Behind the scenes of Comic-Con
Every year Comic-Con gets bigger and crazier. If you last through the week it’s a blur. Inside it’s like Vegas with no windows, no clocks, it’s own little world. When the hundreds of thousands of fan descend upon the convention center it can be captivating and chaotic.
Since I’m always at my table waaay back in Small Press I rarely get to venture to the big booths, that’s why my favorite time of day is the early morning before the Hall is open to the public. All is quiet, just the low hum of the air conditioner kicking in. This is the time to truly marvel at the beauty of the Con and this is my view, a totally empty, walkable exhibit hall. Heaven.
When you think of the thousands of people that come to Con and TOUCH everything, it means displays have to be clean and in tip-top shape.
Every morning Knight Rider’s KITT got a complete rub down and while over at Lucasfilm they did their daily refilling of the snake pit. What. Yep, early in morning every day, the snake wrangler was IN the pit, arranging the fake and the real snakes. Yikes. Why does it always have to be snakes. Yes those are faux Indy feet hanging from above the pit.
Pre-con, some booths are still being built and stocked. One of my favorites is Archaia, their booth is always clean, minimal and gorgeous. A subtle, captivating landmark amongst the sea of crazy, should you get lost in the crowd.
Archaia won three(!) Eisners for Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, a beautiful book well deserved of all the praises.
The life size Castle Grayskull from He-Man was impressive. If you look closely it looks like he’s eating the cafe in the background. A He-Man cafe themed cafe would be pretty dope, think about that next year, Comic Con.
The best thing about no one being around in the morning is the clear shots for photos of the popular displays. The Marvel booth was surrounded by hundreds of fans at all hours but on this morning, it was just me and the 7 Iron Man armored costumes.
Cosplayers are a big part of Comic Con. Impressively crafted designs are on display all day, mostly handmade down to the tiniest detail.
Highlights included a Lady Vader by Arkhamasylumdoc, LadySteam13 as a Steampunk Dalek, and a very cool lady version of the Crusader from Love and Capes by Amy_Geek.
When my neighbors the Beastlies sold out and took off, two Mortal Kombat cosplayers swooped in and set up shop with a sign and everything: “Scorpion & Sub-Zero Accounting Services”. The crowd went crazy! So many photos were taken as the two just sat there, never moved, never spoke, barely blinked. That didn’t stop people from asking them about their W-2 or how to file a 1040ez. Always in character, they never moved.
Sitting at my booth all day is actually a good thing because all my friends come to me and I can just sit in one place.
Mark Waid came by to say hi and so I gave him a HULK cookie to go. Grant Imahara came to visit, so of course he had to take an “Unenthused Fashionistas” picture.
So that’s a little look at what goes on behind the scenes of Comic-Con. As you wait in line for your exclusives remember that something is always happening, things are always moving and snakes are always being stocked. I can’t wait for next year!
If you’re going to SDCC stop by and see me in Small Press or follow me on twitter and instagram to see more Comic-Con photos this year!
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