“Peek a boo! I see you!” – Tropic Thunder. HBO knows what time it is as they were showing a Batman movie marathon all morning. It wasn’t quite as sweltering on Saturday but the San Diego sun is shining extra bright this weekend. It felt a little less crowded which can usually be equated to the 5,000+ folks waiting in line or going into Hall H. Keanu Reeves was on hand for a BRZRKR panel and Stern Pinball was unveiling a John Wick game. I missed The Toys That Made Us panel but popped in to hear Untold Stories of Comics Creators then Stan Lee: The Next 100 Years where panelists talked about Stan never wanting to stop working and at his death had a notebook filled with 100’s of unproduced ideas.
On the exhibit hall floor, I found special guest Klaus Janson and talked comics, art and cons while he signed some Daredevil books. Michael Biehn was signing alongside Rico Ross and Mark Rolston for an Aliens reunion at the Torpedo Comics booth. Biehn recently launched interview podcast “Just Foolin’ About” with the first two episodes being very candid and funny conversations with standup comedian Doug Stanhope and Terminator 2’s Edward Furlong. Sony Television had a Cobra Kai activation set up with walls of monitors screening clips plus photo moments of the dojo and trophies.
Taking a break from the show, it was an offsite stack strolling through Camp Snoopy, Pudgy Penguins, SpongeBob SquarePants takeover, Star Trek themed Energize Lounge and then Peacock’s Those About To Die chariot race. Very organized and immersive, actors welcomed guests to the coliseum and you participated in a horse race by whipping reins. I did not follow instructions very well and got smoked.
With programming taking place in multiple hotels around the convention center, it was over to the Hilton’s Indigo Ballroom for Tracker, TV’s #1 new show in 2023-2024. Showrunner Elwood Reid and star Justin Hartley talked about season 2 getting an extended order to 20 episodes and new storylines, with UFOs! Post Deadpool & Wolverine madness, Marvel continued to dominate the con with the big news of course being Robert Downey Jr. is coming back! But as villain Doctor Doom in The Russo’s directed Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Kevin Smith followed the Marvel panel and premiered new film trailer The 4:30 Movie, an 80’s set tale of a teenager trying to balance a date while hanging out with his friends at the local movie house. The kicker being it was shot at the theater Smith went to growing up and now owns.
While I feel I’ve seen and done a lot, there’s so much left to see and do. But that’s just part of the magic.
