Comic-Con 2012 Friday recap: Syfy Defiance, Anthony Bourdain, Falling Skies, Firefly

Comic-Con trip numero 2 has come and gone and I am finally getting myself back onto a normal sleep routine. We came a bit better prepared this year than we were last year, but we still faced some sad panel rejections because, yet again, we weren't there early enough.

We got in line for tickets around 5:30am, and were among the first 100 to register that day, so that worked out nicely.

Unfortunately, we determined about 5 hours too late that attempting to get into Ballroom 20 on the same day we registered was not going to work in our favor. This means we missed the Legend of Korra panel and the Firefly Reunion :(

Placment in line for Ballroom 20 at 7:45am

Placement in line for Ballroom 20 at 1:00pm

I could literally see the entrance to Ballroom 20, but I didn't make it in for the Firefly Reunion that started at 12:45, and by that point the Legend of Korra panel was already over. I take solace in remembering that:
1) I made it to two panels featuring the Legend of Korra crew last year, plus I made it to the signing and walked off with a sweet autographed poster and free Korra t-shirt

2) I made it into the Joss Whedon signing at Dark Horse last year at Comic-Con

and 3) I saw Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion at the March Thrilling Adventure Hour.

The 5 hours spent in line were not so bad, the people I was around were really nice and made the time pass much more quickly. Given the overall outcome of the day, of course I would have preferred to have a more productive morning, but I am still glad we tried. Now we know for next year.

After some brief time fighting crowds in the exhibit hall, we went to the lovely Seaport Village for lunch. It was a nice break from the crazy crowds at the convention center, Seaport Village is so adorable! There was a live band playing mariachi music as we partook in some delicious Italian food by the water. Very picturesque, and yet I seem to have forgotten to capture the moment on photo.

Back to the Convention Center! I was determined to have success with panels in the second half of the day, so I opted to hang out in the lower numbered ballrooms that don't have the same crowd issues, while my brother and friends decided to pass the remaining time searching for comics in the exhibit hall.

I managed to see the Falling Skies panel, moderated by Wil Wheaton in 6BCF

I don't watch the show, but I have been interested in it and thought checking out a panel would help me decide if it is worth my investment. The conclusion: I definitely want to check this show out.

After that I got to 6DE early for a the Defiance panel, and ended up catching the better part of the Get Jiro panel, the food graphic novel written by Anthony Bourdain.

I'm always looking for recommendations on new graphic novels, so this was perfect. Not to mention, it is number one on the New York Times Hardcover Graphic Books List.

I actually had mixed feelings about going to see Defiance because I am still bitter at Syfy for cancelling Eureka and I fully blame the exuberant Defiance budget on Eureka's death. Incidentally, I am looking for a new Syfy show to fill my Eureka void and the concept of Defiance, a TV Show and Video Game, is interesting. So, to Defiance I went.

The show does sound interesting, it had a sort of futuristic/western feel to it that reminded me of Firefly. It also stars two of Dexter's ex-ladies, and a familiar face is always a plus when determining whether or not to like a new show. Normally, seeing Jamie Murray who played Lila would fill me with contempt because Dexter cheated on Rita with her; however, seeing Julie Benz and her banter on the panel like BFFs made me happy.

Thus ends my Friday the 13th at Comic-Con

For more pictures check out my g+ gallery and for notes from the panels, check out my twitter feed.