Unless you've been underneath a rock for the past 4 years, Rick and Morty is a sci-fi cartoon created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon on Adult Swim. The show centers around the Smith family but mainly Rick Sanchez, voiced by Justin Roiland, and Morty Smith, also voiced by Justin Roiland.
Rick is Morty's grandpa who has mastered space and dimensional travel, so he has this vast knowledge of the universe and, dare to say, every universe. His use of this knowledge is morally questionable ranging from selling weapons to alien assassins and destroying intergalactic governments. Morty is the exact opposite of Rick where he tries to be morally good, unlike his grandpa, but also struggles with typical teenage things such as puberty and anxiety and his grandpa's strange lifestyle. This show has an abundance of hilarious and dark jokes but also very deep moments as well--it's a gem and people are aware of it.
Well, this summer, Adult Swim and Rick and Morty decided to do a bus tour where a Rick-shaped bus drives across the US with multiple stops. The bus sells merchandise from stores but also sells rare, never-before-seen merchandise. One of the stops was, of course, my wonderful hometown of Chicago, so I decided to head out Thursday, June 1st to Challengers Comics in hope of grabbing some merchandise and an awesome selfie with the mobile.
The bus in Chicago was going to be there from 6pm to 9pm. My sister's friend was already in line when my sister and I started heading out to the location (with snacks, of course). I was a bit nervous about how long the line might be (it was a gut feeling), but my sister was entirely dismissive about the line, saying that the line couldn't be that LONG.
Oooo weee, was it LONG.
The line went for BLOCKS. My sister and I walked along the line in shock as we searched for our friend. We eventually found him with a few of his friends, and they were quite far from the bus. My sister and I shrugged as we stood in line with them, waiting and hoping to get something from the Rick Mobile.
As we waited in that cursed line, my sister and I talked with the group of people my sister's friends were with. We even made a couple of Rick and Morty related jokes with each other. Every now and then, people who didn't know what was going on looked at the line, shocked. I even saw a few people cosplaying as Rick. Some lucky fans who were heading back home from the Rick Mobile showed those of us who were waiting what merchandise they got. One of them was hilariously a Rick blow up doll.The staff members helping with the event were scattered throughout the line. They would give words of encouragement to us sometimes and give stock updates. At some point, they said that we were perhaps the longest line so far and that they didn't anticipate this many people, which I scoffed at because Chicago is the 3rd largest city. They also gave these neat stickers to those of us in line.
As time passed, the desperation of merchandise rose for me. I would be fine if I got a piece of lint from a T-shirt at this point. My excitement was always fluctuating but was probably at its climax when I saw the butt of the Rick Mobile. I became quite hopeful about getting to the Rick Mobile and getting that sweet sweet merch after 3 hours of waiting.
However, hope seems to die really quickly.
I saw one of the staff members cut off the line at a metal barricade about a good 10ft in front of me. Another staff member told the unlucky line that whoever was behind that metal barricade cutoff was unfortunately unable to get merchandise. My heart literally dropped. I heard someone jokingly shout, "TIME TO RIOT!"
The staff were very sympathetic to those who were told to bail out of the line, explaining that the permit would stop them from accepting a bit more people, but they encouraged us to wait in line to take a selfie with the Rick Mobile-- I was done waiting in line at that point. So, I took a few photos of the Rick Mobile and the adorable Mr. Meeseeks inflatable from a distance while crying on the inside.
The line in Chicago was wicked LONG. The staff should have expected this many people, honestly. It would have been ideal if they stayed in Chicago for more than one day, however, I do have a great appreciation for the sympathy and humor of the staff involved with the event (especially you bandana guy as some of us expressed on the Facebook page). Myself and a good other 100+ people were fairly disappointed to wait for nothing, nonetheless.
Is it worth it? OF COURSE! Even though I didn't get anything, you should definitely get in line for the mobile if you're a fan (if you live in a big town, go hours early if you want a lot of merchandise and variety). A selfie with the mobile is also pretty brag worthy.
Well, I guess I'll try to find the rare merchandise on Ebay for now or buy a bunch of merch available online until more Rick and Morty episodes air.
