Comic-Con Thursday
I got to the Convention Center way early at 8:00 this morning to help fix the booth. Everyone pitched in, and by 10:00 it was pretty much ready to rock. I did a lot of blabbing today... Lotsa selling of GR. In the morning, the hot sellers were Horvath's UMAs. I also sold a lot of Humping Dogs, Gloomy Bear things, and GR stuff. Lots of customers from past cons as well as folks who introduced themselves as longtime readers. Awesome. Despite the L.A. Times articles about Robert Downey Jr., Jessica Alba, etc., no celebs shopped with us, but who cares? Our readership and customer base is cooler than that anyway.
I took one pee break/30-minute stroll through the Con today to buy a toy for a friend, and saw that some other parts of the hall are way more crowded. I don't know if that means there's more business elsewhere. Just people in line for exclusives, signings, etc. At our table, we get to talk to just about anyone who walks up to us, which is one of the best things about working the GR booth.
Some people say stuff like, "It must suck having to work and be stuck behind the booth," and my response has been that it would indeed suck if I were standing at a shitty booth selling shitty things with shitty people. It's fun working at GR for the opposite reasons.
After the Con closed at 7:00, I parted ways with the crew (they were going to Con parties and stuff, more on that later) to play with my niece at my brother's house. We made a double-decker boat out of blocks. It was awesome. Then we all had Sipz (vegan Chinese) to go.
Everyone crashed out by 10:30, so I decided to hit the Rob Crow show by myself. It wasn't far away, it was only 10 bucks, he wasn't headlining so it wouldn't end too late, and it was a benefit for one of his Pinback bandmembers who has cancer. How could I miss a hometown show like that? It turns out the entire band Pinback was playing a short set of their new songs. I got there just in time and saw them play for about 30 minutes. The song were raw but perfect. Maybe the best part was after the set when keyboardist Terrin Durfey said that his treatments were going well and that he was so grateful to everyone for playing and being there. Rad!
Does it suck that I went rogue instead of going to dinner and the parties with Eric, Michelle, Dianne, and Rosanna? (Sasha, too, but she went off to see a sneak preview of the new Neil Gaiman movie.) I hope not. I have a lot of fun with them at the both, but I'm not good at bars or clubs. I don't drink or dance, and they're usually too dark or loud to really talk. If I'm going to be standing in the dark, I'd rather be at a show. I think the others understand... If not, they have to understand about me wanting to spend time with my niece, who I don't see enough.
I got back at the house by midnight and now I'm ready to sleep in preparation for tomorrow's Con. I hear it's sold out, which is ridiculous. I don't want to sound like a cranky old-timer, but it's getting to big with too much hype and too much emphasis on Hollywood crap. You shouldn't have to buy a ticket in advance for something fun like this.
Wendy may arrive tomorrow night, which would be nice. If not, there's talk about seeing the Fucking Champs at the Casbah...
More from S.D. tomorrow!
p.s. Sorry for no pics of the Pinback show (Rob Crow was wearing his Con badge, a Con T-shirt, and a Star Wars cap), cosplayers, people in superhero gear, giant LEGO Star Wars statues, movie props, prototype toys, GR board members who visited the table, or playing with blocks. I gotta get my hands on a new digital camera...
I took one pee break/30-minute stroll through the Con today to buy a toy for a friend, and saw that some other parts of the hall are way more crowded. I don't know if that means there's more business elsewhere. Just people in line for exclusives, signings, etc. At our table, we get to talk to just about anyone who walks up to us, which is one of the best things about working the GR booth.
Some people say stuff like, "It must suck having to work and be stuck behind the booth," and my response has been that it would indeed suck if I were standing at a shitty booth selling shitty things with shitty people. It's fun working at GR for the opposite reasons.
After the Con closed at 7:00, I parted ways with the crew (they were going to Con parties and stuff, more on that later) to play with my niece at my brother's house. We made a double-decker boat out of blocks. It was awesome. Then we all had Sipz (vegan Chinese) to go.
Everyone crashed out by 10:30, so I decided to hit the Rob Crow show by myself. It wasn't far away, it was only 10 bucks, he wasn't headlining so it wouldn't end too late, and it was a benefit for one of his Pinback bandmembers who has cancer. How could I miss a hometown show like that? It turns out the entire band Pinback was playing a short set of their new songs. I got there just in time and saw them play for about 30 minutes. The song were raw but perfect. Maybe the best part was after the set when keyboardist Terrin Durfey said that his treatments were going well and that he was so grateful to everyone for playing and being there. Rad!
Does it suck that I went rogue instead of going to dinner and the parties with Eric, Michelle, Dianne, and Rosanna? (Sasha, too, but she went off to see a sneak preview of the new Neil Gaiman movie.) I hope not. I have a lot of fun with them at the both, but I'm not good at bars or clubs. I don't drink or dance, and they're usually too dark or loud to really talk. If I'm going to be standing in the dark, I'd rather be at a show. I think the others understand... If not, they have to understand about me wanting to spend time with my niece, who I don't see enough.
I got back at the house by midnight and now I'm ready to sleep in preparation for tomorrow's Con. I hear it's sold out, which is ridiculous. I don't want to sound like a cranky old-timer, but it's getting to big with too much hype and too much emphasis on Hollywood crap. You shouldn't have to buy a ticket in advance for something fun like this.
Wendy may arrive tomorrow night, which would be nice. If not, there's talk about seeing the Fucking Champs at the Casbah...
More from S.D. tomorrow!
p.s. Sorry for no pics of the Pinback show (Rob Crow was wearing his Con badge, a Con T-shirt, and a Star Wars cap), cosplayers, people in superhero gear, giant LEGO Star Wars statues, movie props, prototype toys, GR board members who visited the table, or playing with blocks. I gotta get my hands on a new digital camera...
posted by gr at
12:09 AM
Great meeting you, Martin! ComicCon was insane-kids under 12 need to be leashed and wallets under lockdown! Even after waiting in a three hour line in the blistering sun, a bone crushing crowd, no food reachable, losing my kid for the longest 30 minutes of my life, spending way too much money on more ugly dolls and little boney and kids wanting more crap they don't need... at the end of the day, kids proclaim "ComicCon is awesome!" Next year, they need to give out zanax with the programs!
We loved all the costumed folks, and enjoyed the nerds playing the newest take on D & D- I am in touch with my inner nerd, and will maybe consider next year! If it wasn't som fippin' crowded, it would have been so much more fun- I cannot even imagine Saturday, although would have loved to see the costume ball. It was eye opening for sure!
Congrats for surviving- we only did one day and the rest of our trip was spent at the beach! Take Care!
Lee and Griffin
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