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It’s Already Time For C2E2

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This time next week I’ll be heading to Chicago for C2E2! If you know me, you know I love this convention and it’s one I attend pretty much each year. It’s just the perfect size and not overly crazy like some of the other conventions out there. The main reason I love going though is the fact it’s Ground Zero for my friend group. I get to see my friends from Chicago and St. Louis plus this year Katy is flying over from the UK! I’m really excited about seeing everyone and just catching up and not worrying about anything. After looking over the schedule, there are a few panels that caught my eye but nothing that I have to attend. I only have one photo op right now and that’s with Charlie Cox from “Daredevil.” I’m very excited about that and still trying to figure out what to wear!

Saturday I have a cosplay photoshoot set up for Catwoman. I’m nervous about finally wearing her. I know it’ll be fine but you know how brains are. I feel confident in the photographer that I picked though. Her rates were fair and her portfolio looked solid. Plus I feel more comfortable just because she’s a woman. Sorry, not sorry. I hope the weather keeps it together though and the rain stays away. I’d love to be able to take some photos outside. It’ll be fine either way!

One thing that’s new this year is the hotel. Normally we stay at the Hyatt but this year we picked the new Marriott. It almost feels like cheating in some weird way. I mean, we’ve used the Hyatt for years and they’ve always been super good to us! But it’ll be fun to try a brand new hotel and hopefully the bar/lounge areas won’t be as crowded. That was the only downfall of the Hyatt. It was party central and the last few years they were doing construction on the lobby/bar areas which meant it was even worse than normal. Plus the wait for the elevators. I’ll be curious to see if over time the after hour events get split between the two hotels.

Are any of you heading to C2E2? Or maybe another convention soon? Let me know!

Convention Plans For 2018

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I’m honestly glad to be finished with conventions and traveling for the year. I love it, but it’s exhausting and expensive! I’m already planning for next year though and I am excited to get back to it once I’ve recharged a bit.

C2E2: April

This will be my first convention of 2018 and it’s one of my favorite shows! It’s normally the one show where my squad can all get together and just hang out and nerd out. The show has a great balance of celebs and comics. I love their Artist Alley and the show just has a really good vibe. If you feel that NYCC is too crowded and overwhelming, I highly recommend C2E2! I’ll be debuting my Catwoman cosplay there too. If you follow me on Twitter, I posted some sneak peaks!

Heroes Con: June

I’ve only been to this show once before but I fell in love hard. If you’re looking for some amazing talent all in once place, this is the convention for you. Plus it’s very affordable. I think a weekend pass is only $40. Don’t quote me on that though. The cosplay is pretty on point as well! Plus I’ll be rooming with Karl and Jenna and I can’t wait to party with them.

Baltimore Comic-Con: September

This is my local show, which means of course I’ll be there. I missed it this year because of London and was legit sad about it. It’s another pretty affordable show, plus I can drive to and from and can save money on a hotel. If you’re in the area, give it a shot! Even if you just attend for a day, it’s pretty worth it.

And that’s probably it! I might try and check out Keystone Comic-Con in September. It’s the newest ReedPop event and is up the road in Philly. Even if I don’t go for the entire weekend, I might try and drive up for a day just to see. If you’re up in Philly, this might be a show to add to your list! It’s nice to have another convention nearby that isn’t Wizard World.

What shows do you guys have on your list for next year? Let me know!

New York Comic Con Weekend

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It was a pretty last minute decision to attend New York Comic-Con last weekend. I mainly attended to see friends and to see the “Psych: The Movie” panel. Once I saw that panel was announced I knew I had to make it work. I only went Saturday and Sunday. It’s just a “short” three hour drive and it’s a pretty easy drive as well. I hopped in the car around 5:30AM and took off up the road. I think I got to NYCC around 8:30, maybe 9AM. I stayed in Jersey to save some money and took the ferry across. My badge had to be picked up at Will Call and it was painless. Granted, I’m sure most people by Saturday already had their badges. But I was in and out, and the same goes for security as well. The lines moved pretty swiftly and bag check was smooth. I didn’t cosplay though so I have no insights on weapons or any cosplay related issues. The first thing I did was head down to the Queue Hall to make sure I was good to go for seeing Psych. There was a decent line but once 10AM rolled around and the convention opened, it didn’t take long to get my badge tapped and to “reserve” my seat. After that I just wandered around! I attended solo which meant I could do whatever I wanted!

One of the first places I stopped was the Sideshow Collectibles booth. I’ve been friends with Susan who works there for awhile now but we never had the chance to meet before! It was really nice to finally catch up with her and talk about Hot Toys and football. Plus the booth had some amazing items on display. I finally saw the Yondu Sixth Scale Figure in person and man, it has to be the best that Hot Toys has put out. I think once I have a few more Reward Points saved up, I’m going to order him. They had a few of the new Ragnarok figures on display too including Hela and Gladiator Hulk. I’m beyond thrilled to see more female figures coming from Hot Toys. Speaking of Sideshow, don’t forget that Spooktacular is just around the corner! Only 11 days to go! If you’re not familiar, Spook features contests, reward points, discounts, and horror related figure announcements! Be sure to follow Sideshow on every form of social media for your chance to win!

The next thing I did was drop off my sketchbook to Brian Level in Artist Alley. I love AA but man, they need to figure something out. I know that the Javits is under construction and space is even more limited than normal, but it was way too small and hot. I normally love just taking my time in AA and checking everything out but it was pretty impossible with the crowds this time around. I really hope that a fire alarm never goes off during NYCC because it’ll end in disaster, no question about it. Anyway, Brian was the only sketch I had done during the weekend and I requested my boi, Pennywise.

Guys, how amazing is this?! If Brian is ever at a convention near you, I highly recommend getting something by him. He really puts his all into every commission he does and is 100% worth the cost. This is my third piece and they just keep getting better. I know he normally does C2E2 but he’s all over the place. Be sure to follow him on Twitter to see where his next show is, or if he’s taking non-con commissions! That was honestly it for Artist Alley. I didn’t even buy any prints, but remember my goal was to spend as little money as possible. The only other things I bought was a little Zero figure from Nightmare Before Christmas and these adorable Baby Groot earrings from RockLove Jewelry.

I mean, RIGHT?! They were super affordable too which is even better. I think in all (not counting food/parking), I only spent maybe $70? That’s very impressive for someone like me who normally makes it rain cash during a convention! So this is me tooting my own horn. Of course, like I mentioned before, the main thing I was there to see was the “Psych: The Movie” panel. I ended up with really great seats and we saw the first twenty minutes of the movie! It was like the show never ended. The fans were singing the theme song, the cast were great. I mean, it was just really special and I’m glad I was able to attend. If you missed the date, the movie will air on USA Network December 7th!

And that really sums it up. I was able to catch dinner with friends, hangout with others during the show. But man, I need that expansion to hurry up and finish. The crowds at NYCC are just out of control. The Javits just can’t handle the amount of people coming and going there. I spent most of the time sitting on the floor against the wall because there’s just not enough seats in areas like the food court. Sunday I tried to use the bathroom three times but each line was just beyond long. I ended up just waiting and using a bathroom at the ferry terminal. I’ve said it before, but I have such a love/hate with this convention. I enjoy the show but I hate the convention center with a fiery passion. I really hope that when the expansion is finished, it helps alleviate some of the crowd issues, and means more room for Artist Alley.

Oh and one more thing, I randomly ran into this guy!

Patrick Warburton is one of those actors where you don’t see them enough in the wild, so you’re not 100% sure it’s him. But then he speaks and you’re like ah, yup! It’s him! He just has that voice. He was super nice and took photos with a good amount of people. Just goes to show, you never know who or where you’ll run into a celeb during a convention! And this photo op cost me nothing!

San Diego Comic-Con Flashbacks: Attending As Press

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I never in a million years thought I’d attend San Diego Comic-Con as Press. But then it happened! After attending my first year, I started When Nerds Attack. It was myself and Melinda, then a few others jumped on board like Mario, Erin, and Lindsey. It started out with just sharing tips and advice. How does Hall H work? What about food? Where should I stay? How do I even buy badges? At the time, there weren’t many blogs dedicated to San Diego, or conventions in general. I can’t remember why I applied for Press. Maybe someone pushed me to it. Maybe I thought what the hell? I mean, you have nothing to lose. So I did it, then imagine my shock when I was approved!

But covering San Diego as Press is something you can’t really ever be prepared for. On top of you own “To Do” list, you now have another list. You start getting emails about interviews, or checking out off-site events early. Now you’re getting Press Releases to post, and you feel the pressure to provide as much coverage and news as you can. It might sound like fun, but it’s work. It’s a lot of work. I was going from waiting in the Hall H line, to running to a Press Room, hoping that I didn’t miss the wristbands that they were handing out. Then there’s the whole “Oh fuck, I’m in this room interviewing these celebs!” You try to think of new or fun questions, you have no idea how any of it works. My first room, I pretty much just sat there and watched everyone else. I was taking mental notes for the next time around. Oh and now that question you thought was really original has been asked four times. It’s stressful. Is it fun? Yes. It’s different. But it’s a lot of work and a lot of stress. You’re no longer doing Comic-Con for yourself, you’re now doing it for everyone who reads the blog and who can’t make it to the Big Show. You have contacts asking when your review will be up, when can they expect to see the interview on your site. That’s why I ended up stepping down. I was starting to dread something I really enjoyed. Luckily, Lindsey reached out and asked if she could take WNA over. I was actually thrilled someone wanted to step in. I didn’t want the website to just disappear, but I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I wasn’t making any money off of it, I was still working my full time job. It was hard to balance everything and keep the quality at the level that I wanted, and that readers expected.

With all that being said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was able to have some once in a lifetime experiences thanks to starting that blog and taking the chance to apply as Press. I made some amazing friends because of it as well. So, next time you think about maybe complaining about SDCC coverage, or wondering why a SDCC related blog isn’t responding to your tweet right away, remember they are people too! And they have a lot they need to do in order to try and bring you coverage and information. Not to mention, we want to have a little “us time” as well, and maybe see a panel for something we enjoy too!

San Diego Comic-Con Flashbacks: My First Time

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Every year I think, “I’m going to be totally fine not going to San Diego!” Then the event actually rolls around. I see friends heading off, exclusives being shared, events that are taking place off-site. It gets even worse once panels are announced. Let me tell you how pissed I am about missing out on the “Psych” panel. I AM VERY PISSED. They could show “Thor: Ragnarok” to Hall H, the entire movie, and I’m still more jealous over those attending “Psych.” So, in order to try and keep the green eyed monster at bay, I’m going to share some old SDCC memories and photos! Now, it all blurs together so I might be off with years or whatever. Here we go!

2010, The Year That Started It All

I honestly think this was the last year where you could just get in line at a decent hour. Hell, we even bought our tickets months after they went on sale. It was seriously a bit of a “spur of the moment” thing. Oh, and it was my very first convention. Ever. Yes, I jumped right into the convention pool. Did it come with issues. Yes. It was supposed to be a group of 3, turned into a duo instead. Oh and we didn’t know the 3rd dropped out until we got to our hotel. Yup. Obviously this affected budgets since now we each owed more for the hotel and we rented a car that was big enough for all of us. The entire convention was a learning experience! We stayed in Mission Valley, which is something I wouldn’t do again. We probably could have done better in the food department for Ballroom 20 camping. In the end though, we were hooked. We still had a great time and we knew we’d be back. We got to see things that are probably once in a lifetime. I think that’s the best part of San Diego. Some of the shows and movies really bring their A Game and you’ll walk away seeing something you’ll probably never see again. We saw James Roday and Dule Hill perform “Shout” with Curt Smith. I MEAN COME ON. They even added a little comic-con twist to it.

I got to see actors from shows I love, that I never thought I’d ever see in person! I love Pauley from “NCIS” and couldn’t believe I was actually getting to meet her and tell her about the time I dressed as Abby for Halloween. Or that I’d meet fucking LL Cool J and basically be put in a headlock by him.

Plus I fell in love with San Diego. The city itself is probably the biggest draw for me. If the event moved, I probably wouldn’t feel the same pull that I do now. The weather (normally) is perfect, it’s easy to walk to everything if you’re in the Gaslamp, people are nice. It’s just a great spot and I really want to try and visit for a “normal” vacation once. Another thing we learned was to give ourselves more time. I think we arrived Tuesday and left Monday. Now I try and give myself an entire week if I can. I’m normally exhausted by Sunday and the last thing I want to do is worry about packing or catching a flight home. I think my first year, we didn’t even go to the convention on Sunday. We didn’t know a lot of people either. It’s nice and weird though. I mean, I’ve made so many friends because of conventions that it’s weird to think back to a time where it was really just me and Melinda doing our thing. And little did I know that this trip would kick off When Nerds Attack and I’d be attending as Press down the road. That’ll be another post for sure!

What was your first convention? Have you attended San Diego? Hit up the comments!

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