SDCC’10: Thom’s Wrap-Up

Thom’s Top Five Comic-Con Moments (in alphabetical order):

1) Batman: Under the Red Hood world premiere. To quote a phrase coined by one of my college students, “Seriously wow!” And John DiMaggio’s performance as the Joker is a revelation.

2) No Ordinary Family pilot screening. Not the most original concept but a great cast (Julie Benz!!!) and solid execution. Could be a breakout hit if Greg Berlanti and his team can sustain the quality. Head and shoulders above The Cape, which wasn’t as well produced and was paced oddly.

3) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World screening. I had no idea what to expect but had lots of fun.

4) Smallville panel. As much as this show has frustrated/infuriated me over nine seasons, I’m looking forward to more DC Universe character appearances, including Darkseid, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold among many others. Plus Tom Welling showed a lot of class during the panel. Good for him!

5) Winning a pair of Converse Green Lantern sneakers during Saturday’s DC Comics’ Green Lantern: Emerald Empire panel. Sweet!

Thom’s Bottom Five Comic-Con Moments (in order of frustration):

1) Standing in line for 2-1/2 hours and not getting into the Green Lantern film panel.

2) Standing in line for two hours and not getting into the Tron film panel.

3) The crowds. When Preview Night felt more like a Saturday at CCI than a Wednesday, I knew we were in for a long weekend.

4) The concession vendors. Four dollars for a Diet Coke?!? I don’t think so!

5) The Hall H stabbing incident. Seriously?!? “He provoked me so I stabbed him in the eye?!?” Grow up, dude!

Attention, Comic-Con organizers: If you can’t get your “bleep” together, then maybe the con SHOULD move to LA, Anaheim, or Vegas. If Hall H holds 6,500 people, you can “guestimate” how many people are in line and tell the ones who won’t get in, “You’re not going to get in.” As the captain of my ship wrote in his standing orders, “Bad news does not improve with age.” Conveneers may be pissed off when you tell them at 9:15 am, they’re not getting in to see GL. But they’ll be more so if you don’t give them that info till 11:40. ‘Nuff said!