Geeking Out: Dallas Comic-Con

So, I was fortunate enough to attend this glorious event:

Untitled from ben stevens on Vimeo.

I was soooo excited to see everyone there.

Well, I only really wanted to see Stan Lee and Spock (Leonard Nimoy, to you non-Treks).

I attended the first day, albeit late for the talk that only possibly had room for the lucky few that actually bought their tickets ahead of time (the VIP and Priority Access pass-holders). I was going to be one of them, if it weren't for the sold-out part :-/

Anywho, the tickets were reasonably priced. And a last-minute email message to the guy that manages the tickets let me know that General Admission would surely NOT run out!

The drive there was a little of a "Where's Waldo" of highway exits and such. Some of the construction re-routed us to off-ramps and side streets in an industrial district that made me feel as though I would be lost in the sands of time. Although, once you saw the building from the highway, you knew EXACTLY where to go.

There was a long line of cars going into a garage that was about a half-mile walk from the actual convention center. Just as a precaution, we drove up to the main building and saw the FULL sign on the center's attached garage. A nice lady informed us that a prom was happening the same day as this heavily-attended event. I wish *my* prom happened during a comic-con :-/

We made our way to the back of a really long line and enjoyed watching every geeky t-shirt that we could point out... along with costume characters (including a fully-dressed ninja in the Texas heat and humidity). Once we entered the garage, we parked on almost the highest level and made our way to the free shuttle.

As soon as I sat down, a dude said, "Hey, that's a COOL shirt":

{this image was printed on it}

That comment made me feel at home.

The line to the box office was VERY long... and got longer in the heat. We soon found out that there was only one attendant and before any violent riots broke out, a second, then a third attendant showed up. The lines then quickly divided and I found the one that said "Cash Only" (the website said to have cash ready, and sure enough - folks showed up with plastic).

About two people away from getting my glorious entry into the already spilling-over-in-attendance event, we found out that there were more tickets that needed to be printed. To most people, this would be frustrating. For me, it only heightened my anticipation. To top it off, we didn't just get a rectangular piece of paper slapped in front of us... every person got a nifty badge and a real cloth lanyard (even the kids got one saying "12 and under"):

{I was happily returning home, dangling my prized possessions from the rear view mirror for all to see.}

There were so many people, all levels of geekdom, that I was sure to have a good time just walking around. The main exhibition hall was packed full of comic book stores. Everything from "slashed in half" prices to "exhibition only" merchandise was available. I almost lost my mind!

The main exhibition hall literally had New York-like crowds in it. There was no where to really just walk freely. My nephews were easily overshadowed by folks dressed like Flash, Green Lantern and the like. I even saw a Harley Quinn taking a breather by the escalators.

Unfortunately, a last-minute call that forced an early leave ruined my fun, and a late arrival prevented me from taking a free sneak-peak at the main attractions, but overall, the experience was awesomely-wonderful. I would recommend at least one good Comic-con trip for both comic book enthusiasts and their younger counterparts.

Although I'm sure my young nephews may not understand the significance of the great Stan Lee and the televised wisdom of Leonard Nimoy now, I can only hope that they'll look back into their photographed past and remember that their aunt took them to see... err... learn about some of the greatest comic book and sci-fi legends. I recommend this trip for everyone... because we're never too old to remember our heroes.

{Ha! You thought I took this picture... no, no... this is from Dallas Comic-Con's website. One day, a photo like this will be mine! (*insert evil laugh* *horrible cough* *then evil laugh, again*)}