Things I learned at Comic Con

As one of the few perks of my job, I got to go Comic Con this week. It was festive as always, with people dressed in costumes, giant statues of Jabba the Hut and the occasional star sighting. It was also crowded as always, even more so this year since its the first time ever that they've completely sold out in advance. That part was annoying, but overall it was still well worth the time. Here are a few particularly interesting tidbits that I picked up:

You will be sick of The Watchmen long before it hits theatres - Based on a graphic novel from the 1980s (which was actually named one of Time magazine's top 100 pieces of literature since 1923) The Watchmen has had a big underground following for some time. The movie comes out next year and they were promoting the f&%k out of if at The Con. I also saw a preview for it before The Dark Knight this week. Something tells me the marketing budget for this thing is roughly the size of Beglium's gross national project. Consider yourself warned.

Seth Green is really small - Which is a round-about way of saying: I saw Seth Green! I was looking for a corner to eat my $11 pizza and coke (isn't price gauging fun?) and this short little ginger kid runs by, taking a picture of a guy in a costume. I thought, "God he looks a lot like Seth Green. Wait ...." It was totally him. I didn't talk to him, but we had a connection. I could feel it. And yes, he's super tiny. I'm 5'4'' and could have easily given him a piggy back ride.

Joss Whedon is very popular - Being the big Buffy nerd that I am, I desperately wanted to see Joss Whedon speak about his new programs. He was in the biggest ballroom at the convention center, but still the line was - I sh*t you not - at least a quarter of a mile long. I didn't have time to wait. It was a low point.

Some stereotypes are sadly true - I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: There were a lot of overweight guys in ill-fitting Star Wars t-shirts there.

In certain circles, Stan Lee is like Jesus and bunny rabbits all rolled into one - I guess it shouldn't be surprising that Stan Lee, who created The Hulk, Iron Man, and many, many others is a real hit with the Comic Con crowd, but still. Everywhere the man went, there were lines out doors and crowds so reverential you'd think Barack Obama was giving a speech at a Starbucks. Just crazy.

Had Heath Ledger lived, he would have been like Jesus and bunny rabbits all rolled into one too - Soooo many Joker costumes this year, all inspired by Heath's version of the character. One of my favorite costumes of the whole show was a kid dressed as the Joker from the scene in the TDK where he's in the nurse's uniform. We've said it before and I'll say it again: What a waste.