My anticipation for the event grew as it got closer. When I first signed up, I wasn't originally planning to dress up for the event, but after a bit I realized that it would be a mistake to not fully join in the geek culture. So to do that, I got out my Marty McFly (Back To The Future) costume that I made for last Halloween and wore that for the Comic Con. I was really glad I did as well. I got on the train to head to Salt Lake, and the fun part came as I saw a few people in later stops come on board in costumes. A lot of the people on board knew that we were going to Comic Con, and they didn't know what character they were suppose to be, but me knowing who one of them was pulled out my phone and showed them a picture. It was a lot of fun, but when we switched trains to get over to Comic Con, I saw even more people in costumes. I was told that the Friday attendance was really high and that it was busy, and then I could hear and tell that this one was going to be bigger, much bigger.
When we got to the Comic Con held at Salt Palace, I saw that the line to get in wrapped around the building, and it was even a double line to get the wristband if this is the first day. The line to get in was an hour wait, for me that didn't really matter because as I got in line I saw many people in costumes and seeing their creativity was awesome. I think this was the reason why I was really glad I dressed up, because I got to join in by showing my creativity for a costume that I had worked on. I got many pictures of cool costumes that I had come across, and also there were many that wanted a picture of me in my costume. It was just an awesome experience.
I started with checking out the Ghostbusters booths as I am a big fan, and it was cool to see what they had. There was one club that could teach you how to build your own Proton Pack. I had thought about getting a Ghostbusters Proton Pack for a costume, but I had never considered building my own, so that started the gears in my head. I think that was the coolest part about this whole convention, being able to see the creativity of all the individuals in this room, I think we see a lot of the big things that sometimes we overlook the smaller groups that are very creative, and use these opportunities to show off their creativity and work. Another really cool booth was the Lego area. These creations were enormous, and were totally amazing. Check out the pictures below.
Another booth that I checked out which was really cool was the Weta Workshop booth. They had a lot of miniatures, and a lot of prop pieces from movies like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. They were also selling books that showcased their work.
They also had booths for many celebrities. Many of them included William Shatner, Adam West, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Walter Jones, David Yost, Ray Park, Kevin Sorbo, and Stan Lee. Stan Lee was a last minute guest, but was totally cool. I didn't get a chance to meet him, but I did get a glimpse of him. I did get a chance to meet Walter Jones and David Yost though, and that was cool. They played the original Black and Blue Rangers in the 1990s TV show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I also got to meet William Kircher, who was Bifur, one of the dwarfs in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. There were other celebrities as well, but didn't meet many of them as the lines were very long, but it was still cool to meet the ones I did.
It was really cool to see all these amazing things, and unfortunately I feel that I had only scratched the surface at this kind of event, as the booths are only a small part of the Salt Lake Comic Con, but there were many other things like the Panels, and the Film Festival. There was literally so much to do.
I did get the chance to attend a panel near the end. I went to the one about JJ Abrams and his take on Star Trek and Star Wars. It started off with talking about Star Trek, and what it has meant to each of the individuals conducting the panel. There were three of them, I forget the names, but one of them was a Science Fiction writer. They talked about what they liked and what they felt wasn't as strong, and then they talked about the new Star Trek movies and how they felt about them. Then they started to talk about Star Wars and what the franchise has meant to them. They then started to talk about the new Star Wars movies that will start coming out in 2015. They pointed out that they feel that these new Star Wars movies will bring back a lot of the old feeling that the first ones did. They pointed out, and I am sure you have noticed, is how the new Star Trek movies have a lot of Star Wars feeling to them. The other one they pointed out that really stuck out, the movie Super 8 that was released in 2011 and how it had the feeling of an old George Lucas and Steven Spielberg movie released in the 80s. That idea really stuck out as I have mentioned in the past that Super 8 was like combining ET and The Goonies. I feel that with each discussion and each new mention of the future Star Wars movies, my previous doubts of them being as good as the originals are being washed away. Also, in case you can't tell at this point, 2015 will be a big year for movies, just by Star Wars Episode VII and also The Avengers 2. There are other ones that I am sure will be released that year as well, but those ones stick out the most.
It was great to be part of history as the Salt Lake Comic Con became the biggest first year comic convention ever, with tickets up to around 80,000 sold. I am really anxious to see what next year brings to the Salt Lake Comic Con, just by seeing how this one turned out, I am excited to see what they have in store for next time, I am sure a bigger venue, more cool booths and events, and panels, and bigger celebrities. The possibilities are limitless. Regardless, I had a great time at this one, and I can't wait for next year's Comic Con in Salt Lake.
