SDCC 2018 | Geekscape

Geekscape 491: Getting Nostalgic With The RKSS Filmmakers!

by JonathanAugust 6, 2018

The RKSS Film Collective, directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, first came on the scene a few years ago with their Mad Max meets comic books and VHS nosalgia celebration ‘Turbo Kid’. Now, RKSS is back with the equaly nostalgic yet entirely different ‘Summer Of ’84’, a serial killer next door suspence thriller that mixes ‘The Goonies’ with ‘Rear Window’. RKSS sat down with me at San Diego Comic Con to talk about making ‘Turbo Kid’, playing with nostalgia and filmmaking. We also sprinkled in some pro wrestling, fantasy and horror talk if you’re into that (and I’m guessing if you’re here then you are)!

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SDCC 2018: I Lost My Mind At The Amazing ‘Mr. Mercedes’ Offsite!

by Derek KraneveldtAugust 1, 2018

Before last year’s SDCC, I had never heard of Mr. Mercedes.

The property is a trilogy of novels written by Stephen King, and last year a ten-episode TV series premiered on the America-only Audience Network. The series had a big presence at last year’s Wired Cafe, and the premise intrigued me immediately, but I somehow forgot all about the series once I returned to Canada.

Last month I finally decided to give the series a shot (the only place that you can see it in Canada is through iTunes), and I quickly became obsessed. I binged all ten episodes in just a few days, and have been talking about it constantly to pretty much anyone that will listen to me every since. The series is an incredibly dark and horrifically disturbing look into the mind of the insane (yet very human) villain that is Brady Hartsfelt, and a depressed, retired detective named Bill Hodges who simply seems to be trying to find his place in a world that doesn’t need him anymore. Every episode of the series impressed the hell out of me, and many featured scenes so disturbing that they stuck with me for days. My fiancé even began watching the show while I was away in San Diego this week, and this was her initial response when I ask her how it was going:

I was beyond excited to see that Mr. Mercedes would be returning to San Diego for this year’s Comic-Con. Not only was the series again a sponsor of the always-appreciated Wired Cafe (and was plastered in giant form across the face and elevators of the Omni hotel), but there was also an amazing offsite even being hosted just a few blocks away.

I was lucky enough to attend the offsite on Friday morning, and now that the convention is over I can absolutely say that it was a highlight of this year’s trip. Everything present was an absolute dream for fans of the show, whether it was the augmented reality game played on your own (or supplied) phone, the scavenger hunt that would net you swag ranging from Mr. Mercedes pins to unique San Diego themed t-shirts, the lithograph photo booth that morphs your face into the show’s logo, the multiple sets built up with screen-used props from the show, the screening room, or the VR escape room – every piece of this event felt fully realized, and as soon as it came to an end, all that I wanted to do was go through it all again.

I started with the VR escape room. Essentially, you’re locked in Brady’s lair with a bomb and a countdown timer, and have a few moments (I’m not sure exactly how long, but it all went pretty quickly) to explore the area in order to find clues to disarm it. The entire time, Brady is mocking you (using that creepy, computery voice used in the show), telling you that you’re going to fail, and the like. You’ll move around the lair looking for things that stand out (happy face tennis ball, Brady’s brother’s fire truck, etc) and slowly figure out the eight character password). I ran out of time just as I figured out what the word was (and kind of felt a dummy for not realizing it sooner), the bomb went off, and I lost. If you managed to beat escape the room, you’d earn a t-shirt that states “I Escaped Brady’s Lair” before moving on to the next section.

There were several sets from the series that were rebuilt for the convention, including Finder’s Keepers Investigative Services, Brady’s hospital room, Supreme Electronics, and fittingly in the basement of the offsite’s location, Brady’s lair. The coolest part of all of these sets were that they were dressed using actual props from the show – the gravestones in Brady’s lair are his family’s actual gravestones, the rock memorializing the victim’s of the Mercedes attack is the actual rock from the show, the desk in Finder’s Keepers is Holly’s actual desk, and the journal in Brady’s lair is the actual on-camera journal from the show as well. I was simply enthralled with all of this, and spent so much time in every room just exploring everything that I could.

Speaking of exploring, the Mr. Mercedes offsite also offered a pretty cool augmented reality game (as mentioned above). Outside of the building a QR code was posted that linked you to the app, and once inside there are 10 ‘tags’ hidden throughout the location. Point your phone’s camera at these tags, and augmented reality images of other significant items or props will pop up on your display, and you’ll even see bits of dialogue between Brady and Hodges. Pretty neat, and pretty different from anything I’d seen at one of these events before.

Inside of Finder’s Keepers, there was also a cool photo booth that ‘morphed’ your face with that of the Mr. Mercedes logo. You could email this to yourself, but it was also printed off on a neat 3D lenticular that changes the image depending on the angle you’re looking at it from. This quickly became one of my favourite pieces of swag from the entire convention.

After flowing through the basement and gawking at Brady’s lair for what felt like forever, we were taken into a connected screening room. Here we were shown a lengthy featurette showing us where the characters are as we come into season two, and it also discussed how the stakes will be set now that Brady is apparently brain-dead in a hospital bed. We were then treated to a striking scene that takes place in episode three of the upcoming season. Luckily I’d watched episodes one and two just a few days prior, because I’d have been left scratching my head otherwise, but with the context of the previous episodes I cannot freaking wait to see more.

Following the screening room, we were treated to some swag on our way to the exit (including an awesome SDCC-focussed t-shirt that says “I Lost My Mind In San Diego”). I had taken so long looking at all of the set pieces that there were only a few of us left at this point, and as we approached the exit doors our PR host kindly let us know that some of the cast was coming through the experience, and that we could come back around and check things out. Much of the cast had already made their way to the next section at this point, and I didn’t want to intrude (especially as this was likely one of their few times of mostly peace this entire week), but Justine Lupe (Holly) and director Jack Bender were hanging out in Finder’s Keepers, and when the super-nice PR guide asked if I wanted a photo with them I absolutely had to say yes. Jack’s episodes of Lost are pretty much my favourite episodes of TV ever, and to speak with him for a couple of minutes, and to get to tell him that (that same thing that he’s probably heard over, and over, and over again) felt important to me.

In any case, 1200 words later, you better believe that I had an amazing time at this offsite. The design and care that the team put into building this event was truly spectacular, and for a show that’s only available on one network they are pushing this thing hard. I think that Mr. Mercedes is one of the most criminally underrated shows currently on television, and I believed that this offsite must have put some eyes on the series.

Mr. Mercedes returns on August. 22 on the Audience Network.

https://youtu.be/79Px8KWEdMM

Geekscape Games Podcast: Level 163 – “Post SDCC Depression Edition”

by Courtney DossettAugust 1, 2018

Join Courtney and Derek as they process life post-SDCC and talk about this week in gaming!

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SDCC 2018: History Channel Brings ‘Project Blue Book’ To Life In San Diego

by Shane O'HareJuly 23, 2018

History Channel has always been known for their documentaries and reportive shows. From guns, tanks, planes and WW2 all the way to mysteries throughout time, including those of an alien nature. In the last few years they have branched out into scripted dramas based on real life historical events, most notable being their juggernaut hit Vikings.

This year at SDCC History announced they were starting a new drama based off the real life reports from Project Blue Book. Starting in the 50’s, Project Blue Book was the project given to the US Airforce to collect, study and investigate UFO sightings from around the country. Hundreds of reports were taken in and investigate, with a purported 700 unsolved. The show Project Blue Book promises to bring the real life reports to life with a certain amount of flair.

The entire concept of this show as me absolutely stoked. Growing up I was ADDICTED to shows like X-Files, Outerlimits and Sightings. When I got an opportunity to meet with History and check out their Project Blue Book experience outside of Comic Con I was stoked.

Hot off the heels of Sacred Lies, I jaunted over to the Project Blue Book activation. Set up was a small “command center”. Some tents and a few shipping containers made up the compound. I met with my contact and was soon hurried into line.

Walking into the tent, I was instructed to have a seat. A small table with a few canvas folding chairs were on each side of the tent. A woman in an US Airforce uniform asked me if I had a UFO sighting in my life. I quickly scanned my memory and recalled an incident where I was sitting around a fire with friends, and we all saw something shoot across the moon. Was it Alien? Who knows, but it was DEFINITELY an Unknown Flying Object. I was handed a clipboard with a stack of papers on it. Looking through the sheet, I surmised that this was a UFO reporting intake sheet, and assumed it was similar to the one people would fill out back in the 50’s. The form was thorough, asking where it was on the horizon, what time of day, part of the planet I was on, weather etc. etc. After a few minutes I had the form filled out to the best of my memory, it was a few years ago after all. I turned it in and then was told to wait for The General to take us into the center.

A man in full Air Force general regalia let us know what we were about to learn. Explained what Project Blue Book was, and we were led into a security screening room. “Security screening” must be Air Force secret code for PERFECTLY AIR CONDITIONED. I could stay in there all day, the sweltering San Diego heat was instantly another world away. It definitely added to the whole alien motif. Once we passed our security clearance we were led into the control room.

We were led into another room. An eerie blue glow surrounded us. Pictures were near impossible in this space. Another officer led us in and instructed us to stand in the center of the room. We were about to learn about three incidents from Project Blue Book. A UV light turned on, and the wall behind me lit up in UV paint. An artist rendition of an UFO sighting known as “The Lubbock Incident” glowed brightly. Hidden speakers turned on and we heard a man explaining what he saw. My third irrational fear, Carnival Haunted Houses, popped into the front of my mind. After that, the light turned off and a second turned on, lighting up another wall. Another report illustration and audio file played. A ghastly monster, with large claws and a giant head was depicted in a wooded area. Large lit up craft in the background. Seeing this drawing, and hearing the audio from the report reminded me of my second irrational fear. Aliens. Two of my irrational fears were being triggered hardcore, why was I doing this to myself? Soon the lights went off and the third and final report was depicted. A drawing of a P-51 mustang fighter and a UFO lit up. I recognized this incident, as one of the first reported UFO sightings to the real life Project Blue Book. The 1948 Mantell UFO incident. The third and final drawing dimmed out and our guide let us know that there were still hundreds to be explored, and invited us to check out the command center.

We were led into the heart of the exhibit. A wall of control panels straight out of a 1950’s sci fi film lined the wall, while two actors sat at desks on the opposite wall working on Blue Book reports. We were told we could sit at a station and send out a text messages into space. I sat down at station 5, and sent out a solemn request for help. Earth is in trouble, and needs help from The Gods. We need The Gods to save us from ourselves. Once sent, a number started to quickly count up. My message was being tossed into space. Hopefully someone out there receives the message and saves us from ourselves.

Once done, I went to leave the room. Just before I left, a man in a black suit came up to and stopped me. He let me know that there were still over 700 reports that have gone investigated, and that Project Blue Book was still running at full steam, and to keep an eye out for The Soviets.

Much like the Sacred Lies experience, the Project Blue Book installation from History got me absolutely pumped for the show. It appears to be the perfect combination of real life and drama, and if shows like Vikings are any indication, we are in for a great ride.

Project Blue Book stars Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”) and Michael Malarkey (“The Vampire Diaries”) and will be out sometime this winter. You ABSOLUTELY need to check it out.

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long- Winded SDCC Recap – Saturday

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 21, 2018

Well, today was far, far more relaxed than any other day of this year’s convention. We all turned in fairly early last night after laughing our asses off at Shane’s lack of ABBA knowledge and a myriad of other things (though by ‘early’, I mean that I finally stopped writing after midnight long after everyone else was asleep).

I woke up today just after 7 (to an empty hotel room, aside from Shane who was still fast asleep on the floor) feeling well rested and energetic. I wanted to be on the floor at show-open as a must-have Mondo print (Boris Pelcer’s Drive poster) was set to drop right away.

After the rough entry that I experienced on Thursday, things seemed to go far more smoothly this morning. When I arrived at the convention centre, there was already a door letting people in (to the centre, not to the exhibit hall floor) so I jumped in so that I could feel that sweet, sweet air conditioning. It didn’t really seem like anyone knew where to send me (as a press member, rather than an attendee or professional), so they just sent me through to the professional entrance… which worked out really well as I ended up on the show floor 15 minutes early.

Mondo somehow already had a huge line, and it was pretty clear that a lot of these people were working in groups to simply buy these super-limited edition screen prints in order to resell them.

I bought the Drive print, but there was something else that I wasn’t expecting. Mondo released another, surprise Jurassic Park print by an artist that Mikaela really loves (and so do I) named Daniel Danger. Daniel did the Crimson Peak piece that I picked up a couple of years ago, as well as The Shape of Water print that I’d be trying to pick up later in the day. This Jurassic Park print was just as gorgeous, was super limited to 125 pieces, and was signed as well. I wasn’t going to buy it, until the employee at Mondo confirmed that it was in fact Daniel Danger, and was so freaking limited. Mikaela was at work, so she was unable to talk me out of it, so I picked that one up as well.

Every time I buy something, I freak out about spending money irresponsibly and Mikaela has to talk me off a ledge, and this time was no different. She’s really a saint for putting up with my bullshit for this long.

Following my purchase, I carefully returned the prints to the Geekscape booth, which was terrifying as the show floor opened, was flooded, and the prints were loose and would have been so easy to damage. Matt put them aside, and I went on a hunt to find some appropriate poster tubes and after what seemed like forever I managed to find some. I returned to the Geekscape booth, rolled the prints, and set off again. During my travels, I found the creepy as fuck tooth kid from the criminally underrated Channel Zero, Deadpool’s hilarious animatronic band, some classic protesters (and hilarious parody protesters), and more!

While I was on the floor, Shane attended an Aquabats concert (and band that I’d never heard of until I met him, and a band that I’m pretty sure nobody in Canada knows about), and he looked so incredibly happy it the photos that he shared. Seeing a smile that big, and the genuine on his face absolutely warmed my heart. After missing last year’s event, I’m glad he looks like he’s having such a great time.

Courtney and I grabbed a quick bite (and a couple of beverages) at the Wired Cafe before I returned to the convention centre for the Expanding Sea of Thieves panel. There was a huge line for this, far longer than I would have anticipated, and I was pretty worried that I wasn’t going to get in. I actually think the line was cut off just a few people after me, so I really lucked out, as the panel was interesting as hell for fans of the game. The panel opened with an epic new video of the upcoming skeleton crews, which showed them preparing for battle, and showed the ship diving under the ocean before the Cursed Sails splash appears. The crew then celebrated the myriad of Pirate Legends that were present in the room (a lot of them somehow had t-shirts with their GamerTags on their backs), before diving into the comic book and novel that are in the works. The novel is called Athena’s Fortune, and will be about some of the first pirates’ journey to the Sea of Thieves. The team noted that there are also references to some real players in the book, and that this is really the start of an expanded universe that will soon be referenced in the game.

I’ll hopefully have a dedicated article up about this panel in the next few days, but watching this team so passionately talk about the game and their plans for its future made me so excited to be a player. I’ve loved this world since the very first time that I played the beta, and I cannot wait to see what it evolves into. The crew even gave out some time-limited Perfect Dark inspired DLC, which I was not expecting, but which I cannot wait to see in game. Amazing.

Following this panel, I essentially ran back to Mondo to join the giant line for Daniel Danger’s The Shape of Water print that was set to drop at 3PM. The line was pretty long (and was capped immediately after I got in it), but after about an hour it was my turn to pick up the print. Mikaela talked me off the ledge again, and I simply cannot wait to put this beautiful art up on our walls.

I brought the prints back to the hotel, and then it was time for another amazing event. I’d been invited to a wine-tasting event in celebration of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Emmy-nominated series StarTalk. Shane and Courtney were coming with me, and Shane decided that as it was a ‘wine tasting’, people would be dressed up, and that we should do the same. Shane put on the second bold suit that I’d seen him wear this week, and I brought nothing like that, but put on jeans and a button-up. We very warmly walked the numerous blocks to the event’s location, took the elevator up to the rooftop bar, and very quickly realized that everyone else was wearing shorts and t-shirts. Damnit, Shane.

The event itself was awesome. There was delicious food, bourbon, wine, and beer available. Once the sun dropped below some nearby buildings things cooled off immensely, and it was also one of the only parties that I’d been to this week that was not PACKED (the invitation said intimate, and I really appreciate how chill it was), and the only event where the music was at a volume appropriate enough to still have a conversation. It was great to be at an event with these friends that I don’t see very often and actually be able to speak, instead of just look at each other (or nod like you heard what they said). Neal seemed like a super nice guy, and was happy to chat with attendees and to take photos. There was an adorable lady there that looked as though she was going to cry the entire time that she was in Neal’s presence, and I’m super glad they were able to spend some time together. I also saw WWE’s Cathy Kelly there, which was pretty rad as I’m a big fan of her onscreen presence. We watched Neal play a giant game of Jenga with a Nat Geo (which airs StarTalk) exec, which was pretty impressive as the game went on as long as it possibly could, with Neal finally losing in the end. A huge thanks to National Geographic for hosting this super memorable event!

Following the wine tasting, Courtney, Shane, Matt, and I went to Panda Express at the Horton Plaza. We made it just in time to order before they closed, and while it was slim pickins’ in terms of food choices, they still had their to die for orange chicken. I was so wonderful that Matt had two orders of it.

There was a memorial toast planned for Jon Schnepp at the Grand Hyatt, so we all made a stop there to check things out. Shortly after, video came from Hall H showing Kevin Smith’s moment of silence / tribute to Jon, which was super touching. Schnepp was always a huge part of Comic-Con (I feel like especially for Geekscape, as Jon’s booth has been right beside ours for years), and its awesome for someone like Smith to use their limited panel time to remember that he’s been lost.

Gui has been trying to get me to go to some country music bar for what seems like hours at this point, so I’m not sure if I’ll end up there, or end up just falling asleep, but it’s absolutely crazy to think that when I wake up tomorrow, this will essentially be over for another year.

Tomorrow is likely to be a very relaxed day of walking the floor before packing up after the show closes, so I’m not completely sure if another recap will be necessary. In any case, if you’ve come this far, I truly thank you for reading along. I began writing these pieces as a means to remember what I’d seen, heard, attended, and accomplished at these events, and it turns out that some people like reading what I’ve been up to as well!

So, if tomorrow is interesting, I’ll see you then, and if not… we’ll see you at PAX West next month!

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long-Winded SDCC Recap – Friday

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 20, 2018

Read pre-convention and preview night here.
Read my Thursday recap here.

What a freaking day.

Just when I thought I that things could not possibly be as cool today as they were yesterday (I’m still reeling about the WWE stuff at PetCo Park), this morning began with three awesome back to back offsite events.

The day began fairly early, as I had to be at the Amazon Fire TV to the Future offsite event for an 8AM start time. The event showed off all of the neat things that you could do with the FireTV product line (including the new FireTV Cube, which also acts as a smart-home hub). A lot of people seemed super impressed with the smart-home stuff, but as someone who has been using Philips Hue lights and an Alexa-enabled TV for some time, the Cube seemed a little slow to respond at times (I think it’s likely due to networking issues more than anything, seeings as this was as temporary building.

Employees demonstrated Dolby Atmos via a Vizio sound bar (Mikaela, I’m sorry but we need a new soundbar), showing off the newest trailer for Jack Ryan which premieres on Amazon Prime on August 31st and looks freaking awesome. I also feel like this thing has been in the works for freaking ever, as I’m pretty sure that there were buildings covered in Jack Ryan shit last year.

There were a number of photo ops throughout the exhibit as well, including Game of Thrones (the iron throne, of course), The Good Place, Westworld, Jack Ryan, and more, as well as a few neat installations like a ‘Backyard Cinema Club’, a giant overgrown remote that looked like something out of The Last of Us, and an area with themed cocktails.

It was fun, and it was air conditioned (which is pretty rare for some of these offsite events, and it was much. It’s also a little off the beaten path, so from what I’ve seen the line hasn’t even been that crazy. It’s open through Sunday, so you should probably check it out.

Next up was one of the events that I was most excited for coming into this week. Last year’s Mr. Mercedes sponsored Wired Cafe was the first I’d heard of the title (in book or television form), and I absolutely loved the series when I eventually watched it (and by watched I mean binged super quickly). I was lucky enough to see the fantastic first two episodes of the second season before I left for California last week, and I was beyond ready to see what AT&T and the Audience Network had in store for attendees.

The entire offsite was fantastic. There were rebuilds of some of the sets (including Brady’s coma room, Brady’s lair, Supreme Electronics, and more), a VR escape room that had you locked in Brady’s lair searching for clues before a bomb goes off (with Brady’s creepy, computerize voice talking in your ear the whole time and creeping the shit out of you). There was also a neat augmented reality application that you could download in order to partake in a scavenger hunt around the exhibit. You could find clues that would unlock dialog between Bill and Brady, and it was a super fun way to make the offsite more interactive. There was even a cool photo op that morphed you into the show’s poster – they even print it into one of those cool 3D lenticular things that were popular in the 90’s.

Attendees could also find physical clues throughout the exhibit that would earn them stamps, and at the end of the event you’d get some swag based on how many stamps you earned, ranging from pins to bags to some sweet San Diego exclusive t-shirts.

I was also there at the perfect time. As I was coming back up from Brady’s lair, the PR organizer let me know that some of the cast and crew was coming through if I wanted to check things out. I ended up grabbing a photo with Justine Lupe and director Jack Bender, and even had a (very brief) change to chat with Bender about Lost (which was mostly me telling him that his episodes are my very favourite episodes of TV).

https://instagram.com/p/Ble4–uh7WQ/

Look for my dedicated article about the in the next couple of days, but you should definitely be getting in line for this one (and yes, I realize that I’m just telling you to get in line for everything – it turns out that shit is cool at Comic-Con, okay?)

Following Mr. Mercedes, I walked just down the block again to the Purge City offsite (super convenient placement). I was inexpressibly excited to see this activation, simply because it looked fucking hilarious, and the premise is amazing. There’s a ten-episode The Purge TV series set to hit USA Network in September, and this was a fantastic way to advertise. Purge City has to be the most immersive offsite that I’ve been to in years, as every single actor in the venue was in full character 100% of the time. They often had creepy smiles, and were constantly asking patrons what they were doing for the Purge. When asked, I noted that I was from Canada so I wasn’t used to purging, and the employees were happy to offer suggestions.

Upon entry, you’re given 20 ‘Purge Bucks’ to spend on whatever you want. There are shirts available for 15 Purge Bucks, hats for 12, temporary tattoos, candles, energy drinks, and even more. You can grab a basket and fill up! I picked up a t-shirt, a replica of the 28th amendment to the constitution (which is when the purge was added), and a greeting card that said ‘Live, Laugh, Purge’ on it. This totalled 20 Purge Bucks, and I also received a helium balloon and a reusable ‘Purge City’ bag upon checkout.

I spent a long time in Purge City absorbing as much as I possibly could. Every single piece of merchendise (whether actually for sale or for display only) was totally believable, and so freaking well done. I also had a chance to spend some time in the Purge City ‘demo’ area, which had employees demoing some new products coming out for this year’s Purge.

Be sure to watch this demo of the ‘Purge Day Precision Cake Cutter’:

Take a look at some photos from Purge City below, and be on the lookout for even more in the next day or two. For SDCC attendees, Purge City is open tomorrow from 11AM to 7PM, and on Sunday from 11AM-4PM.

I packed a lot into my morning, and decided to keep things mostly relaxed for the rest of the day. I met up with Courtney and Shane at the Wired Cafe for a quick drink (thanks again, Wired) and to watch the rest of the vultures scramble for the donuts, sandwiches, and sliders that were coming out regularly.

We also saw our first protesters today, and Courtney got really mad at the one that said “Vaccines Cause Autism”. There are always some parody protesters as well though, which is always pretty hilarious.

Finally, I hit the show floor. Naturally, I b-lined it directly to the Mondo booth. Matt asked me to grab the Die Hard print for a friend of his (and then somehow did not know how big or expensive prints can be), and the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom prints were also still in stock. I wandered around for a bit and tried to call Mikaela multiple times so that she could talk me out of buying things, but she didn’t pick up… so I bought the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Mondo print. I also scoped out a sweet Sea of Thieves shirt and replica coin that I haven’t bit the bullet on quite yet (but there are still two more days to do so). Next up, I went to the ABC booth to look for some Golden Girls items for Mikaela, and then I doubled back to Factory Entertainment to pick up the exclusive die-cast S.S. Georgie replica and an exclusive Goonies bottle opener (which was my second choice after seeing that the Jurassic Park raptor claw bottle opener was sold out). At checkout, when asked if I needed anything else, I joked “Not unless you have any more of those Jurassic Park bottle openers left,” to which they said “Actually we just found one.”

Safe to say, I bought it. I actually meant to grab it instead of the Goonies one, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding and somehow I ended up with both. Then Mikaela had to talk me off the ledge because I was freaking out about how much money I’d spent. She’s lovely and I don’t know what I would do without her.

I took a quick walk over to the Castle Rock exhibit, which had about a 120 minute line that I didn’t feel like standing in. I’m still super impressed with that house they built, and the car (and creepy kid) in the water make more some great photo ops. There were some Hulu representatives in the area giving out neat lightning/micro-USB powered fans (it’s hot out) in exchange for doing a survey about how you used Hulu. I said “I’m from Canada,” and they just said “Sorry,” and handed me the fan.

Shane, Courtney, and I grabbed some food – this was at like 5:30, and I’d intended to grab something small so I could eat with Matt at 8:30, but by the time we’d found something that didn’t have a super long wait it was after 7:00. I had delicious nachos.

At this point in the day, I’d been out and about for its entirety and I needed to get to work. We made a quick stop at the PetCo Interactive Zone to see Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, and friends ‘Band From TV’ play a few songs, and then we returned the hotel in order to get writing.

Writing was tough, but for good reasons. The room was full of dudes – Jonathan, Gui, Shane, and Matt were all in the room, and over the course of the night I learned that there were like 15 Puppet Master movies, that Shane didn’t know that Mamma Mia was based on the music of Abba, and a bunch of other shit.

But here we are. Today was a fun as hell, and then very odd day – of course I knew that things with Jon Schnepp were bad, but I hadn’t been online in hours and I only learned of his death from Geekscape Alumni Eric Diaz. I’d only met Jon a few times, but I truly enjoyed the conversations that we’d had over the years, and watching him and Jonathan talk about things at a way deeper level than I could ever hope to understand was always fascinating. Schnepp had the SDCC booth next to ours for the past few years, and it’s super weird and very sad to look at that booth and not see him. I cannot imagine the heartbreak that his partner Holly and his family are feeling right now. A ‘Get Better Jon Schnepp’ fund was set up last week, and is still ongoing at this time to help cover his medical expenses.

That’s Friday. Thanks so much for reading this far, and look for more tomorrow.

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long-Winded SDCC Recap – Thursday

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

Read pre-convention and preview night here.

Today started off a bit rough.

Naturally, it’s the first full day of the convention, there are new volunteers all over the place, and it’s one of the busiest events in North America, let alone San Diego.

This morning I was in a bit of a rush, as the panel that I’d wanted to see more than any other (the WWE/Mattel fan panel, naturally) was set to begin at 11:15am. Last year there were several panels prior to this one, so after each panel a myriad of people would leave, and I would creep up to get a better seat. This year there was just one panel before, so I needed to get there quickly.

But that didn’t exactly work out.

The San Diego Convention Centre is huge There are doorways (8 doors wide) marked A-G, and then a separate entrance for the ~6000+ seat Hall H (which holds the biggest announcements, and which people began lining up for on Tuesday). The auditorium was set to open at 9am (though was always advertised for 9:30), and in trying to find where to line up at 8:45, I started at G, was told to go to A, who told me to go to C, who told me to go to F, who told me to go back to G where I (and eventually thousands upon thousands of other people) gathered (likely after going through the same runaround that I did.

Then 9AM came and went. Then 9:30 came and went and it was hot as hell and there was absolutely no shade and everyone was shoulder to shoulder so it felt like forever. At 9:40 an employee came out and told us that the doors next to the ones we were gathered at would be the ones to open first and people started freaking out. Screaming, yelling, swearing around little kids, probably some crying, wailing out “You’re killing us,” the works, really. Sure, it was annoying (and warm… so warm), but turning into a freaking baby was not at all appropriate.

Eventually I made it into the convention centre, and still made it into the room where the WWE panel would be held with time to spare. I grabbed a single seat in the front row, albeit at a super extreme angle, hoping that after the first panel finished I’d be able to move in a bit more central.

The first panel was about kids who do voiceover work, and included talent such as Zach Gallison, Kristen Li, Layla Hayes, Justin Felbinger, and Sean-Ryan Petersen reading scripts in character, chatting about who they’d like to work with, and a bunch more.

The panel ended, almost nobody left (I managed to move two seats closer to the centre) and after a short time the panel began. Cathy Kelly came out first, followed by two dudes from Mattel (sorry, I don’t remember their names), Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Becky Lynch (who was a surprise), AJ Styles (who was a huge surprise), and Matt Hardy (who was announced for the panel, but who I’d forgotten would be there. The crowd went freaking crazy for nearly everyone.

The panel started with some Mattel announcements, including some amazing new additions to the Elite series of figures and a technology called True FX which is a new inkjet printing process that will launch in 2019, and will add even more detail to the already impressive figures.

they showed off a bunch of new figures (including a Vanguard 1 and Mower of Lawns figure in the Elite series) before taking audience questions. Many of the questions felt similar to those asked at last year’s panel, and the guy who yelled at the Mattel lady last year about missing figures was back again to yell about the lack of B-Team figures even though the B-Team has only been a thing for like five seconds.

One fan asked the superstars to choose someone who no longer wrestles for WWE that they would fight if they could. One crowd member yelled out “BROCK LESNAR” and all of the superstars laughed really hard. It was a freaking hilarious moment.

After the panel ended, I made a quick pit stop at the Wired Cafe for a bite to eat and something to drink (a huge thanks to Wired for hosting us again this year, and be sure to look for some expanded thoughts on this year’s cafe from Shane in the next day or two) before meeting up with Shane and Courtney for the Shadow of the Tomb Raider offsite event at the Moonshine Flats (344 7th Ave).

This place was bonkers. The bar had been completely transformed into a jungle-like setting, complete with real snakes, tons of foliage, pieces of ancient (I assume) temples, and way way more – there was even a pit of skulls that made for a cool photo op. The most unique part of this offsite however, was the eating challenge. Three volunteers would go to a table that had three covered plates on it, and at the count of three they’d reveal the “exotic” food underneath. On the plate could be a Black Forest Scorpion, a Manchuria Scorpion, a Superworm, a Giant Water Bug (which was regarded as the short straw in this challenge), a Grasshopper, or some Silkworms. If you could eat the entire insect(s) you were able to spin a prize wheel, which could net you a shirt, a year of Xbox Game Pass, a copy of the game when it releases, or raffle tickets that could win you an Xbox One X.

I did the challenge.

I didn’t want to do the challenge, but Shane and Courtney were being little babies, and if we were going to cover this offsite someone had to do it.

Naturally, I drew the short straw, and had to eat a giant water bug. It was freaking disgusting. Super salty. Super dry (though I think I felt a couple of weirdly moist bits in there too). The other two people finished eating their bugs (I’m not even sure what they had) and then they watched me continue chewing for what felt like forever.

Naturally, we got this on video, so look for that in the coming days. For now, these photos will have to do.

I also had an opportunity to play a new demo for Shadow of the Tomb Raider which felt fantastic, and would have had me pre-ordering the game if I hadn’t already done that months ago. Naturally, the mechanics in Tomb Raider are already rock solid, so it’s the plot and atmosphere that are really going to make or break this one – we didn’t see too much story in the demo, but of course the game has an incredible team behind it, so I’m not worried at all.

Once we finished up at the Shadow of the Tomb Raider offsite, it was time to get back to work. We went back to the hotel (I wanted to scoot there but nobody else did), and Shane, Courtney, and I all published some articles before heading out again. You can read about my experience at the DC Universe offsite that I mentioned yesterday right here, and additional thoughts on the LAIKA Live experience right here, and you should probably check out this amazing transit station themed after Stranger Things.

Once we split up, Shane and Courtney went back to the floor to check out the Star Wars: Heroes and Villains clothing line, while I went over to PetCo park to check out the Rocket League third birthday party. Somehow the line was tiny (it didn’t stay like this for long), and I was pretty much able to walk right in. I received a cool (and understated) t-shirt, along with a coupon for a free Salty Shores popcorn and drink. The party was actually right on the field, which was pretty cool and made for a few neat photos. The field had some fantastic real-life licensed cars that have in-game counterparts like Batmobiles, the Jurassic Park Jeep, and the DeLorean. There was a gaming area where you could play Rocket League on Switch or PC against other attendees, and a stage with live DJ (and sometimes Greg Miller). There was an awesome looking weird inflatable soccer game that had quite a lineup, and a ton of people were just chilling on the field absorbing everything that was going on around them.

I knew that WWE Superstar and UpUpDownDown creator Xavier Woods was set to be present at the party, but the event had already been on for an 90 minutes or so when I arrived. It turns out that he and Becky Lynch (who is my favourite female WWE Superstar) were filming an episode of UpUpDownDown on the field. Xavier saw my shirt and called me over (I was wearing my UpUpDownDown shirt) and I made some sort of awkward fool out of myself while he tried to talk to me on camera (sorry Xavier). I was even almost on Xavier and Becky’s team for the inflatable ball soccer thing, but just before this would have happened the WWE decided that they just wanted Becky vs. Xavier. I hung around for a bit longer (which included seeing Xavier face off agains a little kid in Rocket League, and seeing Xavier and Becky dance away at what would be the end of the episode) before heading out to meet up with Shane and Courtney. It was freaking amazing, and it made my convention.

The rest of the night was pretty relaxed. Shane, Courtney, and I decided to hit up a party sponsored by Lions Gate Games for the Power Rangers Legacy Wars. We didn’t end up making it inside however, as the building was at capacity when we arrived and as we didn’t really feel like waiting (though we were pretty close to the front), so we just grabbed some shitty sandwiches at the first place that didn’t have a line, and returned to the hotel to finish up our articles for the day.

Today was great. It’s now been a full day of San Diego Comic-Con… and I still haven’t even hit the show floor yet. Tomorrow I’ll be busy checking out activations for Amazon Fire TV, Mr. Mercedes, The Purge, and more… plus I need to get my hands on some Mondo prints (which I’ve missed out on so far).

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope that you come back for more!

Note – sorry about the weird images. Geekscape is having major issues uploading images currently, so I’m making it work any way that I can!

SDCC 2018: Head To The Upside Down At The Coolest Transit Station Ever

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

Briefly: I love Stranger Things.

Every year at San Diego Comic-Con there’s a ton of cool art, merchandise, cosplay, and more, but I definitely didn’t expect to see this while walking by San Diego’s Convention Centre train/trolley stop.

The entire stop has been converted into a small Stranger Things activation, including the typeface on the signs in the area, and complete with Mind Flayer, missing kid signs, Christmas light alphabet, Dragon’s Lair signage, and more.

Take a look at a few photos from the stop below, and if you want to see things for yourself, just head over to the San Diego Convention Centre train stop!

Sorry again for the imgur links, Geekscape is having some issues uploading images!

SDCC 2018: ‘Sacred Lies’ Brings A Tremendous Off-Site Event & Is A Must See Show

by Shane O'HareJuly 19, 2018

San Diego Comic Con has always been an exclusive events. Badges selling out in minutes, lines lasting hours and the waiting list for booth real estate is upwards of ten years! That doesn’t mean you NEED a badge to have fun in San Diego. The Gaslamp District has tons of crazy stuff going on that doesn’t require convention access!

One of those things events is The Experience located in the Lexus lot at PetCo Park. I was able to check out a few of the offerings this year.

Sacred Lies is an upcoming show on Facebook Watch. It is based on the Brothers Grimm tale The Handless Maiden and the novel Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly. The show is about a handless teen who finds herself in juvenile detention, under the suspicion of know who killed her cult leader.

The Sacred Lies Reverse Escape Room was something I was stoked for the moment I saw the press release. Escape rooms are something that I absolutely adore (Juan Carlos and myself tackled the Black Ops III Escape Room back in 2015).

Getting to the parking lot I was already sweating. Though this year isn’t the hottest SDCC on record, its still a doozy for this thiccc Alaskan Boi. I checked in with the security at the gate and wandered over to the Sacred Lies area. The setup was intriguing. A small ramp led up to a large trailer, about 20 X 10. Fake trees and grass adorned the outside, and all of the staff were wearing flower crowns. I went up to someone to ask where the check in was, and apologized for being late. He said “OH don’t worry, you’re here now. And Charlie is excited to have you. You’re finally home.”. I wasn’t aware of the cult aspect of the show just yet, so when I heard this response I immediately knew I was in for something fun. All of the folks working were dress the same, and talking with a light and airy cadence. Think, well, cult like.

I joined my group going into the escape room. We were told to leave our possessions outside, and leave our past behind us. We walked into the first part of the experience.

We were in a smaller room. It was decorated to look like a campground. A facade of a pull along trailer was on the right hand wall, the back of a pickup on the back and on the left a sign for the campground. I forget the name of the camp, because I was immediately drawn to the highlightd letters on the sign. I was in Inspector Clouseau, ready to solve the case! The actor in the room told us that we were getting ready to go to our new home in the woods, but we had to shed our past experiences. We explained that we were children of “Charlie”, or God, but the prophet who we were to follow told us he likes being called “Charlie”. I was so absolutely hooked! We were to find four objects of our past, and leave them in the back of the pickup. There were shapes painted in red on the bed of the truck, so we knew what we were looking for, basically. Our guide handed us a hint sheet and we began.

Noticing the highlighted letters on the sign, looked for the hint that relating to those. The hint was something along the lines of “Follow the signs to salvation and embrace nature”. The few highlighted letters on the wooden campground sign, when rearranged spelled the word PLANT. I looked down and saw a few bushes buried in dirt and wood chips. After spending a minute or two digging through dirt, I realized this wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I got up and noticed two of my team had found the first item, a few tambourines. I went over to the camper facade and found a lockbox with an alpha numeric padlock on it. Twisting the sliders around, I spelled out the word PLANT. KA-CHUNK, the lock opened. Inside was a small jewelry box, that matched exactly a shape on the pickup bed. We were only one object away from finishing. We saw a small key stuck behind the window of the camper, with only a small opening at the top. I said we probably had to find a hook or a fishing pole to get the key out. Hidden in the corner were some PVC pipes with magnets attached to them via a string. We quickly snagged the key and unlocked a box on the floor. The last item, which escapes me at the moment, was freed and placed on the truck!

At this point I thought we were done, but the wall opened up behind us. Our guide, still talking in his lilting cult voice, said we were now on our way to the woods! Our final home. The next room had five trees, each with a picture of a cult member on them; actors from the show. Luggage, trunks and cases were thrown about the “forest” floor. We were told that we had to “get to know” our fellow family members. We started opening things. Inside the trunk in the corner, under the lid, were the same pictures as on the trees. Inside the trunk were a bunch of items, with evidence tags attached. Then we started to notice that almost everything had an evidence tag attached to it. Someone found a UV flashlight. I picked up an axe, and noticed a smudge on the tag. I shouted for the light, and sure enough there was a bright dot painted in UV light on the tag. I told my partner with the light to shine it on the pictures nailed to the trees. All of them had a different number of UV dots. The next part was easy, just match the evidence tags with the faces on the trees, and put the tags on the hooks in the trunk.

Our mission was finished, and we were told that we were ready for Charlie’s blessing. We grabbed flower crowns, and held hands around a fountain. We were instructed to follow along. CHARLIE PROTECT US! CHARLIE PROTECT US! CHARLIES PROTECT US! All the lights went out, and then red lights turned on. Our guide said that one of us was lying, and that we were keeping parts of our past behind. A large TV turned on behind our guide, and we saw a clip from the show. One of the faces from the photos on the trees, who I now assumed to be the cult leader, was standing at a fire. Shouting about absolving someone of their sins. He threw a large green book into the fire and the flames changed a bright green. A few men were bringing out a teenage girl to the fire. The cult leader explained that they were doing these things for her own good, and that Charlie was going to forgive her. He turned to another man and said “Here are your Cinderella slippers”. The second man had a pair of metal shoes that he placed in the fire. Once they were red hot, the men holding the teenage girl placed her feet in them. This scene made me feel extremely uncomfortable, but instantly engrossed in the show. I am super stoked to get into Sacred Lies when it comes out.

The TV turned off, and our guide said that we were to perform a cleansing ritual to save ourselves, and opened a cabinet with full of tools. This is where I have to applaud the actor. He played his part amazingly well. He opened the cabinet and just stared. No guidance. No hints. It was super creepy and definitely added to the whole experience.

The fountain we were chanting around had a mantle with four coins in it, with the space for a fifth one. Which was missing. In the cabinet there were a few mason jars full of water. I looked down at the fountain and saw that the drain was just the same size as the coins. “Pour the water down the drain and a coin will float to the top.”. Sure enough, when one of the group dumped the jar, the missing coin popped up. One of the group asked if I had done this before and I just said “Naw, played a lot of adventure games as a kid!”.

We were done! We were out and apart of the family. The actors greeted us and told us we were welcome.

Sacred Lies at the experience at SDCC was absolutely incredible. It was advertised as a reverse escape room, and once it was all over I finally figured out what they meant .We were not escaping FROM the cult, but joining them.

Sacred Lies premieres, Friday, July 27 on Facebook Watch. New episodes will be available every Friday at 9pm ET/6pm PT on the Sacred Lies show page www.facebook.com/sacredliesshow

SDCC 2018: The DC Universe Offsite Event Turns The Upcoming App Into A Physical Wonder!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

I’ve been waiting for DC Universe for years.

I absolutely fell in love with Marvel Unlimited when it launched all those years ago. The app quickly a one-stop shop for essentially every Marvel book that’s more than six months old, and for someone who is almost always behind on comics, the service itself was also an unbeatable value.

Because of my Marvel-focussed childhood and my early acceptance of Marvel Unlimited, I’m way more familiar with Marvel properties than I am of DC. I dabbled in New 52 for a year or so after it started, but as with most things, I fell behind.

That’s why I was so excited when DC revealed their upcoming DC Universe service, which sounds like it will quickly leapfrog Marvel Unlimited in terms of content, as it will include not only comics, but movies, tv series, and even a myriad of original content – like the upcoming live action series Titans, which had costumes on display, and even has a trailer out now.

I had an opportunity to check out the DC Universe offsite activation last night before it opened to the public, and it’s an absolutely spectacular event. The staff (and Jim Lee) noted that the event is meant to be a physical representation of what the service will offer, and I think that this is a brilliant way to kick off this service.

The event had a variety of different experiences available, including the “Harley Quinn Chaos Room” which had you suited up in protective gear and smashing stuff in an Arkham Asylum cell (so much fun), a small and creepy “Swamp Thing” walkthrough (I heard a lot of screams from the end of this one), a Doom Patrol lab that gave you “test tube cocktails” and neat, smoking popcorn, along with superhero photo ops and more.

Here’s the Arkham Asylum guard yelling before we went into the Chaos Room:

And another attendee in the Chaos Room:

And a very very dark run through the Swamp thing walkabout:

And some shots of Chief’s Lab:

Some of the coolest things around though, were the amazing props and concept art that DC had on display – this included the Batmissile, Mr. Freeze’ Freeze Ray, the Penguin’s Rubber Duck, and way way more.

Naturally, the app itself was also available in beta form. It felt smooth as hell, the comics were high res, and it was as snappy as you’d expect the finished product to be. The app is expected to launch in beta form in just a few weeks, with a wide release to come this fall. Sadly, no representative could tell me when the service might hit Canada, and I expect that it could be some time with TV and movie rights in play.

I had an amazing time at the event, and it’s another one of those offsite that should be more than worth your wait in line. Take a look at a few more of my photos from the event below, and let us know what you think! The DC Universe event is open through Sunday at the Hilton Gaslamp!

SDCC 2018: The LAIKA Live Offsite Event Is Literally Heaven

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

While I touched on it during my Preview Night recap, LAIKA Live was way, waaaaaay too cool of an event not to dedicate its own post to.

Seriously, this is one of the best offsite events that I’ve been to in years, if not ever, so if you find yourself in the Gaslamp area of San Diego this week, the event is more than worth the likely multi-hour wait time.

LAIKA Live is at 350 5th Ave, with hours as follows:

Friday, 7/13: 2-10pm
Saturday, 7/14: 2-10pm
Sunday, 7/15: 11am-5pm
Monday, 7/16: 12-5pm
Tuesday, 7/17: 12-5pm
Wednesday, 7/18: 12-5pm
Thursday, 7/19: 10am-10pm
Friday, 7/20: 10am-11pm
Saturday, 7/21: LAIKA store opens at 10am; exhibit: 2:00pm-11pm
Sunday, 7/22: 10am-6pm

Natalie wrote about her experience at the event last year, and this year the offsite is over three times the size – this means that even if you went last year, there’s a bunch of new stuff to see, including a giant, huggable Mr. Link from Laika’s upcoming, adorable feature Missing Link.

LAIKA also has a ton of awesome new merchandise available, and will even have a merchandise-only line in case you just want to pick up some sweet wares.

Shane, Courtney, and I were all lucky enough to attend a private showcase of the exhibit which included some nice drinks and tasty treats (many of which were themed after LAIKA properties, and there were even cupcakes that had the silhouettes of LAIKA character hair on top, which amazed me for some reason).

LAIKA employees were present to chat about the almost lost art of stop motion animation, and to show off just how some of the character animations work. One of the employees sounded super excited about the advancements that things like 3D printing bring to the art of stop-motion, and noted that they’ve made some huge developments with the character models of Missing Link. There’s some new technology that allows the characters to actually breathe, which I cannot wait to see in action.

The event featured sets from films like Coraline and The Boxtrolls, had a life-sized Other Mother’s living room that made for a wonderful photo-op, a “puppet-hospital”, amazing concept art, and so freaking much more. Teri Hatcher, the Other Mother herself, even showed up to kick-off the event, and to help celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary of Coraline (has it been that long already?).

I love LAIKA films, and I was in absolute heaven at this event. Both Courtney and Shane commented on the look of child-like wonder that was on my face the entire time we were there, and it was so hard not to buy up every amazing item in the store. After seeing just how incredible Mr. Link looked in person, I don’t know that there’s a film that I’m looking forward to more than Missing Link at this point.

Take a look at a few of the (unedited, SDCC is busy, okay) photos that I took at the event, and if you’re in San Diego, I implore you to head over to LAIKA Live.

A huge thanks to LAIKA for hosting us!

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long-Winded SDCC Recap – Pre Convention And Preview Night

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 19, 2018

…And we’re back.

How has it been a year already since SDCC 2017? It’s absolutely flown by – and speaking of flying, I’m currently sitting at gate E90 at the Vancouver International Airport awaiting my slightly delayed 6AM flight to Los Angeles.

I’m super excited.

Last year I had only been at my current vocation for half a year or so, and as such I hadn’t actually earned enough vacation time to take as long a trip to California as I typically do. If you read last year’s recaps (check them out here if you haven’t and if you want to read a lot of words) you may remember that I arrived at the San Diego airport just before midnight on the Tuesday night, and had to leave the convention on the Sunday morning, long before it was over. Everything happened at what felt like the speed of light, and before I knew it I was taking a Lyft back to the airport.

I had a great time last year, but I’m super happy to be getting a couple of convention-less days with some of my Geekscape family this time around.

Last year I wrote a lot. Before finally turning in each night I published a huge recap of everything that I did, saw, ate, drank, thought, and avoided every day of my visit. I wasn’t sure if I’d do something similar this year, as those pieces were a lot of work, and I didn’t know how interesting they actually were.

In retrospect, I think that people were actually into them. I received a bunch of feedback from friends, family, and people I didn’t know telling me just how much they enjoyed reading each piece, and the interesting perspective that the journals gave to a non-attendee (or even the different perspective that they gave to a standard attendee). I’ve actually had more people come up and talk to me about these pieces than any interview, video, or review that I’ve posted over my near seven years with Geekscape.

A few days ago, in preparation for this trip and to help to try to figure out just what the hell I wanted to put together this year, I read through all of last year’s journals. I really enjoyed reading back on last year’s experiences (and imagine I will be especially grateful that I wrote them when I try to look back even a few years from now), and reading back on the convention made me realize a few important things:

A). Grammar disappears and writing becomes nonsensical when you’re trying to finish a piece at 1AM.
B). Even just a year later, an event like SDCC is such a sensory overload that you pretty much forget everything. I’m super happy that I wrote out my experience – in reading back I had more than a few “oh, right” moments that made me smile and reminisce. I appreciated seeing everything put together in a sort of timeline, rather than just a mass jumble of photos.
C). Remembering the way that I felt last year, I feel like I’m mentally in a better place today than I was then. That’s not to say that I’m in a great (or even good) place today, but I feel at least slightly better than I did then. Phew.
D). I am stagnant. I mean, I was stagnant this time last year, but at this point if I were water, I think I’d be water that has been standing so long that it basically kills you if you go near it. Last year, I wrote of goals and ways that I thought I could better myself, or things that I’d wanted to try based on my experience in San Diego, and… I’ve done none of it. I didn’t start meditating, I didn’t lose weight, I didn’t get a cool new job. Nothing. Reading back made me feel full of shit and, and it really opened my eyes (they really should have been open already) – I need to stop talking about being better, and simply start being better.

In saying that, I want to set a public goal (making it public will make it happen, that’s how this works, right?). I’m going to lose 70 pounds by next SDCC.

But first I’m going to land in California, eat In N’ Out, Panda Express, alternate varieties of Doritos Locos Tacos (we only have the standard in Canada), and simply burn the candle at both ends for ten days or so (a candle burned at both ends burns twice as bright, right?).

Matt and I have been waiting for Panda Express for some time now.

So, here we go again. Based on feedback, reflection, and… a lack of creativity (?), just like last year I’ll be posting a daily recap/journal of my experience at San Diego Comic-Con. The piece you’re reading now will be a recap of my time in California before heading to San Diego, but after this you can expect a daily write up full of convention goodness. I’m hoping to keep the pieces a little shorter and a lot more concise than they were last year, but based on the current word count of this very first recap, I’m not promising anything.

I really don’t get the hot towel benefit that first class gets on flights. It’s not even 7AM and it’s like 25 degrees (Celcius) outside. It’s warm in this cabin, so please put a hot towel on my face that’ll definitely help. I have no idea why this happens. But then again I’ve never been a first-class citizen, so maybe I just don’t have the brain capacity to understand.

Continuing the trend (second year in a row now) of heading down to California with some sort of ailment, I was an absolute idiot and didn’t apply an appropriate amount of sunscreen (or remember to re-apply it) when two days ago I spent several hours in the sun watching the Vans Park Series (skateboarding competition) preliminaries at Hastings Skatepark in Vancouver (man, do I want to start skating again each time I see events like this). My forehead is red (and hurts), my knees hurt (and hurt really badly when I towelled them off this morning), and my arms are pretty red as well. That said, I would take this any day (or every day) over last year’s infected tooth debacle. I’m getting chills just thinking about that one. I even felt a tiny bit of pain in my mouth as I woke up this morning, which reminds me that I’m due for another cleaning and checkup when I get back to Vancouver.

Flight wise, I lucked out (aside from that slight delay) and had nobody beside me on my YVR to LAX journey. Security was painless to get through (you pretty much just tell the TSA agent that you’re going to a comic book convention, they look at you in disgust (fuckin’ nerd), and let you through without another question. Instead of napping, I used my time in the air to start writing this recap, read a few comics (x, x, and x) , watched a little Netflix (x), and before I knew it the plane was landing. After stuffing my carry-on to the verge of explosion last year (even after leaving a few unneeded items with others in San Diego), I decided it best to check a larger bag this year, so I waited around for that before reuniting with Jonathan.

What was the first thing we did? Chiller Club reunion, obviously.

Following Chiller Club, we dropped our things off at Jonathan’s, caught up a bit, and drove to a nearby AC-equipped bougie as shit Starbucks to drink more coffee and get a little bit of work done.

Then it was ‘wrasslin time. WWE’s Extreme Rules PPV started at 4PM, so Matt Kelly found his way back to Jonathan’s place and we sat in the heat for hours to watch the whole thing. Old friend Zack Haddad joined, and aside from a few shitty, why-did-this-happen matches, and the whole thing not being that extreme aside from its title, the PPV overall was an enjoyable one (also I hope Kevin Owens is okay). Also, I think that time moves more slowly in heat like this as, while it wasn’t that long, Extreme Rules felt like it took absolutely forever.

Before turning in for the night, it was time for some food. At this point in my journey, I hadn’t had any In-N-Out yet, so we drove to a nearby location and quickly realized that it just wasn’t going to happen. The drive-thru line was nearly a block long, and the small parking lot was completely full.

Instead, we ended up at some “world famous” place that I’d never heard of until this trip: Tommy’s World Famous Hamburgers. It was a burger place (naturally) that has a love for chilli, which it puts on almost everything, I had a burger with chilli on it (for the first time ever) and some chilli cheese fries (also for the first time ever), and it was fucking delicious. Why have I never thought to put chilli on shit before? Seriously.

That was it for the night! We turned in pretty quickly so we could get an early start on Monday morning.

Monday

I don’t know if its the sunburn or what, but while the temperature in Los Angeles right now is similar to that of Vancouver, it feels fucking hot, and as such the cold shower that I had this morning felt like it might just be the best part of this entire trip (not really).

Matt and I went for breakfast at Cafe 101, which is apparently super famous and has been in a ton of movies. The locale definitely looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure out just where I’d seen it before. The conversation was good, the bacon was super tasty, and the coffee woke me the hell up. Thank goodness.

A ton of exclusives news has been dropping this morning. I always get really excited for what Mondo has to show off at their booth because each and every piece that they do is incredibly beautiful, and being able to pick pieces up at the convention saves me a ton of money on shipping and duty. Prior to my flight to Los Angeles, the only revealed piece that I was really hankering for was the Daniel Danger piece for The Shape Of Water. I loved the film, and have the convention exclusive Daniel Danger Crimson Peak piece from a couple of years back, and I think they would look gorgeous beside each other.

Today, the company revealed some incredible art for Drive, Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. I’m going to lose any self control I thought that I had…

Yep. I’m screwed.

After breakfast we went back to Jon’s for a bit before Matt took off to meet up with some old friends. I had some emails to respond to, and Jon was still working on the Geekscape / Dweeb Darlings press release to announce our upcoming SDCC ConQuest Scavenger hunt. We did some running around (I even met a new canine friend at Lodger) before finally sending out the release (after learning that our standard Geekscape email accounts could not be used to send mass emails, of course).

Things were pretty relaxed here for the rest of the day. We went to a giant theatre to see the BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER OF THE SUMMER, Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper. The first thing that I noticed is that the actual auditorium for this screening was tiny compared to what I’m used to in Vancouver – maybe 60 or so seats. Also, Movie Pass is fucking insane, and people who complain about it are just freaking wrong. Give me that shit at whatever price you want and I will pay it happily.

The movie itself was fucking awesome. It was dumb as hell, with some fantastic action, some terrible villains, tons of quotable one-liners, and an amputee The Rock who is somehow still more bad-ass than anyone with all of their limbs. It was a fabulous time, and I’m super glad that we’d decided to see something like that instead of something more serious. It was really a perfect way to kick-off what’s about to be an insane and exhausting week.

Following the movie, we walked over to a nearby In-N-Out burger so that I could finally fill myself with that sweet, fattening, never-frozen never-microwaved burger goodness. Before we ordered, Matt said “Ah man, you better go first. I don’t know what I want,” and I replied by noting “What the hell are you talking about, they have like three options!?” Matt went first, and it wasn’t that hard.

We returned to Jonathan’s, and spent the rest of the night recording a pre-SDCC episode of Geekscape that largely turned into a roast of Matt Kelly and a chat about just how awesome Skyscraper was. You can listen to the episode below, but be warned that there are some spoilers on the ROCK-solid plot of the film.

Following the recording, we crashed hard and turned in just before midnight…

Tuesday

Matt and I left Jon’s apartment at 8am as Matt had to return his rental car before we hopped on an AMTRAK to San Diego. The drop-off was right at the station, which was nice (although it ended up being confusing as hell and we had to drive around the station several times before we found an employee that could actually give us directions to a completely un-signed area underground where the car could actually be returned), and Matt handed his keys to some dude without a uniform who just said “Yo you can give those keys to me.” I was pretty sure that this guy just stole the car, but Matt received a “Thank you for returning your rental” email a half-hour or so later.

We grabbed a quick Starbucks coffee and breakfast sandwich (thank Xenu for cheap food) before jumping on the train. Matt immediately started talking up everyone around us, and I was again envious of his crazy ability to find common ground with everyone. Within three minutes of sitting down he was telling people about the SDCC booth, the Geekscape Podcast Network, and had a business card from some local stand up comedian.

The ride itself was pretty chill and was my first time on a several-hour train ride that wasn’t bursting-at-the-seams crowded (which was just taking me to work, as well). It featured seats, wifi (which actually works pretty well, unlike the wifi on BC Ferries), air conditioning, and a table that I could put my iPad on so I could keep working. 10/10 would train again.

It wasn’t the prettiest view, but it was still a cool time.

From the San Diego station, we walked over to our hotel at the Hilton Bayfront (right beside the convention centre, aw yiss), checked in (where Matt Kelly got some weird story from a girl named Kelli that used to be Kelly), turned the air conditioning to the lowest that it could possibly go to, and then went to meet Jonathan and Heidi at ROCKIN’ FUCKING BAHA.

I had mango salsa, it was phenomenal. I also ordered a beer and didn’t realize that it would be massive (25oz), and instead of eating the tacos that I normally get a spent like $4 more and had a weird bucket that included lobster, steak, shrimp, chicken, and corn on the cob. Fucking delicious.

I can’t wait for more mango salsa.

We all made our way back to the hotel, and Jonathan quickly passed out for a super loud nap. By this time, Courtney had arrived at the airport, dropped her stuff off at her home for the week, and was waiting in the lobby of the Hilton Bayfront. I went down to the lobby instead of subjecting her to Jonathan’s snoring, and we caught up for a bit before deciding to grab a drink.

Courtney had a Maple Old Fashioned, and I grabbed some sort of Amber Ale that I can’t remember the name of (the waitress even upgraded me to a larger size for free because she couldn’t remember what I ordered). Of course, the very second that Courtney’s tiny drink and my Dwayne-Johnson-in-SKYSCRAPER sized beer arrived, Jonathan texted me to let me know that it was time to set up the booth.

We went into the Convention Centre (it’s pretty freaking cool getting early access to the show floor in order to see everything being built) and put the booth together before shooting a small El Chucho short to kick off the Seed and Spark Crowdfunding Campaign for the Stalking LeVar short film that is about to launch.

Following the booth build, we took things pretty easy for the rest of the night. Jonathan, Heidi, Courtney, Gui, Matt, and I went to Lolita’s Mexican Restaurant near PetCo Park for some food (I was still pretty full, so I just had a couple of small Taquitos and a bunch of water), and following that Matt, Courtney and I decided to go to a grocery store to grab some hotel room supplies before turning in for the night. I grabbed a case of 24 bottles of water (for like $2, instead of the $3.50 the hotel wanted for a single one), some coconut water for when I wake up each morning (to keep me hydrated, obviously), and a few granola bars to throw in my bag so that I eat those instead of spending like $40US on a pretzel.

The day felt so relaxed. The Gaslamp district was empty, we didn’t have to wait for what felt like hours to get food, and nearly all of the incredible-looking offsite events were still being built. Wednesday brings preview night, and press previews for a bunch of events that I’m beyond excited for (like LAIKA Live, which remains one of my most anticipated events of the entire week).

Wednesday

After fighting to fall asleep for what felt like hours (until I finally hopped out of bed to grab some earplugs), I eventually passed out and slept in until about 8am. When I woke up everyone else had already left the room aside from Matt, who had already showered and was watching this week’s RAW beside me.

I showered, had a quick chat with Mikaela, and Matt and I made our way to breakfast. We both had some eggs, bacon, and pancakes before walking over to the FYE Pop-Up at the Horton Plaza (look for photos from the shop right here). I found a rad GLOW shirt that I had every intention of buying, but there was only an L (which was too short) and an XXL (which was far too wide). I asked an employee if they had more in the back, and the guy said that everything they had was on the shelf. I said “So it’s only Wednesday and you have like four Glow shirts left?” and the guy kind of just shrugged and walked away. This was definitely a little disappointing, but the place was filled with cool stuff, and was packed with people to the point where it was hard to take photos of some of the offerings.

Side note – sorry about the IMGUR banners from here on out. Geekscape is having major issues uploading images at this time.

Before heading back to the hotel, we decided to walk a few more blocks to the Castle Rock installation that was still being set up at the Children’s Museum park. The area was pretty fenced off and was still mostly being built, but what we saw at this point was freaking awesome – they build a fucking house first of all, there was a car in the fountain, a creepy figure (Georgie?) and a memorial to Georgie (that was too fenced off to get a good photo of at this point). Amazing. We also saw a Stranger Things train station, but we couldn’t get too close at this point as a local news station had taken over the area.

Somehow I convinced Matt to get on one of these rental motorized scooters that are everywhere in San Diego at this point. I don’t think that these existed at last year’s convention, but it was pretty hard to walk 30 feet without seeing one. We used Lime, and it was so convenient and inexpensive. The scooters are $1 to unlock, and then $.15 per minute after that. You push off to start, and then the handlebars show have a ‘Go’ and ‘Stop’ switch to accelerate or brake. The scooters travel way faster than I expected them to, and they were a fun and fast way to get back to our hotel. I even managed a selfie while riding, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt look so excited in my life.

After arriving back at the hotel, I wrote up my FYE piece before meeting up with Courtney. We chatted for awhile before heading back to the convention centre to pick up my badge (which took a total of like four seconds somehow), and then decided that it was time for lunch at… Rockin’ Baha of course! At this point, I wondered just how many times we would hit up the same restaurant before the week was over.

Next up was the first official event of the week, FutureTechLive! This event is open through Sunday, and is located on the second floor of the Omni Hotel. Here, there were a bunch of VR experiences to try, a neat Overwatch photo op (I definitely lost my balance on this one, as the platform we stood on spun around) that netted you an exclusive Overwatch pin once you completed it, and some Bitcoin and other coin vendors. We played a game called Star Wars Jedi Challenge which was a stand-alone headset, lightsaber, and tracking ball thing, where you fight different Star Wars villains with your lightsaber. It was kind of fun, but felt pretty janky, and the field of view on the headset (which was powered by your phone) was quite poor – you would turn your head naturally in order to see where Darth Maul (or whatever villain you were fighting) was, and all of a sudden everything would go blank. It’s also $200 which feels like a lot for what it is. It felt a little bit like Wii launch title Red Steel, but that game is like ten years old and the Wii did way more for your money. We also played a pretty cool four-player cooperative title that was demonstrating a technology called HoloGate. The game we played was a simple first-person shooter that has the four players shooting easy drones and robots, followed by some larger robots and dragons and stuff. The round lasted about five minutes, and while it was simple I probably had a smile on my face the whole time. The setup was pretty neat, and it was really cool having a system to hold the VR wiring (and to keep it safe) while you moved around in the virtual space. We checked out a couple of other things before it was time for me to head to the Hilton Gaslamp for a preview of the DC Universe offsite event.

There is a lot of incredible stuff at San Diego Comic-Con. The offsite events get more and more elaborate every year, and up to today the coolest activation ever remained the Godzilla Encounter from 2013 (read my coverage of that event right here). It’s freaking Preview Night 2018, and tonight I attended not one, but two events that may have surpassed it.

The first was the aforementioned DC Universe offsite. It’s here to represent the aptly titled DC Universe app and subscription service, which should launch in beta in the next few weeks, and in full this Fall. The service is kind of like Marvel’s long running Marvel Unlimited service for digital comics, except that DC Universe includes not only comics, but DC films, television series, animated features, and even some original content like the upcoming live-action Titans series (the costumes from which were on display at the exhibit) and way way more. DC Legend Jim Lee said that the event itself was meant to act as a sort of physical representation of the DC Universe app, and the location was filled with concept art, real props from the Batman movies (like a giant rubber duck, Mr. Freeze’ freeze ray, and the freakin Batmissile), stations where you could try the app out, food, and way more. Inside the building you could find things like “Harley Quinn’s Chaos Room”, in which you suited up in protective gear, donned a baseball bat, and smashed things for 45 seconds, and there was even a small Swamp Thing activation in which an actor took you through the “swamp” while things jumped out at you. You’ll tap into each experience using an RFID bracelet, and a link will be texted to you so you can see photos, videos, and more of you in each piece of the experience. Pretty cool, and pretty seamless.

The DC Universe offsite is open through Sunday, and is an amazing time. You can look for my full write-up on the event on the site sometime tomorrow, but for now you’ll have to settle for just a few photos that are posted above.

The last stop of the evening was an invitational preview to the LAIKA Live offsite that I first wrote about a few days ago. This event was literally heaven. Life-sized versions of Coraline, the Other Mother, Kubo, Sparky, and Norman wandered around the event taking photos with patrons as they chatted and consumed the wonderful food and drink provided. The food really amazed the hell out of me, as it was all themed after different LAIKA properties, and the cupcakes were even decorated with artwork of the distinct hair of numerous LAIKA characters. This, by the way, was only the entrance of the experience. Once inside, you could stare in absolute amazement at actual sets from Coraline and The Boxtrolls, sit in a life-sized version of the Other Mother’s living room, chat with actual LAIKA animators (where I learned that the now rarely used art of stop motion is still evolving, and in the upcoming LAIKA feature Missing Link, they’ve actually added the ability for the puppets to breathe. The whole thing sounds incredible.

Teri Hatcher, the Other Mother herself even showed up in order to help kick off the event and to help celebrate Coraline‘s tenth anniversary. She even saw a little girl out on the street selling giant suckers for a charity called Child Hunger Sucks, brought the girl inside, and let her tell everyone about what the organization does. Pretty freaking amazing. LAIKA Live is in the old Dick’s Last Resort locale, and is also open through Sunday at 6PM. The offsite even has a ton of amazing merchandise for sale (I need more money), and will even have the store open separately so that you don’t have to wait in line for hours and hours if you just want to buy things. That said, LAIKA Live is worth waiting hours and hours for.

Just like with DC Universe, you can look for more from LAIKA Live right here on Geekscape tomorrow!

Now, however, it’s midnight and I need to crash! Tomorrow kicks off with the Mattel / WWE Panel to mark the first full day of SDCC 2018!

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2018: Go Broke At The Horton Plaza FYE Pop-Up Shop!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 18, 2018

Last year I had an incredible time at Horton Plaza during San Diego Comic-Con.

First up, I had my first taste of Panda Express there. The orange chicken made my life complete, and I can’t wait to head back for another round this year.

FYE had not one, but TWO pop-up shops last year. One had a variety of FYE offerings, including soundtracks, shirts, exclusive Funko Pop figures, and so much more, while the other was a WWE exclusive store, featuring toys, title belts, cereal, Money In The Bank briefcases, and pretty much every WWE product under the sun.

FYE has returned to Horton Plaza for another pop-up shop this year. This one isn’t WWE specific (though it still has WWE items), but the convention hasn’t even started yet and I’m already about to go broke by shopping at this store.

Seriously, this place is amazing.

It’s also packed. Matt and I visited after breakfast this morning at 11am or so, and the store had a massive line. The Freddy Krueger Funko Pop cereal was flying off the shelves, and apparently they only had four Glow shirts left because the guy working there couldn’t find my size (though I don’t think he really looked, either).

The pop-up even has some artist signings during SDCC:

Thursday, July 19:
Jason Freeny: 6pm – 7pm
Ron English: 7pm – 8pm

Friday, July 20:
Allison Cimino (Rock Love Jewelry): All Day
Jason Freeny: 6pm – 7pm
LIGHTS: 8pm – TBD

Dave Porter From Breaking Bad: 12:00 – 1:00pm

Saturday, July 21:
Andrew Bell: 5pm – 6pm
Jason Freeny: 6pm – 7pm

Sunday, July 22:
Jason Freeny: 6pm – 7pm

Take a look at some of what’s up for sale via my photos below, and be sure to let us know if you plan to attend! The pop-up is open until 9PM on July 22nd!

Man, that Glow shirt (and maybe lipstick for Mikaela), and those Transformers / Ready Player One records really spoke to me.

PS – Sorry for the Imgur links. Geekscape is having major issues uploading images currently!

SDCC 2018! Compete in the First Annual ConQuest Scavenger Hunt!

by JonathanJuly 16, 2018

Exciting news, Geekscapists! To celebrate our 10th Year exhibiting at San Diego Comic Con and our upcoming Stalking LeVar short film campaign, we’ve teamed up with Dweeb Darlings (our partners on the film too) to give you an SDCC experience you won’t forget!

It’s called ConQuest and it’s an SDCC-wide Scavenger Hunt! The RULES are easy!

Look over the below list of Missions!
The Scavenger Hunt runs from Wednesday of SDCC until Sunday at noon!
Use the hashtag #BecomeAFriend on your Instagram to post each Mission for points!
At Noon on Sunday, we’ll count up all the points and declare winners!

Prizes include toys and treats from sponsors like Wowwee Toys, Funimation! and more!

Make a team! Make some friends! But only use ONE INSTAGRAM account per entry! You wouldn’t want to divide up your points, would you?

Now here are the ConQuest Missions! So get ready!

SDCC 2018: LAIKA Live Returns To San Diego With (Possibly) Derek’s Most Anticipated Event!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 10, 2018

Briefly: I cannot freaking wait.

Last year, Natalie was completely enthralled by what LAIKA had to show off at their Comic-Con offsite. Seeing her photos and hearing her talk of the event made me super excited to catch it myself… unfortunately, I never made it through the doors.

But that’s okay! LAIKA is back in the Gaslamp this year (in fact, even before SDCC begins) with another offsite installation, this time in a new location that’s THREE TIMES the size of last years phenomenal offering.

The exhibit will show off props, puppets, and sets from award winning LAIKA films like Coraline, The Boxtrolls, Paranorman, and (my favorite) Kubo and the Two Strings.

Naturally, there’ll also be giveaways, a LAIKA store (including some limited edition merch), and Coraline and the Other Mother will also be wandering around the Gaslamp Quarter, posing for photos in celebration of Coraline‘s tenth anniversary (it’s hard to believe that it’s already been that long).

If you’re headed to San Diego early, you’ll watch to check out this sure-to-be-a-highlight event before the crowds arrive. LAIKA Live is at 350 5th Ave, with hours as follows:

You can bet that I’ll be at LAIKA Live as soon as I possibly can be, camera in hand. Look for photos and impressions next week, and read of for some of the event’s upcoming highlights, straight from LAIKA!

Saturday, July 21st:
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)

12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.

WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:

– Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
– LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
– Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
– Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including, Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline, Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman, Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls, Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings, and Mister Link from Missing Link