Popular Post n2wdw Posted July 16, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 16, 2018 24 Hours At the SDCC 2018 - Part 4 This is my last pre-con report. At the moment I'm in SF for work, then I fly to SD on Wednesday for my 1 day at SDCC on Thursday. They have a new restaurant in SF, Oren's Hummus, specializing in hummus. I've always liked hummus but since going to Israel earlier this year I've gotten a bit obsessed over it. In the middle east they treat hummus like a main course. We went to a restaurant in Jerusalem and the entirety of the menu was hummus, falafel, and french fries -- and at lunch there was a line out the door to get a table. At Oren's, they make fresh hummus every day. In the last 12 hours I've already been there twice, for dinner last night and this morning for breakfast. Here's my dinner from last night, starting with a Grey Goose martini with blue cheese olives. So back to SDCC. As a good development, my daughter will be coming with me. We thought she wasn't going to be able to come because of her summer job, but things worked out. She's a cosplayer and excited to go to SDCC for the first time. But as the con nears, I'm already having second thoughts about going. I'm working on getting myself psyched up for the crowds, and what I expect will be high prices on comics. But if nothing else, it'll be interesting to go just to get first hand knowledge of where the con is in 2018 versus years past. And the Gaslamp neighborhood is always fun to spend time in. I'll close this post by showing a couple of cool comics I've picked up recently: Sqeggs, The Lions Den, STORMSHADOW_80 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 On 7/11/2018 at 9:02 PM, n2wdw said: 24 Hours At the SDCC 2018 - Part 4 My prep for SD is about done. I've got my want lists on my iPad with backup paper copies. My schedule next week is hectic. I fly to SF on Sunday, and then have work meetings Monday and Tuesday. I'll fly from SF to SD on Wed, then spend the day in Gaslamp. My main goal on Wednesday is to pick up my pre-orders (t-shirt and baseball cap). I'll be at the con all day Thursday (930am - 7pm). Then I'll head to the airport for the flight back to the east coast. So what to do at the con? On Wednesday I plan to see a movie at the Horton Plaza. It's what I always do when I go to the SDCC. I haven't decided on the movie. Maybe Antman or Ocean's 8. I might see a second movie too, maybe Jurassic Park. Sounds like an intense schedule! I would skip Jurassic. Always good to see Chris Pratt, but the plot made next to no sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 3 hours ago, Sqeggs said: Sounds like an intense schedule! I would skip Jurassic. Always good to see Chris Pratt, but the plot made next to no sense. Thanks for the tip. Here in SF at the Metreon, I saw Ant Man last night, and it was a decent way to kill 2 hours on a Sunday away from the family. In SD I'd like to see the Ocean's movie but my daughter says she wants to see Incredibles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BitterOldMan Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 1 hour ago, n2wdw said: Thanks for the tip. Here in SF at the Metreon, I saw Ant Man last night, and it was a decent way to kill 2 hours on a Sunday away from the family. In SD I'd like to see the Ocean's movie but my daughter says she wants to see Incredibles. See the Incredibles 2 with your daughter, you will love it. I actually live in San Francisco. Have not had a good falafel, since the King of Falafel closed. Try the Impossible Burger. Its vegetarian, but tastes like meat. jimjum12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 On 7/16/2018 at 4:34 PM, n2wdw said: 24 Hours At the SDCC 2018 - Part 4 This is my last pre-con report. At the moment I'm in SF for work, then I fly to SD on Wednesday for my 1 day at SDCC on Thursday. They have a new restaurant in SF, Oren's Hummus, specializing in hummus. I've always liked hummus but since going to Israel earlier this year I've gotten a bit obsessed over it. In the middle east they treat hummus like a main course. We went to a restaurant in Jerusalem and the entirety of the menu was hummus, falafel, and french fries -- and at lunch there was a line out the door to get a table. At Oren's, they make fresh hummus every day. In the last 12 hours I've already been there twice, for dinner last night and this morning for breakfast. Here's my dinner from last night, starting with a Grey Goose martini with blue cheese olives. So back to SDCC. As a good development, my daughter will be coming with me. We thought she wasn't going to be able to come because of her summer job, but things worked out. She's a cosplayer and excited to go to SDCC for the first time. But as the con nears, I'm already having second thoughts about going. I'm working on getting myself psyched up for the crowds, and what I expect will be high prices on comics. But if nothing else, it'll be interesting to go just to get first hand knowledge of where the con is in 2018 versus years past. And the Gaslamp neighborhood is always fun to spend time in. I'll close this post by showing a couple of cool comics I've picked up recently: Love the three olive martini! I'll need to check this restaurant out. I only went to SDCC once...it was fun, but it was in 2006 when things were starting to go toward pop culture and away from comics. Highlight was meeting Ray Harryhausen and getting his auto. Loved perusing this thread and seeing all your stuff. Great collection! n2wdw and Larryw7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 SDCC 2018 - Con Report (Wednesday) On Wednesday morning, I flew to SD from SF. I got this very healthy breakfast at one of the SFO fast food places, hummus and tabouli. I prefer savory over sweet when it comes to food so I often eat non-breakfast foods for breakfast. Unfortunately my lunch wasn't nearing as healthy, fried rice with curry chicken and jalapeno fried chicken wings. I got it from that chinese place in Gaslamp that looks like they should get closed for health code violations but is always so good. I'm staying at the Hard Rock hotel, which is extremely convenient as it's right across from the con. The Gaslamp neighborhood is all decked out for the con and Hard Rock is no different. They are decorated with Manifest stuff, which I guess is a new NBC TV show. This is what you see as soon as you walk into the hotel. The Walking Dead also bought promotional space at the Hard Rock. Their elevators are the coolest I have ever seen. I did not get preview night tickets, so today I just walked around the outside of the con and also Gaslamp. I have heard all the critical comments about how SDCC is no longer a comic convention and is instead a pop culture con. I agree with all those comments. But, the comic buzz here is more intense than anywhere else. You feel it everywhere. It's much more than at NY comicon. I think this is due to, number 1, SDCC is the biggest con in the world. (I know some say that NYCC is just a big, but no way that is true. I'm here in San Diego, and I was at the last NYCC, and NYCC is at best a distant second.) Number 2, SDCC is focused in a relatively small area, the Gaslamp neighborhood of San Diego. Pretty much everyone who is in Gaslamp right now is going to the con. So that just intensifies the excitement. I haven't been here since 2014. I have to say the Gaslamp is still the Gaslamp. I like it, it's exciting and fun, but it's artificial. Sort of like Vegas without the casinos or showgirls. There's only so much I can take. I'm enjoying myself but I'll be ready to go home. I was surprised to see one thing in Gaslamp -- they are turning the Greystone steakhouse into a Taco Bell! If you haven't been, Greystone is a higher end steakhouse, comparable to Del Friscos. Greystone still exists, but for the length of the con they are turning it into a Taco Bell. I think this is a brilliant idea and they'll get a ton of business. Here's a picture as they are in the midst of the renovation: One sad note ... I went to see a movie at Horton Plaza (I saw Jurassic Park, as it was the only movie scheduled at the time I wanted to go -- it was better than I thought it would be). I remember when Horton Plaza, the outdoor mall, was the place to be with expensive stores and tons of shoppers. Well, e-commerce has hit Horton like all the other brick and mortar stores. Probably 30% of the stores were closed. Kinda sad and depressing. On a happier note, I mentioned that my daughter is here with me at the con. Here she is taking a selfie with Wonder Woman: After walking around Gaslamp for a while, we got her favorite food for dinner, Ramen noodle soup. In my next posts, I'll talk about actually going to the con on Thursday. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 On 7/16/2018 at 4:34 PM, n2wdw said: 24 Hours At the SDCC 2018 - Part 4 This is my last pre-con report. At the moment I'm in SF for work, then I fly to SD on Wednesday for my 1 day at SDCC on Thursday. They have a new restaurant in SF, Oren's Hummus, specializing in hummus. I've always liked hummus but since going to Israel earlier this year I've gotten a bit obsessed over it. In the middle east they treat hummus like a main course. We went to a restaurant in Jerusalem and the entirety of the menu was hummus, falafel, and french fries -- and at lunch there was a line out the door to get a table. At Oren's, they make fresh hummus every day. In the last 12 hours I've already been there twice, for dinner last night and this morning for breakfast. Here's my dinner from last night, starting with a Grey Goose martini with blue cheese olives. Clink, right? Nice cover.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 2 hours ago, n2wdw said: SDCC 2018 - Con Report (Wednesday) On Wednesday morning, I flew to SD from SF. I got this very healthy breakfast at one of the SFO fast food places, hummus and tabouli. I prefer savory over sweet when it comes to food so I often eat non-breakfast foods for breakfast. Unfortunately my lunch wasn't nearing as healthy, fried rice with curry chicken and jalapeno fried chicken wings. I got it from that chinese place in Gaslamp that looks like they should get closed for health code violations but is always so good. I'm staying at the Hard Rock hotel, which is extremely convenient as it's right across from the con. The Gaslamp neighborhood is all decked out for the con and Hard Rock is no different. They are decorated with Manifest stuff, which I guess is a new NBC TV show. This is what you see as soon as you walk into the hotel. The Walking Dead also bought promotional space at the Hard Rock. Their elevators are the coolest I have ever seen. I did not get preview night tickets, so today I just walked around the outside of the con and also Gaslamp. I have heard all the critical comments about how SDCC is no longer a comic convention and is instead a pop culture con. I agree with all those comments. But, the comic buzz here is more intense than anywhere else. You feel it everywhere. It's much more than at NY comicon. I think this is due to, number 1, SDCC is the biggest con in the world. (I know some say that NYCC is just a big, but no way that is true. I'm here in San Diego, and I was at the last NYCC, and NYCC is at best a distant second.) Number 2, SDCC is focused in a relatively small area, the Gaslamp neighborhood of San Diego. Pretty much everyone who is in Gaslamp right now is going to the con. So that just intensifies the excitement. I haven't been here since 2014. I have to say the Gaslamp is still the Gaslamp. I like it, it's exciting and fun, but it's artificial. Sort of like Vegas without the casinos or showgirls. There's only so much I can take. I'm enjoying myself but I'll be ready to go home. I was surprised to see one thing in Gaslamp -- they are turning the Greystone steakhouse into a Taco Bell! If you haven't been, Greystone is a higher end steakhouse, comparable to Del Friscos. Greystone still exists, but for the length of the con they are turning it into a Taco Bell. I think this is a brilliant idea and they'll get a ton of business. Here's a picture as they are in the midst of the renovation: One sad note ... I went to see a movie at Horton Plaza (I saw Jurassic Park, as it was the only movie scheduled at the time I wanted to go -- it was better than I thought it would be). I remember when Horton Plaza, the outdoor mall, was the place to be with expensive stores and tons of shoppers. Well, e-commerce has hit Horton like all the other brick and mortar stores. Probably 30% of the stores were closed. Kinda sad and depressing. On a happier note, I mentioned that my daughter is here with me at the con. Here she is taking a selfie with Wonder Woman: After walking around Gaslamp for a while, we got her favorite food for dinner, Ramen noodle soup. In my next posts, I'll talk about actually going to the con on Thursday. If you were a local here you would (that is would and not wouldn’t just to be clear unlike someone at the White House...) know that Horton Plaza recently was sold so exactly what they plan on doing with it is still in play. It may just get torn down and replaced with more high rises. Malls simply struggle to hold interest in 2018. Given the current prices for downtown real estate in Southern California I’m not so sure it will continue to be a mall for long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 On 7/29/2017 at 9:22 PM, n2wdw said: Thanks R-Man, I'm happy to be here! You're right, my wife doesn't often go into the comic room, but it's not because of all the girly stuff. I don't play golf, gamble, etc., so she's okay with comics being my vice. This is true even with this in the room: This is, of course, Alice by J. Scott Campbell. Referring to the map, it's leaning against CB2 (CB stands for comic long boxes). The poster is actually a blow up on foam backing I got from Shutterfly of this Campbell print: I've always thought that Campbell's work (and other modern GGA artists, like Dave Stevens) resembles LB Cole. Probably my favorite Cole cover is Popular Teenagers 5. "Ignore the Uncouth Brutes!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 If you’re staying in the Gaslamp here’s a couple shots from the other side of town this morning from my perch at the Hyatt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 My first buy at the con, from Dale Roberts. N e r V, STORMSHADOW_80 and Sqeggs 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 16 minutes ago, n2wdw said: My first buy at the con, from Dale Roberts. Nice grabs! He had those at Torpedo on Sunday. Had the most Matt Baker books in the room. I actually like the Vic Flint the best of the two! Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Just got this from Graham Crackers. Has a married centerfold but it was cheap. Now the search is on for a coverless copy. jimjum12 and STORMSHADOW_80 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 20, 2018 If I had a spare $15k I’d buy this comicjack, Murphman13, STORMSHADOW_80 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 It’s 545pm and I’m heading out early as my daughter is hungry. Here’s my last buy at the SDCC 2018, Casper 1. Patriot6, Sqeggs, aardvark88 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman_fan Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 23 minutes ago, n2wdw said: It’s 545pm and I’m heading out early as my daughter is hungry. Here’s my last buy at the SDCC 2018, Casper 1. Kind of reminds me of the Crypt Keeper HENRYSPENCER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 11 hours ago, N e r V said: If you were a local here you would (that is would and not wouldn’t just to be clear unlike someone at the White House...) know that Horton Plaza recently was sold so exactly what they plan on doing with it is still in play. It may just get torn down and replaced with more high rises. Malls simply struggle to hold interest in 2018. Given the current prices for downtown real estate in Southern California I’m not so sure it will continue to be a mall for long... And no means no more questions. Yeah right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 1 minute ago, n2wdw said: And no means no more questions. Yeah right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 10 hours ago, N e r V said: If you’re staying in the Gaslamp here’s a couple shots from the other side of town this morning from my perch at the Hyatt... Get anything good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 8 hours ago, Robot Man said: Nice grabs! He had those at Torpedo on Sunday. Had the most Matt Baker books in the room. I actually like the Vic Flint the best of the two! Have fun! Thanks for leaving a few things for the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
