Comic-Con 2012: Preview Night Edition

Due to a rather miraculous set of events, I actually made it to San Diego Comic-Con International for my fifth consecutive year, and it started on the perfect note. This year, I have a ‘professional’ pass, which is pretty cool. However, that’s not really where this year’s story begins.

My 2012 Comic-Con story actually begins a couple of weeks ago. My lovely godmother took me to a meeting for another convention, San Diego Comic Fest, which she’s working for. At the meeting (which was a couple of weeks ago), I participated in the meeting and offered up my perspective on several topics, which lead to me talking with some of the people involved and agreeing to help out myself. In fact, I’ll be helping to run Comic Fest’s table here at Comic-Con for a least a couple of days. (In case you’re wondering, Comic Fest is a loving tribute to Comic-Con and its beginnings. It’s the place to be if you want to see how Comic-Con began.) So, to quickly recap, I went to a meeting for another convention and agreed to help publicize their awesome event (in October). In exchange, I was granted a pass for Comic-Con. Now, I get to be here and have an awesome time.

Anyways, my friend Shanea and I came down to San Diego on Tuesday night to get settled in and prep for getting our badges. After checking into our hotel, we met up with other friends for dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. Dinner was delicious, and I had a great time. Afterwards, Shanea and I went back to our hotel and made sure our paperwork was in order to pick up our passes on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, we arrived at the San Diego Convention Center around noon to pick up our passes. We had to get in the professional line and wait for about 45 minutes before we both got our passes. From there, we drank coffee (yes, we paid for overpriced Frappuchinos from the convention center's Starbucks), hung out and had to fight with Comic-Con security over patiently sitting inside, quietly waiting for the exhibition floor to open instead of going outside and standing in line for the exhibition floor. There were extenuating circumstances; my friend is disabled and cannot stand in line for that long. The security people were incredibly rude and yelled at us and other patrons with disability passes and made us wait outside. It was highly uncool, and during the hours we waited (a few of those were outside by smokers, which about killed my lungs), Shanea and I chatted about last year’s Comic-Con and how we hoped to have an easier time of it this year.

Once we made it inside and went straight back to the bench we’d been sitting at previously, the same issues with security came up again, but this time one of the lovely folks running Comic-Con’s disabled services went and reamed out the security guard in front of his boss. It was wonderful, as they stopped harassing us (mostly) at that point.

By now, the doors would soon be open, and a beautiful woman and her husband joined us. I noticed her taking a video on her phone, so I watched curiously, and once she was done, I noticed the same security guard starting to eye her and her husband, so I warned her to watch out for the douchey security guard. As easily as that, the two of us started chatting, and she introduced herself. To my surprise, the woman was Nicki Hunter! She’s an absolutely lovely woman, and we chatted about the videos she was making (they’re for her youtube page, so check her out). We ended up working together to dash to Entertainment Earth’s booth for some of Comic-Con’s exclusives as soon as the exhibition floor opened. While waiting in the 20 minute line at the booth, we continued to chat over which exclusives we’d be purchasing. Nicki even took a video with me in it! I felt so cool!

Nicki and her husband eventually took off with their treasures, and I made my way to meet up with my friends so we could see how well all of us did with our treasures. (I made out like a bandit, so I’m really happy. A few select people *cough*my mom*cough* will be getting lovely surprises when I see them next.)

After comparing prizes with my friends, I went over to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s booth to say hello to everyone there. That’s a tradition, as Sherri is the reason I started attending Comic-Con five years ago. It was lovely to say hi to everyone there, and I ended up picking up an awesome bookmark to go with all my other purchases.

I also chased down the lovely Anne Elizabeth and she and I chatted for a while too! I haven't seen her in a couple of years, so it was wonderful to catch up and share stories about what's gone on in my life and how her career as an author has progressed.

This is where the excitement ended at the convention center, as Shanea and I both wanted to drop our stuff off at our hotel and get dinner. We did so, and made our way to The Cheesecake Factory in honor of our love of The Big Bang Theory. We had a late meal and brought our desserts back with us.

This was the perfect way to begin Comic-Con. I’m going to have SO much fun here!

There's a League Member in my Group of Friends!

Fellow Kenyon Minions, for those of you who've read the League books, I must introduce you to one of my friends. He's asked that his name be kept private, but this is him...

Another Sherrilyn Kenyon Signing!

Today was the third stop on Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Bad Moon Rising" book tour (and by the way, an EXCELLENT read for fans of the series!), and today's stop was the only signing I'm able to attend. This year, instead of being at my favorite bookstore Dark Delicacies, the signing was held at the Buena Vista Library. VERY nice place! There were a lot of people there! I ran into a ton of old friends/fellow Kenyon Minions while there, and had a ball discussing Sherri's books and more recent plot points with them!

I got there around 4 pm, about an hour after most of my friends had arrived, looking forward to great seats and seeing everyone else. I immediately looked for my friend Seri, since I see her very rarely, and luckily for me, there was a seat in the row in front of hers which I was able to take so that we could chat while awaiting Sherri's arrival.

Luckily for everyone present, Sherri was early, along with her friend and fellow writer Dianna Love (another very talented woman), so the "chat" prior to the signing started early. (And even with that, I lucked out. I was #36 in line for the signing, and there were at least 115 people in the audience who were getting books signed!) Sherri made everyone in the audience laugh with her comments about the books, the stories she told, etc. Plus, her back-and-forth with Dianna was pretty hysterical too! Sherri talked a little about upcoming books (mostly to the effect of "Well, such-and-such thing WILL happen... EVENTUALLY!"), a little about a couple of her other series, and then just "sparred" verbally with the audience! Let's just say that there's a reason people "heckle" Sherri, and it's NOT to be negative! It's to promote open, easy, REAL conversation between the fans and their favorite author. In fact, the heckling ended up leading to some pretty amusing stories!

Yes, it was great fun, and even better because I got to see Sherri so quickly after Comic-Con! This is now the second year where I've gone to Comic-Con, hung out with Sherri there, and then less than a month later seen Sherri again! Last time, it was for the end of arc 1 of the Dark-Hunter series, and the book for the main character, Acheron. This time, it was for a book that travels throughout previous books, only from a point of view that wasn't available then. Fang Kattalakis is QUITE the hero in the book! It was so worth buying the book on Tuesday (the release date aka 8/4/09), then returning it and buying it again for my place in line at the signing!

Of course, now I won't see Sherri again for another year, but somehow, I think I'll survive, seeing as Sherri is such a wonderful woman, and I had so much fun when I saw her today at the signing, and a couple weeks ago at Comic-Con. Plus, I can keep in touch with her via my Akri Erin!

Comic-Con: Thursday Edition

Today was a GREAT day at Con! I'm really tired, but it was an excellent day. I got up really early for pretty much no reason (we're talking 6:30am)... Just hung out in my cousin's apartment until he got up and we left...

Once we got there, I went right over to Sherrilyn Kenyon's booth, and once again enjoyed seeing Erin and the rest of the crew Sherri brought with her (Kim and Ed, I LOVE you guys! Sheri, same goes for you too, though I didn't see you as much...) After that, I ran around. I went to about 20 minutes of a panel for an animated movie coming out next year called Quantum Quest... The animation I saw was STUNNING! I may not have known what the movie was originally, but I'm definitely interested now.

For that panel, I skipped out pretty quickly, since it was an hour, but I actually was running to the panel my awesome godmother, Wendy All, was on. That one was at 12:30, and again, I wasn't able to go to the whole thing, but this time it was because I had to check in for my volunteer work, which was really boring. But back to the panel.... It was Comic-Con in the 70's, and actually very interesting, from what I saw... (I did learn something completely unrelated to it though... I need to get a tripod for my video camera... I'm apparently pretty damned shaky when just taking straight film!) One of my favorite moments in the panel was when I was indirectly mentioned by my godmom... She talked about how she warped the minds of children, so I did what I do best, and responded directly to her statement, saying that I was grateful for her having warped me... I wouldn't be who I am without her influence. It got a laugh from the audience, and a huge grin from Wendy. Made my morning...

Unfortunately, after that, I had to run to my volunteer work. It ended up being me and another girl just standing outside in the direct sunlight for 3 hours, leaving both of us not feeling well, and rather irritated (with INCREDIBLY sore feet!)... No wonder we both sought out booth 1220, aka Sherri's booth... Of course, she was looking for Sherri, and I was more focused on my amazing akri Erin... Either way, I got a BIG hug from him, and it made me feel better, at least for a little bit.

I did end up staying there for a while, and I did run into Sherri (and her awesomely sweet hubby Ken, and her incredibly cute children!). So, I did what I most enjoy... I sat down at the seating which was luckily right across from Sherri's booth, then relaxed, letting my sore muscles take a break for a while...

Then I moved on. By now it was about 6pm, and I decided to search out the True Blood stuff, which I still haven't found. (However, this morning, I lucked out and got a special True Blood matchbook which says Fangtasia on it. It's one of only 200 in existence! I think it's my treasure from Con this year!) Instead of finding True Blood, I found another author I used to read a lot - Kevin J. Anderson. He used to write books in the Star Wars universe, as did his wife, and now he has the famous Dune series... He and Rebecca, his wife, were in a part of Con called "Artist's Alley." I spent a good hour or so there, just talking to Kevin and his wife about writing, and how they both got into it, then I got my cheap purse signed by both of them! It's pretty freakin' awesome!

After I left, I just walked around for a while before going back to Sherri's booth and just hanging out. I stayed for several hours, then went to Ballroom 20, where there would be a showing of Michael Dougherty's movie Trick 'r Treat. I got in early, and lucked into seeing the WORLD PREMIERE of the new animated Green Lantern movie! It was really good, lots of fun and laughs to be had, even though the movie was in all honesty pretty corny and very clichéd and predictable. Truth is, that movie wouldn't have worked any other way. I really enjoyed the movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has young children who like superheros.

After the Green Lantern movie was over, it was time for the Trick 'r Treat screening. I was really excited, since it would end at midnight, and midnight would mean that it was Friday, and officially Anna Paquin's birthday... I was really hoping to give her a birthday present (pictures to come in a later post), but Anna ended up not showing. Instead, before the movie started, there was a panel with the film's director, Michael Dougherty, and many of the actors from the movie, including Brian Cox.

Now that may not seem to important to someone like me who has an overactive imagination and holds a desperate fear of horror films, but to me this was a REALLY big deal, as Michael is one of the top dogs who penned X-Men 2: X-Men United, and Brian Cox played baddie William Stryker in X2. (And it should be obvious that Anna played Rogue in the X-Men trilogy though I STILL don't believe that X3 actually exists... But that's a rant for another day...)

So, I was more excited for the chance to see all these people who were involved with one of my favorite movies than any real particular interest in Trick 'r Treat (though I admit to enjoying the ironies of Anna Paquin playing a girl who gets killed by a vampire in Trick 'r Treat, then becoming the star of True Blood and playing a character who is in a deep and committed relationship with a vampire who loves her...)

Well, here's where I take a quick break from my typing, and post a couple of pictures from the panel... Where I was seated in the FRONT ROW Center seats of the room. Literally right in front of me is the panel seating...






This was really cool except for one thing... I was unable to sit through the entire film. And it wasn't because of my typical inability to watch horror films (normally I can't stand them since I have an overly active imagination and I get nightmares from such things)... Unfortunately for me, it was because I actually got sick, which sucks because I was really enjoying the movie! Yes, what little I did see grossed me out, but the movie was both scary AND incredibly funny! I was laughing almost as much as I was cringing! So, it really sucked to not see the final outcome of the movie!

Since I left early, I, along with my cousin Corey, took the trolley back towards SDSU. What we didn't realize was that the trolley stop we needed was already over for the night! We actually had taken a different route, thinking it'd be easy, but boy were we wrong. Once we got off the trolley at the stop, there were a couple of cops on the opposite side of the station, and we hailed them to ask about the line to SDSU that we needed. Once they told us it was done for the night, we walked up towards the street, and ended up at a BJ's Restaurant. Since they were closing down for the night, I had the guy cleaning the bar call a cab for us, and that's how we got back, well after midnight, to his VERY loud apartment!

It seems that while we were out, his room mates decided to have a party. Nice, and the people who were over were nice, but I was tired and wanted to go to sleep... It took a couple hours before that happened!

Comic-Con: Preview Night (Wednesday Edition)

WELCOME TO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL!



Yes, today was Preview Night, and it was NOT what I expected in the least! First, it was INSANELY BUSY! There were SO many people there, it was almost impossible to walk! I luckily didn't have to work my volunteer hours on Preview Night, so that was good. However, I did sign in and set up for my hours of work for Thursday. After that, what do you think the first thing I did was?

That's right! I went over to booth 1220, where Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter® booth was located, and immediately saw my Akri there, along with Evyl Ed and Kim. I'd never met Ed or Kim before, and it was a pleasure to meet the two of them! Ed has an awesome accent, and it made me smile as I spoke with him. Kim was just a joy to be around. She has such a positive attitude! It's like being around Sherri. Regardless of how you feel, your spirits are going to rise being around Sherri and Kim!

I also ran into several old friends from previous Sherri signings, and that was just awesome. I'd forgotten how much I missed my fellow minions! It was great seeing them, and I'll enjoy seeing them all more throughout Con!

My Brilliant Idea

Ok, many people know that I'm a hardcore Kenyon Minion.

And for those of you who don't know what that means, I'll explain. A Kenyon Minion is a fan of the incredible Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of many series including the Dark-Hunter® Series, which is a preternatural series that deals with vampires, gods and goddesses, were-creatures, and all sorts of other stuff - I'd say more, but I'd give so much detail that you might just go insane! LOL

Anyways, I have a brilliant idea! As such a hardcore Minion, I am one of many who want a tv show or movies about my favorite characters, especially in this time, when vampires are so popular - See the awesome True Blood, the defunct Moonlight, and the highly overrated Twilight (random rant: Twilight is horrible and badly written! Get better stuff to read! Bella is a lame lead! The vampires in the series are even lamer!) end of random rant). As I was saying, it's time for the Dark-Hunters to get their own series, especially since the Anita Blake series is getting one now too.

So, my brilliant idea:

MINIONS, it's time to CAMPAIGN FOR A DARK-HUNTER SHOW! We have to show the industry what we want! My idea is to start a letter writing/email/etc. campaign to Seed Productions, which is owned by Hugh Jackman, Deborra-lee Furness, and John Palermo. As their last show failed miserably, what better way for them to get over it by producing a tv show with a pretty much guaranteed audience? Plus, in that set of three, we know that there's some serious talent! Hugh is, as I'm sure we all know, one of very few legitimate triple threats in the current entertainment industry. (Triple threat = singer, dancer, actor.) However, most people (read: Americans) don't know about his amazing wife, Deborra-lee Furness. She is another incredible actor, but she has also directed before (Deb wrote and directed a short film called Standing Room Only, which is available on DVD).

Now, knowing that the Dark-Hunter series is written by a woman, I think the best idea is to have a woman direct the show. I think a Minion campaign to get a Dark-Hunter show HAS to have it written into the movement that a woman direct the series, since it is my firm belief that a woman will be able to better grasp some of the more subtle nuances of the series. It is also my firm belief that Deborra-lee Furness is just the woman for the job.


Something needs to be done for the fans of Dark-Hunters! We, as much as any other group out there, DESERVE our brave heros like Acheron, Savitar, Zarek, Kyrian, Valerius, Vane, etc brought to life on the "small" screen. However, to get what we want, we have to reach for the dream first, by actively searching for a way to accomplish it.

Please join me if you want a Dark-Hunter tv series as much as I do!