So, I did what anyone would do, I started to sweat a little more. The darkening stains started to spread from the vertex where my upper arm and chest meet down the sleeves of my Transformers/Tron Loot Crate mash-up t shirt. My hair started to feel thicker as imagined humidity caused my head to heat up and droplets of sweat ran down the sides of my ears, tickling my neck as they journeyed down to join the other growing patch of moisture.

Yup, I was sweating.

But my brother and his friends were not alarmed at all and offered pieces of calming advice: "I'm not worried."

So, I waited patiently until the Yellow Bar of Updating informed us that the drawing would be happening soon.

When was soon?, I thought. Perhaps this was only a conciliatory message for all those who wouldn't get in; giving us all false hope to keep us watching to read the next message that updated every 120 seconds. 

And then, the message updated, telling us all to be patient as they were starting to pull the first group of members to the purchase queue. 

It was here I determined I would be waiting for several minutes - secretly hoping that there would still be at least Friday and Saturday left.

And then I was in the queue to purchase.

Holy Frick!

I rapidly texted the group, "I'm In! I'm In!"

And then I filled in the necessary information, triple checking to make sure I didn't mis-type anything which would somehow cancel my purchase request. But I knew I had to be fast just in cast some dormant technical glitch was waiting in the edges of my laptop, ready to pounce and punish me for being unprepared.

But, no issues. 

It went smoothly.

Our badges were purchased in a matter of a minute or two.

And then i rejoiced by crawling back into bed, and took a nap with my eyes open.

"Comic Con" was all I could say.

Be Excellent To Each Other!

 - Ravi

March 11th, Saturday: The date that many of us have been waiting for. It's SDCC Returning Registration!

I’m excited and anxious because this weekend has the potential to make or break my Summertime plans.

The past two years, I have been very fortunate to attend. With my brother and I both logging in to try, only one of us has been successful each year (though I was able to get him a badge as we can register up to 2 additional members at a time).

So, it’s come to this: How to Prepare

First: Get as much info as possible. Follow the official SDCC web page, Toucan Blog, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites as they often post information that is useful.

Second: Don’t Panic. More than ten minutes in the virtual waiting room feels like an eternity, but I did get Thursday and Sunday passes that year, so don’t panic and don’t give up.

Third: Learn about the experience from others. Like me. So, lucky you, here’s my take:

     1)      Logging in time between 8:00am and 8:59am makes no difference.

Your log in places you in a ‘virtual waiting room’ with thousands of other attendees. Once 9:00am PST starts, the system will randomly pull a batch of IDs and place them in the queue to purchase your 1-4 badges.

While very many complain that the randomness is far from it, my own experience in the past three years has been that it is indeed very random. I’ve seen reports of people that log in right at 7:00am not get passes while others that log in minutes before the process starts are pulled in almost immediately.

I have been put into the queues either within minutes or after over twenty long minutes where only Sunday was available. Each time, I’ve logged in about 8:30-8:45am.

     2)      Know the Member ID names of your friends

If you’re buying badges for others as well as yourself, you need their full names and correct Member ID names.

Last year, I bought badges for two others and one was my brother’s friend. While I was in the process of buying, the ID name I was entering wasn’t working so I had to get the correct info from my brother, who, by the by, was having trouble getting in touch with her.

Your time to purchase badges is limited. If you take too long, you will get kicked out and have to start the process all over again.

Clearly, I was stressed when I didn’t get the correct ID name until I had about a minute left. It was nerve wracking and completely unnecessary if I’d been prepared.

     3)      Technical Problems happen: Unfortunately, from time to time, a huge pile of excrement can get projected to a high-speed turbine during your attempt to get a badge.

Even worse, I haven’t heard of anyone getting timely support during the log in process. Sometimes, people have been kicked out of the waiting room for apparently no reason. Others had their screens frozen while trying to completely their badge purchase. If you refer back to my #2 experience and you’ll get a pretty picture of the chaos and stress this causes.

They do have a help desk and contact information if your system goes on the fritz. However, there’s no guarantee of a timely resolution nor promise to put you back where you were. There are occasional reports of people getting their badges once a technical review had been completed, but there are hearsay and I haven’t been able to verify these claims as of this writing.

Which brings me to…

     4)      Have friends log in as well. There’s just no beating having a friends/family member log in as your back-up.

As I’ve mentioned before, my brother has been able to log in when I failed to do so, and he purchased my badge. The same was true vice-versa. So, to avoid the potential of technical issues, have at least one other person who has a membership ID to log in as well. This will double your chance of getting in as well.

That about sums it up from me at this stage. I’ll post my success or failure this time next week (If I fail, I might a bit more time to recover).

Good luck fellow returning members and

Be Excellent To Each Other!

-          Ravi

Marvel continues to do it right. After witnessing the Marvel/Netflix Luke Cage panel a couple days ago, i was able to witness and experience the amazing display that Marvel prepared for it's theatrical branch. MC's by the always amazing Chris Hardwick and led by Marvel's Kevin Feige, what followed was a cavalcade of jaw dropping appearances and announcements:

They began by introducing the slick new Marvel Studios logo. The original animated logo featured images from various comic book panels that were usually pulled from the source material of the property that the production card was attached to. The new logo incorporates both the original comic book panel, but also the recent theatrical history representing a richer history of the company. Most were impressed, some were unimpressed, and there were a few that thought the production card didn't need to be changed at all. I actually like it as it is less comic book based and represents the growth of the company. 

Next, they brought out the director and cast of the Black Panther (2018), which does not start shooting until January. This movie was fueled largely by Chadwick Boseman's performance in Captain America: Civil War. His presence alone drew praise from fans of all walks and it was easy to see that Marvel could build the movie around him. 
So, when they introduced the cast, the crowd was even more excited at the prospects of the upcoming movie. The trick being, they won't start filming until January for a 2018 release. I don't know if I can wait that long. 
Just to give you an idea, the cast includes: Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, and the incredible Danai Gurira. The talent on this project so far is amazing, and under the direction of Ryan Coogler, this could be one of the better movies out there.

After loud applause from the crowd, we were treated to a spectacle: the screens seem to expand, like Warner Brothers' presentation, but then mist started to fall from the ceiling, creating several mist screens and digitally animated mystical symbols were projected, created a feeling of magic and elemental changes. A voice, familiar from the initial Doctor Strange (November 4, 2016) trailer, and the symbols started to rotate and move until they all formed the symbol that is the window to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum. The crowd went nuts, as did I. When the house lights went back up, Benedict Cumberbatch was on stage and the crowd didn't stop cheering. This was not unlike a college basketball game when one of the star players is announced and the crowd cheers and the band plays. Then, they introduced the full cast and everyone had a chance to answer a question or say something to the crowd. 
Hearing Benedict Wong say that he did not want to portray a servant version of the character Wong was refreshing, It was more amazing to hear that Marvel was very accommodating, ensuring that Wong would have a more important role within the movie and plot.
And then we saw a full scene, featuring Doctor Strange and his first meeting with the Ancient One. It was an amazing scene and established Cumberbatch's  fit for the role. This movie is going to be amazing. Even Cumberbatch was wowed by the footage.

As if that wasn't enough, after the Doctor Strange cast left, the house lights went down and on the screen was the high tech Spider Man logo, first introduced at the end of Captain America: Civil War. The crowd went nuts again as the screens showcased several Spider Man scenes from that movie. Next, they introduced Spider Man himself, Tom Holland. The director, Jon Watts, described this as a high school movie, and then showed footage featuring Peter Parker's life in high school, juxtaposing regular teenage life with his secret development of becoming Spider Man. And then there was this short tag with a mechanized bird figure that could only be The Vulture, a villain that has been promised from other iterations of the franchise. The movie title? Spider Man: Homecoming (Summer 2017). I can't wait.

The crowd knew there must be more, and then from the side of the hall, costumed ruffians from Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2 (May 2017) appeared, in full characters, joking with each others, throwing insults back and forth. It was hilarious seeing two give each other crap while on stage. What really drew me in, though, was not the full cast who appeared on stage, including Kurt Russel, but the footage! The scene featured Yondu and Rocket breaking out of a cell with the help of an adorable Baby Groot. There were a lot of "awws" which just shows how well they set him up. The break out scene was funny, brutal, and satisfying, much like all of the first movie.
I know many are wondering if the soundtrack might fall short, and it might, but the track (I forgot the title) flowed with the battle scene just right. I have no fear of this movie falling short of any expectation. I really can't wait until next May.

Then there was a surprise announcement that there would be a Guardians of the Galaxy themed ride at Disneyland, replacing the existing Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This was met by less than enthusiastic cheers, but they showed some footage of the actors filming the scenes that would be used on the ride. We shall see, Disneyland, we shall see.

Finally, that was it. Then Kevin Feige asked for every cast member that was still there to come on stage for a super group photo ... including the actress who will be playing Captain Marvel, Brie Larson!

We didn't really think we would get in to this panel, but we were pleasantly surprised - and we were so fortunate that we did.

Ballroom 20 was only about 85-90% filled, and all were treated to a spectacular series of trailers, teasers, talent, and surprises. 

First came a triptych teaser whic asked the question, "What does it mean to be a hero?" featuring all of the Netflix Marvel characters, to date: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. It was a great introduction to the new Luke Cage series. Then there was a tag featuring the Punisher which also brought down the house. 

Soon after the lights went up, Jon Bernthal appeared next to Jeph Loeb, looking very serious, and to the delight of the fans. He was 'encouraging' Jeph to show the teaser again. Jeph acquiesced.

As my brothers says, and I agree, Marvel just knows how to do things right: first was the cast of Luke Cage which consists of seasoned character and lead actors like Frank Whaley, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Mahershala Ali, Alfred Woodard, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

Show runner, Cheo Coker, shed some light on his approach to the show, even linking the show to what's been going on recently, saying that maybe it's time for there to be a bulletproof black man. he also remarked that the 13 episodes were all named after different Gang Starr song titles.

Next was the series of scenes that showcased the dramatic elements and the strength of the cast.

There were more questions about how the cast came to the project and their thoughts on the characters. After they wrapped, Joe Quesada appeared to confirm that Daredevil was confirmed for a 3rd seasons. Then, a surprise teaser showed some scenes from the upcoming Marvel/Netflix show iron Fist which brought even more enthusiasm to the room.

And right when we thought it was all over, Marvel did it again: lights went down and the teaser trailer to the new show Defenders came on screen, driving the fans mad. 

My brother said it, and I agree: Marvel knows how to do things right.

Luke Cage: Sept 30th, 2016
iron Fist: Coming Soon
Defenders: 2017
Daredevil Season 3: TBA

After a day of pure free-form convention going, we were able to join a few friends in Ballroom 20 in anticipation for the Marvel Luke Cage panel at around 5:30 pm. Based on our previous experiences, however, we showed up a little early and was able to enter Ballroom 20 for the Teen Wolf panel.

Drew and I are not too familiar with the show, but  found the panel to be full of good people and amazing fans.

As an FYI, before they brought the cast out, they showed an exclusive clip from an upcoming MTV show called "Sweet Vicious". From the clip, the cast is introduced as being college students, having stereotypical college life, but then some clips showing sexual assault of one of the main characters. What follows were a series of shots introducing a masked vigilante attacking the rapist and the impact that the vigilante has on the campus and main characters. The trailer features a lot of action,  and some serious moments bringing up the helplessness of victims attempting to report rape on campus. Together they also introduce the question of the value of vigilantism while reports continue to be ignored.

This is a timely topic and I hope it doesn't let the reason for the vigilante be buried under oversimplified action and humor. I believe this show has a lot of promise and should generate real discussion on the very real topic of rape on campus.

After that trailer, they showed a clip of Teen Wolf Season 6 which featured a group of riders on horses, known as Ghost Riders, coming through the town and making people disappear. It is up to the group from Beacon Hill to save the town. The crowd loved it and then the MC introduced the cast: Creator Jeff Davis, creator; Tyler Posey; Cody Christian; Holland Roden; Dylan Sprayberry and Khylin Rambo. Dylan O'Brien was not able to attend as he was still recuperating from his Maze Runner injury.


Jeff Davis started the panel with a heartfelt thanks to the fans and gratitude that Season 6 will also feature their 100th episode. He followed this stating this would also be the best time to end the show and confirmed that Season 6 would indeed be the final season of the show.

While each actor held their own on stage, Tyler was easily the most energetic and gregarious of the group. His entrance alone was a clue to what we should've expected: he was announced as being a big fan of the movie Flashdance. As he reached his seat, he poured a bottle of water over himself while doing a little dance, ala Flashdance. Throughout the panel, Tyler dominated every answer, sometimes cutting others off and speaking out of turn. Yet, the rest of the cast didn't seem to mind. In some ways, this was a fitting farewell to the fans. Even with the introduction of two other actors, Ian Bohen and JR Bourne, Tyler dominated the panel. 

Holland was wearing a t-shirt, "You Can Pee Next To Me", in support of transgender rights and restrooms. Holland expressed her support of trans equality and urged the fans to support as well. The rest of the panel focused on the show and what was going to happen in Season 6.
 
What came through, however, was that this was a cast that enjoyed working together, grew together as a family, and genuinely loved the fans of the show. The fan questions at the end were of better than average quality, and also showed the reach of the show as several of the fans were from overseas, including Russia and South America.

I may not be a fan of the show, but can see that there was a lot of quality moments that the fans would remember for a very long time.