Comic Con, Before the Fear

When I got the job in Japan, I figured I'd be missing San Diego Comic Con this year for the first time in nearly 20 years. Little did I know everyone would be missing it; due to the Corona virus, Comic Con 2020 has been cancelled. There is going to be a "Comic Con@Home" thing in which panels will be posted on YouTube starting to-day. It'll never be the same as actually being there, though. The sense of community, of surprise at never knowing what or who you'll see around the corner, the brilliant costumes, and, above all, the many great conversations you can have with total strangers about things you both love. The Internet experience just isn't the same.

Some would say we should burn down the internet. Ray Bradbury, for instance. This year, Comic Con is celebrating the late frequenter of Comic Con for his 100th birthday which will be on this upcoming August 22. As it happens, I recorded video of Bradbury in 2009 discussing what he would like on his 100th birthday:

This was before I had a camera with a decent zoom. That was my first camera and although I have plenty of blog entries on Comic Con before that year, 2009 is the oldest one with pictures and video. In 2010 I started getting more creative, editing together footage to a theme. Here's a horror themed clip from 2010:

This was back when the "Zombie Walk" was a staple of Comic Con, before a tragic car accident one year when an elderly man drove through some zombie cosplayers. But that isn't didn't wholly curb the wonderful spirit of provocative geek performance art that used to permeate the Con. Going back through my blog entries I was reminded again how much the atmosphere at the Con changed after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Most notably, the Con used to be much, much sexier.

This Morrigan Aensland is from 2010.

You could still find a little burlesque art here and there last year but, by and large, gone were the many young ladies seeing how far they could push the envelope with cleavage and waistlines.

Here are a couple sexy Venture Brothers ladies from 2013. That same year I ran into sexy Sherlock Holmes twins:

A sexy lingerie stormtrooper:

And, of course, the formerly ubiquitous Slave Leia:

I also ran into Faye Valentine in 2013. A writer and executive producer on the upcoming live action Cowboy Bebop, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, was recently asked if Faye would have her familiar costume on the show to which he replied, no, because, "we need to have a real human being wearing that." Well, Mr. Grillo-Marxuach, have a look at this:

Yes, sex was everywhere. There was a time when even Trekkies could have some tongue-in-cheek fun with sex:

In 2011 I even ran into a sexy xenomorph (which some might say is redundant).

In 2015 there was a sexy Yoshi Warrior Woman:

And the shenanigans that went down on this Ash versus Evil Dead panel, which were edited out of the video, would definitely have gotten people in trouble to-day. Just look at Sam Raimi's face:

So, while this year may be the end of Comic Con, in a way I feel like it's been gone for years. But then again, for as long as I've been going to Comic Con (since 1995) I remember people complaining that it wasn't as good as it used to be. Maybe I just miss the Comic Con from my time. I still can't help feeling everyone was in better psychological health when this was a normal sight:

Twitter Sonner #1376

Italian voices bottle English steps.
In amber drops reflected rooms were bent.
The melted paint was found in ocean depths.
A metal man beneath the sea was sent.
A dizzy count replaced the cookie dough.
The image shows a crumb beside the plate.
Instructions said the seated had to row.
Announcements came behind the easy mate.
The whistling Hamlet rides again the hill.
Determined trills incite the shadow moves.
The rapid sticks divide the empty bill.
Another joins with Odin's binding grooves.
Reportless days proceed in frightened dreams.
The wire tightens 'twixt the face's seams.

Comic Con Report, volume 6: Miscellaneous Edition

Here's the floor of Comic Con on Sunday. I got there early and Sunday's generally not as busy so you can see there weren't many people there yet. Friday and Sunday I mostly devoted to wandering the floor. Here's an imposing Predator head I saw in the Iron Studios booth.

Iron were also displaying a special undead collection:

They also had this Star Wars chess set with difficult to distinguish colours. I can't imagine playing a real game with this:

Yoko Ono would be proud.

Several booths had their own versions of the Xenomorph this year. I liked the detail on this one at the Weta booth:

This is a life sized version of a model by Mini Epics, Weta's model store.

Speaking of dolls, but of the less (or possibly more) terrifying variety, I saw a two hour panel for San Diego's Ball-Jointed Doll Convention and Volks before the NASA panel on Sunday. Panellists included experienced dollmakers and enthusiasts who talked about their love for the hobby and attention to detail in choosing wigs, base materials, and clothing.

They were some very pretty dolls. I particularly liked this Storm:

I didn't end up taking many more cosplay pictures. I had to get this Dr. Jacobi, though, as the only Twin Peaks cosplay I spotted this year:

Also, these ladies:

I have no idea what military they were dressed as by they were all so coordinated and ready for pictures I had to take one.

Outside the Con I saw costumes of a more political nature, like these anti-vaxxers on Saturday:

Is Anonymous an anti-vaxxer group now? Would they even know it if they were? I guess that's a drawback in having little or no organisational structure. The Guy Fawkes mask has gone from innocuous to sinister to back to innocuous. Anyway, its effect is certainly becoming diluted. Unlike the spread of preventable deadly disease, thanks to anti-vaxxers. I remember it was only three or four years ago I saw the last of the religious protesters who were always obnoxious but at least it felt like the whole Con community were united against them.

Speaking of things that make me slightly embarrassed to be a liberal, there was also a Trump baby across the street:

I sure wish protests of Trump didn't make it seem like the protesters secretly adored him.

Anyway, I should conclude on a more positive note. Here are some Family Guy cast members doing a signing:

Also, a lot of people seemed to be interested in some movie called Avengers: Endgame. I spotted the directors of this film, known as the Russo Brothers, doing a signing:

And I think that's all I have for this year. It was pretty good, maybe not the most exciting Comic Con for me but definitely not the worst. Mostly I was just happy to be there, it's always a pleasent atmosphere.

Comic Con Report, volume 5: Moon Edition

This year was the 50th San Diego Comic Con and it happen to occur on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, the latter landmark receiving a lot more attention, or so it seemed to me. The moderator at the panel for The Expanse made a point to note that, while the new season trailer was being shown, we hit the exact moment on July 20th in 1969 the Eagle landed. It was not an inappropriate trailer for the moment, featuring as it does the crew of the Rocinante setting foot on an alien world for the first time.

And here are the clips I got from the panel:

It's a good thing my camera has a good zoom but you can probably tell I was pretty far back in the Indigo Ballroom. The Expanse was the only panel I saw in there this year, which was kind of strange after the past couple years in which I've found myself in that room for most of at least one day. But I barely made it in for The Expanse because the panel preceding it was for The Good Place, which seems to be pretty popular.

On Sunday I was in a smaller room, room 32AB, inside the convention centre itself to see the panel for NASA and JPL. I think organisers underestimated the panel's popularity--the room completely filled up and time seemed to run out pretty quick.

Comic Con Report, volume 4: Artists Edition

Here several artists draw from cosplay life on Sunday. Among them, the white haired fellow obscured in the back, was Gary Gianni, whose booth it was. I'd spoken to Gianni the day before when I was perusing art open for display in artist alley and noticed his pencils for Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea:

Image by Gary Gianni taken from Mike Mignola's Twitter

I could immediately see Gianni had actually spent time studying ships. I asked him about his research process and he told me a ship modelling club had been a great resource. We talked about how it's easy to underestimate how complex the detail can be on ships from the age of sail. I'd spent enough time studying them myself for my own comic that I've gotten used to noticing the bizarre configurations of lines and tackle contrived by many artists who didn't bother to do research. So it was great to see an artist who'd shown such attention to real detail. And Gianni did so without making his work look like blueprints; the drawings show his artistic expression in their proportions and angles. You can see he's comfortable enough with his knowledge that he can use it as a tool without being a dull regurgitation of information.

I made the rounds in the independent/small press booths on Sunday. I was amazed by the inkwork of Scott E. Sutton--on seeing his book cover I said, "You drew all the leaves!"

He nodded and seemed pleased someone noticed, telling me his inkwork was influenced by great British illustrators like John Tenniel and Arthur Rackham.

Nearby I met another fantasy artist with impressive inkwork--Pug Grumble, who writes and illustrates a series about a character named Farlaine the Goblin.

He told me made the kinds of books he would want to read, something for someone tired of superheroes. I said, "We could all use a break from that now and then."

But I am happy I caught the panel for Jim Starlin on Thursday. Creator of several Marvel characters popular now on the big screen, including Thanos, Drax, and Gamora, he also co-created Shang-Chi, a character whose upcoming MCU entry was among the big reveals at Marvel's Hall H panel.

He talked about how Shang-Chi began life as a comic adaptation for the television series Kung-Fu. When Warners weren't interested in this comic, Starlin and Steve Englehart reworked the project and sold it to Marvel. When the comic was going to be connected to Fu Manchu, Starlin said he went and read the original 1930s Fu Manchu books and was horrified and embarrassed to be connected to essentially "yellow peril" style propaganda.

Starlin said he was surprised by the popularity of Thanos as he always regarded him as a challenging, niche character. He talked about how he never liked "simple" characters, that most of the characters he's created are as much villainous as they are good. He also said he liked to create abstract entities for which he felt comics and novels are more suitable media than movies.

I guess I've scratched the surface of everything I saw and did at this year's Comic Con. More to-morrow . . .

Twitter Sonnet #1259

A question waits in dark and dizzy hills.
Reflective swords reveal a spectrum bent.
The velvet borders set a doctor's frills.
Along the mountain path the heroes went.
A room of mirrors shows a whistle test.
The absent sails reveal the yards of bone.
A shorter route delivered worst to best.
Through muddy ponds the fish's lantern shone.
A name by other jacks diverts the ball.
A million pins construct the colour screens.
A tested rover graced a Martian hall.
A billion leaves construct galactic scenes.
The net of lines ensnare a pencil sketch.
A thrown balloon averts an easy catch.

Comic Con Report, volume 3; (A) Doctor Who Edition

Here Pandora Boxx, dressed as the Thirteenth Doctor, looks a bit isolated as a surprise guest on the panel called "SuperheroIRL: Avengers of Bullying and Injustice". And she followed through sticking out like a sore thumb, her genuine chat about compulsively checking online comments stood in amusing contrast to the weird fervency of host Chase Masterson (Leeta from DS9). Coming off as very tightly wound, I could see Masterson's fury when Boxx dared suggest drag queens tease each other "out of love". Masterson seemed similarly unamused when Boxx declined to divulge more details of her suicide attempt, saying simply, "I don't know what else there is to say. I'm still here!"

The other panellists, including comedian Joe Gatto and two members of the anti-bullying organisation, Brandon Matsalia and Vanee Matsalia, seemed like nice folks. A psychiatrist named Janina Scarlet who wrote a book called Superhero Therapy; Therapy Quest seemed like she had teeth grinding competitions with Masterson, though.

I've seen several other cosplayers dressed as the Thirteenth Doctor this year but Doctor Who hasn't had a big presence at the 2019 Con. On Friday I went to see a "Classic vs. Current Doctor Who" fan panel.

This was simply a group of cosplayers, moderated by CNN's Sandro Monetti, who conducted the affair in an affable and professional manner I would have thought well above the requirements of a little, non-celebrity panel shunted off to one of the smaller Marriott ballrooms. He began by mentioning what he felt were the weaknesses of both eras--the bad special effects of Classic Who versus, he added somewhat sheepishly, the political correctness of the most recent season. No-one else mentioned political correctness for the rest of the panel but everyone was unanimous in not liking the latest season. Several said they loved Jodie Whittaker but thought Chris Chibnall did a terrible job. A few panellists praised Chibnall's work on Broadchurch and Torchwood, though. In fact, the guy in the middle, dressed as the Fourth Doctor, said Torchwood would be, in his opinion, the best entry point for any new potential fan of Doctor Who. He was a bit of an oddball, appropriately enough, I guess. He consistently misinterpreted questions--when asked for opinions on "the best and worst costume", his answer was "Adipose" because he thought the question was about monsters.

One woman mentioned Diana Rigg's costume in "The Crimson Horror" as best. Several people mentioned Adric's as worst. Two of the women on the panel said they didn't like Clara's outfits because they were too youthful for her. One of these same two women disliked Lalla Ward's costumes for the same reason.

Quite far from complaining about political correctness, these same two women--one dressed as River Song, the other as the Sixth Doctor--complained the newest season wasn't feminist enough. River Song said she wanted to see Whittaker take the lead more, use her "power", and not refer decisions to "the gang." Both women agreed Thirteen ought to behave more like Leela.

It was nice to see several panellists really love Twelve and everyone seemed to want Missy back. The panel was evenly divided between people who preferred Classic and Modern but all of the panellists were older--the youngest looked to be at least fifty and his favourite episode, bizarrely, was the Paul McGann TV movie. The panel was filled with idiosyncratic opinions but I was surprised when nearly all of them agreed that "Vincent and the Doctor" was one of the best episodes ever. Though "Blink" was strongly endorsed as an entry point episode.

A couple young people from the audience were invited to express opinions. One teenage girl complained Peri's outfit in Caves of Androzani was too revealing. When Monetti called for competing cheers to settle the question once and for all between Classic and Modern at the end of the panel, Modern seemed to win handily. Though, as one of the people who cheered for Classic, I will say my throat was very dry and I was tired and wonder if this wasn't the case for many other Classic fans in the audience.

Comic Con Report, volume 2; A Moment in Cosplay

I decided I was going to expend minimal effort getting cosplay pictures at this year's Comic Con. Every site always has an exhaustive series of photos every year now so there doesn't seem to be any point. But I went outside to eat some sandwiches I packed for myself yesterday and happened upon one of the big group photos. I think these are all Marvel cosplayers.

I also figured I'd take pictures of any really remarkable cosplay or cosplay not likely to be covered on other sites. I figured this one at least fit into the latter category;

To grab this person's attention I yelled, "Hey, Blondie!" with my best Tuco impression but I wasn't heard. Finally I said, "Hey, Clint Eastwood!"

And I had to get a photo of artist Joe Phillips, who always wears an amazing, completely different ensemble every day of the Con:

Comic Con Report, volume 1: Farscape Edition

I spent the day in room 7AB, getting there early so I could have a decent seat for the Farscape 20th anniversary panel. Here's the footage I got:

The section at the end where Browder describes the scene in "Durka Returns" was in response to a fan who asked if Crichton and Chiana had a "brother and sister" relationship. As Chiana herself points out in "Taking the Stone", their relationship wasn't so easily defined. But given that scene in "Durka Returns" and the kiss they share at the end of season one, if it's a sibling relationship, it would certainly be an incestuous one.

One of the most exciting moments, as you can see in the clip, was the hinting from Brian Henson that Farscape may return eventually. It sounds like Farscape being on Amazon Prime has introduced it to a lot of new fans. The impression I had is that Henson hopes a deal can be worked out with Prime to shoot a new season of Farscape. Considering Prime rescued The Expanse when it, like Farscape, was cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel, I'd say that's not an unreasonable thing to hope for. I'll keep my fingers crossed. It'd be nice to see the show return at this point, especially since Crichton and Aeryn's child would be a teenager now.

I have no idea why Gigi Edgley managed to remain in focus in my photos more than anyone else.

I sat through several panels waiting for Farscape and I'll talk about them at length in a longer post after Sunday. For to-day there is more Con . . .

Twitter Sonnet #1258

A kitten face regards the silent stones.
A talking quake conveys a shaky term.
The earth records a dream in brittle bones.
A sudden plate arrests the drifting worm.
A door was glass or ice or nothing real.
The window drained its colour late at night.
A green or blue decides to-day it's teal.
A safty pin would signal throats to fight.
A purple planet grows a set of limbs.
A loop of pitches brought to trial die.
The piping dream of dragons hardly dims.
A ruler measures sev'ral inches high.
A heavy radish weighs the muppet down.
But healthy veggies built the Fraggle town.

Comic Con Prelude

Here a giant Picard poster grimly holds vigil across the street from the San Diego Convention Centre as though to say, "So. It begins." By which he'd mean Comic Con. Preview night was last night, Wednesday night, and to-day's the first official day. I feel like I'll probably be wandering the floor a lot this year, there are only a few panels I really want to see--the Farscape panel for certain. I'm going to have to choose between the Expanse panel and the Orville panel--they're both on the same day in different rooms. Both are also competing with the Star Trek panel, which wasn't much competition at all last year. Hardly anyone seemed interested in Disco. This year might be different with Picard since Patrick Stewart will be here.

If there's something you would like me to check out and report on and/or take pictures of, let me know.

Comic Con Report, volume 6: Conclusion

There's always more going on at Comic Con than any one person can cover. In addition to the many panels and signings, there are also booths selling collectables and booths for artists selling their work. There are metal workers and as always lots of steam punk leather workers, and of course there are comic book artists and authors. In the small press section, I tend to see creators pop up one year, enthusiastic and hoping to be noticed, only to never be seen again in subsequent years. One of the few small press series I've seen multiple years at the con is The Boston Metaphysical Society. I spoke to writer/creator Madeleine Holly-Rosing and told her how much I enjoyed reading the comic a couple years earlier. She showed me a bit of a newer issue and it looks like the art has improved quite a bit.

It was Sunday when I made the rounds of the small press area and I didn't have enough cash on me to buy anything. I got a few courteous but disappointed looks when I said as much. I would have liked to have bought an issue of Forbidden Futures--I spoke to one of its artists and was impressed by his nightmarish style.

I also spoke to an artist named Sheeba Maya who was selling a series of really gorgeous portraits based on the signs of the Zodiac.

Well, I think that's about all I have of interest to say about this year's Con. I kind of like that there was nothing in Hall H that drew much of a crowd this year. Since the Con still sold out I guess it means that the crowds were more evenly dispersed about the place. As companies like Disney seem more and more to favour their own Cons for making big announcements, I wonder if we're seeing the beginning of Comic Con's growth finally stopping and maybe even receding. That could be a good thing if it draws more attention to independent creators though I'm not sure there many sites left willing to cover things they're not getting paid to cover.

Comic Con Report, volume 5: Magical Boarding School Edition

On Saturday at Comic Con I spent most of the day in the Indigo Ballroom. I was there to see panels for Cosmos, The Orville, and Twin Peaks which meant altogether around six hours of other panels I needed to sit through. I packed my dinner instead of lunch that day--I made some cucumber sushi rolls and a hard boiled egg and as always I had an apple. It would've been handy if I could've slept at the Con since I was there so late and had to be up early the next day. Which must be one of the appeals of boarding schools. As it happened, three of the panels I sat through that day were for shows about magical boarding schools--Legacies, Deadly Class, and The Magicians.

Obviously there's the influence of X-Men and Harry Potter but I found myself wondering at the apparently widespread appeal of the concept. I guess the impression I had is that they're generally sort of gated communities of beautiful misfits. It has some of the same appeal as fiction set on ships, like Star Trek, where the characters are part of a family, everyone takes care of each other and everyone has value and individual charms that are validated in working for the common good. In the boarding school concept, the administrative figures aren't the leads and are generally presented as powerful and charismatic but sidelined patriarchs or matriarchs. There's more emphasis on the protagonists being taken care of though the drama often revolves around a threat to that premise--either the headmaster/mistress is undermined or something threatens the school. With these shows, though, the primary appeal seems to be the microcosm of pretty teenagers who are simultaneously discomforted by the strange situation of the boarding school and titillated by the forced intimacy with other pretty teenagers. The added supernatural element gives the teenagers attractive misfit traits that become potential grounds for bonding and therefore also for dramatic betrayal.

The first of the three boarding school panels I saw was for an upcoming series called Legacies which is a spin-off The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, neither of which I've seen. Legacies centres on the daughter of a werewolf and a vampire from those previous shows, Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell). The show will depict her life at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. It seems to blend the aristocratic fantasy appeal inherent in most post-Interview with the Vampire stories with the boarding school concept, which seems a very natural combination to me. You can see the full panel here.

On the other side of the tracks is Deadly Class which centres on a homeless kid who's taken in by a secret school of assassins. Based on a comic published by Image since 2014, it's produced by the Russo Brothers. They weren't present but recorded an amusing special video message for the panel. The show features Benedict Wong as the headmaster. It's set in the late 80s and injects kind of a Warriors vibe into the concept. The moderator praised the homages to punk rock and the comic creator's Spotify list which includes The Ramones and The Cure. The sort of abbreviated pilot that was shown for Comic Con was much better than the trailers on YouTube for the show and I think I might even enjoy it if I ever find time to watch it despite the presence of Henry Rollins as a minor character (I'm not a fan). The lead, Benjamin Wadsorth, seems like a young Peter Weller and is effective as the orphan murderer Marcus. Maria Gabriela de Faria as a student he's attracted to was less impressive--she came off as remarkably phoney. Lana Condor as possibly a rival love interest, though, had some nice enthusiasm. The comic's creator, Rick Remender, was also on the panel and seemed pleased by how his work was translated into a series, which is nice to see for a story that seems to have complicated morality.

Finally, I saw the panel for The Magicians, the only of the three series I've actually seen. It was at a Comic Con panel that I'd first heard of The Magicians--a year or two ago, a panel hosted by Chris Hardwick who passionately endorsed the show. The cast of the series were charming and had such a good rapport on the panel I was compelled to check out the series. I kind of enjoyed the first couple episodes but I found lead Jason Ralph's whininess too irritating. He seems like a nice enough guy, though.

Since this year allegations from an ex-girlfriend kept Hardwick from Comic Con (a situation having been investigated by AMC with the result that Hardwick has apparently been exonerated) Felicia Day hosted the panel. Day also apparently made a guest appearance on the show and seemed even more in love with it than Hardwick. Once again, I did find myself charmed by the easy rapport and charisma of the pretty cast which was also highlighted in a blooper reel shown to the crowd. Stars Jason Ralph and Stella Maeve were promoting a homeless charity and accepted five dollars from a cosplayer from the crowd--anyone who spends time in San Diego knows the city has a massive homeless problem so it's certainly a worthy cause. Olivia Taylor Dudley, who plays Alice on the show, answered a question from a nervous male fan about what it was like to play a character who adopted a variety of personalities. "My favourite was 'Nympho Alice'," said Taylor Dudley.

"Mine too," said the guy who'd asked the question.

"Aw, you have a picture of her on your phone, don't you?" said Day. When the guy nervously admitted he had a wallpaper of Olivia Taylor Dudley, Day, observing he was tongue-tied after that, said, "He's blushing, that's sweet." The undercurrent of political neuroses was present as always and a ripple of nervousness went through the room when Day called another fan "Shorty." She hastened to add, "It's adorable!" which probably wouldn't help if someone decided to complain about it. But she was a good moderator in my opinion and the cast and writers were fun. They'd all apparently done tequila shots (Day said their bottles were filled with "water", using air quotes) before the panel and the series co-creator John McNamara seemed completely sloshed. He started rambling about his love for Le Mis. I might have to try giving this series another chance.

Twitter Sonnet #1138

Escaping bulls design the rivers wide.
A straying crane mislays the varnished beam.
Aggressive blanks are fired ev'ry side.
The tossing foil shines ere morning's gleam.
A borrowed helmet changes back to face.
The castle lord could sally forth to Joan.
Together turning lamps illume Her Grace.
Concordance always trod the field of bone.
A secret knight to Death was yet betrayed.
A stratagem unhorsed the tracking guard.
About the field were garlands now berayed.
Extolling broken blades across the yard.
Between the tricking sheaves a light compels.
A dry and quiet sea for flame impels.

Comic Con Report, volume 4: The Wrong Audience Edition

I didn't notice the gender swapped Alex DeLarge when I took this photo by the expensive pizza cafe at Comic Con but I applaud her now, wherever she is.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned how much I love the door staff at Comic Con, the people who stand by the badge detectors or just hold the doors. Many of them have no clue about geek culture but are unselfconsciously vocal and seem to have a great time. On Sunday a middle aged black woman stationed at one of the doors was loudly and enthusiastically misidentifying costumes. She gave a shout out to "Gladys Knight!"--a Princess Leia. When a woman walked by dressed as Captain Marvel the door lady yelled, "Mockingjay Lady! I see you, Mockingjay Lady!" Captain Marvel gave her a strained smile. When I walked by I was greeted as, "Laurence Fishburne! Hey, Laurence Fishburne, I see you!" I'm white, by the way. I was tempted to stop and ask her just who she thought Laurence Fishburne was.

I was wearing a brown fedora, long sleeved grey button down shirt, brown denim trousers, and carrying a brown messenger bag. Maybe she thought I was Cowboy Curtis, Fishburne's character from Pee-Wee's Playhouse. That was on Sunday--most days at the Con I was wearing a sport coat and bow tie along with a fedora which usually gets people to ask me, "Are you Indiana Jones or Doctor Who?" That's an ambiguity I'm comfortable with but on Sunday I was coming from the Maritime Museum where the work I do, particularly in this recent heatwave, can be strenuous and dirty so my normal attire is fedora, shirt, and trousers. I knew I'd get pegged as an Indiana Jones cosplayer, which wouldn't bother me except I know the hat is wrong, the shirt is the wrong colour, the bag is wrong, etc. If I'm going to cosplay as Indiana Jones, I want to do it right, not get the pitying acknowledgement of a bare minimum effort. I tried to head it off by wearing a grey shirt and I'd recently added a chinstrap to the hat (this is required for volunteers on the ships) but no such luck. Several people kindly complimented my effort to look like Indiana Jones, I even received a courteous nod and smile from a guy who was wearing a just about perfect Raiders replica outfit. Oh, well. At least one person thought I was Laurence Fishburne.

The highlight of the Marvel Games panel, which I saw on Thursday in Hall H, was that the moderator, Greg Miller, and Yuri Lowenthal, who voices Spider-Man in the upcoming game called Spider-Man unexpectedly found themselves wearing exactly the same outfit.

I don't play a lot of video games nowadays, when I do I usually just replay Skyrim. But Spider-Man looked like a fun game though the gameplay looked precisely like Arkham Asylum.

The Marvel Games panel was one of two I sat through in Hall H between Doctor Who and Better Call Saul, the other being Dragon Ball Super, an upcoming movie in the Dragon Ball franchise.

The panel featured English dub voice actors Sean Schemmel (Goku) and Christopher Sabat (Vegeta), who seemed to be well known to fans of the franchise. I wouldn't know, as much as I love anime, with a special fondness for 80s anime, I've never gotten Dragon Ball. Usually with things I don't like I can at least sort of understand why it appeals to other people but Dragon Ball is like a dog whistle to me, it's a sound I just can't hear. There were two surprise panellists, famous pro-wrestlers named Kofi Kingston and Zack Ryder--Kingston tried to describe what he loved about the franchise. He talked about the pleasure of pushing oneself to a "limit" or past a "limit". I feel like there are plenty of movies and shows with that concept, though, without featuring big weird lumps of muscle. I guess you need to really love muscle to appreciate it. Anyway, if you want to see the panel, don't let me discourage you, the whole thing's on YouTube here.