San Diego Comic Con 2012

[sgc1999]

sobrecogedor

[thegreattim]

What a great story, Ari! Thanks for sharing all the pictures and tales!!

[Jimimck]

Awesome posts Ari. So cool to hear how it came about. I've often said to a few friends I'd love to get to Comic Con some day too, so you've helped me keep the dream alive lol.

Awesome to see such cool authors there signing too.

[burial]

wow... awesome...
some great you've met...

I hope I will meet Dave McKean soon...
He is going to be a guest on a Polish comic-con ( ) in Lodz in october.

[Merlin1958]

Not for nothing, but where are all the pics, Ari?


Tap, tap, tap and tap!!! LOL LOL

[Patrick]

Hey Bill, there are a ton of photos on the first page of this thread.

[Merlin1958]

Hey Bill, there are a ton of photos on the first page of this thread.

I know, but I want more!!!! Is that wrong???? LOL LOL LOL

[Ari_Racing]

Thanks all! Today I'll post more stuff.

[Ari_Racing]

So now it's Friday, I wake up in the morning to attend Breaking Bad signing when one of my friends (Sebastian) says he's not going this morning to the event because his ankle hurts. And since he doesn't speak a single word in english, both my other friend (Mariano) and I have to take him to a drugstore to get some painkillers and an ankle support.

Now: Pause. This friend I'm talking about already joined me during the first trip I took to USA in 2008, and we had several arguments during it. He's one of those guys that doesn't plan ANYTHING and he prefers to make plans "on the road". I'm the opposite: I have 6 days in a place I don't know, I gotta do all I want and can in those days, and that means to have everything organized. So in 2008 we had a lot of arguments but at the end we decided "to each his own", and I went alone doing whatever I wanted to do, and he stayed with my other friend there, who is more or less similar to him. Now in this trip, which I was going to make with another friend, he jumped in in the last minte. And history repeated itself once again, only this time my other friend wanted to do the same stuff as I.

PLay again:

He started to check which ankle support was the most comfortable to him, while I was in silence knowing I was losing the event I wanted to visit the most. And after 20 minutes he finally choosed which one and we left the place. At that moment, he said "Hey, we can go to have breakfast". I assure you that I didn't knocked him out at that moment because Mariano told him "No. If you want breakfast, go alone. We're going to the con". Thank God for these little favors.

We splitted and both Mariano and I rushed to the place...and yes...I arrived late. The signing was already taking place and no more tickets were given. And I asked the security guy if I could get in, begged, and nothing. We were only three or four waiting...so I moved from left to right during almost 20 minutes to see if I would be able to get the signature. And no...no luck.







So close...and so far at the same time.



At that moment I realized that the booth didn't have any stairs, so the actors had to go somewhere to exit. I started to look for the possible exits when the signing was about to end, and I realized the place where they were going to pass. I rushed there and the first of the actors (MJ) passed near me before I could say anything.

And at that moment, I realized I didn't have anything to get signed. After a few seconds I realized the best was to get a picture! So I took out my camera, turned it on and Marie (Betsy) passed in front of me. I took the pic and she smiled and said "Hi", but I couldn't fix the focus.



And there it was...Bryan Cranston was approaching! One guy gave me his iPhone and asked me if I could take a pic. I had both my hands full, but I picked it up and tried to take the pic. Bryan arrived, the guy asked for the pic and he agreed...I try to take the pic and realize I was covering the lens!! And Bryan starts to laugh and tells me "You're covering the lens!" and I assure you, he sounded once again like Hal, Malcolm's father (from Malcolm in the middle). Finally I was able to remove the finger and take the pic. I handled the camera to the guy and asked for the pic. Bryan joins me and he tells me "Well...you had your finger over the lens!" LOL. And at that precise moment....THE CON MOMENT FOR ME:



Two seconds later I saw Aaron Paul coming close, so I called him and asked for the picture as well. He said "Sure!", I handled the camera to someone and...



STRIKE TWO!!

And there, at the end of the line, was Vince Gilligan. I asked "Vince, can I have a picture with you?". He says "Yes, of course", and no one was close to me, so I took the pic myself...and I took it almost perfectly! GAME, SET AND MATCH!



Yes...I couldn't believe it. I got a picture with Bryan Cranston, who, along with Kevin Spacey, are the two actors I admire the most. Absolute Highlight of the CON!

After this moment, I was done. The rest I could do on the event would be great, no matter if nothing else would happen. So I started to enjoy being calm and walking around. Sebastian arrived and he wanted to kill me because I got those pics and he didn't ("Karma, dude..."I told him ) and while walking we came across Joe Hill once again. Yeah...another pic. Why noy?



I kept on walking through the booths and took several other pics. For example, in the booth of Falling Skies.



Or the Indiana Jones booth:



Or some Star Wars fans...believe me, the boobs of the girl in red had nothing to do with the picture...



Some other random pics:

[Patrick]

Fantastic, Ari! I'm very happy for you! Way to think on your feet!

[Ari_Racing]

And then I saw that Orson Scott Card was going to sign stuff at one of the booths. I got in line with my spanish copy of Ender's game. I even got for free a book but, when I was about to get it signed, a guy that went to donate blood arrived and missed the book for one spot. Since I already had one book I gave him the one the booth gave away. He was so happy that it was also one of the coolest moments inside the Con.

When I got in front of Orson Scott Card I told him I came from Argentina and got my spanish copy with me. He lived in south America for several years, so he inscribed the book in spanish. Pretty cool! And then I told him that even when I loved that book, I knew him from other work: the insults present in The Secret of Monkey Island. He laughed about that and thanked me...and of course:



I jumped over the car of The Walking Dead:



Got a tattoo from The Expendables 2 (that booth had THE best girls in the whole CON! 36DDD and more Ds... )



I saw at FOX booth the actors of Fringe signing:



and in NBC there was a signing taking place. The show was Person of Interest, and even when I don't care about the show, Ben Linus was present.





At five PM I got out of the Exhibitors Hall and found a large CARRIE banner.



After resting for a couple of minutes we went again to The Walking Dead booth so Mariano could have his pic as a zombie. And I had another one...why not?



And that was the end of saturday's event. We went ouside and walked the extremely crowded blocks in the center of San Diego. Finally we took the trolley, had dinner and went to bed. Only one day left until the end of the Con.

[Patrick]

I like Michael Emerson on both Lost and on Person of Interest. I totally would have gotten his signature - and the others from Person of Interest as well.

[sgc1999]

where the pictures of the expendables 2 booth????????????????????????????

[jhanic]

Thanks, Ari!

John

[Ricky]

Ari, I hate you so much for getting to meet/see the cast of Breaking Bad and Fringe. So much.

[Jimimck]

Ok the actors from Fringe have tipped it for me. I had no idea comic con was THIS COOL! I am so going. One day.

Ari, you must be so happy with the whole experience. Thanks again for sharing.

[Merlin1958]

Awesome stuff, Ari!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

[Pasiuk57]

I would have LOVED to meet the cast from FRINGE. I really like that show!

[TwistedNadine]

Damn that sounds so fun! Pics are great - thanks. And the Spanish inscription from Card on Enders Game is very cool!

[herbertwest]

Last time with your pictures, i thought that you showed it all !

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

Words fail me, you are so LUCKY! I love Breaking Bad and I envy you your experience more then words can say.

[Ari_Racing]

Thank you very much all! Words can't really describe how cool this event is!

I promise the last part of the chronicle soon!

[Merlin1958]

I gotta check out next years event!!! Looks so much more cooler than I would have thought!!!


Thanks again, Ari for sharing!!!

[TwistedNadine]

I gotta check out next years event!!! Looks so much more cooler than I would have thought!!!

I agree. Its on my radar for next year

[Brice]

Yeah, really as someone who's not really a big comic fan (though I do like some) I figured there wouldn't be much for me at a comic convention, but it looks like I was wrong.