Comic-Con 2012 Dispatch, Part Two: From Hall H to Oderus Urungus

You were forewarned. San Diego Comic-Con is not for the uninitiated. In Part One, you learned just how perilous it can be just to make it to Comic-Con. This time, you will discover what it is like to survive but one day of Comic-Con.

Line, Lines, Everywhere a Line ...

After acquiring shelter, badges, treasure and finally nourishment, rest was mandatory. We would be storming the walls of the infamous HALL H at Breaking Dawn. Actually we wanted to see the panel for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2, which required our weary band of travelers to be in line early to assure we'd get a seat. 

Doing a calculation on our portable abacus, we learned that the optimal time to be in line was probably 7 am for festivities starting around 11 am. Four hours early? Yes, four hours early. The lines for Hall H are epic and it is wise to arrive that early in order to acquire a decent seat. The Hall H madness reached a crescendo in 2008 when the panel for the first Twilight panel hit the con. Why would this middle-age traveller brave such a line? The wee one! This Comic-Con would be my 14-year-old daughter's first, and we would not be missing this for all the shiny vampire sprinkles in the world. 

Around 8 am the line for Hall H was consolidated. The people camping out (yes, there are people who camp out) rolled up their sleeping bags, packed them off to their fancy motor cars and were herded into a more dense line. The staff of Comic-Con does an amazing job of managing lines that stretch literally miles in length. Hall H has a series of covered awnings with snaking lines much like you would find in an amusement park. After 15 minutes or so, our line was aggregated and we resumed our least favorite activity: waiting! We waited ... and waited ... at least this time we were sitting on a well manicured lawn instead of a hard cold sidewalk.

Finally, our time arrived and we were ushered into our final destination: Hall H. We took our seats with 6,000 of our closest friends. Achievement unlocked ... Seat in Hall H acquired!

What Happens in Hall H Stays In Hall H

After surviving the lines for Hall H and securing our optimal location, we immediately went on a search for sustenance. We soon found ourselves at a food vendor whose wares included fruit, hot dogs and bubbly drinks. The prices these folks charge makes Shylock appear generous.

(Note to those new to Comic-Con: you can bring your own food into the show. After so many years you would think I would do this. But no ...)

After acquiring sustenance, we returned to our seats to await the tidings from our benefactors. Our benefactors were many and various. We heard from the cast and crews of many movies including: Superman, Iron Man 3, Breaking Dawn Part 2, Paranorman, Looper and Total Recall. Many of these panels had connections to the only place that matters: Austin, Texas.

Tim Burton and Frankenweenie

The influence of Comic-Con has reached epic proportions. In the last few years, some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers have made their Comic-Con debuts. Over the years we have been treated to Hollywood royalty like Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola. One of this years highlights was Tim Burton. Mr. Burton was on hand to promote his upcoming feature film Frankenweenie. Frankenweenie’s origins are a live-action short film shot in 1984, which ultimately caused Burton to be fired from his job at Disney. This time Frankenweenie has been re-envisioned as a stop-motion animation feature, written by highly esteemed screenwriter John August. 

Why is Frankenweenie a big deal to people in Austin? Simple, a fantastic movie requires a fantastic premiere, and this movie's world premiere will occur at Fantastic Fest 2012. From the footage we were shown at Comic-Con, I think this is a good choice for an opening-night film at Fantastic Fest. 

This panel included a cool moment for me personally. At the end of the panel, they put an announcement on the screen: "Text the word 'sparky' to #123456" for a chance to attend a VIP signing with Tim Burton. I did and 30 seconds later I got a message back saying I had won a pass. Hmpff, yah right, I bet me and 500 other suckers won. I followed the directions on the message and went to a Frankenweenie exhibit at a hotel across from the convention center. Skeptically I asked, "So is this one of a thousand?" Oh no, they told me, less than 100 people got passes (mine shown at right). I thought I might have scored big time here.

Well, let me tell you that pass was definitely exclusive. I was one of 70 people who met Burton at the event and got an autographed poster. I am not one who makes a big deal about meeting celebrities but Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors and artists. It was fun chatting with him, asking him about his art exhibit that's been touring the world. If you ever have a chance check out his art work. It is mind blowing.

Achievement unlocked ... Met kick-ass director Tim Burton!

Adventuring to Holliston

My first time at Comic-Con I found myself squatting (seeing a panel you don’t care about in order to get a seat for another) a panel, which many years later, turned out to be Comic-Con gold. This panel was for a low-budget horror flick called Hatchet. Hatchet was written and directed by aspiring filmmaker Adam Green and starred a pantheon of horror greats: Kane Hodder, Robert Englund and Tony Todd. How this noob director scored a horror trifecta was beyond me. After this panel I found out why. Adam is just a nice guy and in this case, the nice guy finished first. 

Flash forward to December 2011. I dragged my wife to a blast of an event at the Drafthouse called A VERY GREEN & LYNCH CHRISTMAS. This event was a christmas "party" hosted by filmmakers Adam Green and Joe Lynch.  We saw footage from a bunch of their projects including: Knights of Badassdom, Chillerama and a new TV show called Holliston. This show premiered on FEARnet in March and is a fun horror/comedy show. Which leads me to my panel.

After dinner, I made my way back to the Convention Center to attend the 8:30 pm panel for the TV show Holliston. Immediately upon my arrival I saw horror legend Sig Haig sitting there. I went all fanboy and asked him for a picture which he graciously obliged. When Sid Haig is in the room this has to be good!

Rod Paddock and horror legend Sid Haig

This panel was off the hook. The entire cast of Holliston was there (sans Dee Snider) including the one and only Oderus Urungus, from the band GWAR. The cast and crew had a blast telling stories about the successful first season of Holliston. We were also treated to footage and the "philosophies" of Oderus the Great! 

Oderus Urungus of GWAR on 'Holliston' Panel

After the panel, the cast and crew were very kind to their fans. They stood for a long time chatting and taking pictures. I got to chat with Adam Green for a bit reminiscing about my first encounter with him at his Hatchet panel in 2006. He is as nice now as he was then. 

Cast and creators of 'Holliston'

Achievement unlocked ... Survived Day One and met some horror greats!

As you can see a day at Comic-Con can be pretty epic. This year was unique as I normally don’t get to meet a lot of celebrities, much less get autographs and pictures. My next write up will cover the last three days of the con. Thanks for coming along for the ride so far!