New Things I learned at Comic Con

Is that you in there, Red?

San Diego was the pop culture center of the world for the past week when Comic Con came to town. Once again, I got to attend, and as usual, I learned things; about myself, about my fellow man, and about the world around us. Here are some of the highlights.

The GI Joe movie is going to be huge – There was surprisingly little promotion for GI Joe at the ‘Con, but I saw a ton of people dressed as the characters, and a lot of my friends asked me if it had a big presence. As a card carrying member of the press, I did get my own free GI Joe hat at a store near the Convention Center. It's pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever and therefore naturally it's my favorite new accessory in the whole world. Other than that though, I didn’t see much “GO SEE GI JOE IMMEDIATELY, NERDS!” promotion, like I did for other things like 2012 and Avatar. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough.

I need a different job – Specifically, one that pays better. Like, eleventy billion times better. While my current position allows me to attend Comic Con for free every year, it does not pay me enough to buy copies of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" autographed by JK Rowling, like the one for sale at this year’s ‘Con. And Lord God Almighty, did I want that book!

I’d make a bad Paparazzi – I didn’t recognize any celebs at Comic Con this year, but my co-worker somehow got video of Mark Hamill and interviewed Tyrese. I think I just don’t have an eye for celebrity in plane view. At one point, I was watching Julie Benz from Dexter (a show I like) signing autographs under a huge sign that said, “JULIE BENZ FROM DEXTER” and I was still like, “Is that really her? It doesn’t look anything like her.” Clearly I shouldn’t move to LA and buy a telescopic lens and a motorcycle any time soon.

Star Trek fans are loyal to an insane degree – At one point I was walking around the show floor and saw this long, winding line. Thinking there might be a star in the midst (and praying it would be Jamie Bamber), I asked a guy what they were waiting for. He told me they were giving out foam fingers shaped into the “Live long and prosper” signal, and you could sit in a replica of Kirk’s chair while two green-painted girls in Star Trek uniforms leaned over you. This line was easily 200 yards long. And did I mention it was hot in there? Yeah, these people are invested.

On a nerdom scale of 1-10, I’m probably a 5, and I think that’s a healthy level - I’d get an adrenaline rush when I saw anything related to my not-so-secret shames (Buffy, Harry Potter, True Blood, Lost) but there were also a whole host of shows, movies, comics and especially video games that were all Greek to me. My camera guy had to keep explaining what people were dressed as, and having just geeked out over seeing a girl dressed as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, it was refreshing to spend some time in the dark of normalcy.