Someone once said you have to be a fan of something to get anything out of Comic-Con. I think for me it's always been exploring the Exhibit Floor (even with the crazy, ravenous crowds) and seeing what people in the industry have brought for all to see. My husband, Carlos, enjoys the more traditional Comic-Con pleasures of meeting and talking a bit with some of his favorite comic book writers and artists.
Of course, I still like to reminisce with Carlos about the good old days when the Comic-Con was simply just not so crowded! But despite all the changes over the years, I still love the San Diego Comic-Con!
The iconic San Diego Comic-Con banner.
Heading upstairs and looking down at part of the Convention Center lobby.
View of the crowd upstairs at the Sails Pavilion.
Carlos and I taking a break upstairs at the Sails Pavilion and eating our yummy In-N-Out burgers just the way we like them - cheeseburger with grilled onions and double tomato!
Carlos happily chatting with one of his favorite comic book artist, Chris Burnham. Carlos also got the chance to sit in at the panel "Spotlight on Brian K. Vaughan" on Friday's Comic-Con. Carlos is a big fan of Vaughan, who is the creator of Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina and Runaways.
Upstairs near Hall H with a line of Game of Thrones banners hanging above. To the left you can see people who are waiting in line to get inside Hall H.
I decided again to showcase my paper dolls at this year's Comic-Con Art Show. Being my sophomore year as an art exhibitor, I've learned from last year that framing my dolls was more successful than not framing them. So I made sure to frame all 12 of my paper ladies.
In addition, I also avoided the crowds and lines by setting up my display early rather than later. Last year I arrived after 4 pm on Wednesday Preview Night and not only was it already crowded inside and outside the Convention Center, but waiting up at the Art Show just to receive my pegboard display space was quite the wait.
So this year, I arrived by 10: 30 am Wednesday with my two little helpers (my kids Paco and Salem) via trolley and the whole process went by quickly and without a hitch! As with all my paper dolls for the Comic-Con, I tried to make them as related to pop culture, fantasy, and anime-themed as possible (please check out my previous two posts here and here to get an in-depth look at all 12 of my art show paper dolls).
I am very happy that by the end of the Comic-Con Art Show on Sunday, I sold 11 out of my 12 paper dolls! And a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came out to the Art Show and visited my artwork! It really means a lot!
My 12 paper dolls for this year's art show.
Close-up view #1.
One thing is for sure, I never leave empty-handed while wandering the entire 460,000 square feet Exhibit Hall. Every year is different in terms of what I find so depending on what catches my eye, I always bring home something special for myself.
I loved the WeLoveFine booth! They had so many fun and cute merchandise! And I don't know why but I just couldn't pass up on their absolutely adorable 6" vinyl "Balloonicorn" figure based on an inflatable unicorn (above) from Team Fortress 2.
I am a huge fan of artist Marina Bychkova. I've been waiting for her new book Enchanted Doll to come out for a while and it was a wonderful surprise to find her book being sold at one of the booths. If you haven't seen Bychkova's work, do check out her website at Enchanted Doll. Each and every doll is beautifully sculpted and articulated works of art. Her dolls are absolutely gorgeous and to own one is rare as well as very expensive!
A look at a couple of her amazing dolls featured inside her latest book.
I finally own a pair of Necomimi's Brainwave Cat Ears! I first laid eyes on this neurowear headband about 2 years ago and this was the first time I stumbled upon them at the Comic-Con. The ears respond to your mood and are programmed to turn up or down based on the wearer's "electroencephalogram" (electrical potentials recorded at the scalp) influenced by "thoughts and emotions". And I must say these cat ears are both totally fun and bizarre to wear! I love them!
One of my favorite parts of Comic-Con is seeing the cosplay (short for costume play) people all dressed up. It must be quite the experience for these cosplayers to walk through the vast crowd of fans and like celebrities in their own right (even if just a day) get stopped constantly for photo ops from people like me!
Marvel's Lady Thor
Game of Thrones cosplayers: Prince Oberyn and Ellaria Sand (based on clothes worn during their first appearance on the television show).
More Game of Thrones costumes: Prince Oberyn (battle armor & bloody eyes), Ellaria Sand (dress worn during Oberyn's battle with the Mountain), and Daenerys Targaryen with one of her dragon eggs.
Mad Scientist and Robot Chicken from Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
Ruby Rose character from animated web series RWBY and Ruby's scythe gun.
Plants v. Zombies: Peashooter and Zombie Conehead.
DC's Hawkgirl and her mighty spiked mace.
Marvel's Magneto.
Menagerie of Costumes: First we have Willy Wonka, next costume I'm not quite sure but I'm guessing some type of Steampunk-themed costume, and last a Barbarian Female from role-playing game Diablo III.
X-Men's Storm.
DC's Poison Ivy and Catwoman.
A trio of Quicksilvers.
DC's Green Arrow based on the Oliver Queen/Green Arrow's costume from the CW television show Arrow.
DC's Harley Quinn.
Sokka in Water Tribe Wolf Warrior armor from Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Characters from AMC's The Walking Dead: Daryl, Carol, Tyrese with baby Judith, Rick, Carl.
A big bonus at this year's Comic-Con was being at the right place around the right time. I had no idea the cast of Game of Thrones (GoT) were getting ready to sign autographs on the Exhibit Floor while I was shopping nearby. Carlos first spotted George R.R. Martin, author of the GoT novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, being interviewed in the balcony area above the Exhibit Floor signing area. But soon after spotting Martin, I noticed the one-and-only Kit Harington (a.k.a. Jon Snow) being interviewed as well. I decided to hang around to take as many pictures as possible before security told me to leave! Boo.
My photograph (left) of Kit Harington (black shirt) drinking a bottle of water upstairs with George R.R. Martin (black hat) being interviewed to his right; Kit Harington signing autographs down below on the Exhibit Floor (I wish I took this photograph but sadly it's from Getty Images).
Another photograph of Kit Harington being interviewed with the very tall Gwendoline Christie (a.k.a. Brienne of Tarth) to the right.
Another GoT favorite of mine: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (a.k.a. Jaime Lannister) came out to greet the crowd on the lower balcony (left); press photo of Nikolaj at the signing booth area.
And once again, cheers to another fun San Diego Comic-Con! I will see you all there next year!
