Return of the Epic of Comic-Con
Jul. 26th, 2009 06:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasarielWell, that's another Comic-Con (and another birthday) come and gone. For the past few days, it's been hectic, but a good kind of hectic. There was always something happening, and always something about to be happening. I was gloriously busy, arranging schedules, rushing from panel to panel, bargain-hunting in the Exhibit Hall, keeping up with the news, and trying to shoehorn little things like food and sleep in there somewhere. But now everything's over, and it feels kind of strange to sit here, nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. From 300,000 fellow attendees to my lonely hotel room (I'll get to that in a moment). Everybody jokes about conventions really being all about endurance. We all whinge about being tired, and hungry, and our feet hurting, and the long lines, and the Twitlight fans, but really, it's an incredible rush. Clothing or speech that might, at best, earn you an uneasy smile elsewhere, merit approval, shouts of encouragement, even occasionally applause or someone taking your picture here. In fact, my days have been so jam-packed with enthusiasm I'm mildly surprised. It feels as though I went to bed on Wednesday afternoon (this being Sunday afternoon), had a very strange dream, and just woke up today.
Our Comic-Con party was originally supposed to consist of me, Heather, Chris, Heather's little sister Allie (who just recently turned 16; taking her to the Con was Chris'n'Heather's sweet 16 present for her), and our friend Max. Unfortunately, Max canceled literally at the 11th hour, so while we were down a companion, there was a little more room in our already-stuffed car. I drove most of the way, Chris taking over near the end.
We made a couple of family-mandated stops along the way. We stopped in Paso Robles, where Heather's grandma, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, had grown up. She wanted Heather and Allie to see it, so we followed her meandering phone directions to a small house where she was born, and to another one where she had lived later. We almost got into trouble with the current owner at the second house, which was encircled by a stone wall that Heather's great-grandpa built with his own two hands, but things got smoothed out eventually, and we got some pictures. Later, in L.A., we stopped off to give Granny some pictures that Mom had taken during our last visit.
We planned way, *way* ahead this year, so we got a really nice hotel. Because of a clerical error, we ended up with two rooms instead of a suite. Heather and Chris, of course, got one room, while Allie and I shared the other. Heather was really digging her role as Allie's legal guardian for the week, and was in full "mom" mode. We got into San Diego about noon (after spending the previous night in a rather unmemorable hotel near Ventura), but check-in time wasn't until 3:00, so we wandered a bit, and had lunch in Old Town. It seems like the only kind of restaurant they have around here is Mexican, which I guess is logical, but since I really don't like spicy food, it was rather an adventure. When we finally got settled into our hotel, we spent our last free day relaxing, as we all needed to save up our energy for the impending convention.
The next day, Wednesday, we spent gearing up. We went shopping for last-minute supplies (with the aid of my new GPS, which we have christened Winifred), checked the evening's schedule online one last time, and generally paced around. I have to say, I was keyed up. I'm missing Jay's enthusiasm and peculiar brand of wit on this trip, but Allie is a worthy addition, and we had a good group going. We had some extremely unusual adventures on our way towards the Convention Center for Preview Night, mostly stemming from the fact that in San Diego, traffic laws are more guidelines than actual rules. Owing to the fact that we'd left our hotel three hours early, we got there in a fair amount of time, and parking was relatively easy thanks to Heather's handicapped pass. Since last year was such a struggle for her, she's got a walker this year to help her around. Also, her new handicapped status allowed us to get into much shorter lines (especially to check in that first evening!) and much better seats.
It was weird going in, that first night. I don't remember having the giddy excitement of last year, but a deep, quiet sort of happiness, that all was soon to be right with the world. We didn't see many cosplayers that first night, but that makes sense, since Preview Night is only for those who have four-day passes. Jay waited too long to get his, so he was only able to secure single-day passes for Thursday and Sunday. Oooh! I forgot to mention that while he wasn't traveling with us, he was planning on attending Comic-Con, and staying with a friend who lived in the area.
But back to the con itself. I had forgotten so much about it! The crowds, pressing in and shoving from all sides, everybody wanting to move at a different speed and in a different direction from what they already had, the mad struggle to get out of the main flow and close to a booth you want a closer look at, the way your bag cuts into your shoulder and your leg at the same time, the odd rolling gait required to balance a full bag, the peculiar blend of politeness and moxie required to move at all, the initially overwhelming whirl of colors, lights, and movement, the indescribable din, made up of blaring music, shouted conversations, fangirls and fanboys squeeing, booth owners yelling advertisements, and the confusing roar of the newest TV shows and movies coming from the big production companies. It was good to be back. We return to our hotel room late and exhausted, but anxious for the fun to really begin the next day, when Comic-Con would officially kick off.
Now comes the point where I have to consult my Events Guide (or Con Bible, as it is colloquially known) in order to piece events together. Wow, this thing has been through the mill. Torn, battered, squashed, and occasionally endampened (which left it with an interesting pattern of wear points and weakened binding), it has been sat on, scribbled on, folded over, rolled up, and generally mangled. My librarian's soul would be crying out at this blatant case of book abuse, but the Con Bible is just one of those books that is meant to be used, and used hard. Flipping through it, I find pages of booths that I wanted to visit folded over, scribbled notes on panels, random doodles from when I was bored or couldn't get a pen to work, notes on books that sounded good, ideas I jotted down, and a complex system of circles, question marks, stars, and "x"s used to delineate which panels I wanted to go to and whether or not I actually made it to them. The cover is literally falling off.
*consults Con Bible* OK, on Thursday, July 23, I kicked off the con with TOR.N's (TheOneRing.Net's) panel on the upcoming The Hobbit movies. Yes, they've decided to split it into two movies, in order to add in some stuff from LOTR's Appendices, i.e. the White Council and its battle with the Necromancer. It was confirmed that Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Hugo Weaving would be reprising their roles as Gandalf, Gollum, and Elrond respectively. Ian I was virtually certain of from the get-go, seeing as how he's always been such a vocal supporter of PJ and LOTR, as well as Gandalf being such a pivotal character. I'm also pleased with Andy and Hugo returning, but Hugo especially. I wasn't sure he'd be back, since he is a fairly popular actor, and I've always found him to be *the* Elrond. There was some talk about people like Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) reprising their roles in brief cameos, but nothing was confirmed or denied. The screenplay itself is just now nearing a first draft, so it's probably going to be a while before the casting is finalized. It is also confirmed that Alan Lee and John Howe, two of the original artists, are coming back, as are Fran Walch, Phileppa Boyd, and the one and only Peter Jackson are back in the writers' chairs.
That was a rather frustrating panel to schedule, as it seemed as though whoever was in charge of scheduling Comic-Con was intent of throwing all the good stuff at us at once. Within two hours (each panel being one hour long), there was "Fan's Guide to Comic-Con," "Secret Origins of Comic-Con," "Heroes, Villains, and Archetypes," "Science Fiction That Will Change Your Life," "Escapist Fantasy," and "Comics, Courts, and Controversy." Since I couldn't make TOR.N's panel last year, it was my first priority this year, but I'm still none too happy about missing some of the others, especially "Heroes, Villains, and Archetypes" and "Escapist Fantasy."
Chris, Heather, and Allie attended that one with me, which was cool, but directly afterwords, I discovered that I'd squashed my lunch, which included a plum. Note to self: do not take any soft, squishy fruits in a bag that is frequently stepped on, dropped, and kicked, and contains a number of heavy and/or delicate items. After I'd washed the exploded-plum goo off of everything (the only real damage was to my bag, which smelled funny, and to my Con Bible, which took rather a dousing) I dropped Allie off with Heather and Chris, as Heather was being adamant about Allie not being able to wander around on her own.
My next panel, two hours later, was "Avatars, Icons, and Antiheroes." Holly Black was there, and I luffed it! I luffed it so much! I learned quite a lot, and went away with a lot to think about on the nature of good and evil, the enormous grey area that separates them, and how sometimes one can be the other. While sitting there, watching these big names debate good, evil, and the applicability thereof, of one scene in...Death Masks, was it? One of the Dresden Files books, anyway. In it, the Denarians are up to their usual tricks, and an old and dear friend has just sacrificed his freedom, as well as (probably) his life, to save Harry, and Michael and Harry go to get some information off of one of the Denarians. Michael, who is the embodiment of lawful good, cannot do harm to this unarmed, mewling, disgusting slime of the earth, and leaves after getting his info. Harry, on the other hand, stays behind and does what Michael secretly wants to do, namely, beat the holy living f**k out of the little rat, breaking about half the bones in his body, unarmed or not. Harry is aware that he is deliberately causing extreme pain to a defenseless human, and he enjoys doing it, but he decides that that doesn't make him evil, but maybe it does, but maybe it doesn't...
After that, I had to boogie off to get in line for my next panel, "Evolution of Fantasy." Seriously, I've found that if you want anything even approaching a good seat, you need to get in line at least 45 minutes early, if not a full hour. This panel was AMAZING. Not only was it a fascinating insight into the development of fantasy novels since Tolkien's day, including the development of the urban fantasy, YA fantasy, and paranormal romance sub-genres, and the various sociological and literary reasons for said development, but I got two excellent literary leads. Lev Grossman's The Magicians sound like exactly the sort of "dorky fantasy-obsessed teenagers are sucked into their favorite books, meet the characters, and save the world" book that I adore, but Lynn Flewelling was the real gem. Most of the panelists were witty, slightly gregarious people, obviously used to public speaking. Then there was mousy, middle-aged little Lynn. She rarely spoke, but she obviously thought before she did so, a rare and valuable attribute in this day and age. What little I heard of her Nightrunner series intrigued me, so I also decided to give that a go. I researched it on the 'Net, getting more and more interested all the time. I cursed the week that would pass before I could get back to my own bookstores and libraries. But, glory of glories, I chanced to stumble across the booth of her publisher, Random House, which bore signs proudly proclaiming their signing schedule, with Lynn Flewelling signing, and giving away free copies of, her first Nightrunner novel, Luck in the Shadows! I was elated, of course, and immediately made being at booth #1128 at 11:30 AM on July 25 my absolute highest priority. But more on that later...
After that panel, I was getting a bit tired, but I headed off to what would be my last panel of the day, my old friend "Graphic Novels in Libraries." This year's incarnation was much better, as there was more of a balance between librarians, graphic novel experts, and even mixes of the two on the panel. We mostly talked about getting starting manga and anime clubs, and other ways to get children, teens, and adults to read everything from Fruits Basket to Persepolis. It was rather sparsely attended, as I knew it would be, but I didn't really mind, as it stayed lively throughout. After that, I was supposed to stay in the same room for "The Anthropology of Star Trek," but by that time, I was getting a little tired of sitting on my fanny listening to people talk, so I met up with the others, and we got in line for another old favorite, "Superhero Kung-Fu Extravaganza." There was some talk of ending the "Extravaganza" after last year, which was its 10th year running, but it's always been one of the most popular panels, so our grey-bearded, dragon yalmuke-wearing host, Ric Meyers brought it back, to thunderous applause. Undeterred by a minor earthquake during the panel (I am not kidding; I felt the building shake and everything), we applauded, cheered, and groaned in sympathy through three hours of John Woo, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and many, many more. Although, I will have to admit, watching inexplicably enraged Asian men kick the holy living shit out of each other loses its charm after about the second hour.
We arose far too early, and yet not early enough, for my liking the second day, Friday, July 24. Too early, because we'd gotten in at about midnight the night before, and not early enough because we missed my first panel, "Fan Power," which was to detail the effect the fanbase, or even occasionally one or two individual fans, has had on this series/movie/book/whatever or that. However, we made it in plenty of time for my next panel, "Future Fond Memories." The panelists, all well-known children's or YA fantasy authors discussed their favorite books of yore, and the effect their books will hopefully have on the next generation of readers. It wasn't as edifying as those of the previous day, but it was sweet, and definitely worth the time. I checked out James Owen, one of the panelists, and his series, Imaginarium Geographica, which detailed the fantastical adventures of John (J.R.R. Tolkien), Jack (C.S. Lewis), and Charles (Charles Williams), three real-life friends and literary giants. It sounds not as quite as grand of a scope as I could have hoped for, so while the Imaginarium Geographica sounds interesting, I think I would have enjoyed it more several years ago.
After that (and after a bit of wandering the Exhibit Hall) came the highly-anticipated "Care and Feeding of a Series," once again featuring Holly Black, as well as Brian Herbert (son and literary heir of Frank Herbert, legendary Dune creator) and last year's delightfully Irish Eoin Colfer. Once again, some interesting insights on issues I'd been mulling over for a while. These days, it seems as though an author can't not write a series, and can't not keep on writing a series. It's good to know that there are some people out there who are interested in more than churning out another poorly-written, mass-produced piece of schlock in order to cash in on some giant, established franchise instead of (gasp!) thinking up an original idea and new characters.
My final panel that day was the mega-popular interview with Joss Whedon, or "the Boss," or "the sadistic evil beloved-character-killing bastard," as his fans like to call him. But "Care and Feeding" ended only half an hour before Joss' panel started, and no way was I going to get a seat that late. Luckily, Chris, Heather, and Allie had already established seats in the room for a previous panel, Bones, and Chris and I pulled a nifty little switcheroo with his bathroom pass and Attendant badge (yet another perk of Heather's "handicapped" status), so we both got in. Sadly, I got there a bit late, so I heard just a few questions before the panel was over.
I had thought of going to see "World's Worst Cartoons" again that evening, but we were all bushed, so we made an early night of it. Of course, we still slept in late the next morning, causing me to miss my first panel, "Fan Fiction Fan Group." But that wasn't too bad a loss, as upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Twilight fanfic group. I shudder to think of what would have happened had I gone, I would have lost quite a few IQ points, at least.
But in other news, that day, Saturday, July 25th was my 19th birthday. I was originally kind of depressed that the only birthday regards I got were automated messages from forums I rarely frequent anymore, but Mom called about midmorning, my traveling companions remembered about 11:00 and Jay, who, it turns out, managed to wrangle a Saturday pass, called me that afternoon, and bought me a nice blue set of dice. Chris and Heather got me a couple of vampire books, which they gave to me today. Still, I always get a little depressed on my birthday, and not for the reasons you might think. I'm not at all worried about getting "old," but every year it is a bit disenheartening to see just how few people remember. I mean, it's not like I scream about it, but Heather's been my best friend for 10 years, so I'd hoped that at least she might wish me a happy birthday at breakfast. Peter called that evening, and Dad hasn't called at all yet. Oh, well. I suppose he has his reasons.
On a slightly more cheerful front, the highlight of my birthday was definitely getting my brand-new copy of Luck in the Shadows signed by Lynn Flewelling herself! Being the social butterfly I am, of course I froze up when I came face-to-face with her, having barely enough presence of mind to mumble my name, and nowhere near enough to ask her to sign it "happy birthday" or tell her how grateful I am that I've found a fresh, original, engrossing epic fantasy series in her Nightrunner books.
After that, even the Twilight-roasting of "Bram Stoker: Joss Whedon of His Day?" paled by comparison, although "Bram Stoker" really was excellent, comprised of everything from cutting-edge urban fantasy writers to Stoker's actual great-nephew and literary heir. A couple of Twilight fans were brave enough to admit to being such in a room full of "real vampires don't sparkle" people, so I think the panelists reined themselves in a little bit in that regard. Nevertheless, it had several good points. The reverence with which the panelists who had seen, or even held, Stoker's own, personal notes spoke really was touching. I'd originally thought that the Joss Whedon in the panel title meant a bit of a maverick, someone who redefines a genre and sets the bar high, but it turns out to just mean good with vampires.
That being done, I went off to stand in line for Chris and Heather for the Gears of War panel. It started at 5:30, and their previous panel got out at about 5:00. They wanted to ensure that they had good seats, so they enlisted me to grab them a spot near the front of the line. Being a good friend, I did that, although it meant missing out on "Movie Costume Designers" and "Love is in the Air: GLBT Romance Comics." Ah, well. Them's the breaks.
The Masquerade was that night, but we decided not to go, although Chris and Heather are thinking of entering next year. I thought I would be able to see the playback the next day, but it was not to be. Everybody slept in very late, and we had to get Allie to the airport for her 12:40 flight up to Camp Kaz, and with one thing and another, we didn't even make it to the con until about 1:30, at which point we almost immediately met up with Jay and hung out with him for a few hours while Chris and Heather bargain-hunted. Heather had wanted to go to the Dr. Who panel, and I had wanted to see the playback, as well as "Changing Identity of the Superhero" and "Comics in Museums," and we all wanted to go to the Browncoats Fan Group, but none of it was to be.
Sorry for the rather abrupt summation; I'm under orders to visit UC San Diego tomorrow, and there's quite a bit of prep work to be done for that, and I've got to pack, and shower, and try to get some sleep... Wow, I'm busier that I thought, and I've been typing for more than four hours. Go me.
Our Comic-Con party was originally supposed to consist of me, Heather, Chris, Heather's little sister Allie (who just recently turned 16; taking her to the Con was Chris'n'Heather's sweet 16 present for her), and our friend Max. Unfortunately, Max canceled literally at the 11th hour, so while we were down a companion, there was a little more room in our already-stuffed car. I drove most of the way, Chris taking over near the end.
We made a couple of family-mandated stops along the way. We stopped in Paso Robles, where Heather's grandma, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, had grown up. She wanted Heather and Allie to see it, so we followed her meandering phone directions to a small house where she was born, and to another one where she had lived later. We almost got into trouble with the current owner at the second house, which was encircled by a stone wall that Heather's great-grandpa built with his own two hands, but things got smoothed out eventually, and we got some pictures. Later, in L.A., we stopped off to give Granny some pictures that Mom had taken during our last visit.
We planned way, *way* ahead this year, so we got a really nice hotel. Because of a clerical error, we ended up with two rooms instead of a suite. Heather and Chris, of course, got one room, while Allie and I shared the other. Heather was really digging her role as Allie's legal guardian for the week, and was in full "mom" mode. We got into San Diego about noon (after spending the previous night in a rather unmemorable hotel near Ventura), but check-in time wasn't until 3:00, so we wandered a bit, and had lunch in Old Town. It seems like the only kind of restaurant they have around here is Mexican, which I guess is logical, but since I really don't like spicy food, it was rather an adventure. When we finally got settled into our hotel, we spent our last free day relaxing, as we all needed to save up our energy for the impending convention.
The next day, Wednesday, we spent gearing up. We went shopping for last-minute supplies (with the aid of my new GPS, which we have christened Winifred), checked the evening's schedule online one last time, and generally paced around. I have to say, I was keyed up. I'm missing Jay's enthusiasm and peculiar brand of wit on this trip, but Allie is a worthy addition, and we had a good group going. We had some extremely unusual adventures on our way towards the Convention Center for Preview Night, mostly stemming from the fact that in San Diego, traffic laws are more guidelines than actual rules. Owing to the fact that we'd left our hotel three hours early, we got there in a fair amount of time, and parking was relatively easy thanks to Heather's handicapped pass. Since last year was such a struggle for her, she's got a walker this year to help her around. Also, her new handicapped status allowed us to get into much shorter lines (especially to check in that first evening!) and much better seats.
It was weird going in, that first night. I don't remember having the giddy excitement of last year, but a deep, quiet sort of happiness, that all was soon to be right with the world. We didn't see many cosplayers that first night, but that makes sense, since Preview Night is only for those who have four-day passes. Jay waited too long to get his, so he was only able to secure single-day passes for Thursday and Sunday. Oooh! I forgot to mention that while he wasn't traveling with us, he was planning on attending Comic-Con, and staying with a friend who lived in the area.
But back to the con itself. I had forgotten so much about it! The crowds, pressing in and shoving from all sides, everybody wanting to move at a different speed and in a different direction from what they already had, the mad struggle to get out of the main flow and close to a booth you want a closer look at, the way your bag cuts into your shoulder and your leg at the same time, the odd rolling gait required to balance a full bag, the peculiar blend of politeness and moxie required to move at all, the initially overwhelming whirl of colors, lights, and movement, the indescribable din, made up of blaring music, shouted conversations, fangirls and fanboys squeeing, booth owners yelling advertisements, and the confusing roar of the newest TV shows and movies coming from the big production companies. It was good to be back. We return to our hotel room late and exhausted, but anxious for the fun to really begin the next day, when Comic-Con would officially kick off.
Now comes the point where I have to consult my Events Guide (or Con Bible, as it is colloquially known) in order to piece events together. Wow, this thing has been through the mill. Torn, battered, squashed, and occasionally endampened (which left it with an interesting pattern of wear points and weakened binding), it has been sat on, scribbled on, folded over, rolled up, and generally mangled. My librarian's soul would be crying out at this blatant case of book abuse, but the Con Bible is just one of those books that is meant to be used, and used hard. Flipping through it, I find pages of booths that I wanted to visit folded over, scribbled notes on panels, random doodles from when I was bored or couldn't get a pen to work, notes on books that sounded good, ideas I jotted down, and a complex system of circles, question marks, stars, and "x"s used to delineate which panels I wanted to go to and whether or not I actually made it to them. The cover is literally falling off.
*consults Con Bible* OK, on Thursday, July 23, I kicked off the con with TOR.N's (TheOneRing.Net's) panel on the upcoming The Hobbit movies. Yes, they've decided to split it into two movies, in order to add in some stuff from LOTR's Appendices, i.e. the White Council and its battle with the Necromancer. It was confirmed that Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Hugo Weaving would be reprising their roles as Gandalf, Gollum, and Elrond respectively. Ian I was virtually certain of from the get-go, seeing as how he's always been such a vocal supporter of PJ and LOTR, as well as Gandalf being such a pivotal character. I'm also pleased with Andy and Hugo returning, but Hugo especially. I wasn't sure he'd be back, since he is a fairly popular actor, and I've always found him to be *the* Elrond. There was some talk about people like Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) reprising their roles in brief cameos, but nothing was confirmed or denied. The screenplay itself is just now nearing a first draft, so it's probably going to be a while before the casting is finalized. It is also confirmed that Alan Lee and John Howe, two of the original artists, are coming back, as are Fran Walch, Phileppa Boyd, and the one and only Peter Jackson are back in the writers' chairs.
That was a rather frustrating panel to schedule, as it seemed as though whoever was in charge of scheduling Comic-Con was intent of throwing all the good stuff at us at once. Within two hours (each panel being one hour long), there was "Fan's Guide to Comic-Con," "Secret Origins of Comic-Con," "Heroes, Villains, and Archetypes," "Science Fiction That Will Change Your Life," "Escapist Fantasy," and "Comics, Courts, and Controversy." Since I couldn't make TOR.N's panel last year, it was my first priority this year, but I'm still none too happy about missing some of the others, especially "Heroes, Villains, and Archetypes" and "Escapist Fantasy."
Chris, Heather, and Allie attended that one with me, which was cool, but directly afterwords, I discovered that I'd squashed my lunch, which included a plum. Note to self: do not take any soft, squishy fruits in a bag that is frequently stepped on, dropped, and kicked, and contains a number of heavy and/or delicate items. After I'd washed the exploded-plum goo off of everything (the only real damage was to my bag, which smelled funny, and to my Con Bible, which took rather a dousing) I dropped Allie off with Heather and Chris, as Heather was being adamant about Allie not being able to wander around on her own.
My next panel, two hours later, was "Avatars, Icons, and Antiheroes." Holly Black was there, and I luffed it! I luffed it so much! I learned quite a lot, and went away with a lot to think about on the nature of good and evil, the enormous grey area that separates them, and how sometimes one can be the other. While sitting there, watching these big names debate good, evil, and the applicability thereof, of one scene in...Death Masks, was it? One of the Dresden Files books, anyway. In it, the Denarians are up to their usual tricks, and an old and dear friend has just sacrificed his freedom, as well as (probably) his life, to save Harry, and Michael and Harry go to get some information off of one of the Denarians. Michael, who is the embodiment of lawful good, cannot do harm to this unarmed, mewling, disgusting slime of the earth, and leaves after getting his info. Harry, on the other hand, stays behind and does what Michael secretly wants to do, namely, beat the holy living f**k out of the little rat, breaking about half the bones in his body, unarmed or not. Harry is aware that he is deliberately causing extreme pain to a defenseless human, and he enjoys doing it, but he decides that that doesn't make him evil, but maybe it does, but maybe it doesn't...
After that, I had to boogie off to get in line for my next panel, "Evolution of Fantasy." Seriously, I've found that if you want anything even approaching a good seat, you need to get in line at least 45 minutes early, if not a full hour. This panel was AMAZING. Not only was it a fascinating insight into the development of fantasy novels since Tolkien's day, including the development of the urban fantasy, YA fantasy, and paranormal romance sub-genres, and the various sociological and literary reasons for said development, but I got two excellent literary leads. Lev Grossman's The Magicians sound like exactly the sort of "dorky fantasy-obsessed teenagers are sucked into their favorite books, meet the characters, and save the world" book that I adore, but Lynn Flewelling was the real gem. Most of the panelists were witty, slightly gregarious people, obviously used to public speaking. Then there was mousy, middle-aged little Lynn. She rarely spoke, but she obviously thought before she did so, a rare and valuable attribute in this day and age. What little I heard of her Nightrunner series intrigued me, so I also decided to give that a go. I researched it on the 'Net, getting more and more interested all the time. I cursed the week that would pass before I could get back to my own bookstores and libraries. But, glory of glories, I chanced to stumble across the booth of her publisher, Random House, which bore signs proudly proclaiming their signing schedule, with Lynn Flewelling signing, and giving away free copies of, her first Nightrunner novel, Luck in the Shadows! I was elated, of course, and immediately made being at booth #1128 at 11:30 AM on July 25 my absolute highest priority. But more on that later...
After that panel, I was getting a bit tired, but I headed off to what would be my last panel of the day, my old friend "Graphic Novels in Libraries." This year's incarnation was much better, as there was more of a balance between librarians, graphic novel experts, and even mixes of the two on the panel. We mostly talked about getting starting manga and anime clubs, and other ways to get children, teens, and adults to read everything from Fruits Basket to Persepolis. It was rather sparsely attended, as I knew it would be, but I didn't really mind, as it stayed lively throughout. After that, I was supposed to stay in the same room for "The Anthropology of Star Trek," but by that time, I was getting a little tired of sitting on my fanny listening to people talk, so I met up with the others, and we got in line for another old favorite, "Superhero Kung-Fu Extravaganza." There was some talk of ending the "Extravaganza" after last year, which was its 10th year running, but it's always been one of the most popular panels, so our grey-bearded, dragon yalmuke-wearing host, Ric Meyers brought it back, to thunderous applause. Undeterred by a minor earthquake during the panel (I am not kidding; I felt the building shake and everything), we applauded, cheered, and groaned in sympathy through three hours of John Woo, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and many, many more. Although, I will have to admit, watching inexplicably enraged Asian men kick the holy living shit out of each other loses its charm after about the second hour.
We arose far too early, and yet not early enough, for my liking the second day, Friday, July 24. Too early, because we'd gotten in at about midnight the night before, and not early enough because we missed my first panel, "Fan Power," which was to detail the effect the fanbase, or even occasionally one or two individual fans, has had on this series/movie/book/whatever or that. However, we made it in plenty of time for my next panel, "Future Fond Memories." The panelists, all well-known children's or YA fantasy authors discussed their favorite books of yore, and the effect their books will hopefully have on the next generation of readers. It wasn't as edifying as those of the previous day, but it was sweet, and definitely worth the time. I checked out James Owen, one of the panelists, and his series, Imaginarium Geographica, which detailed the fantastical adventures of John (J.R.R. Tolkien), Jack (C.S. Lewis), and Charles (Charles Williams), three real-life friends and literary giants. It sounds not as quite as grand of a scope as I could have hoped for, so while the Imaginarium Geographica sounds interesting, I think I would have enjoyed it more several years ago.
After that (and after a bit of wandering the Exhibit Hall) came the highly-anticipated "Care and Feeding of a Series," once again featuring Holly Black, as well as Brian Herbert (son and literary heir of Frank Herbert, legendary Dune creator) and last year's delightfully Irish Eoin Colfer. Once again, some interesting insights on issues I'd been mulling over for a while. These days, it seems as though an author can't not write a series, and can't not keep on writing a series. It's good to know that there are some people out there who are interested in more than churning out another poorly-written, mass-produced piece of schlock in order to cash in on some giant, established franchise instead of (gasp!) thinking up an original idea and new characters.
My final panel that day was the mega-popular interview with Joss Whedon, or "the Boss," or "the sadistic evil beloved-character-killing bastard," as his fans like to call him. But "Care and Feeding" ended only half an hour before Joss' panel started, and no way was I going to get a seat that late. Luckily, Chris, Heather, and Allie had already established seats in the room for a previous panel, Bones, and Chris and I pulled a nifty little switcheroo with his bathroom pass and Attendant badge (yet another perk of Heather's "handicapped" status), so we both got in. Sadly, I got there a bit late, so I heard just a few questions before the panel was over.
I had thought of going to see "World's Worst Cartoons" again that evening, but we were all bushed, so we made an early night of it. Of course, we still slept in late the next morning, causing me to miss my first panel, "Fan Fiction Fan Group." But that wasn't too bad a loss, as upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Twilight fanfic group. I shudder to think of what would have happened had I gone, I would have lost quite a few IQ points, at least.
But in other news, that day, Saturday, July 25th was my 19th birthday. I was originally kind of depressed that the only birthday regards I got were automated messages from forums I rarely frequent anymore, but Mom called about midmorning, my traveling companions remembered about 11:00 and Jay, who, it turns out, managed to wrangle a Saturday pass, called me that afternoon, and bought me a nice blue set of dice. Chris and Heather got me a couple of vampire books, which they gave to me today. Still, I always get a little depressed on my birthday, and not for the reasons you might think. I'm not at all worried about getting "old," but every year it is a bit disenheartening to see just how few people remember. I mean, it's not like I scream about it, but Heather's been my best friend for 10 years, so I'd hoped that at least she might wish me a happy birthday at breakfast. Peter called that evening, and Dad hasn't called at all yet. Oh, well. I suppose he has his reasons.
On a slightly more cheerful front, the highlight of my birthday was definitely getting my brand-new copy of Luck in the Shadows signed by Lynn Flewelling herself! Being the social butterfly I am, of course I froze up when I came face-to-face with her, having barely enough presence of mind to mumble my name, and nowhere near enough to ask her to sign it "happy birthday" or tell her how grateful I am that I've found a fresh, original, engrossing epic fantasy series in her Nightrunner books.
After that, even the Twilight-roasting of "Bram Stoker: Joss Whedon of His Day?" paled by comparison, although "Bram Stoker" really was excellent, comprised of everything from cutting-edge urban fantasy writers to Stoker's actual great-nephew and literary heir. A couple of Twilight fans were brave enough to admit to being such in a room full of "real vampires don't sparkle" people, so I think the panelists reined themselves in a little bit in that regard. Nevertheless, it had several good points. The reverence with which the panelists who had seen, or even held, Stoker's own, personal notes spoke really was touching. I'd originally thought that the Joss Whedon in the panel title meant a bit of a maverick, someone who redefines a genre and sets the bar high, but it turns out to just mean good with vampires.
That being done, I went off to stand in line for Chris and Heather for the Gears of War panel. It started at 5:30, and their previous panel got out at about 5:00. They wanted to ensure that they had good seats, so they enlisted me to grab them a spot near the front of the line. Being a good friend, I did that, although it meant missing out on "Movie Costume Designers" and "Love is in the Air: GLBT Romance Comics." Ah, well. Them's the breaks.
The Masquerade was that night, but we decided not to go, although Chris and Heather are thinking of entering next year. I thought I would be able to see the playback the next day, but it was not to be. Everybody slept in very late, and we had to get Allie to the airport for her 12:40 flight up to Camp Kaz, and with one thing and another, we didn't even make it to the con until about 1:30, at which point we almost immediately met up with Jay and hung out with him for a few hours while Chris and Heather bargain-hunted. Heather had wanted to go to the Dr. Who panel, and I had wanted to see the playback, as well as "Changing Identity of the Superhero" and "Comics in Museums," and we all wanted to go to the Browncoats Fan Group, but none of it was to be.
Sorry for the rather abrupt summation; I'm under orders to visit UC San Diego tomorrow, and there's quite a bit of prep work to be done for that, and I've got to pack, and shower, and try to get some sleep... Wow, I'm busier that I thought, and I've been typing for more than four hours. Go me.
