ComicCon International 2006

I've been skipping ComicCon for the past five years or so, after about a decade of working the show in some capacity -- mostly technical and video. I had planned on missing this year, too, but at the last minute allowed myself to be drafted in as an assistant to the Executive Director (sounds fairly pretentious, no?). So I spent Wednesday through Saturday running errands and wrangling lines, for the most part. But I did get a chance to wander the exhibit hall from time to time, to take a few dozen photos of the costumes and goings-on, and get Sergio Aragones to sign a few newly-purchased items.

Geez, but the thing is BIG. It was almost too big the last time I went. Since then, the expansion of the convention center has about doubled the size of the exhibit hall, and there isn't any wasted space. I'm told that walking up and down all the aisles would be around the equivalent of a 10K, and it seems believable enough. Of course, you can't do it in any hurry, the place being jam-packed.

I'm told attendance was up this year, from over 100,000 last year, perhaps to around 125,000, though that figure is unofficial. I do know that on-site registration was shut down on Saturday afternoon, and that announcements went out on radio, on the freeway status signs, and via the trolley conductors that if you didn't already have your membership, turn around.

Despite all that, all the reviews I've seen coming in are favorable. Oh, there were the usual glitches to overcome, and certainly the crowding had its downside -- I had someone tell me that they were lining up for tickets to the Masquerade at 11:30 AM (tickets to be handed out starting at 4:30 PM, with the event itself at 8:30) which strikes me as somewhat insane. I spent most of Friday and Saturday outside of Hall H, which is where most of the big movie stuido stuff happened. The hall seats about six thousand, but filled up several times, and whenever it got full, there were people desperate to get in. (Some of the press in particular went away a little annoyed.) But heck...the crowds must mean we're doing SOMEthing right.

I took Sunday off (originally I had only been due to work Wednesday-Friday, but I let them talk me into Saturday too), slept in till about 11:00, got up and puttered about a bit -- but felt so out of it I had to go back to bed for about a three-hour nap. Then I had dinner, and THEN I felt more or less human.

All this meant that I missed most of the City of Heroes "Double XP Weekend" but what the heck...I had fun. Worse yet, they seemed to think I was useful...so they're already working on trying to get me to work next year. *shudder* Well, I had been missing it, I have to admit. (It's mainly an economic issue for me: I've watched too many of my friends use up a week's vacation time, year after year, to go to the Con and work twice as many hours as they would have had they stayed on their jobs, which always struck me as a bit crazy...and I don't *get* paid vacation time.) I imagine the odds are good I will be there in some form in 2007.

My (Slightly) Lucky Week

So, on Wednesday, I was in a 7-11 noticed the local super-Lotto jackpot was up over $100 million. I was buying a soda refill and donuts or some such and paying with a twenty, so I asked for five quick-picks, something I do maybe half a dozen times a year (just enough to justify the "if I won the lottery" daydreaming, without being an actual notable drain on the budget).

The next day I'm in another 7-11 and on the way out run my ticket through the "Did you win?" scanner, and lo! It says I did. So I give it to the clerk who runs it through the machine, and I win a whole...fifteen dollars! Whoo! ...OK, not that exciting, but it's the biggest lottery prize I've ever won. (I've gotten my $5 back once or twice before, but this is the first time I've actualy come out ahead.)

Then last night, I decided to go see if I could catch a late showing of Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest at the local multiplex. I get there at 10:00 PM, knowing there are showings scheduled at 10:30 and 10:55. I get up to the box office, and find both showings are sold out. I see they've added a showing at 11:30, but that's a bit later than I want to go. However, I had anticipated that the shows might be sold out, and had planned, in that case, to see Superman Returns again -- I think some of the flying scenes and other bits are worth seeing on the big screen more than once.

So I get in line. But before I get up to the window, a lady comes up to the line waving a ticket. "Anyone need just one for Pirates? I have one I can't use, I'm giving it away." "Which showing?" I ask. "10:30" she says. "Sure," I say. I offered to pay for it, but she just gave it to me and walked off. Cool, thinks I. Not only in, but for free!

Of course, there was a huge line to get in, and I was near the very end. When I finally make it in, I figure I could probably find a decent single seat somewhere, but I take the easy route and plop down in the front row. It's stadium-style seaitng, so this isn't a popular choice, but it's not so bad, particularly since the row is empty, I'm right in the center, and there's a rail in front to prop my feet up on.
Then a couple guys in pirate outfits come in to work the crowd, leading us in a chorus or two of "Yo-ho, A Pirate's Life for Me" (just the chorus) and then asking some trivia questions. I know the first two, but my hand doesn't go up quickly enough. The third is "What year did the original Pirates of the Carribean ride open at Disneyland?" Again my hand isn't up first -- but the first two or three answers are wrong, so they pick me. "1967!" I say. "Correct!" (The guy tells me that's the fastest they've gotten the correct answer all day.) So, I win a free pass for the theatre. So, not only do I see the film for free, but I get to see another movie for free sometime.

OK, not exactly life-changing incidents of luck, but hey...certanly beats the usual.

I wonder if I can talk my friends into a poker game tomorrow....