Walking Dead on AMC-TV has been providing Zombie-riffic photo ops since before the show premiered, and this year was no exception.
It was lunchtime anyway!




They upped the ante a bit this year, since after your photo, you got to walk through a small room decorated in the fashion of the Terminus memorial from the season finale earlier this year. Pretty creepy!

BBC America has a little show called "Orphan Black". It stars the sublime Tatiana Maslany who plays multiple clones, each very different than the next, and she pulls it off amazingly.
Here's the large banner above the backside of the BBCA booth



Here, the nifty photo op was that convention goers who posed for just a single photo were placed into that same image (a hard copy of which you were given instantly) so as to be the star of your very own Clone Club!

Caroline here wanted to channel her best "Helena" (our favorite of the clones), so that's why she rolled with the crazy eyes routine (oops, different show!)



This show is fantastic. Can't wait 'til season 3 of this one. Maslany is the best actor working in television today.

This was a giant multi-layered cutout outdoor skyline promoting the new series "Gotham", coming this fall on Fox. This was in the area of the Homer Dome, and was much more impressive than this photo can hope to convey. Note the zip-line. Those who did that were given instructions on how to strike the pose of the Dark Knight himself while coming down.

And we'll finish with some very valuable props on display at one of the memorabilia auction house booths.

The feet that Sean Astin used in "Lord of the Rings Return of the King" to carry Mr. Frodo and that darn ring up the last part of the mountain:



Hard to tell from this picture, but this is a FULL-SIZE Ring Wraith. It looked amazing, but really, where would you put it?



The crown of King Robert Baratheon the first and only of his name:



The helm of Gimli. Interestingly, this had a pre-auction estimate of roughly three times the value of the Game of Thrones crown (30k vs 10k). Guess it's better to be a dwarf on Middle-earth than a king in Westoros. Plus, you get to live a lot longer.

Thanks for the pics/report. . . there seem to be surprisingly few people posting reports and pics.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Thanks for the pics/report. . . there seem to be surprisingly few people posting reports and pics.

It's sort of like trying to walk on dry land after being at sea for a couple of months. It takes people time to get used to functioning without wearing a lanyard. I don't usually take mine off until the Wednesday after the con ends or so. With next years convention starting so early (July 9th), I might just leave it on 'til then.

My experience with Topps was positive. I told them I had a friend who couldn't leave his booth to get the Garbage Pail Kids merchandise and Mars Attacks promo cards. They gave me extra Garbage Pail Kids and Mars Attacks promos for him and one of the employees told me to have my friend come by the booth when he had a chance and to ask for him and he'd make sure he got the Garbage Pail Kids oversize cards and t-shirt. The employees running the Topps booth were very friendly and helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Thanks for the pics/report. . . there seem to be surprisingly few people posting reports and pics.

Well, it does take time to recover - even for those of us who live in San Diego! Even though I just attended on Saturday (maximum craziness) it was a very long day and I was kind of beat come Sunday. And unless you're retired or independently wealthy (I am neither) today was back to work. So yeah, this is the first time I've had a moment to log on.

Anyway - had a blast walking around on Saturday, despite the crowds and the people pushing double-wide strollers through the Exhibition Hall.

Hit Upper Deck's booth about 5 min before Joe Jusko was set to begin signing that morning so I was fifth in line. Super nice guy and the Deadpool card he signed for me is awesome!

Stopped by Junior's booth next and picked up my AHS and Grimm 5x7 sketch packs. Absolutely gorgeous product (will scan and post the sketches later.) My only regret was not turning over my entire paycheck to Henry when I still had the chance, lol! And of course I stopped by Breygent's booth to say hello to Tom and to drool over Gary and Tim's work.

Speaking of sketches, I also stopped by the Cartoon Art Museum's booth and had a fella named Jonathan La Mantia do a quick zombie sketch. He has a very good creature style (think Bernie Wrightson) so the sketch was well worth the $10 donation.

I completed the scavenger hunt for the Mars Attacks puzzle. When I got to the Topps booth I was surprised at how small it was. I found the people at the booth were pleasant but perhaps a bit, mmmm - uninterested? It was a busy day but I think that overall Topps could have maybe done a bit more to promote themselves and their product at the show. Still happy to have them there, though.

Spent a good bit of time roaming Artist's Alley. Man, they (the organizers) really need to re-think that area and how they layout the booth numbers. I couldn't even find some of the artist's that I wanted to see. I stopped to visit with Rob Aragon for awhile then headed over to MNS to pick up a Con pack. Hey Rob, if you're reading this - your mojo worked. I pulled the dual auto Children of Frankenstein card.

The rest of the time was spent walking around (as best I could!) checking out all of the cool stuff. I did make it to two of the smaller panels in the afternoon, then it was pretty much time to head over to the Card Talk dinner, which was another fun time! Loved meeting all of the new folks and had a great time eating, drinking, trading and talking cards. The perfect ending to a fun day at Con!

Thank you for the reports and pictures so far. Glad to see virtually everyone had a great time. Great to see Breygent, Topps and Upper Deck keeping the hobby flag flying at the show but even they must feel a bit lost amongst the vast array of stuff that is the Con.

quote:

Originally posted by sherlock2:
Upper Deck has wonderful customer care at their booth - but would love to hear about anyone's experience at Topps in attempting to get more than 2 of the GPK and Mars Attacks promo cards - my experience - RUDE RUDE RUDE and totally not interested in promoting their product or in making the customer feel important - I certainly can and will spend my $$$ elsewhere - nuff said

In all fairness, I'm glad Topps didn't just hand out dozens to single people. Gives more people a chance to get them, and it doesn't dilute their exclusivity. Now I know there are people who won't just put the multiples on Ebay, they trade them or give them away to those less fortunate who couldn't attend, but sadly Ebay is usually their final destination.

I hate when something is supposed to be exclusive or limited, then you find out it was given away en masse.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:

Hard to tell from this picture, but this is a FULL-SIZE Ring Wraith. It looked amazing, but really, where would you put it?

I'd put that right on my front lawn!

The little guy at Topps reminded me of a kid with a beard. They had a Garbage Pail promo card and one of the Mars Attacks puzzle cards. Everything else was for sale. Did buy a couple of cool MA promos. Not the best PR.

Can't forget the Adult Swim booth, a highlight every year and this year was no exception.

It was a giant castle with a spinner wheel to award their typical irreverent prizes, many made especially as promo items for events like this.

Here's the impressive castle, which was about as high as any other booth in the hall:



And a closeup of the large prize wheel:



"Fast Pass" was the most sought after prize as it allowed you instant access to their Funhouse outside of the convention center. If you got "Lose A Turn" or "Ramp Exit", you won no prize, but you were given a nice fold out paper model of the castle itself. "Bear Hug" was only available when the large bear was on duty to hug you, should you have landed on that space.

Here are the prizes we got:


These are a Meatwad (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) coin purse, a limited edition Adult Swim character Mighty Wallet, and a "Tim and Eric Bedtime Stories" sleep mask, a prize added only late Sunday. This is the Eric version. There was also one of Tim. (They would like to watch "Top Gun" with you on VHS, and then watch it again from the start, the moment it finishes the first time. Let's just rewind that bad boy...and...we're good!).

And, best of all, we got one of the much sought after "Black Jesus" candles, a full size prayer candle in glass in the style of the ones Catholics use for their actual praying, promoting the upcoming live-action series from Aaron McGruder, creator of "Boondocks".



And here's the other side of the wallet, showing more of the Adult Swim stable of oddball character concoctions:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chesspieceface,

Here are a couple of the various promos (not cards, but in the ballpark) that we found to our great delight while traversing the hall the 3 or 4 times we covered it.

At Chronicle Books, a nifty Game of Thrones Bookmarker:


Also from Chronicle Books, a Grumpy Cat trio including a postcard, tattoo, and paper mask:



These are promoting the feline internet sensation's first book (no kidding!).

From the Peanuts Booth, two of the six "Belle" cards. She's one of Snoopy's lesser known siblings which was their theme this year. As you can see from the reverse of the cards, shown at the bottom, they make a puzzle. Alas, these were the only two we could get. That booth is big hit every year. Just about everyone loves Snoopy, and we're no exception!



From the DC Comics booth, two of the "Bombshells" covers seen on some of their recent comics, here as temporary tattoos. These are of Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. We also saw these images as larger (and quickly sold out!) limited edition prints at the QmX booth. Wish they'd make cards out of these. A few of the comic covers these were drawn for even show them as cards, but sadly, they don't and likely never will exist in our preferred form.

quote:

Originally posted by sherlock2:
would love to hear about anyone's experience at Topps in attempting to get more than 2 of the GPK and Mars Attacks promo cards

I'm sorry you did not enjoy your experience. It was me you likely spoke with. I wanted to limit the number of promos we handed out to make sure everyone on all 5 days had a chance to collect the freebies we handed out as there was a limited stock.

I would welcome hearing others experience with us at the Topps booth so we can see how we might better serve them in the future.

But we will not change our policy on promo handouts. We have to keep it fair to everyone. That means limiting promos to 2-3 per person, assuming they ask nicely. The only people I recall limiting were those few who came to the booth every hour asking for more-- on all 5 days.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
From the DC Comics booth, two of the "Bombshells" covers seen on some of their recent comics, here as temporary tattoos. These are of Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. We also saw these images as larger (and quickly sold out!) limited edition prints at the QmX booth. Wish they'd make cards out of these. A few of the comic covers these were drawn for even show them as cards, but sadly, they don't and likely never will exist in our preferred form.

These will be in a chase set in the upcoming DC Comics: Epic Battles set by Cryptozoic. 7 different heroines inserted at a rate of 1:10 packs (2 per box). Releasing next week, supposedly.

Ed

Ask and ye shall receive. Thanks, Ed!

quote:

Originally posted by Martian Commander:

I wanted to limit the number of promos we handed out to make sure everyone on all 5 days had a chance to collect the freebies we handed out as there was a limited stock.

I would welcome hearing others experience with us at the Topps booth so we can see how we might better serve them in the future.

But we will not change our policy on promo handouts. We have to keep it fair to everyone. That means limiting promos to 2-3 per person, assuming they ask nicely. The only people I recall limiting were those few who came to the booth every hour asking for more-- on all 5 days.

You did the right thing, MC. I didn't think you could even get more than one at a time, and I bought a couple of the Comic Conner T-shirts at separate visits! Wish I'd have asked for two the couple of times I went by. Keep spreading them around. Nobody needs 30 or 40 of any one promo card.

For some reason Topps refuse to attend our shows here in the UK so getting promos or anything else is out of the question over here. If Topps in America want to send me some I will gladly hand them out to collectors at our shows.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:
For some reason Topps refuse to attend our shows here in the UK so getting promos or anything else is out of the question over here. If Topps in America want to send me some I will gladly hand them out to collectors at our shows.

I do wish we (as a company) would do more shows on the entertainment side and that is something I have always pushed for. As for the UK, that would be managed by our office over their.

I did give a stack of promos to someone from NSU so perhaps she can help you out! If not, PM me and I'll see what we have left (which isn't much but I haven't been back in the office yet to check).