Well, it finally happened. After three days of straight successes, my luck finally ran out when it came to getting the coveted autographs of the cast of one of my favorite shows, "Agents of SHIELD." But, in a way, I'm glad this happened, because it's a prime example of how Comic-Con delivers a different experience for everyone who attends.
First of all, while trying to find the line to get into the building, I accidentally and unwittingly ended up in the disabled line. Whoops! Should've known something was up when the line was only twenty people long. Then, when I finally got to the booth for the random drawing for the autographs, the line was capped and never reopened. On top of that, booth employees were yelling at us to move away from the booth, which was impossible for two reasons: 1) We all wanted autographs and moving away from the booth would not accomplish that and 2) When you're in a room with 150,000 people, moving is not something that comes easily. It was a rock and hard place scenario. Fortunately, it wasn't a total loss, as I scored a Marvel exclusive t-shirt.
The "Agents of SHIELD" themed t-shirt I bought
The rest of the day was spent walking the floor, where I unintentionally ran into a few celebrities. Will Forte and the cast of "The Last Man on Earth" were signing autographs along with Elden Henson from "Daredevil." I also scored a photo with "King of the Nerds" contestant, author and super-nice person Genevieve Pearson.
Following a well-earned break, I returned for some fun and informative panels. First up, a panel with Disney and Pixar animators, including Jan Pinkava, director of the short film, "Geri's Game," Lou Romano, voice of Linguini in "Ratatouille" and Patrick Osborne, who recently won an Academy Award for the short "Feast." Next, a panel with ABC writers discussing opportunities for young screenwriters and directors, as well as how to break into the field. Finally, a panel with well-known television writers from "Breaking Bad," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Originals," "Firefly" and "The Flash" who discussed how a TV writers room comes together.
Me with Genevieve Pearson
Day three was a mixed bag. On the one hand, one dream was crushed, but great things also came out of it which may not have happened otherwise. I think of it as an "Everything happens for a reason" mentality. Whenever I look back at a Comic-Con experience, I never want to change a thing. And that is the lesson we've learned today: When Humpty Dumpty breaks, put him back together.
Final day is tomorrow. Bring it on!
