LA Comic Con 2016 - Day 2

LA Comic Con 2016 - Day 2

Saturday, October 29, 2016

I left my house later than I originally planned because I woke up late due to staying up late the night before.  Why was I up so late?   Because I was planning for Saturday.  I still arrived at about 10:00 a.m., though.  

The first thing on my agenda was to get my autograph from Cary Elwes.  The night before, I had gone to the autograph sales/redemption booth to ask what I was supposed to do today.  They told me to just bring my scannable document to the celebrity's autograph booth.  They had told me which booth number to go to, but I forgot.  I couldn't find his name anywhere, either.  I checked the app (yes, I finally downloaded it last night), and looked for table #14.  Why couldn't I find it?  I saw a long line, but that was for Adam West (!).  I saw another long line, but it was for Kevin Conroy. Batman abounds here, folks, which is why I was wearing my Batman v. Superman shirt and my bat hairclip.  Anyway, I found table #13 and table #15 (Julie Newmar), and, through my awesome powers of deduction, figured that the table between them with the curtains around it must be #14.  I asked people at the back of the line if they were there to meet Cary Elwes.  They said that they thought so, because they have the same awesome powers of deduction.  I got in line.  A lady and her son soon got behind me and asked me the same question that I asked the other folks.  We all marveled at our awesome powers of deduction. 

 She asked if I'd ever done this before, and I said that it was different when I went to Dallas Comic Con.  She had a little yellow card with CE's picture on it, and I told her I didn't get one last night because they told me that my ticket would be scanned at the table.  She suggested I talk to a Staff member, so I did.  That person wasn't completely sure, but told me to go back to the redemption booth and ask another staff member there if I could find one near the front of the line.  The nice lady in line offered to save my place, but I didn't want to impose since I knew the sales line was really long. I talked to a staff member that was close to the booth and she said that she "was told that you have to redeem your ticket before you get in line for the autograph".  AUGH!  So I got in the long redemption line, which was not as long as the long sales line.  The actual process took about a minute so I don't know why the line hadn't been moving faster than it should.  So I had my book, "As You Wish" by Cary Elwes, my little yellow card with his face, and went back to the line.  The woman I befriended earlier was closer to the front of the line and I said hi, and asked if I could still get in line with her.  The line had just started moving a few minutes before I arrived, so I was lucky.  She happily obliged, and even let me stand in front of her because it was my original place in line.  There are very nice people in this world!  

My Golden Ticket

She asked me to ask someone leaving the table if they were allowed to take a selfie.  The first girl, whom was beaming, said that she didn't ask so she didn't know.  Some guy said that there was a fee for the selfie.   My new friend said that she already paid for the photo op with CE, which was $5.00 more than what the guy told us.  By the time I spoke to the handler, he told me it was $10.00 less than what the guy told us.  I decided to splurge for the selfie because I had done much walking back and forth and felt I deserved it at this point.  Everyone that we saw leaving the table was really really happy.  I wondered what the heck went on back there behind the curtain.  We got little peeks at him when he stood by the portion where the curtains separated.  Such fangirls.  

I was sad that I had to give my little yellow card to the man, but was smart enough to take a picture of it beforehand, since I figured it said "Treat as Cash" and we don't get to keep the cash when we spend it, so why would they let us keep the little card? I told the man my name so he could spell it out for CE on a post-it note.  Then it was time.  Time to meet The Dread Pirate Roberts himself.  I tried not to lose my mind.

CE asked my name and shook my hand.  The helper guy tried to take our picture with my phone.  I always have to tell people how to use it and they almost always don't follow my directions. He was one of those people.  So we posed three times without him actually taking a picture.  I was trying to tell him NOT to press the green circle, but he did.  CE finally said loudly, "DON"T PUSH THE GREEN CIRCLE!" and I tried not to laugh too much, but you know me and my giggles.  He then signed my book "To Sherry / As You Wish", and I thanked him.  He called me "Sweetheart" as he thanked me and I almost died.  He then gave me a big hug and I said I loved him and thank you and left.  AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!  I walked up to my new friend and smiled very widely and she giggled.  No wonder everyone was so happy!  He's completely swoonworthy.

Squeeeeee!

I shopped around and found the Ariel POP that was missing from my collection.  How could I not have one of her in mermaid form?!  They also had Anger from Inside Out, as well as Gudetama with a bacon towel. That's right.  Bacon.  Towel.  I did see Sadness at another booth, but didn't want to get in line for just one.  Maybe tomorrow.   

Saturday Loot.  Cary Elwes touched that book!

I went to a booth where the folks had "V" stuff on display, and they were dressed like the Visitors.  I told them it was my favorite mini-series, and they told me that they were part of a costuming club, and they happen to really like "V".  They agreed to take a selfie with me.  I love that they had props of the alien baby and the mice that the Visitors would eat.

Visitors

Visitor Baby starting early with his solid food

I started to walk around more then got a notification from my app that my panel was scheduled to start.  Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, the voices of Pinky and The Brain, respectively, were there and I was delighted to hear them speak. 

•  Maurice told us not to write in "The Brain" on our presidential ballots because he's from Canada and wanted our votes to actually be meaningful. 
•  They talked about how much they love working together and that when they are guests together at cons, they always have at least one night to go to dinner.  At dinner, as they talk to their server, they eventually both start to talk like Pinky and the Brain, and the server freaks out with recognition.  
• They were hilarious together. Rob is particularly great at ad libbing, which I've known since I occasionally listen to his podcast.  Maurice likes to recommend that we tweet things.  My favorite was "hashtag blessed screw you" which was from a prior conversation with one of their friends. 
• They said that the Animaniacs Funko POP is going like hotcakes, and they're not supposed to be released until Tuesday.  (I looked for them later, but didn't find them.  WANT!!!!!).  
• Rob said that the reason Animaniacs is loved so much is because they didn't talk down to the kids.  They had their humor, which sometimes went over the kids' heads, but when those same kids grew up, they understood it and loved it all over again on a different level.  Yup.  This is why I loved Bugs Bunny and always will.
• They ended the panel with Maurice singing the Super Chicken theme song (Hi, Dodie!), and Rob singing "The Countries of the World" as Yakko.  He apologized to the ASL interpreter and thanked her for being such a good sport.  Wow.  That was awesome.

  

  Yakko/Pinky and the Brain

I went to the cafeteria near the other halls because the eateries near South Hall were crazy long and the food trucks outside didn't interest me.  I thought of going into the Rock n Roll Half Expo because, you know, I needed to walk around even more!  But no, I went back to the con and decided to just get in line for the Batman 66 reunion. Before going up to Room 408, though, I tried to find the woman dressed as Ariel in her tarp.  I got excited when I found her, and she agreed to have her picture taken.  Her costume was perfect!

Yes, she's using a dinglehopper

And she has a snarfblatt!
She's awesome.  

I went to room 408 and saw people in line. I was told that they had VIP seats, and that I could just sit in on the panel before the Batman 66, and could stay.  Only the folks in the VIP seats would need to leave since their seats were reserved.  This time slot was a toss-up for me because I could either see some of the cast from "The Flash" at the Hot Topic main stage, or see this one, for "Stranger Things".  Well, this one had seats, and the person from The Flash I'd love to see is Grant Gustin, but he was at the EW Pop Fest today.  Such a busy weekend!  So I stayed for "Stranger Things".

The panel started about 15 minutes late, and we wondered if our star was having trouble getting through the crazy line outside.  The panel interviewer said that 20,000 people were outside and we were the lucky folks.  20K!?!  I didn't see all of those people when I peeked outside, but I wasn't looking at the ticket line.  I'm glad that I got a multi-day pass and picked up my badge on Friday morning.

The panel for "Stranger Things" was Shannon Purser, who plays Barb.  (If you plan on seeing this show--and you should, because it's outstanding--go to the next paragraph, because spoilers lie herein).  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXSPOILERS!!!!!!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

OK, so Barb:  

• Shannon said that this is her first film job, and was working at a movie theater before she landed the role.  
• She apologized to us because she got the text while she was watching a movie with her mom and stayed in the theater as they both quietly got excited.  
• She said that they wanted her to audition for Carol, but she told them that she was better suited for Barb because she's just like her, reading books and dealing with her friends.  
• She wants to call the Duffer Bros every day to ask them, "Am I dead?" because she honestly doesn't know.  She was told that "things didn't look so good for Barb" when she filmed the scene in the UpsideDown pool.  
• She said that she finally quit her job at the movie theater because she was starting to get recognized a lot and it was weird because a couple waited for her to get off her shift and talked to her in the parking lot so they could get pictures.  She is also now getting acting jobs, like the Archie comics show coming up on the WB, entitled "Riverdale".  
• When asked what Superhero she'd like to play, she said, with apologies to Anna Kendrick, that she would be an awesome Squirrel Girl.  (I think I may need to read this comic).  
• She is amazed by the cosplay that she saw within a couple of weeks of the first airing of ST, and was happy to see her character represented.  "Rock those Mom jeans!"
• She was really personable and seemed like a very sweet person and I want to be her friend, probably just like everyone else does.  
  

Thank you for a great panel, Shannon!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Then it was time for the Batman 66 Reunion.  The announcer asked us to start singing the theme song.  I gladly obliged, as this was how I got my mom to turn on the TV when it was Bat Time every day when I was a kid and watched it in syndication.  "Nananananananananananananananana BATMAN!!!!"    

• The panel moderators were Ralph Garmon from KLOS and Kevin Smith.  One guy in the audience was dressed like Kevin, and stood up later to ask a question.  Kevin told him he was a handsome man.  
• Reunion attendees were Lee Meriwether, Burt Ward, and Adam West.  I was on the left side of the room, which is where they all entered.  
• Adam had a short cane battle with an audience member.  Yeah, Adam uses a cane now, but he's still as hilarious as ever. 
• I got all emotional as I looked at the three of them on stage, because it brought back my childhood.  Adam thanked us all for our fandom and letting it influence us creatively, morally, or however it influenced us to keep proliferating our love for the Dynamic Duo. 
• They talked about their latest collaboration, "Return of the Caped Crusaders", which will be available on DVD on November 1, 2016, upon which AW, BW and Julie Newmar provided the voices. 
• I don't know why JN wasn't part of this panel.  Maybe they didn't think we could handle 2 Catwomen at the same time?  
• AW & BW have great chemistry and bantered a lot, which made LM cry with laughter.  She said that when she auditioned, she thought she'd never get it once she saw all of the beautiful, voluptuous women that showed up for the part.  But they called her that same day to tell her she got the part.  I have no idea how she thinks that other women are more beautiful than her. She's still gorgeous.  Has she looked in a mirror?!
  
•  AW said that as soon as they were told that the series was canceled, he started taking stuff home little by little, and he has lots of memorabilia, including Burt's tights.  He also has every single script from the series, with his handwritten notes.  Wow.  He said that he was offered a million dollars for it last year, and Ralph told him to rip up the check because he actually doesn't have that kind of money.  AW told the audience that Ralph has a huge Batman memorabilia collection.  
• BW said that there was much daily discussion about the tights not fitting right, "mine being too small in the crotch, Adam's being too big...they had to pack a towel in his."

  

  Batman, Robin, Catwoman, Fanboy, and Silent Bob

• Someone asked Adam what he thought of the other incarnations/actors playing Batman.  AW:  "I don't care."
• Burt told his story about one of the first days on the set where he got into the prop car, and there was a Batman next to him, but it wasn't Adam.  It was a stuntman.  Burt asked why he was there, and the stuntman said that this was a dangerous stunt, and they didn't want to hurt their star.  Burt asked if he had his own stuntman.  Yes.  He asked the director, "Why isn't he over here?  Why is he over there, drinking coffee with Adam West?"  He was told that it was because the stuntman didn't look like Burt and they couldn't use him in the shot.  Burt said incredulously, "You hired the guy to be my stuntman and he doesn't even look like me?!"  So he ended up doing the stunt himself, and it was, indeed, dangerous.  He ended up having a pinky finger pulled out of the joint, and was required to wait about 7 hours before they would take him to the hospital because the crew needed to get the shot before they'd let him go.  He ended up with 4 injuries that week.  Yes, he was required to go back to the set and keep doing his own stunts.  
• Someone asked Kevin if he had asked the Batman cast to appear on his show, because it is set at a comic book convention.  Kevin said that the cast had already agreed to be on the new TV series, "Mallrats". 
• Pretty sure Adam West smiled at me as he looked around the room because he looked in my direction and I couldn't stop grinning, so he grinned back.  I might be wrong, but if I am, don't tell me.  Let me have my moment with Batman.

Yeah, so that was awesome.

There was still some time to watch some of Dominic Purcell's interview on the Hot Topic main stage, so I weaved my way through the crowds to get to South Hall.

• On the Legends of Tomorrow / Supergirl crossover episode, Heat Wave hits on Supergirl.
• He talked about Prison Break Season 6, and how Lincoln has been doing since Michael's death.  
• Awww, he called Wentworth his "buddy".  WENT!!!  I love that they're friends in real life, which is why they work with each other so much.
• He pointed out the guys in the audience that were dressed as Heat Wave and Captain Cold.
• He never read a comic book before he got cast in "The Flash", and therefore had no idea who The Flash was.
• We were treated to a clip of an action sequence from Prison Break, as well as the official trailer to season 6.
• This was Dominic's first con.  I'm hoping that he can get Wentworth to join him next time, and that I can see them and try not to lose my mind.
• 
  
  

I took one more lap around the floor, and bought the chocolate that I didn't buy yesterday.  I also got cute light saber earrings that are made of LEGO (all in the pic above with the Funko POP).  I also found yet another piece of art that I liked.  I told the artist that I was obsessed with it and bought it.  There is other stuff on her Instagram account that I like, so I'm following her now.  I received a free postcard for buying a bigger print. 

Boba Fett Boba postcard with Vader Eating Sushi print

I did see a paper-cut silhouette that I liked of Ariel.  The artist had a really intricate one of Edward Scissorhands, too.  Had I wanted other ones, I would have bought the deal for 3 of them, but I didn't.  I figured if it was there the next day, I'd think about it again.

I went home, exhausted but happy about the amazing day.  I'm writing this the next day, and decided to stay home.  It's raining outside and I was going to take the Metro (lots of traffic and road closures due to the Rock n Roll Half Marathon, the Clippers game, and the con), and I wasn't interested in any of the panels besides the one with Chris Hardwick, and that was too early for me to attend.  

Final thoughts:

• They have really got to get their act together and give the "staff" the correct information.  
• Staff should also be told where they're actually sitting at the moment so that they don't send someone to the opposite corner of the room from where they're supposed to go.
• Staff should make sure that the people in the long line have the appropriate tickets in their hands before they stand there for an hour and being turned away when they finally get to the front of the line.
• Signs should be visible so that people are not required to use their awesome powers of deduction.
• For all of the emphasis on the website and the app, they should have included the instructions about redeeming autograph tickets on both formats.  
• I never saw Optimus Prime again.  Bummer.
• I didn't see anyone selling the cool plastic covers for the artwork like the ones that I bought in Dallas.  I might not have been so hesitant about buying stuff and walking with it in the rain had those been available.  
• The lanyards were way cheap and I worried that I would lose my badge, so I used my Mockingjay double feature lanyard instead.
• The official merchandise wasn't that exciting, so I didn't get any.  It would have been cool to have some Con Exclusive comic books or shopping bags big enough for the popular 11X17 artwork size that many of the artists sell.

Overheard:

• Girl: "He said that I was 'scantily clad' whenever I dress up.  That means that I look nice, right?" Boy: "No, it means that you're dressed whore-ish."  Girl:  Oh my God!  I thought it was a compliment!"  Boy:  "No. Wow, your vocabulary is...just...amazing."
• Girl at Dominic Purcell panel, as he's talking about Michael's death on "Prison Break", which happened in season 5, and occurred over a year ago:  "Spoilers!"  Dominic kept talking.  Girl:  "Oh my gosh!  What are they doing?!"  Then she and her companion left the area.  (I'm glad she wasn't at the Stranger Things panel is all I'm saying here, because she's clearly behind on her TV shows).
• Mom to her young boy: "Oh, you're kidding me!  How could you let them get those seats?" Boy: "I was just letting her go in front of me."  Mom (who sent her son to go get seats instead of doing it herself): "You need to be more aggressive when you want something.  I keep telling you that."  Sherry, with her inside voice, wishing Mom would go away for a minute so she could compliment the kid: "I'm really glad that your kid isn't growing up to be the a$$hole that you want him to be."

Everyone at the con was generally very polite, asking if they could take pictures of the cosplayers before doing so.  Fanboys and Fangirls are just content when they're amongst their own kind, you know?

I had a great time, and I hope that a friend or two can join me next year!

Thanks for the Comikaze, Stan Lee!