Comic-Con Adventures (Bandwidth Warning)

[Mike Haley]

Comic-Con Adventures
Episode 1: The Telltale Games Experience
By Mike Haley; Updated August 1st, 2008


Comic-Con 2008!

On Saturday, I attended Comic-Con. My travel arrangements felt a bit like the old Steve Martin movie "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," except that there were thankfully no planes involved. My parents drove me as far as Fullerton. From there, I caught a 7:50 AM train to Downtown San Diego. Following that, I boarded a light rail bound for Convention Center Station. It was surprisingly easy to get my badge. Allen scared me with his horror story from last year's Comic-Con.


On route to the Attendee Pre-Registration area to pick up my badge.

After I picked up my badge and goodie bag, I headed downstairs to the Exhibit Hall to meet up with Allen at the Telltale Games booth. I was greeted by Jake Rodkin, Telltale Games' Web Designer. We chatted for awhile, and then Allen introduced me to Chuck Jordan, who worked on such classics as Curse of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango. He now works for Telltale Games. After checking the time, we realized that we should be making our way over to the Telltale Games panel in Room 4.


Jake Rodkin finishes up the Snake Boxer V box.

Sitting in at the Telltale Games panel was Steve Purcell, Chuck Jordan, Mike Stemmle, Mai Nguyen, and Mark Darin. On the far left, Emily Morganti supervised the presentation. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People was a highlight of the panel, but Sam & Max was also discussed. It was said that they may start "thinking" about Season Three as early as this week. There were inevitably questions about Monkey Island, but they were flatly denied. Telltale Games did say that "anything is possible," though.


The Telltale Games panel.

At the end of the panel, the world premiere trailer for Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures was shown. I wasn't allowed to film that, but as of Monday, it is available through Telltale Games' web site, anyway. After the crowds poured out, I was able to get a few close-up photos of Steve Purcell. Then, as I turned away just for a moment, he was gone. Awe, but Allen and I miraculously managed to catch up with him on our way back to the Telltale Games booth. He really is an awesome guy. He always has time to chat with his fans.


Steve Purcell chats with fans.

Back at the Telltale Games booth, Steve Purcell held a public signing. I had five whole things signed. I brought my copy of Surfin' the Highway, Epic Color Collection, The Animated Series, Hit the Road, and Season One. Allen had even more stuff signed than I did. Following the signing, I got a few more photos of Steve Purcell, the Telltale Games booth, and everything in-between. Now it was time to buy some stuff. I picked up Ode to the Stuff in the Sink, Max & Crossbones T-Shirt, and some other goodies.


The stuff that I got from the Telltale Games booth.

At this point, Allen and I decided to meet up with his dad, who had been attending the Lost panel. From there, we would cruise the rest of the convention center. We probably could have stayed at Telltale Games' booth all day, and never gotten bored, but there was still so much else to see. I never did have a chance to play Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, but if Nintendo gets off their butts, it should be out in early August.


Strong Bad's Cool Game for Wii Owners (and PC owners, too)

Up Next...
Episode 2: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

More photos provided by Flickr, and videos provided by MySpace.

[Klemmins]

I want that guys hat in the 5th picture.

[David E]

Originally Posted by Klemmins

I want that guys hat in the 5th picture.

People love Steve's hat! This was a frequent discussion topic.

[Derwin]

Who's business card did you pick up... I can't read it that well. Is it Chuck's?

[Mike Haley]

Yes, that would be Chuck's business card (which I've scribbled on with Paint.NET to hide contact information, as if it could be read at this resolution, anyway). I wanted to get one from Jake, too, but his mysteriously vanished. I gave them both one of my "business cards," though.

[xChri5x]

Maaan I love the buttons. I really wish I didn't live a millions miles away from this. I may make a point to make it down next year if I start saving up.

[ladognome]

neato!! nice pix!
OMG i love buttons too and those are sweet!!!

[Shambling Corporate Poster]

awesome. Steve is AWESOME.

I'm going to the Comic-con next year... hopefully, if he attends, I'm going to bug him to bring the Shambling Corporate Presence out of Hell for the Third Season. =P

[Snocat]

I would kill to talk with Steve in person! The poor guy is tortured by his fans, he does like a million Max signatures a day lol

[Mike Haley]

I have uploaded Saturday's Telltale Games panel in video form (and another one with Steve Purcell), for those that are interested. Please forgive my horrible camera jerkiness. It was a frantic day.

http://www.spaceruckus.com/storage/t..._streaming.mov - 34MB*
http://www.spaceruckus.com/storage/steve_hifi.mov - 10MB

* Keep in mind that I don't have infinite bandwidth. If this link gets hit too much, I'll have to take it down. I don't need the Space Ruckus web site experiencing "unscheduled downtime." Alternatively, I may upload it through a service, such as MySpace or YouTube.

Of course, if anyone else has a better video of the panel, that would be great, too.

See if this works as an alternative: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...nelID=71727446

[wisp]

did anybody else notice that emily looks completely different in every picture someone takes of her?

[xChri5x]

Originally Posted by wisp

did anybody else notice that emily looks completely different in every picture someone takes of her?

Stunt doubles?

[Derwin]

Are you sure you are looking at the same person and thinking it's Emily? I do think I know what you are talking about, though... there are some photos where I have to pause and think 'Is that her or someone who showed up in the same clothes and haircut?'

Did you notice also that in all (save maybe one) of Tester Scott's photos, Emily's face cannot be seen? Also, did you notice how creepy it is that I noticed that?

[Mike Haley]

meelWORM's been bugging me to post photos of my signed stuff, so here they are. I'm especially fond of the Surfin' the Highway signature. It's just plain awesome to know that nobody else anywhere in the world has exactly the same drawing.


Some of the things that Steve Purcell signed for me.


My signed copy of Surfin' the Highway (Paperback).


My signed copy of Epic Color Collection.

[AllenB]

Originally Posted by mhaley

I have uploaded Saturday's Telltale Games panel in video form (and another one with Steve Purcell), for those that are interested. Please forgive my horrible camera jerkiness. It was a frantic day.

http://www.spaceruckus.com/storage/t..._streaming.mov - 34MB*
http://www.spaceruckus.com/storage/steve_hifi.mov - 10MB

* Keep in mind that I don't have infinite bandwidth. If this link gets hit too much, I'll have to take it down. I don't need the Space Ruckus web site experiencing "unscheduled downtime." Alternatively, I may upload it through a service, such as MySpace or YouTube.

Of course, if anyone else has a better video of the panel, that would be great, too.

See if this works as an alternative: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...nelID=71727446

Urgh... I hate hearing my voice recorded.
I DON'T SOUND LIKE THAT!


Edit: I am actually wondering if that was a S&M quote or if I am just going insane.

[Derwin]

Oh man, your signed paperback is awesome... I really want to meet Steve now when he has lot's of free time to draw me something awesome.

[Mike Haley]

Comic-Con Adventures
Episode 2: A Galaxy Far, Far Away
By Mike Haley; Updated August 1st, 2008


Peter Mayhew (the man that filled the role of Chewbacca in the Star Wars films)

One of the first places that we stopped by after leaving the Telltale Games booth was LucasArts. While there, we talked to a PR guy, who told us that LucasArts is looking into bringing back some of their back catalog of original game IPs. He didn't specify exactly which ones, but we did bring up the subject of Monkey Island to him. We suggested that they license the rights to Telltale Games. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to dislike this thought completely. He simply said that LucasArts "wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea." Who knows, maybe something will develop there eventually.


The LucasArts booth.

By now, I was running on fumes. So, I stopped by a Mrs. Fields stand, and bought a single cookie and a coke. I would have bought two, but they were rather expensive. I couldn't find a place to sit down, so I just had to stand, and that reminds me of a good point to make. Unless you bring your own chair, don't expect to find an empty one waiting for you at Comic-Con. After I was done with my snack, I looked around for a moment before finding an open trash can.


Wait, that's not a trash can.

Toward the end of the day, we ran into Steve Purcell again. He was exploring the sights, sounds, and smells of the convention center himself. We took the opportunity to snap a few group photos on Allen's camera. After that, we parted ways with Steve Purcell, and began to make our way to the exit. Sometime later, we actually reached the exit. It felt good to finally be out of the sardine factory.


Allen and I, and the dreaded Dalek (photo courtesy of Allen's dad).

The day almost ended perfectly, but not quite. Somehow, I managed to board the wrong light rail, and ended up on the other side of town. Well, I wanted to see more of San Diego, anyway. I eventually found my way back to the train station, and caught a 6:20 PM train bound for Fullerton. All in all, it was a great day. I will definitely be going again next year.


More stuff from Comic-Con.

This concludes my Comic-Con 2008 coverage. See you at Comic-Con 2009.

[Harald B]

Heh, and here I was thinking it was called comic-con because it was about comic-related stuff.. what's all that Star Wars doing there? That LucasArts tidbit is nice though. Thanks to this, we can look forward to a whole new wave of speculating, wishing and pleading. I foresee mock box covers.

[Shambling Corporate Poster]

nice coverage! And are those Fairy Oddparents Pins I see on the last pic, bottom right there? *gasp* Oh, and Mythbusters DvD, too!

[Mike Haley]

Yeah, those are Cosmo and Wanda buttons. They were really the only things that caught my eye at the Nickelodeon booth. Also, that's a Mythbusters button, not a DVD.

A close-up can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billgri...7606398881316/