words cannot do it justice. The Meatwad Dome had a similar feel though a much more sedentary activity. Imagine Disney’s “Soaring Over California” with a splash of an acid trip. The only problem we had with it was that our angle of viewing was askew due to the positioning of our seats.

My agenda called for one more panel so I planted myself in the appropriate room for “World Building & Storytelling” where professional Sci-fi authors regailed the crowd with their techniques. Some nuggets of wisdom were exchanged, though I felt the earlier panel much more effective for writing advice.

Our day ended with Thai food in the Hillcrest district (yes, still wearing our Star Trek uniforms,)  and finally a shower to wash off the stink of the undulating masses.  Unfortunately, the authentic con experience includes feeling absolutely rank after a 14 hour day of wading through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. If you find yourself here, remember to take a shower or two.


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