Monday, August 12, 2013

Chicago Comic Con: Saturday Recap

I was hoping to get this up last night, but I was exhausted after the Con on Saturday. I didn't get back until 10:15, and then I needed to shower and get to bed so I could go to sleep and get up early today. I also struggled with not having a lot of pictures to put in this post, since I forgot my camera at home! My brother sent me some pictures via text, but I can't figure out how to get them to my computer. Weirdly enough.

On Saturday, I woke up about an hour and fifteen minutes before I wanted to leave for the Con--and actually left about forty minutes after I wanted to leave. My costume had several pieces to it, all of which I made or altered from existing pieces. My hair and make-up for the cosplay provided a little bit of a problem. My biggest issue was the fact that I couldn't find my wig cap, and couldn't get my wig on without it. I have really long, thick, curly hair--about to my mid-back. So after a while of struggling, I improvised and used a new pair of pantyhose. With my hair properly contained, I finished up my makeup (once again, using Espionage Cosmetics products), and left for the con!


We got there just in time to catch John Barrowman's panel, which was hilarious. Barrowman is so energetic and enthusiastic that a panel with him is bound to be the highlight of your day. Everyone was entertained--even my brother, who didn't know who Barrowman was. I'm sure others who were unfamiliar with his work felt the same way. I was a fan of Barrowman's before the panel, but I appreciate him so much more now that I've had the opportunity to sit and listen to him (as himself) for over an hour. This was probably my favorite panel this weekend--except, maybe, for Wil Wheaton's panel.

After the panel, I hit the con floor with my brother, my boyfriend's sister (who was in a Steampunk Catwoman costume), and her friend. We were stopped for a TON of pictures--I was insanely flattered! Even though I didn't get to do much shopping yesterday (which is alright, because I more than made up for it on Sunday). I did get a little bit of snark from one guy when it was just me and my brother (who was distracted by an anime booth). He said:  "Nice costume, but Harley Quinn? Didn't you know a villain that isn't so overexposed?"

I responded: "Well, I wanted to do Talia al Ghul or Jane Doe, but I wasn't sure how to translate it to steampunk in a way that would be recognizable. Especially since this is the first really complicated cosplay that I've ever attempted."

He apologized and walked away. I know my DC Comics, boys, don't worry.

After eating, I went to the Warehouse 13 panel in order to wait to see Jon Bernthal (Shane from The Walking Dead) and Norman Reedus. I have been interested in watching Warehouse 13, so I wanted to get a hint of what the show was all about: plot-wise and fandom-wise. Wondering what I thought? I have the first episode ready to go on Netflix. That should be enough of an answer. John Bernthal and Norman Reedus were both interesting, but not quite as enthusiastic as Barrowman was (in all fairness, it's probably not even possible). I'm interested in seeing Bernthal's new TV show, a period noir piece called Lost Angels. This is my third year in a row seeing Norman Reedus, so I have heard most of what he said before. He was also onstage only for about ten or fifteen minutes.

The end of the Bernthal/Reedus panel was also my most disappointing moment at the Con this year. The Con page and schedule both say:

"Seating for panels is strictly limited and available on a first served basis. We do not clear all panel rooms unless you are seated in a section that is marked with a sign at the end of the row reading 'ROW WILL BE CLEARED AT THE END OF EACH PANEL'."

I was sad that Chicago Comic Con was going to take on such a SDCC-quality, but I was willing to be flexible. Knowing that I wanted to see the Firefly panel following the Reedus appearance, I went to to the earlier panels thinking we'd be allowed to stay--I was somewhat interested in seeing them and I would be able to see the Firefly gang (Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk). Without announcing that they were clearing the room beforehand, they cleared the panel room at the end of Reedus's panel. The line outside for Firefly was so long that we weren't able to get into the panel after leaving the room.

Let me be straight--I prefer the Clear-The-Panel-Room strategy, and I think it's the best way to run a Con (when it's logistically possible). I think that it sucks to wait in line for an hour (or hours) and not make it into a panel because people aren't leaving the room. I just think that if you're going to announce that you're no longer following that practice, you shouldn't decide to clear the room without announcing it beforehand. I saw Bernthal last year. I saw Reedus in 2011 and 2012. I didn't need to see them again at the expense of seeing an awesome panel with people I've never seen before from a show that I love. If I had known, I would have been in that line, not inside that room.

Since we couldn't see the Firefly panel, we wandered around the Con until the costume contest was about to start. During this time, I commissioned a Nightwing sketch from Jason Metcalf. I'll let you know how it turned out in my Sunday recap ;).

We went up for the cosplay contest, registered, and then waited in line for our turn on stage for about two and a half hours. Everything was awesome and I had fun the entire time, even though my feet and back were killing me after standing for that long. The judges and the emcee were great, and the cosplayers were all having fun. I liked how Jarrett "The Defuser" Crippen set up the walk to the stage: the cosplayers wove through the aisles, striking poses on several Xs so that the audience members could take photos. As each cosplayer or cosplay group crossed the stage, the line would shift up and each group would move to the next X. It was pretty awesome. I can't wait to see the video of the contest! I will put up a link here for anyone who's interested! Everyone who participated did a great job, and everyone who won totally deserved it! I think that after this year's showing, Wizard World is going to have to start awarding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places for each category! The competition is fierce.

Anyway, the contest was done around 9:15, but we had to scoot out a couple minutes early because the girls I carpooled with had to get somewhere. I missed the announcement of Best in Show--if anyone can fill me in, that would be great!

Well, that was everything for the day! Once again, I'll leave you with some cosplay photos (taken by my brother, who had a camera)! Now it's time to watch the first episode of Warehouse 13 before I pass out.


Read my Friday recap HERE

Read my Sunday recap HERE

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