Comic-Con 2013: The Best, The Good, and The Weird

Comic-Con just never disappoints! When I think that it’s impossible for the yearly geek convention to get any better, somehow this nerdtastic fest manages to improve upon the prior year’s incredible panels and experiences.

Your intrepid Mamarazzi Knows Best, and TheWrap.com Hollyblogger, was in the middle of the action yet did not set foot near the San Diego Convention Center.

What?!

That’s right. I think I followed my own advice too closely and stayed away from the fray. But I managed to have those unique experiences and encounters that make Comic-Con the center of the galaxy for a fantastical four days!

Parking on the street all four days (practically in the same spot!) was really cool too. No parking tickets either!!!

So, read on to find out about The Best, The Good, and The Weirdest adventures I had at SDCC 2013.

The Best

You’d think that sitting in a room with Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Pratt, Benicio del Toro and Zoe Saldana would be The Best, right?

Well, it was not! The two Marvel panels showed up TWO hours late to our press conference.

And that was certainly not as good as it was to sit down for a cozy lunch with the cast of Syfy Channel’s show  “Haven” at Nobu inside the Hard Rock Hotel.

L to R: Lucas Bryant, Emily Rose, Suzette Valle and Eric Belfour. Syfy’s Haven Cast at Nobu for Comic-Con San Diego 2013

Especially when I had to reach for my food sitting between a CNN reporter (whose uncanny resemblance to Robert Downey Jr. made me do a double take!) and another sweet guy from the New York Times.

L to R: Eric Balfour, Adam Copeland and Colin Ferguson of “Haven” at Nobu for Comic-Con San Diego 2013. Photo S. Valle

Or maybe The Best thing that happened to me was meeting SNL’s Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynahan, Seth Meyers (“Weekend Update”, “Late Night”), and his brother Josh Meyers, who could be his twin and was wearing his underwear over his pants!

Kenan Thompson is part of the voice cast of “The Awesomes.” Photo S. Valle

SNL’S Bobby Moynihan will lend his voice to “The Awesomes.” Photo S. Valle

The SNL alumni were promoting a new super hero web show, called “The Awesomes,” co-created and produced by Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker (“Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”). Make sure you check out the animated show premiering on Hulu in August.

The Awesomes includes SNL members Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam, Ike Barinholtz, as voice cast, with Josh Meyers, co-creators/producers Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker, and head writer Judd Winick.

These guys were The Best because they also invited me to their exclusive party at the Andaz Hotel. I didn’t make it to their ‘awesome’ fete thanks to Marvel’s panels showing up late to the press conference and stealing my party time!

Getting a private tutorial for the new Disney Infinity video game has to be on my list of The Best. Why? Because I had lunch and a glass of wine at the swanky Disney Lounge they set up for reporters to go with my lesson.

Disney Infinity Lounge at Comic-Con 2013

I, you should know, am not a gamer. I am grateful to my poor Disney game designer who had so much patience teaching me to use the game controller. Never the less, this Disney Infinity game is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!  And I think my son will be proud of me because I finally learned what LR and LS actually do. Wait. I got those things wrong, didn’t I? Oh, well. Check out this new game hitting stores in August.

Supermom and Superson at the Samsung Galaxy Experince Comic-Con 2013

The Samsung Galaxy Experience and Party are also in The Best of Comic-Con category. I was invited to get a private lesson and a Note 8.0, which came in a much-needed Comic-Con survival back pack.

Samsung Galaxy Experience Comic-Con 2013

Later, my Editor-In-Chief, Sharon Waxman, and I went private party with the cast of the upcoming film “Veronica Mars.” The Best wasn’t the tablet I got or the party actually, but the very cool photo above taken at the Samsung animated GIF stage complete with a cloud backdrop and wind effects: SuperMom and SuperSon. I will treasure it for many Comic-Cons to come!

The Good

Jack Black is popular in our home not just for his comedic chops, but because of his portrayal of a Mexican lucha libre fighter (our equivalent to WWE) in “Nacho Libre.” He’s also producing a webs how called “Ghost Ghirls.” Yes, I asked him about the spelling of Ghirls, too. And, can you believe he lost his stretchy pants?

MTV2 hosted a giant Party in the Park at PETCO park, and it was good! You got free food and drinks with a special badge. They had a bunch of activities too: an Instagram Photo T-shirt-making station, a DJ, they were filming a live show for Guy Code, and people were dancing with headsets in a dome.

The Good part of MTV2’s party was talking to the gate keeper from MTV and convincing him to let two of my friends, who were not on ‘the list,’ inside. In his words, “I like TheWrap. You’re cool. You can bring your friends,” he said handing me two more badges.

The Weird

Getting back to the (late) Marvel panel with Samuel L. Jackson, Mr. Captain America himself, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. After calming down because the actors were TWO hours late to the press conference, I had to endure listening to this. And, you know … Scarlett Johansson, you know … not so good, you know. She said so many ‘you knows’ that Evans had to cut her off! Listen carefully…

Sure, Josh Meyers (Seth’s brother) wearing underwear on the outside of his pants was weird. But he actually just blended right in with the rest of the nerds who were floating about the convention. By the way, it was Josh’s first time at SDCC!

What was weird for me (in a comforting sort of way) was seeing a reporter show up to the Marvel press conference with his dog. Not a service dog, but his regular pup!

Comic-Con Dog in Press Room

This night was a combo of the worst and the weird because not only were the actors late (did I mention they were TWO hours late?) to the press conference, but it was also a two-for-one: Captain America Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Sadly, it was hardly worth the (long) wait, though. The actors looked exhausted and could hardly speak!

The dog actually behaved really well since he was cooped up at the Hilton Bayfront in a hot and cramped pressroom with about 100 reporters (for TWO hours!) waiting for the Captain America Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy panels to finish in Hall H. After all that waiting, they only gave us 10 minutes for each of these press conferences.

That was ruff! (Oh, sorry.)

Chris Evans at Marvel Press Conference Comic-Con 2013 Photo S. Valle

Scarlett Johansson Marvel Panel Comic-Con 2013

Samuel L. Jackson Marvel Comic-Con 2013

This wraps up another Con for me folks. I hope you had the best time at this year’s Con, and enjoyed good times watching the weird people that make Comic-Con a wild but memorable time in San Diego.