Wizard World Philadelphia 2009Day one of the convention, and I wasn't especially camera-happy -- I'll get more shots tomorrow. Up top's a quick, generic establishing shot.
A slightly smaller affair this time, though it may not have been immediately noticeable. Conspicuously absent were areas on the convention floor for either DC or Marvel. They have people there for panels who are otherwise scattered through Artist's Alley, but there were no company tables from either company, which means none of the usual posters, pins, etc. which are normally there for the grabbing.
The process seemed much more smooth and orderly this year, though the decision to go with wrist bands instead of badges for paying attendees (guests, exhibitors, etc. still use badges) reportedly due to counterfeiting isn't terrific when it comes to those of us who bought three-day passes. I definitely wasn't going to go through the weekend wearing the damned thing, it's specifically designed to not peel off without shredding the section with the code numbers on it, and even if they do (which remains to be seen) make it easy to get a new one that still means going to the official check-in point yet again to have my online ticket receipt scanned and getting a new band re-issued.
Aside from the one up top, I had to start off with this one, which grabbed me almost as soon as we stepped onto the floor of the convention. As you may suspect, the Obama figures are going for something more than $1. (Yeah, yeah, it's a popularity contest...)No other celebrity shots today - we steered clear of that area for the day - but we did skirt the edge of it and saw... K.I.T.T. (Yes, yes, I know it's sad. Still, wouldn't shots of a pro wrestler be worse?)
We only hit one panel today -- one where several of the current Amazing Spider-man writers danced around some questions from the audience, and told us a little bit about what's coming up. For the most part since "Brand New Day" they've been steering clear of Spidey's old rogues gallery, but that's about to change. First will be Dr. Octopus returning, complete with some sort of upgrade. Following that, an extended arc called "The Gauntlet" will rifle through Spidey's classic villain list.
Joe Casey, Dan Slott, etc. seem to be... fun enough, and I know they can deliver some good stories, but I still came away with the sense that it's still all too free-form and there's not someone at the top of all this who should be there. As with much at Marvel these days, they seem to be lacking someone to deliver the necessary "Uhh... No." response.Let me close out with a couple shots of a chalk artist who's been working conventions in recent years. I'll get some more shots Saturday, so at least you'll see a more complete version.
Much walking around, more food than I should have eaten, all on top of a little too little sleep insulating the day from a grinding work week, which will have to stand as my excuse for this cursory, lifeless, lackluster shot. Ideally I'd wait until I was done with the show and put together a more integrated, nuanced piece, but ideally I'd also be a more entertaining writer.
Now, a few things to do before catching some sleep. Saturday's a longer stretch of convention, opening two hours earlier.
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