Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Mego Museum visits San Deigo Comic Con Part 4

Part 4 Mego Meet San Diego : It wasn't really our intention to visit the Comic Con on Saturday, we were going to explore flea markets and funky shopping in San Diego. What motivated us to change our minds was the heat, it was boiling hot as we waited for our shuttle. It made me dream of air conditioned halls and my wife kept mulling over the comic panels she wanted to see. We decided to check it out for one more day, my press pass was for the weekend, so that didn't hurt.


oh the humanity

This was my view at 11 Am that day, if you don't like crowds then please, attend the con on a weekday. Saturday easily had double the populace of Friday and that day was no picnic either. Costume people were everywhere, making me wonder how these people could survive in makeup in these kind of conditions but more on that shortly.

I figured out the best way to get around was to actually leave the con and either use the up stairs or the lobby to get around, people moved faster without the distraction of the show.

What is truly amazing about this event is how diverse comics have become, when i attended my first show in 1985 I remember being shocked by the presence of a girl now there wasn't a demographic not represented, pretty fantastic.

Alot of people have asked for pictures of booth babes and I have to admit, I haven't got many. Why? Because it become irritating to have the laneways slow to a crawl because some guy needed a pic of a girl with her breasts hanging out. Even though the 6 ft tall woman in the pitch perfect Supergirl outfit was captivating, I just couldn't bring myself to be "that guy"

Then I stumbled upon this.......


the supergals


Well, that Batgirl alone was enough temptation for me to stop and take a picture and I was stuck there anyway. This looked so cool that I broke my vow on costumed photographs.

the supergals


The traffic around the DC booth came to a dead stop so I tried to cut across the Sideshow booth, where a guy dressed as Predator jumped out. I was nearly trampled by people with cameras as I tried to backpeddle.

Around this time I realized my cel phone was no longer working properly, I had no link to contact my wife or Scott at the show. I decided to try and motor through the lobby and catch the Spirit movie panel. I remember thinking "I'm never going to run into anyone with this crowd!"
Five seconds later, I run into Scott and Rob Chatlin who have been trying to get ahold of me, we procede back to Mark's booth to run into Ben (imp). At Mark's booth Ben was holding court and a very cool purchase was made.



Rob Chatlin buys Mark Huckabones Mystery Astronaut


Rob decided to purchase Marks Mego Mystery Man which was still in it's originally baggie with price sticker($0.49!). The collector Mark purchased this from dated every piece when he bought it originally from the shelf, so now we have a timeline as to when this figure was available. Getting a piece of the Mystery Man puzzle was an incredible bonus.

At that point, the show was reaching peak occupancy and Ben starting discussing all things beer. After a short stop at the Mattel booth, we bid adieu to San Diego Comic Con for good this time. We settled on the same pub where I ate with Scott the previous night (my ulterior motive was that I left my sunglasses there) but the food was good and air conditioning a must.

It was a great time, an impromptu Megomeet of sorts, very surreal to sit down with folks I had spent the last ten years talking to but never met. Before we left, we made sure to take a pic.

The Mego Museum crew having a few beers

From left to Right: Rob Chatlin, Benjamin Holcomb, Michelle Heiler, Brian Heiler, Scott Adams.

From then we bid farewell and everybody went home. My wife and I wandered San Diego for a few more hours and caught a glimpse of people leaving the now closed Con.


San Diego Comic Con is over for the day


The next day, we left for home and I got home in time to hug my kids and let them treat me not unlike some live action version of the game "Operation". I'd like to say I have no regrets but I have a few, they are:

Not talking to Brian Posehn when I had the chance
Not talking to Richard Donner (I didn't want to wait in line, wah!)
Missing the Bruce Timm signing
Watching "She's the Man" on the plane
Missing out on meeting up with some friends and Museum members

But really I can't complain, I did more than I expected and I'm very, very tired....


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