I attended Comic-Con 2012 and lived to talk about it

As another San Diego Comic-Con comes to a close, it’s time to reflect back on another trip crazy land. This year team CliqueClack was plus one, as Tara Shrodes joined us for the Con. The hoopla that surrounded the Con itself was great, but the week also represents one of the few times a year where members of the Clique actually get to Clack in person — the CliqueClack HQ I often refer to is an imaginary place in my mind, evidenced by the images of the Hall of Justice that generally accompany the mention. But you’re not here to read about the sappy man-crush Michael Noble and I have on each other, you are here for Con goodness.

Our responsibilities are generally oriented to attending the press rooms that the show’s stars and creators make themselves available in rather than attending the big panels. This year, I had the opportunity to sit down with someone I would have never really expected to be available to us until he took on his most recent project. There’s at least one or two like this every year … last year it was Bill Pullman. But after this weekend, I can truthfully say that I am one degree away from Kevin Bacon. Later in that same room, I was also able to needle Kevin Williamson for setting the pilot of The Following in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, causing me to be looking for serial killers around every corner.

It’s hard not to get a little starstruck at the Con, what with being around folks like Bacon, David Strathairn and many others, but it is a rare moment when Keith McDuffee and I walk into a room and immediately say to each other, “I’ve GOT to get a picture with him.” Normally most celebrities are cool if you catch them at the right time — as a member of the press the right time is never in a press room — but it’s a special moment when that celebrity is willing to sit on your shoulder and give you a kiss on the cheek. The monkey who plays Annie’s Boobs on Community — as well as in the Hangover movie — was one of the invited guests to the NBC Digital Media party, and joined Keith and me for pictures. At the same party, Keith and I spent some time with Grimm’s Reggie Lee, who’s been a good friend to CliqueClack for a while now.

Late night shenanigans are always a big part of any Comic-Con experience, and this year’s trip was no exception. The late night highlight had to be watching Nathan Fillion — with his classic shit-eating grin — run past me down the street, seemingly trying to outdistance his security team while rushing back to his hotel. Moments later, I had to thank a certain will-remain-nameless star of TBS’ Falling Skies for gently reminding me that the middle of the street was perhaps not the safest place to hail a cab.

A new tradition that I adopted this year from Michael Noble is carving out an hour or so to give blood at the Comic-Con Blood Drive operated by the San Diego Blood Bank. Giving blood is one of those things that everyone on the planet who is able to do should do as often as possible, and the Con is a great place to get organized to do so. HBO and True Blood have helped sponsor the drive for the last couple of years, and one of the cooler pieces of swag is the True Blood themed t-shirt that donators get.

Because of my schedule, I didn’t get to attend nearly as many panels as I did last year, but I did get the opportunity to go to the 20 Years of Buffy panel featuring folks like Jane Espenson, James Marsters and Scott Allie (of Buffy comics fame). I particularly enjoyed the interplay between Jane, James, Nick Brendon and moderator Claire Kramer. I was also able to attend the panel — and the press event — for SyFy’s new project Defiance. This new project is massive in scope — SyFy President Mark Stern referred to it as the network’s “holy grail” several times — including both the show and an interactive MMO that will feed back into the television show throughout the season.

With so much going on, you can never do everything that you’d planned. I really wanted to check out the panels for Game of Thrones and Firefly, but all of CliqueClack will benefit from the fact that Keith was able to film several of the things I missed, including Psych and Firefly. But considering how much fun all of Team CliqueClack had at Comic-Con 2012, you can’t focus on the things you missed. I’m already excited to go back again in 2013!

Clacked by Ivey West
on Jul 17, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT