Some more about SDCC '08!

For those who care about this sort of thing I'm going to quickly list some of the stuff I saw and did in San Diego. This list is in no particular order.

1) Where the hell were all the Klingons? You'd think with a new STAR TREK film getting so much buzz that I'd have seen more than three and those downstairs at the local fan club tables. While we're on the subject, I saw a number of Federation officers & crew around, wearing outfits from just about every incarnation of the show, but not a single Vulcan. I'm sure there were some around.

2) The "Quick Draw" challenge this year was as much fun as usual. Regulars Sergio Aragones & Scott Shaw!, along with moderator/quiz master Mark Evanier were joined this year by political cartoonist & creator of MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM, Mike Peters. It seemed that Peters was having more fun than just about anybody and was laughing at all the suggestions. Both Peters & Shaw! won individual rounds, but Sergio continues to be the fastest 'gag' cartoonist I have ever seen.

3) It seemed that many of the Jokers were trying to recycle their Jack Nicholson/standard comics appearance, but smearing the lipstick to get that Heath Ledger look. I think I've mentioned this before, but this weekend (when I have time) I'm going to download the photo of my favorite Joker.

4) It's been twelve years since my last SDCC and the number of anime/manga cosplay folks have multiplied beyond anything I could have anticipated. Some young ladies, were basically going for the Japanese school girl look, but many had cleverly designed & made outfits that truly resembled their characters.

5) Considering the large number of Jedi/Seth/Storm-troopers that were running around there were only a couple of Darth Vaders in the Hall. One guy was easily 6'5" and looked amazing on Saturday.

6) Zombies were all over the place, along with a few '30 Days of Night' style vampires. Some folks looked like they spent about five minutes with white greasepaint and some fake blood, while others appeared to have been made up by professionals or spent quite a bit for the scars, wounds and gaping sores.

7) Saw two Comedians & one Rorschach on Saturday, but didn't recognize any of the other WATCHMEN characters. Of course, I probably wouldn't know Silk Spectre if she walked by. Seeing the Owlship on the exhibit floor was way cool! It's still hard for me to decide, from the trailers, how good the movie will be or how popular.

8) I know some folks don't appreciate it, but I happen to enjoy Dick's Last Resort over on Fourth. It's loud, crowded and the wait staff go out of their way to insult you, but that is all part of the fun of the place. I had lunch there both on Friday & Saturday, with Dan joining me on my second venture there. The bartenders and other front staff were dressed in costumes or wearing comics related t-shirts, which added to the fun of the place.

9) The Capa-Alpha breakfast was a disappointment, unfortunately. There were only six of us present at the Marriott Gas Lamp Saturday morning. Bob Ingersoll, one of those who did show up and sort of organized it, said that he'd probably just have us meet at McDonald's next year if this was what we could expect. Besides Bob and there was Joe Colgan, his son Elric, Jeff Gelb and Mark Verheiden who joined us a bit later for coffee. I remember earlier K-a meets where we would take over several long tables with a close to a couple dozen pros, fans and family hanging out. Just to name drop a moment we saw Bruce Campbell, a friend of Mark's come in and he waved, plus just about half the writing staff of LOST wandered by. Also, pointed out by Mark, since none of the rest of us would have had a clue.

10) Does seeing Doug Benson (of VH1's BEST WEEK EVER & "Last Comic Standing") and Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog count as star-gazing?

11) I got to chat briefly with William Katt (best remembered for GREATEST AMERICAN HERO & as Della Street's son in the later incarnation of PERRY MASON) who signed copies of his new comic SPARKS (from Catastrophic Comics) and the GAH preview issue of that comic. Robert Culp was joining him at the CC booth, but he was constantly being photographed and signing stuff, so I didn't want to bother him. Both gentlemen looked good and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

12) Sadly, a twisted ankle and energy drain stopped me from going to the MST3-K reunion on Friday night. Fortunately, I was able to hobble over to the RiffTrax booth and get Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy to sign a poster for me. I also have a photo of the three of them signing stuff & meeting with fans, plus one of Tom Servo & Crow that I'll have to post here.

There are other things I'd like to mention, along with some comments about some of the comics and goodies I picked up, but I'll save that for another time. This has gone on much longer than I intended.

Good night, Internet!