Preview Night summary

17 JULY 2013


So does everyone have a badge for Preview Night? Because that's how it felt in the convention center tonight. It was more mobbed than I have ever seen Preview Night - except in the comics section, of course.

Something new: every other year everyone has amassed out front, then the doors opened at 6:00 and we all flooded in. Not this year! In my section, we stood around till about 5:55, then the doors opened and we were routed into a line that wound up the escalators, past Ballroom 20, down a hall, outside, through ropes, around the convention center and back inside and down the escalators. By the time we got into the Exhibit Hall, it was about 6:20 and the exclusives lines were already quite long. It was the most pointless thing ever.

Also new: Preview Night stickers. Yes, some people had stickers on their shirts instead of badges. I was told a complicated story of people who bought Preview Night badges but somehow the system assigned them only regular ones, and those who complained got stickers to admit them tonight.

The Walking Dead brought an awesome prison zombie scene that you will want your picture taken in. The Black Sails photo op is also decent, wenches and all. Nickelodean was way too loud. Otherwise I didn't see too much because I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get in line to buy Mattel exclusives, being told the line was closed and being chased away, then seeing a new line and joining, being chased away, being told different stories by floor mangers, volunteers and Mattel security guards - total chaos. People would wait in line for 20 minutes, be kicked out, new people would be allowed to join the line, etc.

My best friend was aghast at the unfairness of it all but it reminded me that a lot of what happens at the Con is determined by your own wiles and persistence. I say this every year: if you just walk around expecting the Con to be delivered to you, you won't get much out of it. You have to be proactive and sometimes a little aggressive in getting what you want.

Did anyone see the pilots?