My 12th Year of Comic Con

For the past 12 consecutive years I have been attending a “little” event known as the San Diego Comic Con; and with each passing year this annual fete that salutes all things pop culture related has grown incrementally every year. Each year there have been more and more panels added to the four-day schedule, stretching out of the San Diego Convention Center into the neighboring hotels as well as adding interesting off-site events such as Nerd HQ, spearheaded by Chuck star Zachary Levi, an interactive zone held at Petco Park, countless screenings at nearby hotels and theatres and countless fan parties and gatherings.

To say the least, it is impossible to attend everything that happens at Comic Con, but the organizers and outside groups certainly provide a plethora of activities, parties and fun experiences for the novice to the seasoned pro attendee.

Just like last year, I headed down to San Diego with some of the NiceGirlsTV staff a day in advance of registration day/preview night last week in order to get settled in to our wonderful rental house known as Casa de Corazon in the heart of Barrio Logan located directly across from the Coronado Bridge. Our group was able to enjoy a day of relaxation (as well as our annual Meet and Greet party) before all the insanity got underway.

As I mentioned, last Wednesday was registration day/preview night, which is simply the day most of the attendees of the annual convention pick up their badges, get advanced entry into the exhibition hall and get to sit in on pilot screenings hosted by Warner Bros.

The panels on the first day of the convention for which I was able to attend focused on the following TV shows: 24, featuring series lead Kiefer Sutherland and executive producer Jon Cassar; the CBS thriller Under the Dome, featuring cast members Colin Ford, Eddie Cahill, Alexander Koch, Dean Norris, Rachelle LeFevre and Mike Vogel as well as executive producer Neal Baer; the new CBS drama Scorpion, featuring cast members Robert Patrick, Katharine McPhee and Elyse Gabel as well as a team of writers and executive producers; the CW series Reign, featuring cast members Toby Regbo, Adelaide Kane and Megan Follows as well as showrunner Laurie McCarthy; the MTV thriller Teen Wolf, including cast members Holland Roden, Tyler Hoechlin, Shelley Hennig, Dylan O’Brian, Tyler Posey and new cast member Dylan Sprayberry as well as series creator Jeff Davis and the Lifetime series Witches of East End, that featured cast members Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rachel Boston, Madchen Amick, Daniel DiThomasso and Eric Winter along with executive producers Richard Hatem and Maggie Friedman.

On Friday, my day was primarily focused on the upcoming Starz original series Outlander based on the best-selling novel by Diana Gabaldon, but I also attended a couple other panels including Evangeline Lilly (from Lost fame and the Hobbit franchise), who will see her first children’s book (something that has been a dream of hers since she was 14 years old) published and a panel for The CW series The 100 that included cast members Eliza Tayler, Isaiah Washington, Marie Avgeropoulos, Devon Bostick and new series regular cast members Ricky Whittle and Lindsay Morgan as well as executive producer Jason Rothenberg. That night concluded with the red carpet world premiere event for Outlander where I was able to see the much-anticipated pilot episode of the series; and I must say the series premiere episode was everything I had hoped it would be.

Saturday was a big day that started out with panels for Once Upon a Time with cast members Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Colin O’Donoghue, Jared Gilmore, Lana Parrilla, Emilie de Ravin and Robert Carlisle on stage with series creators Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and TV Guide’s salute to fan favorites that featured Sam Heughan (Outlander), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black), John Noble (Sleepy Hollow), Misha Collins (Supernatural), Aisha Tyler (Archer), Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon a Time) and Retta (Parks and Recreation). Those panels were followed by The Blacklist, featuring series lead James Spader and two of the show’s executive producers as well as panels focused on actor John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who and Arrow) and actress Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and Geek & Sundry).

The night was capped off by an amazing presentation by Warner Bros. and DC Comics in Hall H (the largest room at the convention center) that included screenings of the pilot episodes of The Flash (The CW) and Gotham (FOX) [both of which I thoroughly enjoyed] as well as sneak peeks at the new NBC thriller Constantine and the third season of Arrow. The whole event was hosted by Arrow star Stephen Amell and eventually included one of the biggest array of panelists I have ever seen, including stars from all four of the featured shows.

Comic Con 2014 came to a close on Sunday with a really easy day (at least for me) where I picked up t-shirts and swag items for a couple of my fellow NiceGirlsTV staff members, roamed around the exhibition hall for a little over an hour and then off to one panel that focused on what is hot in young adult fiction.

You can expect to see lots of coverage here at NiceGirlsTV for the panels that all of us attended; and we will be looking forward to next year’s event.