Back to the Comic-Con (Part 3 & 4)

Part 3: Focusing on the Positive

My first assignment for Comic-Con 2010 was given to me via Twitter the night before I left. LucasArts would be giving away free Monkey Island Voodoo Dolls to those that asked for fine leather jackets. As soon as I had acquired my badge, I rushed over to the LucasArts booth, where I found Chris Cook holding a box full of the little guys. I gave him the secret password, and just like that, one of them made their way into my possession. It was just like magic... I mean, voodoo.


Signed Stuff #1: Monkey Island Voodoo Doll (By Dave Grossman)

My next stop would bring me to the Telltale Games booth. Once there, I learned that Graham Annable would be signing books from 11 AM to 12 PM. I had been told that he would be there, so I packed my copy of The Book of Grickle in advance. Graham was happy to sign it, and we even had a brief discussion about his gaming career. He worked on Sam & Max: Freelance Police before the time of its cancellation, and had an artistic hand in a few other LucasArts games, as well. Many fans may recall that he also worked at Telltale Games for awhile.

Back to the Comic-Con (Part 1 & 2)

Part 1: A Lament on Comic-Con

Comic-Con. Just a few short years ago, I would have never dreamed of attending such an event, but in October 2007, I was given my first taste of a convention experience when Telltale Games offered free passes to E for All Expo. That particular event was a bit of a flop, but it still managed to wet my appetite for that following year's Comic-Con. I was excited and terrified at the same time. I had never attended anything of this magnitude. Eventually, I overcame my nerves, though, and found that it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. When I met the Telltale Games crew for the first time, I could feel a certain degree of magic in the air. That may sound weird, but I can think of no better way to describe that feeling.


Well, here we go again.

However, in the years since, I have begun to tire of Comic-Con. First off, the massive crowds are beginning to drive me insane. If someone handed me a lightsaber, I might actually think about using it to cut through some of the excess limbs in the convention center. Nausea-inducing crowds aside, I often times find myself wandering the show floor aimlessly in an effort to find something that sparks my attention. I *could* just hang out with the friendly folks at the Telltale Games booth all day, but sooner or later, I am going to overstay my welcome. Honestly, though, the worst part is that, in the past, I have always made this trip alone, and this year would be no different, but I will cover that in greater detail with the next chapter.

Tales of Comic-Con

This is my coup de grâce on Comic-Con 2009. Enjoy!

Here we go again! Has it been a year already? I wrote a blog about last year's Comic-Con titled Comic-Con Adventures. It was, for the most part, a Telltale Games-centric posting. This year, I once again attended the show. It was full of exciting experiences, but sadly, there were no Telltale Games panels. As Jake Rodkin has said, Tales of Monkey Island consumed much of their panel planning time.


You cannot walk five feet without someone bumping into you. At one point, someone told me to move so that they could take a photo. I did, and bumped into a bunch of other people, who proceeded to yell at me. Ah, Comic-Con.

My travel arrangements were mostly unchanged from last year, so I will skip that bit. That information is always mind numbingly boring, anyway. I arrived in San Diego around 10:10 AM on Friday, and picked up my badge. Where did I head first? If you have read this far, that should be obvious. Although the Telltale Games booth was in exactly the same place as last year, it took me a little while to find it. It is as if they hid it in the furthest corner of the convention center. Maybe if I follow the sounds of the jungle?

Comic-Con Plans 2009

For those that do not know, I will be attending Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center next Friday, July 24th. This will be my second trip. I first attended Comic-Con last year, and had a lot of fun. Allen will not be attending this time. He said something to the effect of, "I don't want to be cooped up inside a sardine factory with an unholy force of unkempt nerds... again." Right now, my plan is to meet up with Telltale Games at Booth #5364 as soon as I arrive (as if that really needed to be stated). If any other Telltale Games fans are going, and would like to meet up, let me know. It seems that I am on my own this year.

Below, I have attached my game plan for Comic-Con 2009, which I have sorted for convenient access (unlike my unorthodox plan last year).

Exhibit Hall Booths (Lower Level)
#5364 - Telltale Games
#5213 - Electronic Arts
#5229 - Sega of America
#5233 - Rockstar Games
#4533 - Symbiote Studios
#3729 - Nickelodeon
#3735 - Cartoon Network
#3749 - Shout! Factory
#3351 - Adult Swim
#2913L - LucasArts
#2913A - Lucasfilm

Note-to-Self: Bring every piece of eight that can be found, and load up on booty! Yar!

Comic-Con Adventures - Episode 2

A Galaxy Far, Far Away


Peter Mayhew (the man that filled the role of Chewbacca in the Star Wars films)

One of the first places that we stopped by after leaving the Telltale Games booth was LucasArts. While there, we talked to a PR guy, who told us that LucasArts is looking into bringing back some of their back catalog of original game IPs. He didn't specify exactly which ones, but we did bring up the subject of Monkey Island to him. We suggested that they license the rights to Telltale Games. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to dislike this thought completely. He simply said that LucasArts "wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea." Who knows, maybe something will develop there eventually.

Comic-Con Adventures - Episode 1

The Telltale Games Experience


Comic-Con 2008!

On Saturday, I attended Comic-Con. My travel arrangements felt a bit like the old Steve Martin movie "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," except that there were thankfully no planes involved. My parents drove me as far as Fullerton. From there, I caught a 7:50 AM train to Downtown San Diego. Following that, I boarded a light rail bound for Convention Center Station. It was surprisingly easy to get my badge. Allen scared me with his horror story from last year's Comic-Con.

Comic-Con Plans 2008

For those that don't know, I will be attending Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center next Saturday (July 26th). The Space Ruckus project doesn't have a booth, but I will have my materials with me. I plan to spend quite a bit of time roaming the show floor, anyway.

Here is a portion of my itinerary for Comic-Con 2008.

Exhibit Hall Booths (Lower Level)
Activision - 5205
Adult Swim - 4151
Capcom - 5113 (Mega Man 9, Street Fighter IV)
Electronic Arts - 5233 (Spore)
Konami - 5213
LucasArts/Lucasfilm - 2913
Penny Arcade - 1237, 1334, 1336
Sierra Entertainment - 5201 (Ghostbusters)
Square Enix, Inc - 5001
Telltale Games - 5365 (SBCG4AP)

Panels/Programs (Upper Level)
Sam & Max, Strong Bad, and the Secrets Behind Turning Comics into Games - 11:30-12:30, Room 4

Signings
Signing with Steve Purcell at Telltale Games' Booth - 12:30-2:00

If anyone else will be attending next Saturday, and would like to meet up, let me know. If you are reading this, and cannot make it to Comic-Con, don't worry. I'll be sure to post an update after the show concludes. Allen will also be there, so I'm sure that between the two of us, we will have plenty of photos (and maybe some video from the Telltale Games panel, if that will be tolerated. I don't want to do anything illegal) to share.

Note to self: Be sure not to miss any opportunities for free swag.

UPDATE:
Comic-Con Adventures - Episode 1
Comic-Con Adventures - Episode 2

Comic-Con 2007 - Part 2

COMIC-CON 2007 - PART TWO
By Allen Barrett

In this continuation of last week's story of where I attended Comic-Con 2007, I will talk about the weird and wonderful other things that I saw at my local convention center.



After meeting Lord Maddox, I headed over to the Telltale Games booth. Mike Haley and meelWORM had been bugging me to take some pictures of the neat merchandise that they had so I went that extra mile and got one with the team, including that man among men: Dave Grossman. He used to work for LucasArts and brought us such classics as Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle. He was kind enough to sign my copy of DotT. He is awesome.

Comic-Con 2007 - Part 1

COMIC-CON 2007 - PART ONE
By Allen Barrett

So I decided to attend Comic-Con this week. I left it too late and missed out on Saturday, but I managed to get tickets for Friday. There'd be a lot more pictures here but for some reason, they've disappeared from my memory card. I was pissed. Anyway.



The train ride to the convention centre was fairly quiet until we got to the penultimate stop. 1500 people suddenly decided that they didn't want to walk the whole 4 blocks to the convention centre and decided to clusterfuck onto the train. One hot, sticky, air-deprived stop later we got there, where I saw people try to cross the road in groups of about 50 at a time. It was incredible. But at least I got there.

The queue to get in took about 20 minutes to get through. There was minimal order to the chaos and the worst part of it all was the fact that the entrance was all the way at the end of the con centre then you had to climb up stairs and go through a mind-numbingly painful experience to finally get in. I couldn't find the way down to the main hall because of poor signing.