Comic-Con 2006

Hello people.

On July 22, 2006 I took a day trip to San Diego. My purpose for going was to attend an event called Comic-Con. It's origins were primarily as a comic-book convention, but has now expanded to be a sort of comic book, movie, video game, sci-fi potpourri.
I last attended in 2004. Whatever one's level of interest in sci-fi or comics may be, it cannot be denied that there are few better events for people-watching. In 2004, I saw many Jedi, stormtroopers, Sith Lords, Boba Fetts, Hobbits, Hogwarts students, Bat-Men, Klingons, several Princess Leias (a number of them in the metal-bikini thing) and even a couple of Ghostbusters. I even saw and chatted with a person who had undergone extensive surgery and tatooing to transform himself into what is known as a "manimal." His animal obsession? A leopard. His face was entirely tattooed with leopard-print, he had fang implants, implants on his face to allow for screw-in whiskers, he had let his fingernails grow to a couple of inches long each, and had even had his upper lip incised and drawn upward to add to the feline appearance.
The various movie/tv show previews are fun to go to. In 2004 I saw Keanu Reeves and Djimon Honsou (promoting Constantine), Cillian Murphy (promoting Batman Begins - he was Scarecrow), and Eliza Dushku (promoting a now-cancelled tv show called Tru Calling). The celebs all sit on a dais for a panel-type discussion. A moderator leads them through a series of topics, and then they set up a mike for attendees to line up and ask a question or two each.
One can also get some interesting autographs from "B," "C," and even "D" list celebs. Names like Marc Singer, Sam Jones, Walter Koenig, Elivira - Mistress of the Dark, The Lone Gunmen from X-Files, Richard Hatch, and the actress who played Cissy on Family Affair. In 2004 I was still a bit timid - the only autograph I got was from the actor who played Mr. Wilhelm (George's boss during his stint with the Yankees). He was a funny guy and very personable. They are all very engaging with the autograph and photo seekers, chatting amiably with them as they scribble and pose.
This year the signers included Marc Singer in a return engagement, Sam Jones and Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon and Dale Arden), Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Stan Lee, the blond Lone Gunman, and none other than the two "brothers" from Airplane! who only spoke Jive. "Golly!"




These are pics, respectively, of Mr Gerard Butler, aka The "POTO," and Mr David Wenham (Faramir from LOTR). These two photos are actually of images from one of the many jumbo screens in the room, since I was sitting pretty far back and wasn't able to take a steady enough zoom shot from where I was. Gerard, or "Gerry" as the other panelists called him, was there with David promoting a film called 300, about the Spartan army. The statue in front of David is a Faramir statue given to him by a fan.


This is a giant, slowly rotating Boba Fett torso which topped off one of the cooler STAR WARS booths. There was also a caricature-ish statue of Princess Leia which I'll include in Comic-Con 2006 - Part Deux. Boba looks pretty awesome, huh? If you ever have to save your own life by correctly answering the question: "What type of body armor does Boba Fett wear?" calmly look them in the eye and say "Mandalorian."

What is funnier than a stormtrooper waiting in line for an autograph?
Not much, in my estimation.