23 JULY 2024
Admit it; in the back of your mind, you have fantasized about hosting your own Comic-Con panel. Maybe you're an expert in some niche corner of nerddom; maybe you're sick of the misinformation pumped out about a long-ago TV series or DC character and you want to set the record straight. But the distance from your dreams to convention center rooms is impossibly long, right?
Maybe not. Today, podcast hosts Martin and Kristine Smith tell the story of how they got their first panel accepted last year - and how they got 2 panels accepted this year.
So how long have you two been going to San
Diego Comic-Con?
M: 21 years. We started in 1997 but skipped some years
between the first few times.
Back then, did you want to have your own
panel one day?
K: Once we started going, we spent a lot of
time on the floor - everyone knows the allure of the floor. But once we pulled
ourselves away and started going to panels, we said, “Wow, these panels are
really good” but we didn’t give it a whole thought of thought because what the
heck would we do a panel on?
M: It didn't even blink into my consciousness that we
could do a panel until we had the podcast. And the irony is, this year I'm doing
a panel that I could have talked about at any time.
Let’s talk about your podcast: Heroes of the
Halcyon, about Disney's immersive Galactic Starcruiser hotel. When did you start it and why?
K: Memorial Day Weekend of 2022.
M: We just wanted to talk about Galactic Starcruiser!
K: After our first trip, we couldn’t stop talking
about it, thinking about it. With our friend Drew, we said, “Let's do a podcast
- even if nobody listens, it’ll be fun so let’s do it.”
Starcruiser is a unique experience and it’s difficult
to explain it to other people - so when you find others who have gone, it’s a shared
experience whether you were on same voyage or not. If you haven't gone, you can't
understand why it means so much to those that have. So you search for other people
who’ve had that experience.
Our honeymoon was in Disneyland 30+ years ago – but
nothing hit us emotionally like Galactic Starcruiser. Then we found out it hit
other people the same way.
M: All you have to do is say “Sublight Lounge” and you
have a friend for life. You’ll talk for hours about what happened there, what
was your backstory, what missions did you do? For 24/7, you lived inside
Star Wars for 2 days. There's nothing on earth like it. And honestly, I don’t
think there will be again.
Why did Galactic Starcruiser close? I know
it was popular.
M: Disney+ was hemorrhaging
money and they needed to go find $350 million fast. Galactic Starcruiser was on
their property but didn't directly connect to parks – so it was something they
could easily snip without any public perception that something had changed. That
made it vulnerable.
K: The timing was challenging and perfect at the same
time. It opened up in March 2022 right as things opened up after COVID. It was
the first outing that you had with a group of people with no masks after being
quarantined away and losing that 1:1 connection for 2 years. So on top of that
fact, it allowed adults an opportunity to just let go and play. All the garbage
in your day-to-day life, once you were there, that didn't matter anymore. You
weren’t burdened by it anymore and you could just be.
That was a challenge, I think, with the marketing
piece – there was no way to get that across to the general public, to convey
that euphoria. Roughly 70K total people experienced it but they all felt that
high. That need to feel it again is what stirred this creativity.
M: We know people who've learned to craft and write
and metal work – it’s unbelievable. We're throwing a full-blown convention! We
didn’t do these things before. Our wedding reception was in our apartment rec
room!
So how did your podcast
lead to an SDCC panel?
M: We knew room 7AB on Friday was the Star Wars room -
so we hoped against hope to get it someday. But to apply and get a panel
accepted year 1 was unbelievable.
The timing couldn’t have been more of a gift. 48 hours
prior, the announcement came that Starcruiser was going to close in September
2023. The entire community was crushed. We were all scrambling to see if we
could get on one more time. Then 48 hours after the announcement, we found out
our panel was accepted.
Your panel had a long line. Did you know
it would be that popular?
K: No. Because it was so focused on Starcruiser and a
little bit of Galaxy Edge, we weren't sure.
M: It’s not a small room. It was a teeny bit daunting
but we gave it everything and we had to get the word out and it worked.
How did you apply?
K: A friend supplied the email address to start the
party and do the application. From there, it just exploded.
M: We really did hone a strong pitch. Comic-Con has a
specific voice; every Con has a voice so if you want to give a good panel
pitch, go to lots of panels. We’ve been going to Comic-Con for years so we knew
this is what Comic-Con is looking for, how to present subject matter – and we
knew we needed someone else with us to bulk up our creds.
We were very fortunate to get Nick Tierce, a significant
name in the immersive entertainment space. He is a Star Wars parks superfan –
and he knows everyone and everyone knows him.
K: You don't know who's looking at your application
but we assumed one reviewer would have knowledge of our category.
M: And there's a bunch of rules - you can't advertise
blatantly or just pitch your YouTube channel, they’re real serious about that
in the documentation. You have to present material and not just sell and that
fit our style well. We mentioned our podcast, of course, but we didn’t spend
the whole time flashing a QR code to Like and Subscribe.
Once accepted, how do you prepare?
M: We knew the subject matter in and out from dozens
and dozens of podcast interviews. But you want it to be a nice, concise flow
and target your subject matter.
And of course, you have to put your editor hat on; you
really do have to kill your darlings. We walked through the outline we were
happy with and it was 30 minutes too long. We were heartbroken that there was
material that was going to have to go. So you have to be prepared to remove
your ego from the equation because if it doesn't work on the page, it’s not
going to work on the stage.
What was biggest surprise?
K: Having people standing in the back. Before we got
there, someone texted us: there's a
line. And we said, that's cool – people shuttle in and shuttle out. And
they said, no, we're not sure we're going to get in.
M: It was humbling and extremely gratifying that
people cared. Then we wondered, are they here for the panel after us? And they
weren’t!
The incredible moment was having the name card put in
front of me. At that moment, it was, This is really happening. It was
just so unbelievable that something that was soon to be no more was still
giving joy to me. And it was a privilege to be the conduit to get that joy out.
Anything you wish you did differently?
M: Honestly, no. I was happy with what we did. We had
a nice video produced of our panel, which is a treasure to look back on. But I
think we accomplished so much. We left nothing on the table. We gave away a
swag pack that I believe is one of the best I’ve seen out of a non-Hall H
panel.
K We had so many friends there. That was huge.
Especially the ones who had been going for years and knew why this was
important, because SDCC was important to us.
M: It's a family. There's a Starcruiser family and a
Comic-Con family. Our family was there.
What’s your advice for people who are
dreaming of having a panel?
M: Stop dreaming. Put together a pitch and get it in.
You don't get anything if you don't try. You've got something to offer.
Don't think you need to do it alone. Find other people
who would make a strong panel. The overriding question is, “Is this a panel
that I would want to see? And if I went, what would I think?”
We've been to panels that blew our minds and we've
been to some that were so low effort it's insulting. We never want to forget
that people are giving up precious time at Comic-Con to be at our panel and we
really want to give them a show.
What can you tell us about your panels
this year? I know you have two.
M: Our first panel is focused on Star Wars in Disney
parks – Exploring Galaxy’s Edge: Secrets, Lore, and More.
We’re lucky to have Mars Suhardi whose Etsy shop sells
incredibly crafted things. Holly Frye is a very prolific podcaster and dear
personal friend who’s hosted panels at Star Wars Celebration.
K: There is so much world building they did prior to
building Galaxy’s Edge, the media, movies, tv, books, comics - that's where we
will take people this time.
M: Easter eggs galore. People who've been to Galaxy’s
Edge a hundred times will learn something at this panel.
K: It will enhance your next trip.
What about the toy collecting panel?
M: Brian Frye is a super collector and toy package
artist– and Silver Ciprian who works at Rancho Obi-Wan, the largest collection
of Star Wars memorabilia on the planet. She knows about where to find hidden
treasures. Brian and I both started collecting in Christmas 1977. It’s changed
our lives.
But it’s not just toys that changed. It’s how we collect
toys that has evolved - there are online connections, Etsy shops, we just had
two custom action figures made - things that just weren't possible before have
become available.
We used to be surprised by what's on the shelf, now we
know 8-10 months in advance. We discuss these paradigm shifts in toy collecting.
From the Sears Wishbook to Etsy storefronts, it’s been a wild ride.
I know you’ve launched your own Con now –
what can you tell us about that?
M: Halcy-Con is an event for Galactic Starcruiser
superfans, October 4-5. It sold out in 4 hours. Our core event team is 11
people and they’re all top performers in their fields. They’re giving Halcy-Con
their all because Galactic Starcruiser literally changed their lives and gave them lifelong friendships.
Thank you so much!
PANELS
The
Evolution of Toy Collecting: From the Sears Wishbook to Etsy Storefronts
Sunday July 28, 2024 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT - Room 32AB
It's expected that toys have evolved over the decades, but what about how people collect them? Super collectors Martin Smith (Heroes of the Halcyon podcast), Brian Frey (toy package artist), and Silver Ciprian (Star Wars Thrifting channel) discuss the paradigm shifts and innovations that have FUNdamentally changed the hobby of toy collecting from the 1970s to the present. From Toys "R" Us and holiday catalogs to 3D printing at home, collecting toys over the past 50 years has itself been an adventure worthy of a retrospective. All attendees will receive an exclusive giveaway that allows you to proudly display your love for the most fun hobby in the universe!
PODCAST
CON
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