Reflections of Comic-Con

It's the day after my very first Comic-Con, and all I can say is...

Wow...!

It was awesome upon AWESOME!

We left for San Diego at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday in order to find a parking space that wasn't all the way in Timbuktu, and I spent the entire Friday before getting myself into a suitable geek zone by watching Fanboys, The Goonies, Real Genius and Shaun of the Dead...all while role-playing and working on fan-fiction. Needless to say, it was a great day.

But it was nothing compared to Saturday...

O...m...G!! Where do I even begin?!

Never before have I been in such an environment where I didn't feel like a total loser for acting like a dork. When I get excited, I lash out with surplus, dorky energy that usually embodies itself in random, happy dances, bouncing on the balls of my feet while squeaking in excitement, or just being silly and giggly in a seemingly out of context way. But at Comic-Con, it was acceptable and even expected. For example, when we walked through the doors that would lead us to the registration area so we could pick up our badges, I was so excited and happy to be there and to have my badge in my hand that literally skipped like a little school girl over to the people who were handing out the swag-bags and they cheered me on. It was in that moment that I really and truly felt that I was amongst my people and that I was where I was meant to be, and as exhausted as I was by the end of our time there...I really didn't want to leave, lol.

Unfortunately, we did have a bit of a walk to and from the convention center, but that really wasn't an issue as the mammoth amount of walking throughout the course of the day (the exhibit hall itself was at least the size of 3 football fields) coupled with my swag-bag which I was using as a backpack, my whole body got a work-out equivalent to a rigorous workout at the gym. Suffice to say, my whole body still hurts, and my feet felt like they were going to fall off right up until I crawled into bed (even the riding boots that I was wearing, which are so comfy and perfectly broken in, could not stave off aching feet, lol).

But it was all so completely worth it!

First of all, when we stepped into the main exhibit hall, I was completely blown away by just how big and expansive it was. Sure, I always knew it would be bigger than Anime Expo (I could see that every time I watched the convention coverage on G4 during previous years), but there was no way that I could truly appreciate the sheer magnitude of SDCC until I was actually there in the flesh. Row after row of booths and displays went on further than the eye could see, and there was more merchandise than I had ever seen in my life. Comic books...action figures...posters...stickers...T-shirts...steam punk attire...swords and other bladed weapons...manga...posters...pretty much anything you could possibly think of was there, and it was pure awesomesauce! I was seriously eyeing a pair of sai but I managed to pull myself away (it was a combined effort of both my own power as well as my hubby and BFF physically dragging me away from the booth) because I knew that I would not be able to spend as much as I wanted on the TMNT items that I was determined to find. So, out of my love for the four heroes in a half-shell, I held onto my limited funds until the appropriate time.

I stumbled upon a large booth of a comic book shop (who does not have a website...I'm still more than a little annoyed about that...keep reading to find out why) that had more issues of TMNT than I had EVER seen in one place!! And I'm not just talking about the newer issues, I'm talking about issues back when Eastman and Laird were still the ones doing the drawing! However, with this being the case, they cost a little more than the newer issues. Oy...SO many issues and so little money....but that's alright! I got my hands on as many as I was able to, so I was more than happy about that. However, my happiness only increased when I met none other than Kevin Eastman! He was at the booth for IDW (the company who's spearheading the reboot of the TMNT comics), and he signed ALL the TMNT comic books as well as the graphic novel I had also bought.

That's right, everyone...I'VE GOT KEVIN EASTMAN'S AUTOGRAPHS!!!!! *happy dance*

However, before I met the amazing Kevin Eastman and got his autograph, I met none other than Team Unicorn! Let me tell you...those ladies are AWESOME!!! They are SO nice, and Michelle loved my Yoda shirt! Oh! And Clare loved my Supergirl wallet, and even asked if she could touch it! I got their autographs on this amazing Team Unicorn poster, and as soon as I'm able, I'm putting it in a frame and hanging it up for all to see. I plan on doing the same for my autographed TMNT comic books (once I've read them, that is, lol). All of those amazing signatures must be preserved for all time.

And as though all of that wasn't amazing and awesome enough...

I GOT TO TOUCH THE TARDIS!!!!

I know I've made myself sound like a complete and total fangirl during the past couple of paragraphs, but I don't care!

Suffice to say, we are DEFINITELY going back next year and really want to have more money to spend on all the awesome stuff! With this in mind, we've already started budgeting and saving up for next year (something we weren't able to do this past year because we weren't even sure if we would be able to go in the first place, so we got a late start on setting money aside). But not this time! With this plan in mind, I might even cosplay as different characters on each day (and yes, we will be budgeting for wigs this time, lol).

So...on that note, I have only one thing left to say...

San Diego Comic-Con FOR THE WIN!!!!!