There's a reason I didn't title this "Preview Night." That's because Comic-Con Preview night is dead.
Taking its place is a tacked-on extra day where attendees squat at their favorite vendor for an opportunity to purchase the "exclusive" merchandise and get it on their eBay store before the next guy in line does.
But let me back up a minute, because my first experience at Comic-Con does indeed have a happy ending. Mine was a circuitous route around animators, artists, journalists, writers, dreamers, thinkers and doers. But mostly, I had to avoid the humanity.
I found myself always looking up, and more than once this caused a pileup with a lady on a Lark. My first order of business: Check off some items on my shopping list. The two souvenirs I hunted were blessedly at the same booth: Hasbro. But the line just to be able to purchase anything went twice around the booth, to the point it was cut off. This was at 6:10 p.m. The show opened at 6.
Really, Comic-Con? On Preview Night, which is only supposed to give a hint at what's to come, you are so packed with people your vendors have to shut their doors 10 minutes in? At least I got to take pictures of the items I wanted, even if I was too unworthy to wait for them in line:
Marcy, our friend Jillianne and I continued through the hall. We passed Mjolnir, and were given Galactus hats. I had my picture taken with a life-size Lego sculpture of C3PO, and obtained the two most recent issues of Kick-Ass. We visited with a few of Marcy and J-Lo's friends in the industry, eventually ending with the Whaleboy booth (more on him later). Their former co-worker, Ed, is one of the creators, and as we chatted with him a co-creator interrupted us. He received a text from a third collaborator who was elsewhere in the hall.
"Hey - did you guys know Hasbro is selling a $65 Galactus?" I replied I had, as I visited the booth earlier.
Their friend was in line, thinking of purchasing one.
"Wait - he's in the Hasbro line?" Jillianne shot back. Before I knew it an order was being placed for Iron Man, Doctor Doom and The Mayor.
And 15 minutes later, they were in my bag of goodies. I was the unwitting beneficiary of The First Miracle of Comic-Con.
(Watch me on Twitter tomorrow for periodic updates live from the panels at Comic-Con 2010. And I have a feeling more miracles are on the way.)
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