COMIC-CON 2015
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
July 9-12, 2015
Photos and writing by TourBusLive.com
NERDS IN PARADISE!!!
TourBusLive.com reporting: They came out in droves: Nerds, Geeks, Freaks, and the people who love them! They all converged on the San Diego Convention Center for COMIC-CON 2015 – the 45th annual convention celebrating TV shows, movies, games, and YES, even Comic Books!
The lines were long, the floors were packed, and crossing the streets by the convention center can literally mean taking your life in your own hands (there was a fatality a few years back when one poor woman was killed when as she tripped and fell into a passing car while she waited on the curb to get a glimpse of the cast of “Twilight.” Yep.)
But between the discussion panels, book signings, celebrity photo ops, and the coveted personalized doodles, the more than 130,000+ attendees will agree: Comic-Con 2015 was well worth the leg work!
Amid the eye-catching costumes wandering the aisles of the convention itself (anyone from home-made Pabst Blue Ribbon Man to professional Pirates for Hire), we also ran into such big names as Marvel Comic legend STAN LEE, actor SETH GREEN, Simpsons creator MATT GROENING , Bond Girl GLORIA HENDRY, Lord of the Rings’ FRODO BAGGINS (actor ELIJAH WOOD – who surprisingly and bravely roamed the convention floor sans entourage or security!), actor CLANCY BROWN (who won my respect as KURGAN in the movie Highlander), Star Trek CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK (WILLIAM SHATNER), and even WESLEY EURE, KATHY COLEMAN, and PHIL PALEY, three members of the cast of the LAND OF THE LOST – the hit 70s t.v. show that had us all in our pajamas on Saturday mornings watching the Marshall family battle dinosaurs and Sleestaks (make the hand-claw and whirry sound on cue, please) as they tried to escape back to the present time. Oh, and we even ran into 70s porn legend RON JEREMY on our way out of the convention center on Saturday. Luckily, he kept HIS lightsaber holstered.
Aside from the celebrity run-ins on the giant (460,000 square foot) convention floor, the most popular events drew the largest and most dedicated crowds – some even camping out overnight – to attend panels and preview screenings, including this year’s most talked about Comic-Con subject: STAR WARS. No new trailer was shown for the movie, but after the star-studded discussion panel – which including CARRIE FISHER, MARK HAMMIL, and the recently-recovered (from his near-death airplane crash) HARRISON FORD – the entire audience in Comic-Con’s Hall H (more than 6,500 fans) were invited outside and treated to a surprise – a free lightsaber and a free Star Wars music concert by the San Diego Symphony! That was enough to make anyone’s day! The only person who probably didn’t appreciate the surprise was follow-up panelist, actor/director KEVIN SMITH, whose presentation was unfortunately scheduled directly after Hall H emptied to catch the symphony performance. But I’m pretty sure he’ll recover.
Yeah, Comic-Con is definitely Nerd Paradise – maybe next year I’ll wear my Blade Runner costume.
SPOTTED IN THE CROWD: Naomi Kyle (IGN), Mythbuster Adam Savage, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), Mark Patton (Nightmare on Elm Street 2), Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), documentarian Morgan Spurlock, Batman, Superman, Big Hero 6, Bob’s Big Boy, Duff Man, and we even found Waldo!
