Tag Archives: Salt Lake Comic Con

SLCC Edition

This is a very special edition of “This Week in Geek,” in which I will be reviewing the Salt Lake Comic Con which concluded on Saturday, September 6, 2014.  I will be giving out a grade in 5 different categories, plus an overall grade.  The 5 categories will be Tickets and Ticket Pricing, Lines/Crowd Management, The Vendor Hall, Panels, and The Celebrity Guests.  I will not be grading the extra events because I did not attend any of them, so unfortunately, I can’t grade them.  The grades will be in the standard letter grade format, where A is excellent and F is horrible failure. There will be no “E,” for those of you who are not familiar with letter grades.  Most of the grading will be based on my experience as well as feedback I have received or seen from others.  Let’s get started:

Tickets and Ticket Pricing

This was very different this time around than what we had seen previously with last years Comic Con and April’s FanX.  With FanX, the tickets were posted with their prices and they didn’t change.  This time around they used a system called GrowTix, and they started with the tickets being very low, and the prices increased over time, thus rewarding folks who bought their tickets early with a much better deal.  This, I think benefits everyone, because with more tickets pre-sold, especially early, they can go to different vendors and different celebrities and show them how many tickets they have already sold, enticing more of them to come.  It benefits us because we can but the tickets early and pay a lot less.  Another bonus was if you follow Salt Lake Comic Con on Facebook or twitter or both, then they always let people know in advance when the ticket prices were going to rise, so you could buy them before they got to expensive.  We bought our tickets in June, just before Father’s Day, and spent $64 on two multi passes, which worked out great for us and our budget.  Also, with GrowTix, you do have the option to go back in and for a fee, upgrade your ticket to a VIP or Gold ticket if they are still available.  I checked on the day before the Con, and if I had wanted to upgrade to Gold, it would have only cost $50 for both tickets.  VIP had already sold out, so I am not sure what the price difference would have been.

My biggest complaint with the tickets was how much the fees were on top of the ticket price.  I understand that this is pretty common practice, but my tickets were $64 total, but then with fees I ended up paying $80 all together.  I understand that $16 in fees is not a big deal for something like this, but I just wish that the fees were already included in the price.  This is not a complaint against SLCC, but the whole system in general.  My complaint for SLCC was that when we came on Friday we brought the kids with us, and we have 5 children, meaning we needed to buy a child’s ticket for $5.  When we spoke with the volunteer, he told us it was 7 almost 8 bucks because of sales tax and some kind of convenience fee.  That was a little weird.  I get convenience fees when purchased online, but not when I am buying them at the door. However, the volunteer ended up not being able to locate the button on his iPad, and just gave us the wristband for free, so I really don’t have anything to complain about here.

As far as the prices go, I thought they were reasonable and they offered multiple levels so you could buy the ticket that worked for you.  I had little to no interest in entering the vendor hall early, or in photo ops or autographs or a T-shirt, so the multi pass worked for me.  The VIP was pricey, but if you can’t afford it, the multi pass still provided you with a lot of fun for 3 days.  I did not feel like my experience was hindered because I did not have a VIP pass.  Remember, going to a convention like this is all for fun, and is a luxury, so do what you can afford and enjoy it.

Grade: B+

Lines/Crowd Management

Thursday was rough for lines.  Really rough.  Read my post about my first 2 days, and it really goes into it, so I am not going to do that here. Obviously they needed to work out a few kinks, and on Friday and Saturday it looked like they did.  Lines moved very smoothly from what I experienced and saw on Friday and Saturday.  Inside, it seemed like the managed the lines well for the most part for the celebrities and the panels.

There were times that the volunteers looked a little overwhelmed by the crowds and some things got a little mis-managed.  Let me make this clear, this is not a disparaging comment on the volunteers.  In my opinion, volunteers are just one step down from super heroes.  They are giving up their own personal time for free to be here and deal with a lot of people, and some of the people are not very nice.  Volunteers do this because they love Salt Lake Comic Con, and for no other reason.  I tell you this because I know for a fact that they work very hard, and the perks they receive do not make up for it.  So, next time you are at a convention like this, just find a volunteer and give them a metaphoric kiss (not a real one because then you will be kicked out).  The problem was not the volunteers, the problem was just the sheer number of people.  I was there all day on Saturday, and it was just unbelievable.  The mismanagement came when they had lines for popular panels set up on the outside of the walkway upstairs, meaning that they had to cross over all the traffic.  This was not fun when I was trying to get through to a panel I wanted to attend and they blocked off all the traffic in the hallway for about 5-7 minutes, making me late for my panel.  Not a major deal, but it could have been avoided by having the line form on the inside, thus not hindering traffic.

Grade: C+ (Can’t overlook Thursday)

The Vendor Hall:

I did not love the set up of the vendor hall this time around.  I think it felt way overcrowded and there were a few things that caused some major traffic issues.  For example, the first section of celebrities happened to be across from a booth where they had people playing video games.  The problem was that it happened to be a point where a lot of people were trying to get through, and there were also a lot of people stopping to watch the screens with the games on them, causing major congestion.  This happened in a few areas.  KidCon was also an issue.  I could not tell where KidCon started and ended.  There was a big banner indicating the general area where it was, but a lot of the booths were intermingled with regular booths, and it all just got mixed and jumbled together.  In April, at FanX, the KidCon had its own separate area with plenty of space and it was nice.  I understand that KidCon is not a major draw for everybody, but it is for us, and this time around it just wasn’t as good.  There were a ton of vendors and they were crammed in there, and it got really tight on some of those aisles, especially when people stopped to get pictures with other people.  Big positive was where they had the celebrities this year.  For the most part, that was a big improvement, except in the first little area mention above.

Grade: C-

The Panels:

I thought the Panels were very well done.  There was a huge diversity of topics to choose from, really something for everybody.  I found it very easy to find panels I wanted to attend every hour, and it wasn’t just the big time celebrity panels.  They had panels on comics creation, on writing, on film making, on podcasts, etc.  It was a huge and great selection.  I loved it.  The panels were my favorite part of the whole convention, and made the whole thing worth it for me.  Whoever is in charge of the panels did an excellent job and deserves a raise.

Grade: A+

The Celebrities

Boy, I have seen a lot of comments about the selection of celebrities that came this time around.  I think there was a pretty good selection, and some pretty relevant big time names that showed up.  How many people came from the cast of Arrow?  Quite a few, and that is the best super hero show on TV right now, and one of the better ones ever made.  That’s a big deal.  Plus, Howard from TBBT and Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel (Not really, but pretty much Marvel as we know it now).  Plus, 2 Doctors.  These are big time guests, and all the ones I just mentioned were mentioned by fans after FanX, people saying they wanted these guests.  They listened to us and worked very hard to get what we wanted.  Being upset about the guests is really subjective.  Usually, when someone is upset it is because a guest they really wanted was not there.  The other thing to remember is that despite all of our success, we will never be SDCC.  Studios and publishers send their people to SDCC, the celebrities don’t really have a choice.  They go because they have to, it’s in their contract, all of that stuff.  The guests that come here come because they want to.  They were invited, and the genuinely want to come out for this.  That’s pretty cool.

Grade: A

Overall, I really enjoyed this year’s Comic Con.  I think overall, it keeps getting better, and more and more people come out to see it.  It set new records for attendance, breaking the records they set back in April for FanX. That is pretty awesome, and it means it will probably be around for a long time to come.  Despite all the success, there will still be kinks.  I saw someone post on Facebook that we need to learn from SDCC, which is true, but keep in mind that they have been doing this for a very long time, and this is SLCC’s 2nd year.  Considering that, SLCC is doing awesome.

Overall Grade: A very solid B+

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This Week in Geek- Week Ending August 30, 2014

August is almost over, which means a couple of things.  The summer blockbuster season is coming to a close.  This year was a slump compared to last year, and what will that mean for all these big budget super hero flicks coming down the pipe? End of August, beginning of September also means that Salt Lake Comic Con is almost here.  We are less than a week away, and your humble blogger can’t wait to be there among his native people: Geeks. Here are a few stories from this last week:

The Tick is Returning with Patrick Warburton

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Technically, this news just broke today, but I would be an irresponsible blogger if I didn’t include it in this post.  People.com is reporting that the live action Tick televisions series is returning to Amazon and their streaming service.  Even better news, Patrick Warburton has reportedly already signed a contract with Amazon to return as the big guy for the series.  Honestly, would it have been the Tick if he wasn’t coming back?  This was a short-lived, quirky series, but a classic.  Plus, I love almost anything Patrick Warburton does.  He could make reading the phone book funny (for our younger readers, the phone book is a now extinct book that would come out each year with a listing of phone numbers in your area.  IT has now been replaced by the internet).  Take the opportunity to congratulate Warburton, as he appears at the Salt Lake Comic Con this upcoming week.  I wonder if this means we will see an upTICK in Tick cosplay…(see what I did there?  UpTICK, like the Tick? Get it?)

GOTG Continues Strong Box Office Showing

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Guardians of the Galaxy was already the biggest hit of the summer, but as of this week, it has surpassed everyone to become the biggest domestic hit of the year, beating out Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  And, with nothing big coming out in the next month or so, it looks like it will continue to have a strong run.  Some experts are predicting that it could break the $300 million mark.  This is a huge hit for Marvel and their parent company, Disney.  This was a property that no one had ever heard of except for hardcore comics fans.  Now it is the biggest domestic movie of the year.  Behold the power of Marvel!

Hawkeye’s New Suit for Avengers: Age of Ultron

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New set pics have revealed how Hawkeye will look in the new Avengers movie.  Personally, not a fan.  I don’t like the long coat.  IT just seems pointless and it would get in the way with all the running and there jumping.  I liked his look in Avengers, and that they carried that look into the comics.  I think Hawkeye is a very interesting character because he has no powers, at all, and he is trying to keep up with all these super powered team mates.  It’s pretty cool, and I felt like he looked pretty cool in the last film.  Despite not liking this look, I am eternally grateful that it isn’t this look:

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Salt Lake Comic Con Rounding Out Their Guests

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I know I give a lot of love to the Salt Lake Comic Con, but they are the biggest convention out my way.  I love that we have something like this here locally that I can now attend without spending a ton of money.  As we get closer to the con, they have been making the guest announcements left and right.  Some of the highlights recently have been Paul McGann and Colin Baker, who both played the Doctor in Doctor Who, as well as Ron Perlman, who played HellBoy in arguably one of the most underrated super hero movies ever, and Eric Roberts who played the Master opposite McGann’s Doctor in the Doctor Who TV Movie.  I expect that we will be hearing about more guests as the Con draws closer.  I have seen lots of people posting that Matt Smith is going to be there.  None of these people are Bryan Brandenburg or Dan Farr, so take it with a grain of salt, but maybe the rumors will pan out.  For a current list of the guests scheduled to be at the Salt Lake Comic Con, please click here.  You can also visit their site’s home page for more info on tickets, autographs and photo ops, and special events.

That’s it for now.  Please check back next week.  We should have plenty of follow-up from the Con and more geek news.

To Con or Not to Con-With Kids Edition

Looking at the Facebook page for Salt Lake Comic Con, one of the most discussed questions has been whether people should bring their little ones to the Con.  This is a tough question and the responses on the page have ranged from yes, absolutely to don’t do it.  They also offer up a lot of advice of what to do if you bring your kids to make the most of it.  As a father of 5 (yes, I know, that’s a lot), I feel like I might be able to share my two cents here.  You can take this as advice for what you should do, or not.  Really, it is just me telling you what I would do.

To answer the question in the simplest way, I say YES, bring your kids.  I think as geeks and nerds we have a responsibility, if we have successfully reproduced, to bring our kids to these things and begin raising the next generation of geeks and nerds.  Plus, honestly, when you were a kid, was there anything you wanted more than knowing that your parents were into the same stuff you were?  Obviously, Salt Lake Comic Con wants you to bring the little ones, because 2 kids under 10 get in free with a paying adult.  This means we will only have to pay for one of our kids if we bring all 5 (more on that later).  They will have plenty for your kids to see and do, so bring them and enjoy it.  They are welcome.  You will hear people say that kids should not come to cons like this, that they only get in the way.  These people have no souls, so ignore them and move on. (If you are one of these people and you are reading this, I’m sorry.  This post really won’t appeal to you.  Please check out my previous post on Death in Comics. Thank you.)

If you are bringing kids, and you have never been to a con, or to a con with kids, I thought it might be helpful to give you some tips on what to do to make the trip successful.  You are welcome to take this advice and have an awesome con experience that the whole family will cherish for the rest of their lives, or you’re welcome to ignore my advice completely and have an awful experience and never want to go back.  The choice is yours.  Here are my top 5 tips in no particular order:

1. Bring a carrier or stroller, or both. If your child is smallish, like really young, bring a carrier.  I would recommend a backpacking carrier that has a frame.  These offer better support for your back, and you will be able to carry your little one for longer.  If you can, and you are dressing up, make the carrier part of your costume.  For example, you could dress up as Luke training to be a Jedi, and your little one can be dressed as Yoda on your back.  That would be a winner in any cosplay contest.  Whatever kind of carrier you bring, I would suggest having a stroller on hand for when that kid becomes too heavy.  If you bring a stroller, it needs to be an umbrella stroller. They are small and compact and easy to maneuver in tight areas, like the whole vendor hall.  If you decide to bring a bigger stroller, again, try to make it part of your child’s cosplay.  I saw a great little baby Doctor in a TARDIS stroller at FanX.  Genius.  Just be prepared in a larger stroller to have more difficulty getting through the crowds, and you may get some dirty looks, but do what you need to do.  Do not come with nothing for your child.  They will get tired and will eventually not want to walk anymore.  Be prepared for that.

2. Bring cash.  Kids love to spend money, mostly because the money they spend is not theirs, and in return the money turns into something cool, like a painted face.  Bring a set amount of cash, whatever you can budget for, and when it is spent, it’s gone.  This will make it easier to not overspend, but enable you to do a few fun things with the kids.  Plus, if you show them your empty wallet, then they know the money is gone and will stop asking.  As long as they don’t know that you can just use your card (my kids know this, so we still have a battle, but at least I know when we are done).

3. Plan accordingly.  Chances are, your 5-year-old will not want to go to a panel discussing who your favorite Star Trek captain is, or which is better Marvel or DC, or really anything they discuss in the panels.  I know the panels are only 50 minutes long, but if you bring a 5-year-old into a dark room where nothing is happening except grown ups talking to each other, they will last maybe 5 minutes.  Don’t do it.  If you are bringing kids plan to spend most of the time on the vendor floor looking at stuff or going to KidsCon, if they are having it again this time, or just walking around looking at all the cool costumes.  That is the stuff your kids will find interesting, and it will be more enjoyable for you if they enjoy themselves.  If there are panels you want to go see, bring a friend or another parent and tag team.  You go to your panel while the other adult goes around with the kids, then you can switch as needed.

4. Don’t bring kids the whole time.  If you can help it, don’t bring kids the whole time.  Make sure you plan a little time sans kids.  This way, you can enjoy the con the way you want to enjoy the con.  Kids are great, but sometimes it is nice to get away from them for a while.  Going with your spouse or your friends is a great way to escape and enjoy some of the things you just couldn’t without kids.  Hire a babysitter, and for at least part of one day, try it without kids.

5.  Bring snacks.  This is an essential thing to do.  Kids will get hungry or thirsty or whatever.  Come prepared with snacks for them to eat when they are hungry.  Granola bars, or fruit snacks or fruit, any of those are great.  If you don’t do this, then you will be shelling our a lot of dough for food, that chances are your kids won’t eat all of anyway.  Bring water as well.  It will be hot and crowded and just miserable if you don’t have water, and that goes for the kids too.  Bring a couple of empty bottles and fill them up at the drinking fountains.  If you don’t, then again, be prepared to spend a lot for sodas, or spend a lot of time going back and forth to the drinking fountains.

The most important thing is to have fun with your kids.  Point out the cosplay of their favorite characters.  They think that stuff is awesome, and to them it is almost real.  When we went to Fantasy Con in July, my daughter was scared because she saw a Dalek, and thought it was real.  Luckily, Sylvester McCoy was there as one of the guests, so I brought over there and showed her and told her it was fine because the Doctor was here too.  When she saw him, from a distance, she was fine.  She recognized him as the 7th Doctor and knew she would be safe from the Daleks.  It wasn’t pretend to her.  it was real, and that makes a Con like this even more fun.

If you are planning on going next week, look for me, and stop and say hi.  My wife an I will be the ones with one umbrella stroller and 5 kids. They’ll all be in cosplay, more to come on that later.

Death in Comics

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One of the big, if not THE biggest, story lines of the Fall this year is the Death of Wolverine in Marvel Comics.  The creators, artists, writers, everybody at Marvel are all saying that this is it for Logan.  He is not coming back, his death will be final, no coming back.  And everyone who has ever read a super hero death storyline just smiles when they hear Marvel say that, because we all know the truth.  We are all sitting here, ready to call “BS” on Marvel.  Yeah, right.  If there is one thing death isn’t in the comics, it’s permanent, at least for heroes.  As a side note, the lovely cover art you see above is a Salt Lake Comic Con exclusive cover for this issue.  There will only be 3000 available, and they will only be available at Salt Lake Comic Con, if you’re interested.

Death is a funny thing in the comics.  We all know that when a hero dies, it is only a matter of time.  I remember being a young lad when Superman “died.”  I was shocked.  He was always my     favorite, and I was shocked to see him go.  I wondered what the world would be like without the Man of Steel in it.  How would it go on?  Even at the age of 10 or 11, I was intrigued to find out.  DC did let this play out for a little while, but eventually, Big Blue was back, better than ever.  And by eventually, I mean it was about a year. Of course, one of the huge benefits for DC was the number of issues they sold of the “Death of Superman.”  This was a pivotal moment in comics.  There had been deaths before.  Some of the more impactful ones would be the death of The Flash, Barry Allen, the death of Robin, Jason Todd, and the death of Phoenix, Jean Grey.  These each had been a big deal, and very meaningful in their respective series, and in the case of the Flash, to the whole DC Multiverse.  Up to this point, though, by and large, the heroes had remained dead. We saw how the world moved on after each of these deaths.  For example, Wally West stepped in to fill the shoes of the Flash, and became a very popular character in his own right.

Killing off Superman was a big deal, though.  This would have greater ramifications than any other super hero would, and where would you find a replacement Superman? You couldn’t.  DC tried with 4 different versions, and none of them would have worked out long-term.  They knew the issue would be huge, and it was, but they also knew it would be huge when he came back.  The Death and Return of Superman basically set up a model for super hero deaths that has been followed again and again.  DC may be a slightly worse offender, but it is by a narrow margin.  Since Superman died we have seen the death and return of Batman, the Green Lantern  (Hal Jordan, a couple of times), and the return of Barry Allen and Jason Todd.  Big Blue set the precedent.  In Marvel, the biggest name to die and come back has been Captain America, not to mention Jean Grey who came back, and then died and came back and then died again (at least I think she is still dead), a trick she must have learned from Charles Xavier who has also died and returned multiple times. We have even seen the return of Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier.  Bucky had been dead so long, that it even became a running joke that all the other heroes come back except Bucky.

Death just doesn’t have any permanence in the comic book world for heroes.  This is actually kind of sad, and deprives the fan from a little bit of realism.  I write that with a grain of salt, realizing that we are talking about comics, a world where there is not a lot of realism.  Death happens in real life.  Sometimes it happens to the good guys.  In fact it happens a lot to the good guys.  It would be nice to see a little bit of that in the comics.  See how the world goes on with Batman or Superman.  I was intrigued when Batman died a few years back.  For the first time in a long time, I picked up a Batman issue (it’s true, I don’t read Batman, not at all.  Ask my comic book guy, Greg, at Black Cat Comics, he’ll tell you).  I bought it, because I was intrigued by the idea of Dick Grayson taking over for Bruce Wayne.  It was a story line that had a lot of potential with time, but DC barely gave it a shot.  Batman was back before we knew it.  Bucky filled in for Cap, and it was interesting to read his adventures as Captain America, but soon enough Steve Rogers was back.  I think comic book companies are really missing out on some great opportunities to tell some great stories and allowing us to get to know these characters in some new ways.  But it never really happens.  The hero never stays dead.

The strangest part is how pivotal death is to a lot of characters.  Some characters are dead and have remained dead and never come back.  Uncle Ben and the Waynes are the two best examples.  Uncle Ben’s death was the most important event in the history of Spider-Man.  Without that happening, Peter Parker would not be the hero he is. Period, end of story.  The same thing for Bruce Wayne witnessing the death of his parents.  These characters can never come back because that would change everything too much.  The truth is, look at how much depth they have added to the characters they have affected. That is what a good death could do.  It would add some depth to the characters that are left behind.  IT would also leave the door open for some other characters to step up.

I don’t know if Wolverine is going to stay dead (doubt it), but I hope he does.  His death would mean more if it was permanent.  It might actually matter.  Either way, Marvel will sell a ton of this series.

My Salt Lake Comic Con Wish List

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Salt Lake Comic Con officially kicks off two weeks from tomorrow.  That means it is right around the corner.  It also means that the guest announcements are going to begin coming fast and furious over the remaining 14 days.  Just in the last 2 days, 2 Doctors have been announced, Paul McGann and Colin Baker.  I expect more major announcements coming.  That’s typically how it happens.  This is for a variety of reasons.  One is that it creates a lot of buzz right before the con begins.  Another is that a lot of celebrities can’t really confirm until right before because they have so much going on.  This is a good thing.  I like being surprised when I hear a guest is coming instead of disappointed when I hear a guest is coming, and then can’t at the last-minute.  Whatever the reason, this is the time when the big announcements are made.  Heck, Patrick Stewart wasn’t even announced until the first night of FanX. So if theta one guest you’ve been hoping for hasn’t been announced, just wait.  It could be coming.

Knowing all of this, i began to think about who my dream guests might be.  Who would I love to see show up to one of these?  Who would I love to go listen to for an hour or two?  The list is long, it’s true, but I  narrowed it down to my top 5.  I didn’t want to get greedy, and I fully anticipate that Salt Lake Comic Con is going to read my list and make it happen.  I mean, why not? I’m a fan, a paying customer.  I don’t think bringing in 5 A-list celebrities with short notice is too much to ask.

So, in no particular order, except numerical order of which I would like to see the least of these 5 to the most, here are my top 5:

5. Viggo Mortensen

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I love Lord of the Rings.  I know, that’s a shocker, a geek who likes LOTR.  We’re hard to come by. One of my favorite characters in the film and in the books was Aragorn.  He was just awesome.  Noble, royal, kingly, Jesus-like, there was just a lot to like about him.  That’s not why I want him to come.  I think it would be cool because i have heard he is quirky person, so I think it would be interesting to go to a presentation where he is the speaker.  Plus, I don’t think he does a whole lot of these conventions, so it would be cool if he came here and did ours.  It would also be very cool to hear about his experiences while filming the LOTR films. And about horses.  I hear he loves horses.  I heard that the horse he rode in the films was his own horse, in real life.  And he learned elvish just for this role.  Again, quirky, that would make a great panel or two.

4. Mark Hammil

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I mean, of course every geek out there would like to meet Luke Skywalker.  The whining, teenage moper who eventually became our favorite Jedi, but Hamill has done a lot more in the geek community.  Just think of your image of Joker, pre Heath Ledger.  I bet you’re picturing the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series.  That was Mark Hamill.  He did the voice, and let’s face it, the voice made that character.  He was incredible as the Joker, almost as good as Kevin Conroy was as Batman.  Wait a minute…I’m getting an idea…Mark Hamill/Kevin Conroy: A Batman Super Panel.  They could discuss their work on the series and how awesome it was, and maybe even do a reading for us.  It would be awesome.  I mean, I’m sure Hamill isn’t really doing anything right now…What’s that?  He’s filming a new Star Wars?  Wow. Who knew?

4B.  Mark Hamill’s beard

I know that typically lists like this don’t have extra entries like 4B, but this is my site, so my rules.  Look at that awesome beard he is sporting.  He is totally trying to pull off the older, wiser Jedi look, and it is awesome.  His beard could have its own booth and sign autographs.  I’d buy one.

3. Hugh Jackman

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Salt Lake Comic Con just announced that they would have an exclusive Death of Wolverine variant cover at the con from Marvel.  I think in honor of that, and since Marvel is “really killing off” Wolverine in the comics, we should have Hugh Jackman come.  Mr. Wolverine himself.  I don’t know what is going to happen when he decides to stop being Wolverine, but it will be sad. It would be great to hear his stories about filming each of the 300 X-Men movies he has been in.  He must have a ton of great stories.  Plus, let’s not overlook The Prestige and Van Helsing.  This, of course would be huge.  The biggest problem would be getting his claws past security.  Yeah, I’d like to see security try to stop him.

2. Chris Evans

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This one is mostly for my wife.  She loves Captain America.  She says it is the character, how he is so good and always stands up for the little guy.  She swears it has nothing to do with how dreamy he is.  It’s ok, I’m not jealous.  I have eyes, I can see how dreamy he is.  I loved Winter Soldier.  I thought it was faun film, and a good film.  It would be great to have him here, or anyone from the Avengers.  One of the panels is supposed to be on the Marvel Phase 3, wouldn’t it be great to have some of those actors there?

1. David Tennant/Matt Smith

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Either one, or both would be fine.  This would be great to have them there along with Baker and McGann and have a Doctor Who super panel.  These two are my favorite Doctors, so it would be cool if they came.  I think I would even pay money for their autographs.  If either of these two came, the place would be packed.  If both came, it would be madness.  Plus it would be just in time for Doctor Who’s 51st anniversary…err…

Who would be in your top 5, or is there just one special guest you’re hoping for?  Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you.

The Doctor 101 Part 5- Doctors 7, 8, and War

Ah, the War Doctor.  When writing a series like this, how does one approach the War Doctor?  He does not fit in with the traditional numbering of the Doctors, partially because he didn’t really exist, I think, until it was clear that Eccleston was not going to do the 50th.  It was all very neat and tidy, McGann was 8, Eccleston was 9, Tenant was 10, Smith was 11.  Easy, peasy.  Then along came Moffat, and messed the whole thing up.  He had to come up with something to take Eccleston’s place in the 50th, so enter the War Doctor.  I have elected to place him in the order where he has been placed in the story, instead of the order which he appeared in the series.  If I did that, he would be in the last post, after number 11.  But he doesn’t regenerate into Capaldi’s Doctor, so I placed him here, where I guess he belongs. If all of this is very confusing, well, blame Moffat.  I will try to explain more when we get to his entry here, but first we have 2 other, fantastic Doctors to discuss.

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Due to the lack of popularity for Doctor number 6, and in an attempt to bring the ratings for the series back up, the producer decided in the Fall of 1987 that it was time for a new Doctor.  Colin Baker’s Doctor was anything but likable, and very dark.  They went in a different direction with number 7 and brought in the likable, warm, funny Sylvester McCoy.  Of the classic Doctors, McCoy may be my favorite.  He was witty, charming, calm, funny, and clever, all at the same time.  He was not easily ruffled, performing superbly under pressure.  Again, they gave the Doctor a signature look, but they decided to ditch the clown costume worn by 6, and went instead with a question mark sweater that would make Bill Cosby proud, a sport jacket, a signature hat and his question mark handled umbrella.

As number 7 appeared, at first he seemed to not be very bright or strategic.  Often times it seems like he had no idea what was going on or what kind of danger he was in.  However, as his time went on, he became very cunning and strategic, almost dark, but never losing his charming air.  Despite the change in character, this Doctors time was cut short after just a few seasons, due to cancellation.  He would appear again in 1996 in the TV movie.  Number of episodes wise, he was an averaged tenured Doctor.  Number of years, he had a longer tenure than most, lasting from 1987 to 1996.

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In 1996, The BBC tried to reboot the Doctor Who series with a made for television movie and a brand new Doctor.  The 8th Doctor was played in one movie and one mini episode by Paul McGann.  The movie was strange, to say the least and introduced at least one very odd piece of “maybe it’s canon and maybe it’s not” information when it hints that maybe the Doctor’s father was human.  This has been completely ignored as the series was successfully launched.  McGann has ended up being one of the more popular despite only being on-screen in the movie.  His popularity grew through audio stories in the absence of TV episodes.  Many fans wondered what it would have been like if McGann’s series had gotten off the ground and they had gotten to see more of him than just the movie.  They got a little satisfaction last year when he appeared in a mine episode on YouTube just before the 50th anniversary special.  His regeneration was the only one we never saw on film, but in the mini episode we did get to finally see it.  As a side note here, the Salt Lake Comic Con is quickly approaching, and rumors are flying that there will be some Doctors here as guests, and just announced this morning, Paul McGann will be there.  Any Doctor is huge, but McGann seems big because he doesn’t seem to do a lot of the conventions.

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For years, since the series relaunched, it was assumed that McGann regenerated into Eccleston, the 8th Doctor became the 9th Doctor.  Last year, we learned that wasn’t the case.  There was a Doctor in between, it was one the Doctors after tried to forget, because of what he did, or at least supposedly did.  Since the relaunch, the Doctor has been carrying around this huge amount of guilt.  Why?  Because he was responsible for completely destroying two whole species, one of them was his own.  He was the last of the Time Lords because he killed all the others in the last great Time War.  I suppose, if I had destroyed my whole world and everyone in it, I would feel guilty too.  It was always assumed that either number 8 had pulled that trigger, or number 9.  Then we found out it was neither.  There was this guy, who wouldn’t even call himself the Doctor.  He was regenerated for one purpose, to bring an end to the Time War, and he was willing to do it at any cost.  He was first introduced in the episode “The Name of the Doctor” and appeared as one of three Doctors in the 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor.”  He was played masterfully by John Hurt, and he has become a Doctor that I would like to find out more about.  By the end of “The Day of the Doctor,” he finds a way to redeem himself, and takes his place among the other versions of the Doctor.  At the very end, to remove all doubt, we see him regenerate into what is obviously number 9.

That wraps up this part.  I will be back on Friday with part 6, which will cover 9, 10, and 11, just in time to settle in on Saturday and begin getting to know number 12.

This Week in Geek Ending August 16, 2014

Another week is in the books, and this is a brief wrap up of some of the things that have happened this week.

Robin Williams Passes Away on Monday, August 11

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In shocking news on Monday, we learned that Robin Williams had passed away.  He was an incredible talent who had the ability to make us feel the whole range of human emotion through his performances.  Yes, he was hilarious and probably best known for being funny, but he could act in any role, as evidenced by his winning the Oscar for best Supporting Actor for his role in Good Will Hunting. Looking at his career, it is hard to find anything he couldn’t do on screen and it’s hard to find a time when he wasn’t relevant since bursting on the scene with Mork and Mindy.  One of the most important things I hope will come out of all of this is the awareness that depression is a real thing, and it’s very serious.  If you have loved ones who suffer from it, don’t judge, but love and be there to help and support them.  I have known people in my life who struggle with this disease, and it is debilitating and hard and very real.  All the news outlets have reported that Robin Williams took his own life, but the reality is that he finally lost his battle with a disease and the disease claimed his life.

Hopefully, we can all look back at Williams’ career and remember all the good times we had watching him perform.  On elf my favorite Robin Williams films is Dead Poets Society.  It inspired me when I was younger to want to be a teacher when I grew up and to want to make a difference in people’s lives.  It also taught me that sometimes that means stepping outside the norms.  In any case, here is one of my favorite scenes from the movie:

The Doctor Lands in NYC

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The Doctor Who World Tour stopped in New York City this week, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman taking the Big Apple by storm.  The tour is a series of visits to cities around the globe, all leading up to the August 23  premier of “Deep Breath”, the opening episode of season 8 of the relaunched Doctor Who series.  This season will be Peter Capaldi’s first as everyone’s favorite Time Lord, and Whovians everywhere are anxious to see it.  This event consisted of a viewing of “Deep Breath” as well as a Q&A session with Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Steven Moffat, moderated in New York by Chris Hardwick, who is a noted Doctor Who fan. Similar events have already happened in London and South Korea.  The final stop will be August 19, just less than a week before the episode airs on the TV.  The success of this event leaves me with 2 questions: 1. Will the expand it next time, maybe do just a a tour of the US, because sadly, I was not able to make it to New York? 2. When is the Sherlock world tour?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dominates Box Office, Sequel Officially Announced

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Despite critics everywhere warning audiences to avoid this movie at all costs, Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles smashed it at the box office.  It brought in $65 million and beat out Guardians of the Galaxy for the number 1 spot.  On the heels of this success, Paramount officially announced that the Turtles would be getting a sequel.  For a lot of nostalgic reasons, this is pretty cool for me.  I loved Ninja Turtles as a kid, and the success of this movie means there is plenty of toys and things in the store for my son to obsess over now.  TMNT looks to do very well at the box office going forward as the summer blockbuster season is coming to a close, and there will be no major competition for them.

Han Solo Character Sketches Leak Online

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In news that just makes every Star Wars geek happy, images were leaked on the internet this week that look to be character sketches for Han Solo for Episode VII.  One looks like it could be right at home on Hoth, but there are other cold planets in the Star Wars Galaxy, I’m sure.  The other, I think, totally fits a space cowboy kind of look.  Both of them look like classic Han Solo, and makes me excited that maybe, just maybe we have a new Star Wars movie that is on track to match the originals.  One can only hope, or dream maybe.  In Any case, it always cool to see things “leaked” from the new movie.

Salt Lake Comic Con Promises 2 Major Marvel Announcements; One is Revealed, One is Yet to Come

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Toward the beginning of the week, Salt Lake Comic Con announced that there were two major Marvel related guest announcements coming up.  The first one was revealed on Thursday, when  SLCC announced that comic book legend, Stan Lee would be returning to Salt Lake City.  This time it appears that he will be spending more time here, two days instead of one.  They have also announced that he will be participating in a panel that will be open to all guests of the comic con.  This means there is one more major Marvel announcement coming in the next few days.  Also, as the con is drawing nearer, expect to see a slew of announcements from SLCC as more major guests are confirmed.  I am still keeping my fingers crossed for David Tenant or Matt Smith. (SLCC, if you’re reading this, notice that people go crazy for a Doctor-the second part of this post- and you haven’t had one yet.  FantasyCon had one, but not you yet, just saying’)

That’s it for This Week in Geek.  Come back next week for more news stories from the world of Geek.  Also, check back in with the blog on a daily basis for more Doctor Who, more Adventures of a Geeky Dad, and more just general geekery.

This Week in Geek for the Week Ending August 9, 2014

This is a new weekly feature here at the geeky mormon.  It will cover some of the big stories affecting the world of Geek each week.  It will include some brief summaries of the story, followed by a link to the original source.  Enjoy!

Guardians of the Galaxy Another Big Hit for Marvel

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Despite the fact that most mainstream Marvel fans had never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before this film was announced by the studio, they all showed up in droves.  Many people were predicting that because people had never heard of these heroes before, no one would come out to see the movie.  It would be Marvel’s first flop.  I’ll admit, when I heard that this film was going into production, I was among the group predicting that nobody would want to see it.  It has a talking tree thingy and a raccoon as two of its main characters.  However, there Marvel machine got behind their big budget film and promoted the heck out of it.  And, as an added bonus, the trailers made the film look pretty amazing.  Say what you will, but I believe there were a lot of people who went to this movie simply because it had the Marvel label.  Fortunately, it doesn’t suck either.  It opened with $94 million last weekend, the biggest opening ever in August, and the 3rd biggest of the year. Let’s see if it can hold on to the top spot this weekend as it goes up against TMNT.  I know, it should be a no brainer.  TMNT has gotten horrible reviews, but remember, so did all the Transformers movies, also Michael Bay projects, and they all scored big at the box office.  Click here to see the whole story on the box office numbers for last weekend.

TMNT May be a Bigger Hit than We Thought

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See if this sounds familiar:  Big movie company hire Michael Bay to come in and take an old children’s franchise and turn it into a major motion picture, big budget and all.  He comes in, adds that signature Michael Bay touch, and totally ruins it for original fans of the franchise.  He also ruins an evening for critics across America as they go and have to sit through the movie to review it.  It does not go well for Bay with the critics, and they spend their time trying to warned people about the movie, begging them not to go.  Everybody goes anyway, and the film is a huge hit, spawning numerous sequels.  I know, you’re thinking Transformers, but wrong.  This is exactly what is happening again with Bay’s latest project, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Every review I have read has talked about how awful this movie is and has warned against going to see it.  People read this stuff, I know they do.  People know how awful the Transformers movies have been.  They know what to expect, but the news coming in about the box office so far is demonstrating that nobody cares.  They are all going to see this movie.  The reports are saying that it could bring in around $65 million so far.  Why? Geeks are nostalgic and they just can’t resist a film that might bring back some good memories.  Unfortunately, this will only mean more garbage like this will be made.  Click here to read more about the TMNT opening.

DC Calls off Major Movie Stand Off with Marvel

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The big showdown we were all looking forward to in 2016 has been called off by DC.  They moved the release date for Dawn of Justice back to the end of March instead of May 6 where it would compete directly against Captain America 3.  It was going to be a match for the ages, and a great weekend of hiding out at the theater for hours for geeks everywhere.  This move seems like it is DC waving the white flag before the war could even start, and I think it awfully interesting that it came out right after Guardians’ epic opening.  In addition, DC also announced 9 other dates that will be the opening of other DC films, although they have not announced what they are.  Click here for the story and the list of dates.  As you can see, DC is not competing directly with any Marvel film.

SDCC is Still a Big Bully, Sues Salt Lake Comic Con

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As we have all heard by now, SDCC is not happy with Salt Lake Comic Con because of the use of the term “comic con”. As SDCC was going on, the event organizers sent a cease and desist letter to Salt Lake Comic Con.  I shared my thoughts on the action here.  Salt Lake responded with big no on the request from SDCC, so the convention giant has responded in typical jerky fashion by filing a lawsuit with a US District Court.  If they win, it will set a precedent that will cary over into disputes with other events throughout the country that use the term “comic con” in their title.  Salt Lake is not just fighting for themselves, but for the little guy conventions everywhere.  If they win, it will be a victory for all cons not associated with SDCC.  If they lose it will be a big blow to the same conventions. There are currently around 24 major conventions throughout the country that use “comic con” in their name.  The full story can be seen by clicking here for the article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

That will do it for the news this week.  Do you have any stories that should be featured here?  Let me know, tweet the link to me or add it to the comments here or on Facebook.  Did I miss a major story?  Again let me know.  Thanks for reading.

Looking Forward to Salt Lake Comic Con

I don’t need a lot of excuses to be excited about the upcoming comic con here in Salt Lake City, especially with the event being only a month away.  It is the highlight of the year for geeks and freaks throughout the Wasatch Front and beyond.  There have been two events this last week that have really got me thinking about the first weekend in September.  One was, of course, the San Diego Comic-Con sending their friendly letter to Salt Lake Comic Con.  I wrote about that in a blog post earlier this week.  The other was Mile High Comics announcing that this year was possibly their last at San Diego Comic-Con (they have since announced that they will, reluctantly, be back for next year).  These two events, I think, are reflective of something going on in our peaceful realm of Geekdom.  I was discussing it with a coworker today.  There seems to be two main strains of geeks.  There is the mainstream geekery and then the actual, legit , geeks.  When I was a kid, there was a much smaller population of mainstream geeks.  It was not cool to like comics or fantasy books or Sci Fi or Star Trek or Star Wars (I mean it was always cool, but not everybody thought it was cool).  Fast forward to today, and that has all changed.  In a lot of ways, I am grateful.  I enjoy the big Summer blockbusters based on comic book characters, and the TV shows and the overall availability of stuff.  But there is a lot of negative that comes with this too.  As things become more mainstream, the more commercialized it becomes.  Now, I am not some anti-commercialism, capitalism person.  I understand that a lot of good comes with that, but it also tends to cheapen the experience for those of us who have been with it for so long.  I don’t think I am explaining myself well, so let me explain what these two examples have to do with what I am saying, and see if that clears it up.

San Diego Comic-Con used to be this weird place where only the geekiest of geeks went to be with other geeks and talk about geeky stuff, mostly comics (go figure!).  The main publishers would come and talk about their major announcements for the next year, but there certainly wasn’t the media exposure there is today.  One might argue that this is true about anything.  There is just more media to provide coverage today than there was before.  But, even taking that into consideration, I don’t think there was the equivalent media coverage that there is today.  SDCC has become a really big deal.  It is not just for comics fans anymore, which is fine.  In the geek world, the more the merrier (even you, Bronies), but SDCC has become the place to unveil any major blockbuster movie and footage whether it has something to do with comics or not.  This has become a major media mecca in the middle of summer.  The added attention is great and assures that it will be around for a while, but it has led to the convention becoming one of these large corporations.  Before I write my next sentence, I don’t want to come off as naive, I understand that every comic con out there, or any other convention, is out there to make money.  They want the geeks to come and spend money. I get that.  San Diego has become only about that.  There is a certain genuineness that seems to be gone now from SDCC, and the letter they sent to Salt Lake is representative of that.  They don’t want other cons moving in on a piece of their pie.  They want their con to be the only con.  Not just a really big comic con in San Diego, but THE comic con.  The whole letter had this feeling of “if you don’t cooperate, then I am going to take my ball and leave.”  I read some comments on the Facebook page of Salt Lake Comic Con of fans warning other fans to not make SDCC angry because they can cause major vendors to boycott our con if they are unhappy.  Other fans mentioned that in the end, all SDCC wanted was not for SLCC to be shut down, but for SLCC and other cons to pay a royalty to SDCC for using their name.  If they agree to do that, then maybe the other cons will be safe from vendors pulling from them and celebrities and so on.  These comments came from fans, not from SDCC themselves, just to be clear.  When I read those things I thought, “isn’t that how the mob works?”  And that made me sad.  I always had a dream to someday go to SDCC, but now, I have lost a lot of my desire to do that.  I kind of don’t want them to get my money, and I hope Dan Farr and company will continue to stand up to them.

The second example of Mile High threatening to pull out of SDCC next year is another representation of how corporate SDCC has become.  The president of Mile High reported that his store lost $10,000 on their trip to San Diego.  That is a pretty expensive vacation where you have to work a lot.  That is an astounding number to me.  By comparison he mentioned that they turned a nice profit at Denver Comic Con (as far as I know their mailbox has been free of any SDCC letters this week), where they had only half the crowd.  What was the difference?  He mentioned it in his newsletter.  They  were competing against the publishers, whose books they push all year-long.  Big houses like DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, etc. are all there and they’re selling their exclusive Comic-con variants.  I hate comic book variants.  There has never been a bigger scam to take your money than the comic book variant, which had its heyday in the 1990s.  The big publishers are there competing against the other vendors, pushing this stuff, and the smaller vendors can’t compete.  This is only going to get worse.  As the demand for it goes up, so will the supply, and it will be harder and harder for local, smaller vendors to make it happen at SDCC. (Not that Mile High is a local, or small vendor, but you get the point)

Why does all of this get me excited for Salt Lake Comic Con?  I feel like right now, SLCC is different.  It is just starting out and is relying on building and keeping a loyal fan base.  They have been successful at doing that as demonstrated by the huge success they had with FanX in April, and the success they are hoping to have again in September.  They will get better, but right now, when you walk the aisles you will find a huge selection of vendors, many of whom are local.  When you go to the panels you will find many panels that have local writers and artists.  I know that most of the people working behind the scenes are real live bona-fide geeks with strong local ties, and they seem to want to represent that in the con.  I love that.  When you visit SLCC it still feels like our own quirky little con.  Someday, with our success, maybe it will outgrow that, but I get the feeling that although they are trying to get this as big as possible, they still want it to be ours.  I am excited for September because it will be three days where I can escape my regular 9-5 job and just be a geek with other geeks.  I hope it stays that way for a long time, regardless of how big it gets.

SDCC vs. SLCC

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Well, another San Diego Comic-Con is in the books.  It was just like every other year.  Major announcements, new footage for upcoming films, plenty of celebrities and lots of cosplay.  Those who attended got to see concept art and footage from numerous upcoming movies and got to hear from panels and stars galore.  It is THE annual geekfest mecca for all lovers of geekdom from around the country.  And apparently, San Diego Comic-Con International believe that they are the only people who can bring you a “comic con.” Legally, at least.  In a move that totally soured the weekend for many fans of geekery here in Utah, SDCC has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Salt Lake Comic Con for using the term “comic con.” San Diego Comic-Con International believes they hold some kind of trademark to the term “comic con” and as such, SLCC is not allowed to use it.  It is a regular David vs. Goliath kind of a thing.  SDCC is the big boy, the granddaddy of all comic cons, I don’t think anyone would argue that, and they don’t like this upstart con in Salt Lake City, and they plan to do something about it.  The problem is, they can’t really do anything about it.  Comic con is a phrase, and it can’t be trademarked.  It’s short for comic convention, and it’s used by numerous cons throughout the country who are not owned by SDCC International.  A similar action to this was taken a few years ago against Denver Comic Con, and SDCC lost.  They probably won’t get anywhere with this action either.  The way I look at it, this has really just accomplished a couple of things:

1. SDCC has been exposed as a bunch of jerks.  I mean, really, there’s no other way to put it.  They feel somehow threatened by this little upstart con, and they are trying to take them out before they become any kind of real threat.  When you think about it, prior to 2013, the two biggest cons on the west coast were SDCC in San Diego, and WonderCon in Anaheim, both put on by SDCC international.  Last September, SLCC burst onto the scene with over 72,000 guests in attendance, making it the largest debut con ever.  In April of 2014, Salt Lake Comic Con was back with a second event, Fan eXperience, or FanX, which attracted 100,000 guests over three days, making it the third largest comic con in the country.  All of a sudden there is a new player in the game, a new kid on the block, and SDCC doesn’t like it.  Normally, the geek crowd is pretty easy-going and pretty accepting, but not if you’re giant corporation that is just milking all these geeks for money.  Then you get upset if someone else might be moving in on your territory.  So what do you do? Try to throw your weight around like a big bully.  Well, if there’s one thing we geeks can’t stand, it’s a bully.  San Diego Comic-Con has revealed itself for what it is.  Just there to take our money, and they’re not sharing.  They sent the letter knowing they have no legal ground to stand on, hoping SLCC would back down and go quietly away.  That’s how bullies operate.  They don’t want to fight anybody, they just want you to be intimidated and go away.  Once someone stands up to them, then they’re through.  I say kudos to Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg for standing up to the bully and not backing down, and for recognizing that there is more on the line here than just their own convention.

2.  It has really just been a ton of free press for the Salt Lake Comic Con.  It has hit local and national headlines alike.  The letter was really sent at the perfect time.  SDCC sent it while they were right in the middle of their own convention, when everyone was talking about comic cons in general, there was already a lot of attention on the subject.  Then to find out that this big behemoth is pushing around the little guy, that makes for great news, and people who are interested are going to find it because they are searching the inter webs for news on San Diego Comic-Con.  Really, it could not have worked out better for Salt Lake.  More people are talking about the event than ever before and finding out how large it is, and that it might be a big deal.  Just perfect and Dan Farr and co. have really jumped in front of this and have really harnessed all the press.  This may end up being a huge thing for SLCC, which is just great poetic justice.  I hope it does.

I love the Salt Lake Comic Con and how successful it’s been.  I don’t know if I will ever make it to the big show in San Diego, but I can make it downtown for our show here, and it’s pretty darn good.  The people behind it have worked really hard to make this happen and make it high quality.  It’s nice to see that all that hard work is paying off and that they have gotten the attention of the big con.  I think it really demonstrates that this little con in little ol’ Salt Lake City is actually a big deal.  Maybe in the end, SLCC might be thanking SDCC for all the free advertising.

If you want to see more information on this story, then click here, that will take you to the web site for Salt Lake Comic Con, and their page with all the articles pertaining to this situation as well as the actual letter sent by SDCC.  While you are on the site, check it out, maybe buy tickets and come join us for some great geeky fun.