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The Fans Speak! Comic-Con Reactions From the Floor
Cos-players and fans pick the best panels and films, and explain what the deal is with all the Free Hugs.
by Jen Yamato | July 28, 2009
Discuss Article

RT hit the Convention Center floor at Comic-Con to poll fans and costumed Con-goers on the best sights and panel presentations of the week. We found that everyone -- teens and adults, boys and girls, cos-players and even the wizards of Hogwarts -- had come to Comic-Con 2009 for very different reasons, ranging from video games to Twilight to a Japanese doll collecting phenomenon. Below, meet a sampling of this year's attendees and learn which fantasy properties were the biggest hits, which panels were worth waiting hours in line for, and what exactly is up with the "Free Hugs" and "Mini Skirt Army" movements.


Name: Bridget Fitch
Age: 16
City: San Diego, CA

Why she's here: To attend the ball-jointed doll panel and meet-up.

Favorite panel: The ball-jointed doll panel, where collectors gather to meet and show off their customizable dolls (a hobby super popular in Asia).

Since you assemble and design your own ball-jointed dolls, how much did this one cost to put together?

"About $200."


Name: Joan and Richard Belcinski
City: San Jose, CA
Favorite panel: True Blood

Number of costumes they brought for the Con: Four, one set for each day (Including Sith, rebel, and Jedi outfits)

Was it worth the wait to line up for Hall H?

"Yes! We stood for two hours in line in our full Battlestar wools -- I was Starbuck and he was Colonel Tigh."


Name: Angel Perez
Age: 18
City: San Diego, CA
Favorite Panel: Magic the Gathering

Personal Cause: Supporting the "Mini-Skirt Army."

"I just want an army of women in mini-skirts for miles and miles, as far as the eye can see. Across the mountaintops. Across the whole United States -- even Mexico, and Canada maybe."

When did this campaign start?

"What time is it? About two hours, 36 minutes ago."

And how many votes of support (gauged in thumbs up from passers-by) have you gotten so far?

"Two hundred and forty four so far."

You've been playing Magic for seven years; what's the strongest card in your deck?

"I would say... I run a burn deck, so Ball Lightning or Lightning Bolt."


Name: Matt Hicks, Darius Clemons
Age: 19 and 18
City: San Diego
Favorite Panel: Hadn't gone to any yet; spent all of their time shopping on the floor.
Best Swag: All the 48-hour trials for Xbox Live.

"You've got video games, comics, novels, books; it's all good stuff. We're here more for games; all the new games coming out for the Xbox."


Name: Corey Ahlgren (AKA Junkyard Dog)
Age: 20
City: El Cajon, CA
Favorite Panel: Gears of War

"My costume is based on a comic book character that I made last year called The Junkyard Dog, who is an average teenager whose hobby is to collect junk and assemble it into a suit. When he finished and actually put on the suit, it inexplicably gave him super powers and he uses that to fight crime."

What kind of super powers does he have?

"Basically, the ability to fight like a top-skilled warrior. He can't fly, he can't do any superhuman stuff but he's incredibly skilled with his pole-arm and his shield. His pole-arm is suddenly able to be not only a blade weapon, but also a cannon."

When did you make your costume?

"I finished about two weeks ago. It was a year-long project; most of the tme was taken to actually gather all these materials off the street. As I was biking to and from college, I [found the parts]."


Name: Jeremy Lediaev
City: Fresno, CA
Favorite Panel: Iron Man 2

"I thought it was really good. They're bringing in a lot of new characters -- War Machine, Whiplash. They showed pretty good footage; Robert Downey Jr. was there and he put on a good show for the audience, interacting with everyone. Iron Man 2 was probably the most exciting panel. Some other ones were interesting and funny, like the Extract panel which was pretty good. The 2012 panel --I don't think the acting on that's going to be very good, but on Iron Man 2 the acting and special effects look good."

How would you compare the fan reaction to the first Iron Man footage to that of this year's sequel?

"I would say there was a bigger reaction to the first Iron Man than there was to the sequel. I guess you can't really expect a bigger reaction, though."


Name: Oliva
Age: 40
City: San Diego, CA
Favorite Panel: A tie between Avatar and LOST
Best Costume Spotted: Xena, Warrior Princess "because she had the body for it, with no body fat."

"I know Sigourney Weaver's a class act, Zoe Saldana's also a class act, and James Cameron's one of the smartest and most imaginative men in the world, so I knew Avatar was going to be an awesome panel. For the LOST panel, they did a lot of skits and the night before, when we were camping out, we met Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse because we were first in line [for Hall H]. They came to shake our hands and take pictures. It was really awesome, a great experience.

You were first in line for the LOST panel? What time did you line up?

"Oh yeah. The moment we got out of Hall H Friday afternoon, we went right to the line."


Name: Briseida Marmolejo
City: San Diego, CA
Favorite Panel: A tie between Alice and Wonderland and The Twilight Saga: New Moon

"Alice in Wonderland was really awesome. We only got to see a trailer though, but it still was awesome. The 3D glasses were really cool, they didn't hurt your eyes and they were like sunglasses. And we got a big surprise when Johnny Depp showed up!"

What did you think of the New Moon footage that was shown?

"I wasn't a really big fan of the first scene, because they tried a little too hard. Jacob was catching up to Bella when she fell, and why did he have to get on his motorcycle? He could have run over to her. And why did he have to take off his shirt? He made a huge display of it! But I loved the second scene; my favorite part was when Alice and Bella were in Italy getting to Edward. I didn't think they would show that because it's so late in the movie. I got a little mad that they cut it off at the end, but it was still really cool to see the Italy scene."


Name: Summer
Age: 16
City: Escondido, CA
Favorite Panel: None. She came to Comic-Con for three days and didn't see a single panel!
Personal Cause: Free hugs.

"I was going to go see the Mythbusters panel, but I decided just to chill and hang out with my friends."

Have you championed the cause of Free Hugs in the past, or is this your first time? And why do you do it at all?

"This is my first time. I do it because everybody needs hugs. You can get free hugs, and also give out free hugs. Hugs spread love, and love is awesome."


Catch up on our full coverage of Comic-Con International 2009 for make our Comic-Con Costume Gallery and more!

Related Items
Movie: Avatar
2012
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Alice in Wonderland
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Comments (1-13 of 13 posts) | Reply
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 28 2009 03:50 PM

My kind of people...kind of. Anyway, this comic con turned out pretty awesome. Everyone walked away with something, which is EXACTLY how it should be. And people, before we go after "Twilight", an we acknowledge it's been said before, so let the fans just enjoy. Anyway, "Iron Man 2" FTW.

(Reply to this)
Allie 2.
Allie 2. writes:
on Jul 28 2009 07:22 PM

An interesting group... I am also excited for Alice and Avatar. I'm glad they had fun.

(Reply to this)
Blues Ridden Cowgirl
Blues Ridden Cowgirl writes:
on Jul 28 2009 08:27 PM

Mini Skirt Army and Free Hugs are not that confusing. The first is related to the anime Fullmetal Alchemist and the second is a movement where you hug people.

(Reply to this)
Jen Yamato
Jen Yamato writes:
on Jul 28 2009 10:56 PM

Oh, I didn't actually know what, BRC. Thanks for telling me. I guess I could have Googled it. Bad researching on my part - I wanted to believe he made it up on his own. Huh.

(Reply to this)
maidenman
maidenman writes:
on Jul 29 2009 12:14 AM

Wow!!! Come on guys there was way funnier stuff that happened at the con...like seeing Captain Golden Shower crash the masquerade...check it out

CAPTAINGOLDENSHOWER.blogspot.com CAPT. GOLDEN SHOWER & HIS JOBLESS SUPER HERO CLAN (ROCK-IT & AIR GUITAR RYAN) SNEAK INTO COMIC CON 2009 AND ALSO ACHIEVE THE ULTIMATE BY ALSO CRASHING THE FAMOUS MASQUERADE CONTEST AS A BOGUS CONTESTANT.



(Reply to this)
gm1200
gm1200 writes:
on Aug 01 2009 09:54 PM

That doll is hideous...why am I not surprised this is a fad in Asia?

(Reply to this)
JettaJameson
JettaJameson writes:
on Aug 02 2009 10:24 AM

In reply to this comment (#2532535)
Haha! I feel ya. I just stumbled upon YouTube videos of a live action Sailor Moon TV show from Asia. I had NO idea that existed. It's embarassing. It seems like everything from that part of the world is so over the top cheesy.

(Reply to this)
bridget f.
bridget f. writes:
on Aug 02 2009 08:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#2532535)
well I think MY doll (in the picture) is quite adorable.... not a good picture of her though. she's much cuter in real life

it's not a fad it's been going on in the U.S. for over 5 years now and I don't believe it's super huge in asia or anything.... it's not like it's some household name or anything. actaully I never even said it was popular.... just that it was a hobby I enjoyed

I do not mind if you call my hobby creepy but calling it hideous is rude and gives me the right to call you things I won't say because I've got more class than that

I don't want to cause drama or anything.... I just felt the need to stand up for my doll and in a way myself. I know you have the right to say what you want but what you said was rude and definitly wasn't nice. you could have just said "oh, it's not my thing" or you could have just kept your mouth shut.

bridget (girl at the top with the doll)


(Reply to this)
KoshKing777
KoshKing777 writes:
on Aug 04 2009 07:46 AM

Wow, the first thing I noticed after opening up the page is how cute that Bridget girl is. And here she is, writing in the comments section!

So, as I was going to say anyway, Bridget, you're very cute. aaaand i don't mind you calling me creepy. >_>

And I honestly haven't ever heard of the ball-jointed doll hobby before, so I'm not really qualified to comment on your doll. It does look adorable, though; I'm not sure what these other guys are smoking. o_0


(Reply to this)
Roland S.
Roland S. writes:
on Aug 04 2009 04:01 PM

Why does the Twilight girl have to be the only Alice one as well? ugh

(Reply to this)
Jessica W.
Jessica W. writes:
on Aug 13 2009 10:42 PM

They have to create the same HYPE with Alice like they're doing with Twilight.Twilight people are doing a great job shoveling that piece of crap into dumb teens minds, the exposure is excessive.
Tim should wake up and start promoting Alice, is not too early.


(Reply to this)
Jessica W.
Jessica W. writes:
on Aug 13 2009 10:43 PM

They have to create the same HYPE with Alice like they're doing with Twilight.Twilight people are doing a great job shoveling that piece of crap into dumb teens minds, the exposure is excessive.
Tim should wake up and start promoting Alice, is not too early.


(Reply to this)
John Mclane
John Mclane writes:
on Aug 15 2009 02:23 PM

Corey Ahlgren (AKA Junkyard Dog) is just the gypsy iron man!

(Reply to this)
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