Our final day at the ‘Con was to be on Sunday, but since we bumped up our visit by a day to get there on Thursday, we decided Saturday was going to be our last day. I ate some leftover Italian cuisine from the night before and we rolled out of the hotel room and back downtown for the busiest day of the whole event. There were panels everyone wanted to attend today, and there were going to be a lot of people waiting in line to get in to them.

Terry and Bobby decided they would start the day off with a few drinks, so I wandered to the convention center and got into the line for the big Transformers panel. Transformers die-hards will know names like Aaron Archer and Simon Furman, who were there to give information about upcoming toys and comic books. There were also some previews of the new animated series debuting this fall. Then a bunch of morons with lisps got up to ask stupid questions. I buried my head in my hands.

Here’s a tip to the fanboys who want to ask people questions at convention panels: the people you’re addressing already know you’re a big fan. That’s why you waited in line for an hour to get in to the panel. Don’t try kissing their asses by telling them you love their work. Do you think they’re going to think you hate their stuff otherwise? They all have places to be and people more important people than you to talk to, so quit wasting their time.

After the panel, I headed back downstairs to the dealer room. I had a couple more things I wanted to buy today, and there were still a few areas of the gigantic room I hadn’t fully explored, even after two days. Apparently, in previous years, the dealer room only covered part of the giant ballroom, and has been expanding and expanding and expanding in the last several. Now, it takes up the entire floor.

While hanging out by the Batmobile waiting for friends to find me, I saw the crowd ahead parting, and a paparazzi-like element moving slowly down the aisle. Upon further inspection, I realized it was Gene Simmons from KISS, walking through the crowd with his palms up as if he were Jesus Christ himself, and being flanked by his son. Not quite Christ.

I took a break from the crowded dealer room and headed upstairs. Chad and Terry were looking forward to a Joss Whedon panel, so they lined up for the preceding panel in the same room. I joined them for this one, which dealt with Futurama. In what turned out to be one of the coolest things I experienced all weekend, the entire cast of the show acted out a mini-comic that had been produced for Comic Con, segueing into the return of the show as four straight-to-DVD movies. I left before the Whedon thign started.

I spent much of the day looking for photo ops. Lots of good costumes toon Saturday, and quite a few crappy ones as well. Terry and I were determined to get our hands on inflatable Pokeballs from the Pokemon booth, but we kept being denied. We didn’t know they would be so popular as to cause people to line up for hours to get their hands on them.

The dealer room was getting crowded to the point of claustrophobia, so we headed upstairs into the atrium and the adjacent patio, where some celebrities were signing autographs. Terry drooled quite a bit as he got to meet Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, and both of us drooled a bit as we got to realize a childhood crush by meeting Jane Weidlin of the Go-Go’s. Rob Van Dam and Virgil from pro wrestling fame were in attendance, as were Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Rosario Dawson, to name a few. I didn’t feel like standing in line to buy stuff just to get an autograph or a photo with most of them, so I headed back down to make a few purchases in the dealer room.

I spotted a local Atlanta celebrity wandering around in Andre 3000 from Outkast, just in attendance like a regular Joe. Interestingly enough, I spotted him on the streets of San Diego later that night, and told him that I see him enough around Atlanta, it’s only fitting that I run into him 3,000 miles away from home as well. In turn, he complimented my T-Shirt. Yes, Andre 3000 complimented me on my attire. Irony.

The day was winding down. I made some last-minute stops at a few booths, but didn’t spend as much money as I had anticipated. I ran into some old friends from Atlanta who are in the comic biz themselves now. And finally, I got in line right before the Hasbro booth was closing for the night, to finally get my hands on a toy or two that they didn’t have on the first day I was there.

Bobby and I wrapped up at the ‘Con, but Chad and Terry had more nerdiness to attend: a singalong for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Once More With Feeling”. We decided to grab a bite to eat, and wound up at a local watering hole where we proceeded to eat messy foods, drink lots of beer, and throw paper at fellow patrons. After dinner, the others met up with us and we wound up crashing a party at the ritzy W Hotel, before wrapping up our San Diego experience altogether.

We headed back to Los Angeles the next morning, and took it easy for the next couple of days, doing some touristy Hollywood type things, before departing the land of Chad and heading back to the East Coast on Tuesday. A few days of recovery was in order. Comic Con is probably the biggest workout that many of its attendees get every year. There’s a ton of walking involved. Despite eating some pretty hearty meals (San Diego restaurants seem to serve the largest portions on Earth) I managed to shed a couple of pounds over the course of my trip.

Comic Con was a great experience. It’s going to be quite a step down to go back to Dragon*Con in Atlanta here in a few weeks, but it should still be fun. There are actually things I prefer about Atlanta’s own convention, mainly the 24-hour aspect of it. Since Dragon*Con is held in several hotels that contain bars, there are parties at the actual convention that go on all night. The San Diego Convention Center is an awesome venue, but it doesn’t have that same element to it.

It is your duty as a fanboy, geek, nerd, or just a person who enjoys the realm of entertainment, to take a pilgrimage at least once in your life to San Diego for Comic Con. It is your Mecca.

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