a99kitten's Musings

Today was a Funko NFT drop – this time for “Retro Comics”. I told myself I’d buy a pack or 2 but kinda forgot about it until a friend texted me about it. It’s been hard to care about much lately but have been trying with organizing my collectibles and selling some. Listed a few Freddys yesterday. I hate dealing with POP buyers though so just did a few to start.

Today I bought my few packs. And then was able to buy a few more so did. Ended up getting almost 2 full sets which grants you a special NFT and token as a “Royalty Set” (changed from the first named Mastery Set because of ridiculous wokeness.) Then you redeem the digital token for a physical POP.

Since I just need a few more to complete 2 full sets, I decided I might as well. They are digital collectibles so no problem with space. Of course, then I get a physical POP for having these full sets so…more stuff. lol

Maybe I’ll list all of my dupes to get WAX. At least that’s currency.

Never ends. But keeps my mind off other things for a little while.

Trading/investing/researching stocks

Trading/investing/researching cryptos

Trading on Star Wars Card Trader

Trading on Disney card trader

Monitoring 3 stock trading groups

Staying up to date/trading on SWCT Discord groups

Staying up to date/trading on Disney CT FB page

Moderating/staying up to date on Funko Funatics board

Updating social media with Smokey pics

Updating social media with collecting pics

Monitoring FinTwit re: stocks, cryptos

Monitoring twitter re: CA fires and now FL storms

Funko NFTs – so much

NFTs – even more

Gardening

Smokey hikes

Regular daily housekeeping/chores.errands

Now football season is upon us…fantasy crap, sell tickets, etc etc.

This is my day. Every day. No wonder I have 2 page list of TV shows and movies I need to catch up on. lol

Being retired is tiring.

In my mission to stay off “social media” (twitter, FB) I downloaded the Topps Disney card app. I’ve had the Star Wars version for years, although had stopped even opening it for years. But I did it. Downloaded the Disney one, opened the SW one and now I am addicted to collecting “cards”.

Now…I have a crate sitting upstairs in my space bedroom of the ACTUAL physical Topps Star Wars trading cards from when I was a kid and collected them. I have been meaning to put them in binders – be able to look at them. Sigh…on that project list…

But in the meantime I am addicted to clicking on claim this pack and trading up cards to different ones and whatever I need to do to get the rare ones. Short of paying…but I know the minute that ultra rare Chewbacca or Uncle Scrooge McDuck shows up as a possibility in a pack… I do not know how they make money on this. But I guess if a ton of people think paying $0.99 for packs for that possibility of the rare version do it regularly? Oh…did I mention…you can sell the rare ones on eBay because of course you can.

I’ve been collecting Star Wars and some superhero stuff since I was a kid. And kept most of it pretty good condition. When I moved form FL to CA when I was 18, my Mom boxed up my stuff and stored it in the garage until I moved it out to me in CA. In FL. Hot and humid Florida. In a garage with no climate control. Thanks Mom :/ But most survived ok. Sigh.

I’ve added to my Star Wars collection over the years but never completed my vintage action figures. Most of mine were loose as I displayed them in scenes with the vehicles and playsets in my room. Further evidence that it was not only boys that liked Star Wars. But I also did not care 1 little bit that there were very few female characters. I hate feminazis. Give me a damn break.

I’ve lately gotten back into wanting to complete not only my loose collection ( I think I need about 20 more to have all 92) but also a 12-back, cardback A run. And then also the other Han and Chewies on all card backs. And the Hoth figures. And the final 17 POTF lines. And. And. And…(yes it will likely never end really!)

Over the years, I used to just read some of the websites about collecting. And in the olden days…read the magazines about it :) There are far more websites now along with tons of FB groups that have tons of info!

I also collect Funko. It started with a Chewbacca POP from SDCC (the flocked one which now can cost you $1500+ on eBay – doh!) and now I have 1000+ POPs plus items from their other lines. I started collecting Funko a few years back and had noticed some snobbiness from the “older” collectors who felt we were all noobs. There was some definite cliqueness and I’m sure it turned some people away from the main Funko blog. When I was at my first Funko Fundays at SDCC there were several people at my table who were talking about they felt “blocked out” from the old school members on the blog. OK. Whatever. I have never allowed myself to be affected by stuff like that. But yes – I did notice it as well.

Ironically, I was asked to be a moderator on the Funko blog and it’s been a great time (after the coup and drama and holy hell what (^(&* just happened few days that we had.) I’ve had dealings with a lot of new collectors but also some of the old school members and have certainly not felt any weirdness. Some of the older members and moved away from the blog and only participate on the FB groups. And complain a lot apparently. Oh well – I stay away from high school drama.

But now the more time I spend on the Star Wars blogs and FB groups, I notice the SAME THING. The older collectors (and frankly I have been collecting the original toys and other stuff since 1978 so I am as original as they come) complain about the “newer” collectors run prices up, only want AFA-graded (and then go on to bag on that), have too much money to spend, ruin the hobby, etc etc. Sigh…

Come on man – these are TOYS! We collect them because they are fun and we love them. Yes – they can be valuable so we take care of them and treasure them. But jeebus man – the drama that ensues in ridiculous and tiring. I’m sure the same thing happens in trading cards, comics, sports memorabilia, etc etc. But sheesh.

BUT, at SDCC the year, I found a vinyl-cape Jawa. I have been wanting this guy and was at the booth for quite awhile discussing toys with the owner and the other booth workers. And wow – the collecting stories were GREAT! I think I had some of the most fun at SDCC this year at that booth listening to these stories. And THAT’S what I want collecting to be.

I live in the boonies so I don’t have a local comic book store or access to many brick and mortar toy stores. And sadly, my friends don’t collect like I do and I’m sure they get bored listening to me talk about it. So I depend on the internet lot. So I will continue to read the blogs and FB groups and will likely see more drama and snide comments. For both Funko and Star Wars.

But my collection is growing and it makes me happy. And that’s the point, right? :)

Interesting article regarding a new book coming (a whole book?!?) out about the beanie baby craze. Pretty interesting. Basically the book is saying the beanie craze was manufactured by some crazy women it seems….I wonder if the book has pics of them. I know how I mentally picture them. But I would add that it really helped propel eBay as well.

http://nypost.com/2015/02/22/how-the-beanie-baby-craze-was-concocted-then-crashed/

And yes…I have some. Big surprise. I can remember hitting up Hallmark stores or small gift shops in search of new cute ones or rare ones. And constantly searching eBay. This is also when I first learned, from an Australian friend who saw TONS of fake beanies being sold on the streets in China, how they were made at a factory (in China) and some of the “rejects” that did not pass QC were then “thrown out” which actually meant employees took them and sold them on eBay as variants and rare for big $$$$. I learned how to look for the errors in the TY tags (the Chinese always seem to mess up the English in everything they steal/copy.)

This is what instilled in me *Caveat Emptor* of ANYTHING bought on eBay (or from China.) But there are people who pay $25 for a Prada purse from a street vendor who actually think they just got a good deal on a designer bag. I am assuming these are also the people who respond to the Nigerian Prince…

I can remember going to McDonald’s to get happy meals for the teenie beanies. I’d go to the one at Stanford Shipping Center in Palo Alto – do NOT get in the way of wealthy soccer moms attempting to get toys for their screaming kids!! And do recall people ordering the Happy Meals and telling the cashiers to keep the food (ummm…give me those fries!) It was definitely nutz.

My beanies are currently all (EXCEPT the 2 husky beanies which are on my bedroom dresser) stored away in 2 containers in my garage. But I can honestly say I never paid more than $50 and that was just for 1 on eBay – the Princess Diana bear. When I moved a couple years back, I considered donating them but I just couldn’t make myself give them up. They are too cute.

So when I start to worry I collect too much Star Wars stuff, or Funko POPs, or anything else…I can re-read this :) I might actually get this book. Cannot argue the guy was a genius. And he owns the Four Season in NYC?!?!? From crazed women (mostly I am sure) buying stuffed toys. That is fantabulous.

Finally hung my new Mike Kungl piece today!! I bought this at his show at the Chuck Jones Gallery in San Diego during SDCC. Going in, I told myself I had no wall space so you are just going to meet Mike, say hi to everyone and leave. Yeah…so…#fail

He did a Marvin piece. I love Marvin (also my very first tattoo!) Plus I am huge fan of the color combo of purples and greens. *please see my love of Maleficent. It is a 1 of a kind. He did a few of these but each in a different color scheme. So this purple and green one = all mine :) #mineminemineminemine #saidlikekDaffy

I also got to meet Mike in person. We spoke a couple times on the phone while he was doing my commissioned piece but I missed him at the last SDCC. And I got to meet his wife. Both were so kind and it was great to hear how they loved doing the husky piece (both are big dog lovers which is also great!) It will always be very, very special to me and I’m glad others feel that way too.

And seeing everyone at the gallery again was fun! The staff there was excited about the husky piece. Was a fun night for sure and I look forward to the next one!

This makes 3 Kungl pieces I have: the Leia artist proof, Marvin and my Chewie/Angelus/Storm original commission. This is becoming an expensive habit! I am still coveting a TinkTini original…but again #nowallspaceleft http://www.mkungl.com/2/d.php?contentID=195

OK, I was a bad girl. BUT, in my defense, it’s a super rare collectible that I’ve been wanting for a long time found in near pristine condition….PLUS it’s almost May the Fourth Be With You – my 2nd favorite holiday! :)

Thursday afternoon a friend sent me a link to an auction by an individual collector of Star Wars posters. He had every one – every single one from every movie, every version, every re-release. And they were all in excellent condition. Some of the older posters are hard to find in great condition. It was common practice to fold posters so most have been. Or just damaged through the years.

I scrolled through all of the posters and there was 3 or 4 that I would have loved to bid on but there was 2 that I wanted a LOT. One of them had JUST ended and went for a lot of $$$ but the other had 8 minutes left!

It was being held at a private online auction house. I placed several bids on it using my friends ID (I didn’t have time to try and register) but it was real auction style – so after my last second bid it extended the auction instead of being able to snipe like on eBay. #dammit

I was in a bidding war with another guy and he clearly wanted it. Once we ran up the price 33% over where I started, I did a quick internet check and lo and behold I found another in the same great condition. There were others that were folded or had damage and they were still going for a decent amount due to the rarity of this poster. I have found folded ones every so often but I do not allow any folded posters in my collection. So while I watched the seconds tick down on this private auction debating whether to place another bid (and wonder about my sanity), I submitted an offer on the other I found. I was texting my friend who said let the private auction one go – he collects old movie posters and said this was a reputable shop (where I found the other.) And it was less than the auction house one! I sure hope that seller appreciates me running up the price for him #doh

Some Poster Info I gleaned from various Star Wars and rare poster sites (some of it I knew and some I didn’t!):

One of the very rarest original Star Wars movie posters obtainable. A year after its original May, 1977 release, Star Wars was still playing in many theaters across the U.S. To celebrate this milestone, certain of these theaters were presented with this very special anniversary one sheet. Though technically designated “Style E”, it is known by collectors as the “Happy Birthday” poster. It was photographed by Weldon Anderson and designed by Tony Seiniger using 11 of the 12 original Kenner action figures.

The print run of this poster is believed to have been fewer than 1,500 sheets (according to long time Star Wars poster experts it is rumored that there were only 250-500 printed, although no one can absolutely positively confirm this) making this poster one of the rarest and most sought after items for Star Wars collectors. And actually, according to www.starwarsmovieposter.com “print run was originally 400, but only ended up with 250-280 usable copies. Lastly, most of the copies were not distributed to the theatres. Most went to the employees at Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. That is why most copies of the posters are still found in rolled condition. (Thanks for the awesome information – Source – Ron Kalter – Gore Graphics employee ’77 – ’82).”

This is a genuine 27″ x 41″ U.S. one sheet issued by the studio when the film was released and meant for theatrical display. Not a reproduction. The reproductions made of this poster were 27″ x 39.5″ and on different paper with different border measurements and different font style on the poster line of “Star Wars Happy Birthday One Sheet”. Allegedly made by the Thai Fan Club…..#nocomment

Rolled, never folded. No pin holes. This one was never used!

The poster shows 11 out of 12 original Kenner action figures. For unknown reasons, the Jawa action figure was omitted. Utinni!!!

My favorite purchases are the ones I do on gut with no hemming and hawing and I find I am always very happy with them. It shipped Friday! Of course the framing will be another small fortune….but it will be a fantastic and well loved addition to my collection. Finding and collecting the old, rare stuff is so satisfying :)

At SDCC, I went by the same booth Thursday and Friday to check out a piece of art. It was the canvas original of “Bad Girls” by Mimi Yoon. In person, this piece was amazing. The colors truly pop out and grab you. It was also almost as tall as me framed on the wall – great, great piece. It was also $15,000 and there was no way I was spending that kind of money on something withOUT Chewbacca in it ;)

Besides my Star Wars and Indy collecting, I have always loved collecting the female characters in DC and Marvel. This is a lot easier now than it was when I was younger. I still have carded action figures safe and sound from when I was a kid but they didn’t make too many of them which was pretty silly if you think about it. Pretty (and usually big boobed) super heroes sold to boys? Seems like an easy sell. Although now it’s hard to find the really awesome pieces because those same boys grew up, made some money and now buy them all up :) I think Slave Leia changed it all honestly.

I loved (well…still love) Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, etc, etc growing up. Not because I’m some feminist girl who wanted to feel empowered/not need men/blah blah baloney though. I mostly loved that they kicked serious ass while they were pretty and wearing cool outfits with high-heeled boots. I’m such a girl :)

They had an artist proof on canvas (and paper it turned out) at a much more reasonable price plus smaller. Edition size was 100 so still a small run (paper was 250.) But SDCC had just started and I wanted to see if any new Star Wars art caught my eye before spending any money (if I spent any on art at all.) The guy at the booth was nice, and showed me some pieces they had that they weren’t allowed to display (very nice), but he was a bit pushy and kept using salesmen mumbo-jumbo “what can we do to get this done?”, “let’s schedule a sit down and talk about this”, etc. And I hate to be sold to. So I eventually got out of there and said I’d think about it.

I walked by again on Friday and looked at the original again. Still gorgeous. But my proof was gone! Sold. Darn. I guess it was not meant to be. But I was sad. I did really like the piece. Walked by again Saturday and the original was gone! (Turns out it was sold by the Chuck Jones Gallery as I learned on Sunday…)

On Sunday I decided to go to the Chuck Jones Gallery. I always stop by there when in town for SDCC. I walk in the front door and there is my Bad Girls artist proof on canvas all framed and pretty! And there is the artist! And she is signing dedication cards for the canvas if you buy one. Oh man. An employee walks up and asks me if I know this piece and gave him the above story. He smiled and and said I guess this is fate then. Yep. He knew I was sold.

They shipped it up to me and the girls arrived all safe and sound. And I just put them up on the wall. LOVE IT. The colors pop and they catch the light as you walk by. #24 of 100. Absolutely ZERO buyer’s remorse. It was, after all, Fate :)

I just watched the documentary “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”. Loved it. I was going through con withdrawal since I got back home from SDCC last Sunday night so this was perfect. I might have to re-watch it in December as we are half way through the countdown clock to SDCC14!

It’s directed by Morgan Spurlock and written by him and Joss Whedon (and Jeremy Chilnick who I don’t know.)

It’s all real people. People who are regular attendees, the celebs who attend, real footage. It follows a handful of “characters” all attending SDCC – 2 artists who want to break into comic book illustration (1 is an Air Force guy!), an amateur costume designer who wants to showcase her work, a toy collector (I thought I had problems), a couple who met at SDCC the year prior and a comic book store owner. He happens to own Mike High Comics in Colorado who you always see there so it was interesting to follow his story.

In between showing you their 5 day adventure at SDCC (with a little back story thrown in in their hometowns first), they have clips of panels, the floor, costumed attendees, and comments by artists, actors, etc who are all part of nerd-dom :) Kevin Smith is hysterical is his clips. Joss Whedon, Seth Rogan and Seth Green show up a few times as they should but plenty more are throw in (Corey Feldman!!) Plus little blurb interviews with real attendees about why they go, what they like, what it means to them, etc.

The story about the couple is basically how he wants to propose at Comic Con. And the proposal is adorable (if you read any stories about 2011 SDCC you already knew this happened – so no spoiler!) but I was a little (lot) creeped out by how she would never let him out of her sight. I would have never given my approval for that footage if I were her. Or married her if I were him. But that’s their business.

The Mile High Comics owner has been going to comic con for 38 years (or was it 34?) and he was worried about his business and the expense of SDCC as it’s becoming less and less about comics (he is very right.) He has a very high value comic he might have to sell to pay off vendors, etc and stay in the green. Anyway, it’s an interesting story. I felt a little guilt since I now buy all my comics through my iPad. I just couldn’t store anymore :/

I think that to people that are not nerds or geeks, I am a giant nerd geek. But to real serious nerd geeks – I’m not at all. So that’s interesting (if only to me.) But I really liked this movie. And yes, I do read comics. But I’m not someone who can tell you what happened in issue 45 of Uncanny X-Men. Tell me the story, I’ll track with you though. But I do also love the movies, some shows, some collectibles and the just the fan experience. So it’s not just for comics for me. Never was. I started going because of Star Wars (my biggest nerd category for sure.) And it really is awesome to be in a place where everyone loves the same stuff. Just like going to your favorite’s team’s home game. You can’t beat that energy. And this has no drunken brawls up in the cheap seats.

They had some footage of Hall H for Kevin Smith’s panel. This is always the last panel on Saturday night. I left right before his panel that year (2011) which was right after the Cowboys & Aliens panel had Harrison Ford show up for his Con appearance EVER and the crazy Marvel panel where they brought out all of the Avengers cast (they show quick clips of both of these.) Anyway, it’s funny because I recognized several people (attendees and employees) who I see at the cons regularly. Like the woman is the traffic director at the top of the escalators going to Ball Room 20!! That made me chuckle. I actually had 3 people tell me they remembered me from last year :) It’s Chewie and the fluffy wolf ears I tell ya!

And Button Lady was there!!! In line with a question of course!! She is a woman whose costume is a long coat/dress thing that is covered head-to-toe/front and back in Con-subject related buttons. And Chris Hardwick called her Button Lady when she came up to the mic and that stuck :)

One of the comments is that Comic Con is no longer just about comics. But it’s about any really, crazy popular thing that has fans that flock to it. That’s exactly right. I’d prefer to keep it more geared to the subject matter of comics or related stuff like that. I don’t see how shows like Breaking Bad or Psych belong. But both have crazed fan bases so they do in that regard I suppose. But I never see any stupid reality TV crap there. I’ll trip Honey Boo-Boo if I have to.

Anyway, if anyone has ever been curious about Comic Con, I think this is a good way to see it. There is NO experience like going to a con for the full 4.5 days. But this is a good beak wetter :) And about all a lot of people could handle any way ;)

Here’s the official site and trailer: http://comicconmovie.com/

San Diego Comic Con 2013 is over. I hate the day after con withdrawal. But I am quite happy to be home to Stormy!

What a trip! Up at 4:30am Wednesday morning to arrive early enough to check-in, drop luggage off and get in line for badge pick-uo. Once in line, we made line friends. This is key to con survival in my opinion. You spend a LOT of time in lines and I can’t just sit and read the whole time. Ended up meeting very nice people from LA, NY and DC. We played card games, chatted about what we all wanted to see, our past con experiences and what we wanted when we hit the floor running tonight! Turned out we wanted similar things so we divided and conquered and each picked a booth and bought the items for the others. Met up over the next couple days to exchange and it worked out perfectly!!!

Then we got our badges and moved to the exhibit hall line where we waited for hours again. But we kept our line friends :) Then we got on to the floor and I had to run across the the entire exhibit hall to get to the Funko booth….with a huge line. DOH! No good line friends there, but made friends with some security and Funko people. I won 2 things while waiting in the Funko line and got ALL of the items I wanted plus the items my friends wanted!!! Sonya had gone to the Marvel booth and got us the exclusive Old Man Logan figure and Levi got us the Stark Shields! Our line friend went to Hasbro and got Sonya the Star Wars Angry Birds set and me the Boba Fett and Han in Carbonite – exclusive black series. VERY productive evening!!!

Then we dropped off our haul at the hotel and went to dinner at Nobu. SO. SOOO. Yummy.

Thursday was a floor morning and Hall H afternoon. We hit up the Walking Dead booth first and went on from there. The booths by the big shows/studios were all great as usual. No line for Hall H yet so we walked in and the seat master (my friend Sonya who I always go to cons with) got us seats in dead center row 11!!! For HARRISON FORD!!!

First up was the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel. It’s 3 directors with movies coming out. They were all fantastic. But I really liked Edgar Wright- he was FUNNY. Then the Divergent panel. I had never even heard of the movie and barely recall hearing about the books. But the panel was fantastic. A lot of the cast showed up as well as the author and it was a very fun panel. Footage looked great and it intrigued me enough to download the first 2 books of the series (3rd coming out soon.) I’m about 1/3 of the way through Book 1 and really like it so far.

Then it was Ender’s Game time. Again, I have barely heard of the book but, according to the panel, is required by the US Military? Between that and the footage, I was intrigued enough to download Book 1 of that series too. Will start after Divergent 1 and 2. But of course, the main reason I was in that Hall H today was for my man. He never, ever, never does cons. When he showed up unannounced for Cowboys & Aliens 2 years ago the place erupted into to a giant flashbulb and long, unending scream. This time he was announced a week or 2 ago. Hall H was easily 1/2 empty when we showed up around 12:30. But as it got closer to Enders Game panel time (3:30 I think), the place filled up completely and there ended up being a line of people who didn’t get in. Every single person in our section said they were there for Harrison Ford. Of course :)

Of course the applause and screaming and flashbulbs went on forever when he came out. And of course during the Q&A you get the jackass who doesn’t ask him about his current movie but instead a Han Solo/Indiana Jones question. This is the reason he doesn’t go to these things. The question was “if Han Solo and Indiana Jones met, what would they say?” Everyone in the hall booed the guy and yelled noooooooo. Come on. Harrison took off his glasses, looked around and said “I’m never coming back here” and started to get up. He was obviously kidding and chuckled and sat back down. Then said “I don’t know…..’Hi. How are you?'” He has definitely settled himself comfortably into the role of the lovable curmudgeon with a dry sense of humor we all can’t help but love. Got a few good pics but this is my favorite..

Sonya and I both agreed that I could have *easily* run up there and jumped him before security could stop me. But I restrained myself :)

Another awesome Thursday activity was being a pool of gold and silver!!! This is my ultimate Uncle Scrooge goal (but with real gold and silver) :)

We left Hall H after the Enders Game panel was done. More floor time, drop stuff at hotel and then dinner at Lolita’s. Carne Asada fries! O.M.G. We ran into some friends so went to the MTV2 party after dinner with them. We lasted about 1 hour. Not my thing. But a big party that I think MTV spent a boatload on. Live bands that I might know if I was a tweener. Huge fireworks display, tons of interactive stuff all around plus free food and wine/beer/sodas. Plus free giant glowsticks :) It didn’t have one single thing to do with SDCC other than being a spectacle but oh well.

Friday was a beast. Sonya’s fiancee camped out in Hall H line starting around midnight. We met him around 5:30-6ish with Starbucks. Day was loaded with The World’s End (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Kick Ass 2 (cast), Riddick (Vin Diesel and Katee Sackhoff), The Walking Dead (huge cast panel) and The Game of Thrones (huge cast panel.) All were great but I think GOT was my favorite. Although the footage for TWD S4 was INSANE!!! But besides the fact that I love the books and TV series and the cast are always great to see on these panels, they started the panel with lights off and this video:

http://youtu.be/9m4ZPULXJKw

ONLY watch if you are caught up on Season 3! It’s an In Memoriam of all the characters who have died through the 3 seasons set to Boys to Men and with a little humor thrown in. GREAT execution. They never have footage to show since their season just ended and hasn’t start filming for the next season yet. So they need to be creative and always are. During the panel, Jason Momoa ruhed onstage and kissed Emilia Clarke (Daenerys). I didn’t hear what he said to her but then as he rushed off she said “My Sun and Stars…” You could tell they were all surprised by his fly-by so that was fun :)

After the GOT panel ended, my friends went off and did their thing and I went to the floor for a bit. Picked up a drawing I had commissioned on Artists Alley:

It really is amazing watching these guys draw.

The GOT cast were at the WB booth. Peter Dinklage waved at me. But sooo crowded around there I left pretty quickly. After checking out the floor for a bit, decided to head over to check out the stuff on the lawn at the Hilton Bayfront. Checked that all out and decided to get a soda and sit down. As I was tweeting/instagramming/facebooking, I looked up and saw Jason Momoa (aka Khol Drogo.) I jumped up and asked for a pic! He was very sweet and even though his handler was trying to rush him away, he did. When he saw my Chewbacca phone case he said “Your Chewbacca phone is a f***ing awesome!” LOL

By Friday night, we were all far too tired to even consider camping for Hall H on Friday night/Saturday morning. We all really wanted to see everything in there but at some point, your adultness sets in and a bed and shower sound better. I really think they will need to do something about the camping. Pretty much not fair if a family with kids or 60 yr old wants to see a Hall H panel but can’t because camping is truly a suck option. Plus being that exhausted makes for not as fun of a day, IMO. And frankly, the non-showering situation is very noticeable. But oh well. I’ll find a college kid and pay him to camp for me next year. Capitalism will prevail.

So Sonya and I did Ballroom 20 all day instead. Only had to line up at 6:30am! And then Sonya’s seat-masterness won again – front row! All fun panels PLUS I got to run to the floor and pick up the last SDCC13 exclusive collectible that I had wanted. You needed to get in line for a wristband in order to buy it and I was able to get it on Saturday AM! Sonya got to ask a question in the True Blood panel and I got to see the panels I wanted to. While we were bummed not to be in Hall H for Tom Cruise and Marvel, we had a really great day.

The key to having fun at Comic Con is have a Plan A, B and C. There are a LOT of people, so a lot of lines. So you can’t always get into/do your Plan A. But that’s no reason to not have fun since there is sooooo much stuff going on!!

Dinner at Fleming’s was super delicious. There was a table across from us that I saw 3 different women stop and ask for pics so it was someone famous-ish. Just someone I didn’t recognize. Turns out it was some cast members from Survivor. Then saw the guy (also an MMA fighter?) who played the Mr T role in the new A-Team movie there. And then a long time twitter friend met me there with his wife for drinks. A fun day and night for sure!!

Sundays are for packing up, checking out and walking the floor or downtown. Sonya and I were strolling downtown and saw Michael Rooker right in front of the Hard Rock Hotel! Merle!!! Asked for a quick picture and he said sure even though his handler was trying to wrangle him. He was very sweet and told me take good care of my ears (was wearing my fluffy wold ears as usual) :) We went on to an early lunch after waiting in line for the Game of Thrones exhibit but giving up on it. Off to Lolita’s! (Hey – these are only found in San Diego!) Then we hit the floor for a bit. Madness! Got some decent swag and took a few more pics and then it was time for Sonya to head for the airport. I went back downtown as I wanted to go to the Chuck Jones Gallery. They always do fun things for SDCC week. I walked in, and saw the canvas of the piece I almost bought on the floor but talked myself out of several times, right there front and center. Turns out the artist was in the gallery and doing dedications if you bought the piece. Seriously? It was fate at this point. So I did it. This is the larger original:

I actually bought 2 pieces there. When I get them (being shipped to me), I will blog again with photos and their history. Both are beautiful. At least to me.

Then it was time to go! No more buying!!! Hotel, airport, airplane, airport, driving. HOME! Plus I shipped most of my stuff so when I get that box in a day or 2, it will be like a mini-Comic Con/Christmas all over again :)

The only bummer about the Con is that Disney kept any and all news about Star Wars away. Nothing. Nada. I assume they are holding anything back and will release it at D23 – Disney’s expo. But this is truly their audience and since they realize that with Marvel, they should realize it with Star Wars. I can only hope that since they probably don’t have that much to reveal yet, they WILL change their minds and do something at SDCC14 when more information about the new Star Wars movies are available. Fingers and paws crossed.

I realized that while I was there I only saw tweets or FB posts related to Comic Con. No other tweets, no Facebook, no news, no TV, no politics, no media other than fun. And I was in a GREAT mood the entire time! I way, way prefer that. I think I need to clean up my twitter and FB feeds.

I have tons of fun every year. It gets crazier each year plus more and more crowded and maybe I will get tired of dealing with that at some point, but probably not. I like finding new shows, movies, comics and books to investigate and it’s fun to be surrounded by people who like the same things. Of course, I can only take that many people for so long :) Sad SDCC is over but now back home in the mountains with NO lines, very few people plus my very own Hoth Stormtrooper so it’s all A-OK :)

Flickr link for all the pics: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjH1QZjv