Tuesday 11 August 2009

The OC, Part 2: You Stay Classy, San Diego.

Yes, alright. Whatever. I have returned home and this particular offering is 2 weeks overdue. But as I was on holiday, and thus automatically supposed to be avoiding internet log-ons save for Facebook checks, this is late. Ok?! Tough.

So, off to Comic-Con to be surrounded by large redneck males of a sweaty variety and hormoneally-rampant Twilight fangirls. A plesant journey along the Pacific Coast also yielded a view of some power station or other shaped like Tits. This only gets a mention as it was featured in a rather funny film once and thus generated the kind of geeky "wows" in a similar way that visiting the "Dawn of the Dead" mall would. Or maybe that's just me.


After checking into our Marriot hotel on the north end of the city, we had nothing to do except go into the city and wander and get our weekend passes sorted. An initial fret over cabbing it downtown each time was quashed by the discovery of a tram line close by that took you right outside the centre. And into the paths of a main road, the main Amtrax West Coast railroad and best part of 130,000 geeks and Cosplayers. The convention Centre is huge, by my stanrads anyway. A nifty glass building that is probably about a third of a mile long. With two floors, it seems to be at least five times as big as Earls Court. The upstairs is a mass of rooms for panels and gatherings but it's the downstairs exhibition hall that hits you. About 5000 booths of companies, retailers, creators, promoters. If it's geek, it's here.


The next 4 days were just me geeking out really. I attended various Marvel Comics preview panels and managed to get into the "Kick-Ass" preview. And despite intitial skepticism, the footage did indeed Kick Ass. One to watch, especially as it includes a perfect interpretation of the scene featuring a 10-year-old Hit Girl slicing and dicing drug dealers in a downtown apartment. To the Tune of Banana Splitz. That's in the film, not the comic book.

I was lucky enoguth to meet and shake hands with some favourite creators who you've probably never heard of but I'll gush anyway.

Frank Cho - Liberty Meadows, Shanna The She Devil, Mighty Avengers
Josh Howard - Dead @ 17, Black Harvest
Scott Kurtz - PVP
John Romita Jr - Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, Kick-Ass

And some bloke called, er, Stanley? Stan? Lee? Stanner? Something like that, anyway.
He was nice.

And then there's The Mighty Boosh. Chuffed enough that they were doing a panel and a small show in town on Friday that we were off to, Friday night yielded a bit of a shock when we bumped into them staying at our hotel! Out of all the hotels, etc. After letting them finish their post-flight meal in the lobby, Andrea said hi to Noel and Julian in as controlled a way as she could, whilst beckoning to her British friends. They said hello with handshakes and after a few words, indicated their jet-lagged-ness. "I'm so jetlagged", said Julian. And he was. Our paths crossed occasionally after that.

Also:

- we visited Hooters - nice Tits, not-so-good food.
- visited a submarine and old ship. Well, Matt did, being the military geek he is.
- I got told by a Suicide Girl my accent was adorable. Yeah, well, wait til you see my **CENSORED***
- Matt requested an "offensive insult" be inserted into a Penny Arcade trade by it's creator for his mate's gift. He wrote "Cunt Puncher".
- saw Elvis: