Comic Con, Day 1

The drive down to San Diego was a drive. The parking at the hotel was ridiculous. They wanted $30 a night for parking on a room that was 300% of what it goes for on an average summer weekday that is not Comic con. But because it's a huge convention it's okay to gouge your patrons. So I did the almost impossible. I found free street parking with no restrictions for all 4 days 2 blocks from my hotel. Fight power and hooray for my parking karma.

I got to the convention center and got my badge. The room wouldn't be ready until 4 pm so I wandered around the dealers hall a bit. I went and found my friend Larry at the Artists Alley and said hello. We chatted a bit and then I struck out again into the throngs of people to see what was around to look at and purchase. I had a mission. 2 people who couldn't make it wanted something from a couple booths. Exclusives for the con. Now I wasn't sure anything would be left. The "preview night" on Wednesday is not much of a preview if 10,000 people are running thru the dealers room looking for the exclusive things to buy so they can then turn around ans ell them on eBay. I found the booths easily. They were seriously right next to each other. That was convenient. But I had a question for each person. I tried to check my email for clarification. Nothing would go thru. The dealers room is a big concrete and steel box. That leads to lousy reception not to mention the fact that thousands of people are all trying to use the same bandwidth at the same time. I had to leave the hall and go outside to get any service. Then when someone called me back the call went straight to voice mail; without a caller id # I had to call someone else and they messaged the person I was trying to reach on FB. Annoying but it worked. I got the 2 items and went back to my car to put them in the trunk.

I was able to check into the room early so I dragged my bags and costumes to the hotel then trekked back about a mile to the convention center. If you ever go to Comic con be sensible and were comfortable shoes. Your feet will thank you later. I called my friend Zack and we hung out for a bit. He's comic book writer and was taking a bunch of meetings everyday to pitch ideas for work.  Like an actor, he'll do practically any gig that comes along.

I had a mixer for Comic Con Film School in the evening. I went to the Marriott and hung out there with the gentleman who puts me on the panel every year and some of the other panelists. I hung out and gorged myself on small food. that took the edge off the demons which had awoken in my stomach. I bid adieu to the people at the mixer and went to catch up with Zack at some eating establishment which for the life of me I can't remember. Wait! it was a mexican place. Baja something. I ate a little bit of chips and salsa and nachos but wasn't really hungry.

After dinner we walked to Petco park. Rob Zombie was having a party or something there which was free. We walked in and there was a DJ on a stage playing heavy metal. A huge video wall behind him was playing weird and kind of disturbing images and videos which had nothing to do with the music. It was like a goth club, but no one was dancing. they were just sitting on the grass.So like a goth club for fat listless goths. Off in the distance we saw a car on a stage. What was it? It was the car the Munsters drove in the TV series and Rob Zombie used in video or something. Next to the stage was a group of people behind a barricade in front of a large fenced off area. We watched them for a moment and tried to discern why they were there. I asked someone what was going on. "Zombie run," was the reply. So basically these people paid money to do a run, like a mini marathon, thru the tunnels and walkways of Petco park. And be chased by zombies while doing it. I looked where the zombies were on the side of this large fence. I couldn't really see them because of the covering on the fence, but there were a bunch in a cage with their arms raised, moaning and shambling about. A siren went off, the gates swung back and the runners went passed thru the gate. It closed again and then the zombies were let out of the cage. I heard moaning and screaming, and I never saw the runners emerge from any other part of the structure nor did I see them ever again. I guess the zombies won.

After that it was late. I walked back to my hotel and crashed.