Well, I did it.  I survived yet another year at Comic Con, and while I have not been this tired in quite a while, every lost hour of sleep, every sore butt from sitting in the same chair for hours, every hour spent squished in line with a bunch of fellow nerds was worth because this was an EPIC year!  I feel like I say this about every year at Comic Con, but I am super serious, you guys.  If you don’t believe me check out the slideshow below or my thoughts on the panels that we attended.  Skip around to the stuff you like, read it all (if you have no life), I don’t care.

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Wednesday:

Psych the Musical Midnight Screening: After dealing with heinous Comic Con traffic from LA to San Diego and checking into our hotel, my mom and I headed downtown (yeah, I go to Comic Con with my mom.  What’cha gonna do about it?!). We got in line around 6pm for a midnight screening and the line was already wrapped around the theatre.  Luckily for us, Psych knows how to make people wait in line!  There were constantly handing out free swag to people in line.  By the end of the night, we would have slap bracelets, phone stickers, foam microphones, buttons with different Gus nicknames, a Psych lanyard, popcorn in a Psych bag, full boxes of candy, and a soda.  It happened to work out the line twisted and wrapped so that we ended up right at the front of the theatre.  When the cast all arrived at the theatre in Weinermobiles, we were right there!  My mom hugged James and Dule and touched every one else (in a completely platonic way).  They eventually let us in the theatre and we got to watch the two part musical episode.  It was quite fun and the music and everyone’s voices were surprisingly good.  We got out around two in the morning so I figured that I may as well sleep in line for our first day at Comic Con!

Thursday:

Intelligence: This is a new show that is going to be on CBS starring Josh Holloway (Lost), Marg Helgenberger (CSI), and Megan Ory (Once Upon a Time).  He is an agent who has been implemented with technology that makes his brain a computer.  It was a decent pilot and looks promising.  Very CBS procedural, but good.

Star-Crossed: Another new show that screened the pilot.  This one is on CW and it was about what you would expect from and alien Romeo and Juliet type story on the CW.  I didn’t think it was too bad, but there were some moments that were definitely pretty cheesy and caused the room to laugh.  I wanted to remind everyone that the cast and crew were all in the room and we should maybe cool it on the inappropriate laughter, but what are you going to do?

Beauty and the Beast: The guilty pleasure that I take in this show has been documented on this blog before, as has the main reason I like it. I can now report, that I am now even more in love with Jay Ryan because he was funny, charming, and had an Australian accent for all of this panel.  What’s a girl to do?

Psych: An entire night of Psych just wasn’t enough.  Psych panels are always fun, though, because they get the whole cast there and just goof off the whole time.  This panel featured James and Dule singing a song from the musical live.  But I swear, if I have to hear one more fan ask them how the pineapple thing started, I am going to set myself on fire.  Don’t be this crevice in my arm, people.  Swag: Psychbill T-shirt

Sherlock: Neither Benedict nor Martin were there, but this still ended up being my favorite panel of the day.  They brought video messages from both stars, with Martin in full hobbit gear and Benedict encountering “interference” while he tried to spill how Sherlock faked his death at the end of season 2.  They also showed an awesome clip of the upcoming season in which Watson asks Sherlock to be the best man at his wedding(!) and is met with some classic Sherlock social ineptness.

X-Files 20th Anniversary: The main thing I took away from this panel is that I need to go back and watch some X-Files!  It will be an interesting experience to not be an 8-year old girl who is getting freaked out by every episode.  No, instead I will be a 25-year old girl who is getting freaked out by every episode.  They skirted around talk of making a third movie but didn’t completely negate the idea.

Friday:

The World’s End: Listen, I LOVE Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim, so there was no way I was not going to love this panel and the boys did not let me down. The movie looks like it will be hilarious and they got me way too excited to see it.  Do yourself a favor and at least watch the trailer. 

Veronica Mars: Another program that has been discussed here before, so I was pretty stoked.  They brought the first footage ever to be seen of the movie, which was basically a full trailer!  As a fan of the show, I was giddy.  It looks like it will be in keeping with the show, bringing back a lot of our old favorites, while still being accessible to people who aren’t fans of the show.  My only complaint was that the room was so full of people waiting for Game of Thrones, that I didn’t feel like there were a lot of fellow marshmallows in the crowd getting excited with me, but that just happens sometimes at Comic Con.  The perils of not clearing out the room between each panel.  

Children’s Hospital: That being said, you should understand something about Comic Con.  This is not for the faint of heart.  You have to go into with a plan of attack.  If you want to get into panels you have be locked and loaded and ready to wait in a lot of lines.  The best strategy is to pick a room that has the most panels that you want to see and stay in that room all day.  Sometimes, you are just going to see panels that you don’t really care about.  After Veronica Mars, we left Hall H to get in line at a smaller Ballroom so that we could see panels later in the day.  I have seen bits and pieces of Children’s Hospital, and there were people there that I love (David Wain, Ken Marino, Rob Huebel), but I hope that I did not take some true fan’s seat.  

NTSF: SD: SUV: Same applies here, but again, people that I really like (Paul Scheer, Martin Starr, Karen Gillan, June Diane Raphael).  

The Eric Andre Show: And again here.  The only difference being that I didn’t really know anyone on the panel.  

Robot Chicken: I’ve seen some Robot Chicken, but yet again, not a show that I am fanatical over.  I did get to see Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, and Bryan Cranston, though.  Seth and I go way back.  I saw him walking the halls last year and I could tell that he was trying to go unnoticed, so as we passed each other, I gave him a quiet “Hi, Seth” and a nod.  He responded likewise with, “Hi, friend.”  So, yeah, we’re friends.  

Bob’s Burgers: This and Archer were what we came for.  I love this show and share far too much of a kinship with Tina.  The panel was aided by footage of the upcoming season and its hilarious cast, my favorite of which is Tina’s voice, Dan Mintz, who is equally if not more awkward than his character.  Love it.  Swag: Bob’s Burgers coloring book.  Awesome.

Archer: The Archer panels never disappoint.  Aisha Tyler threw back an airplane bottle of scotch and that pretty much set the mood for the panel.  They were all over the place and a lot of their bits fell through, including a script reading where everyone read a different character’s part, but the cast is so funny that it was still entertaining.  Swag: T-shirt.  After the panel, we made our way straight over to get in line at Hall H so that we would be nice and close for…

Saturday:

Seventh Son: A myth centered, middle age vibe, dragons flying type romp featuring Jeff Bridges and the very nice to look at Ben Barnes and Kit Harrington.  The footage that showed looks promising and depending on the reviews, I would be inclined to check it out.

Godzilla: The movie just finished shooting, but Warner Brothers knows the importance of getting footage and cast to Comic Con.  If you can get the nerds on your side, you can take over the world!  And this isn’t Matthew Broderick’s Godzilla.  Oh, no.  This looks pretty dang good. It appears to be more character driven, following a few individuals as they survive in the apocalyptic crisis.  Yes, there have been a lot of those lately, but come on! It’s Godzilla!  

300: Rise of the Empire: Meh.  The best thing I can say for this panel is that Rodrigo Santoro was there and he is sexy Carl in Love Actually, which is one of my favorite movies.  Soooo, that happened.  

Gravity: The panel opened with one of Alfonso Cuaron’s (Children of Men) now trademark single long shots, this one lasting about 6 minutes.  The movie centers around George Clooney and Sandra Bullock getting stranded in space, but don’t let the two-person cast and dark, vast setting fool you.  The movie looks like it will be intense and I trust Cuaron enough to deliver an insightful, nerve-wracking movie.  

The LEGO Movie: None of the cast was there, but the creators were entertaining.  Highlight of the panel was a boy getting up to ask a question about what universes they hoped to include in the movie.  They gave a vague answer, as they often do at Comic Con, and asked the boy what hoped to see in the movie.  He listed characters that he wanted to see and the panel said that they hoped that the movie wouldn’t disappoint, to which the boy responded, “Yeah.  Let’s hope so” and walked away from the mic.  It was basically a dropped mic and the panel loved it.  It was the most bad ass fan question I’ve ever seen at Comic Con. 

Edge of Tomorrow: This is a futuristic military movie where all the soldiers look like they are wearing transformers and Tom Cruise’s character keeps reliving the same day over and over… for some reason.  Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt were there from the cast, with Bill Paxton later being called up from the audience.  Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but it is often said that he is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood and after this panel, I have to believe it.  He not only seems really nice, but very gracious and faced with more energy than he knows what to do with.  Homeboy is a live wire.  Best moment was when he came on stage and bonded with moderator Chris Hardwick over having played the same character in Rock of Ages (Hardwick on Broadway).  Hardwick lost his mind that Tom Cruise would be aware of his existence and fanboyed for the rest of the panel.  

Superman/Batman Announcement: After that panel, Hardwick announced that he had been handed a note that Zack Snyder was there to make an announcement.  The hall lost its mind.  There had been a lot of speculation that a Man of Steel or, even better, a Justice League announcement was going to be made.  Snyder came out and skirted around the issue a lot, while the guys in front of me were on their feet literally screaming “Just tell us, Zack!”  He announced that there was, in fact, going to be a second Man of Steel and that he had been searching the DC Universe for something to add to make it even bigger and better.  He had Harry Lennix come out and read a clue in his deep voice.  Then, the room went dark, the screens go on and the Superman symbols is etched out.  The crowds went wild, when all of the sudden, out of the shadows, the Batman symbol appears behind it.  Cue nerd pandemonium.  It was crazy and I am getting goosebumps just writing this.  Check out the clip and see if you get goosebumps, too.

I, Frankenstein: From the Warner Brothers lineup, we moved into the Lionsgate movies.  First up, I, Frankenstein featuring Aaron Eckhart as a version of Mary Shelley’s “monster”.  I use the quotation marks, because Eckhart is looking pretty good in this.  It is sort of like calling Jay Ryan a “beast” because he has scar.  The movie has a very Underworld feel, so if that is your jam, then you will probably be into this.  We’ll see if I get out for this one.  

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: In answer to your question, yes, J-Law was just as funny and endearing as she always is and her and Josh Hutcherson were really funny together.  They were asked if there were going to be a lot of hot kisses in this movie and they told a story about when she was crying and was supposed to be resuscitating Peeta and she pulled away and Hutcherson got a trail her snot on his lips.  Also, surprisingly entertaining: Lenny Kravitz.  Who knew?

Entertainment Weekly‘s Women Who Kick Ass: I’ll be honest: I wanted to really like this panel because I love Entertainment Weekly AND women who kick ass.  Win, win.  And I did really like this panel…for the first 15 minutes.  I started out jiving with the Girl Power vibe, but after a while, the heavy sexism stuff got a little old and I kind of just wanted Michelle Rodriguez to be quiet.

The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Now, we move into 20th Century Fox’s lineup and from here, it felt like all of the studios were just trying to one-up each other.  For this movie, they brought out Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Andy Serkis to talk about the movie.  Fox did things a little different, though, and they just had them come out and stand in front of the panel table and chat for about five minutes.  In hindsight, I know they were making time for their mega panel, but it actually worked well because there is only so much time that you want to spend on a movie you haven’t seen.  Swag: T-shirt

The Wolverine: I don’t know if you are aware, but Hugh Jackman is very good looking.  They showed a clip reel from the movie twice, and it looks like it will be a fun movie from the X-Men universe.  Then they chatted for a while with Hugh about the character, blah, blah, blah.  THEN, Hugh said he had been working on a “small movie” with Bryan Singer, which all of us nerds knew meant only one thing… (Oh, and Swag: T-shirt)

X-Men: Days of Future Past: The most epically awesome X-Men panel ever assembled.  Seriously, you guys, one girl cried because she was so overcome.  We had: (going down the table) Evan Peters, Peter Dinklage, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender (!), James McAvoy (!), Bryan Singer, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Anna Pacquin, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Omar Sy, and 3 producers.  It was crazy.  Highlights: Patrick Stewart (Star Trek) and Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings) being on a X-Men panel was referred to as Nerdvana.  McKellen went on to congratulate California for the ruling on gay marriage and followed that up with a “That being said, how are you, Michael?”.  Speaking of Michael, I have a problem.  I could not stop taking pictures of Michael Fassbender.  I have always found him attractive, but I was bordering on ridiculous at seeing him in real life.  I killed our camera battery taking pictures of him.  And it didn’t help that James McAvoy was sitting next to him.  Frankly, I surprised the camera didn’t break. Swag: Posters and Trask Industries 

Marvel Opening:  Remember what I said about the studios trying to one up each other?  Marvel opened the panel with Tom Hiddleston coming out dressed as Loki, and you may not be aware, but Comic Con loves Loki.  He rallied the troops and demanded the crowd to chant his name.  It was quite fun to watch Hiddleston, who is so dang charming, try to reign in the giddiness at being met with such an enthusiastic response.  Watch it here.  This was followed by an exclusive Comic Con trailer (you have to understand, that everything at Comic Con is exclusive).

Captain America: Winter Soldier: This was followed by more exclusive footage of the new Captain America and a panel with a large showing of the cast.  My one complaint about the Marvel panel was that they were trying to fit too much good stuff in too short a time.  It’s Marvel.  At Comic Con.  You would think that they’d get more than an hour.  

Guardians of the Galaxy: In case you aren’t aware, there is a new Marvel movie in works.  I have been made very aware of it by pictures of the lead, Chris Pratt, popping up on my Instagram feed while he bulks up for the movie.  So, yeah. That’s happening in a major way.   Even though the movie had only been shooting for about a week, they were able to put together some footage and it looks like it will be a lot of fun.  I don’t think we will be disappointed.  Other surprises included Lee Pace, who I love and didn’t realize was in the movie, and Karen Gillan, who I also love, even with her shaved head for the film.  She’s pulling it off pretty well.

Avengers 2 Announcement: Then, King of Comic Con, Joss Whedon came out and announced the title of the second Avengers movie: Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron.  This means something to the people who read the comic books, but unfortunately, I am not one of them.  The room was so amped, I got excited anyway. After this panel, we again went and got straight in line to get into the same room for the next day.

Sunday:

Supernatural: What can I say here?  The boys are still looking good and their gag reels are still hilarious.  They brought out Felicia Day in a move that hopefully means she will have a bigger role this season.  She brought up a good point that there are not very many good “geeky” characters on TV and in movies who are good, deep characters who happen to be into geeky things.  Myself and Felicia feel that they have done that with Charlie on Supernatural and hope to see more characters like her in the future.  

Breaking Bad: Confession time: I don’t watch this show.  Calm your lynch mob! Admittedly, I used this time to go to the bathroom and get food, which took up a good portion of the panel.  I did see the exclusive clip of the new season, though.  Mainly so I could rub it in all of you Breaking Bad fans’ faces.  

Doctor Who: I feel like we have made it pretty clear that we like Doctor Who on this site.  All morning, we had been sitting behind a nine-year old boy who had been quizzing me on my Doctor Who knowledge.  I feel like we were pretty evenly matched.  Before the panel, everyone in the room raised their Sonic Screwdrivers, and the room was filled with a buzzing din.  It was beautiful.  During the panel, they showed a trailer for the TV movie that focuses on the making of Doctor Who and the trailer for the 50th Anniversary special.  It looks like it will be everything a Whovian could hope for and more.  A lot of fan questions brought up Matt Smith’s departure, but I am choosing to act like that is not happening. 

Community: The main takeaway from this panel is that Dan Harmon is back!  And is eager to get the show back to its roots, but not only its Harmon roots.  He wants to get it back to the season 1 and 2 vibe, where you still felt like these people were at a community college going to, you know, classes.  Swag: Cup that resembles a red Solo cup

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia:  They screened the premiere of the new season entitled “The Gang Broke Dee”, which focuses on the gang trying to raise Dee’s spirits so that she will once again be affected by their torment. Needless to say, it was really funny, as was the panel.  Swag: T-shirt

Sons of Anarchy: FX is pretty crafty.  They announced that an Always Sunny T-shirt and SOA keychain would be handed out at the end of the SOA panel, presumedly to get people to stay through the SOA panel.  This is how I ended up sitting through this panel for a show I don’t watch even though I was exhausted after sleeping outside for four nights.  On the bright side, my dad loves the show, so we were able to get him some pictures and… Swag: Key chain.

Thus ended my Comic Con 2013 experience.  Until next year…

–Ellen