Mike Crowley
Cons can be a fun experience. It was one that I didn’t know I wanted until I reached my mid-30s. For the longest time, I was afraid of going to them. From public perception, they’re known as “nerd conventions.” Part of that is true. They are large events made for geeks. People who watch anime, play video games, and read comic books attend these events while dressed as their favorite characters. There are grown men dressed up like Batman. Not only that, but their costumes are on another level where they look like the real thing Warner Bros has made for bats. Here’s where the misconception comes in.
Not everyone attending these cons are unemployed basement dwellers. There are couples and folks with families. All walks of life come to cons. Yes, there are the neckbeards who attend by the dozen. You can tell by talking to some of them that they never leave their house. But the majority of attendees are like most of everyone else. Hard-working, decent folks who just want to have fun for a day or weekend.
When I finally attended my first con, C2E2 2019, I was blown away by how much fun I had. I ran into a lot of friends and made new ones. I got to get heavily in touch with my past while also investing a future in finally reading comic books. Slightly, I don’t read comics as much as I watch movies adapted from them. I was excited to start the next con. Little did I know the pandemic would happen. I’m glad I didn’t attend C2E2 2020. It was when COVID was spreading in the news. I already had a cold, making me not want to get sicker with a new virus. It was a good thing that I stopped myself as almost everyone I know who attended it got sick. Then, the world shut down a few weeks afterward.
How does this relate to Fan Expo 2024? I’ll tell you. When I first attended Fan Expo (then under the ownership of Wizard World), it was in August 2020. The event’s size was limited. With the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center set to half capacity, it was a breeze to circle the entire showroom floor in five minutes where it would usually take 15-20 minutes to get around it. Because of the small attendance, fewer celebrities were present, and there were hardly any big panels. There were moderate amounts of fun to be had. The cosplay competitions still went on, and there was no shortage of comics and toys to buy. But it felt like a ghost town, not making it the lively event I once attended.
Lines, Lines, Lines
With the world back to normal, Fan Expo 2024 feels like an entirely different convention. The first thing I noticed was how utterly packed it was. From the moment you check into security, you’re waiting in long lines as if you’re in Disneyland. It made me afraid I wouldn’t be able to attend my first panel. Once the gates opened, the crowd rushed through in a big hurry. Immediately when approaching the entrance to the convention center hall, it’s recognizable what Wizard World must have been like before 2020. The Hall, which once looked little, is replaced by a sea of people. I still don’t know if I circled everything since it was hard to navigate with many folks around.
Mythbustusting with Adam Savage
The crowd wasn’t a notable issue until I started attending the panels. The convention center is connected to a hotel lobby, where both floors hold the panels. The second floor led to an escalator that took the crowd to the main theater, where the big panels were taking place. The first panel I attended was Mythbusting with Adam Savage. The crowd was relatively limited, making it easy to get front-seat access. One thing that’s immediately noticeable in the main theater is the setup. The lights are dimmed, almost set to off, as there are big spotlights pointed toward the stage with a single camera hooked up to two large monitors projecting the panel to those in the back that can’t get a clear view.
I remember how animated Adam was. AS is a ball of energy that goes nonstop. He clearly loves talking to the fans, as he enthusiastically engaged with everyone at the show. During one question, a child asked Adam what got him into engineering. Savage answered that he knew he was never a genius. He’s met only a handful of them. Unfortunately, he’s not one of them. But he’s clever enough to know how to build things and incorporate those skills into his life.
I was disappointed not to hear about Adam Savage’s film production experience as it’s extensive. He worked with ILM on the painfully overlooked masterwork A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions. Adam Savage may not consider himself to be a genius, but it takes a brilliant mind with an extraordinary amount of patience to work on visual effects.
X-Men Panel
After Adam Savage, I went downstairs to a much smaller panel, Previously on X-Men with Producer/Director Larry Houston. The panel didn’t only have Larry Houston present, but also Cal Dodd (the voice of Wolverine) and the original voice of Jean Grey, Catherine Disher. I was surprised to see just how small the panel was. It took place in a tiny room. The setup wasn’t even really a setup. It was just a tiny table placed on a small stage. The crowd was so small I could have counted the attendees with my fingers. How could this panel be so empty? X-Men: The Animated Series was one of the most influential comic book cartoon shows ever made. It even got revived in 2023 under the phenomenal X-Men ’97. With ’97’s extreme popularity, you’d think more people would be interested in seeing the team that paved the way for the X-Men movies.
The nice thing about a small panel is that it allows you to engage with the artists. You won’t get that from the main shows where after the show, the stars are inaccessible. After the panel, everyone walked off stage toward the crowd. Not in the back of a curtain through a rear entrance. It lets everyone talk to the talent without the ego of popularity attached. Also, it allowed me the opportunity to speak to X-Men Producer/Director Larry Houston.
Speaking to Houston on a one-to-one basis was a dream come true. X-Men: The Animated Series was my childhood. I remember waking up on Saturday morning to watch the show with my sister. X-Men brought us closer together as a family. Now, I get to speak with the guy who brought me so much joy. Mr. Houston couldn’t have been a more personable guy.
I got to speak with him twice, once after the panel and the next day on the showroom floor. We talked about why the final season of X-Men before the revival looked so different. For the last season, Houston told me he left his position as Producer/Director, handing the final season off to his Assistant Producer. Or it could have been a Co-Producer. I was so in the moment that I forgot. We also talked about the cameos in Deadpool and Wolverine and shared in agreement that trailers ruin movies. They’re interactions I’ll never forget.
Good Luck Seeing Luke Skywalker
Sometimes, I missed having a smaller crowd since it allows for more intimate conversations. When trying to attend Mark Hamill’s panel, it was clear that I was going to spend the majority of my time at the Convention standing in lines. The wait for Mark Hamill was insane. First, you’d have to purchase a separate ticket to go to the event. They categorized the tickets by color. Gold got first access, while silver was for regular nonpaying attendees.
The lines to see Luke Skywalker himself were a mess. Showing up an hour and a half before the panel started, I’d think I’d have plenty of time to get a good spot. Not so. The line just to get in the door was already filled. So, I was forced to go into a large room across away from the main lobby. The room was flooded with thousands of fans. Evidently, everyone that day came to see Mark Hamill.
The staff were colored in yellow shirts to help the attendees find assistance. I felt bad for them as they were clearly overwhelmed by the amount of people needing information. Often, during the Convention, the staff would ask me what stage an event is taking place in that I’m trying to attend. You would think they’d know it, but I think they were not entirely informed. Luckily, I saved everything from the schedule in the notes app on my phone. If not for that, I would have spent hours scrolling the Fan Expo website for information, missing panels because of an ill-informed staff.
As the time approached to see Mark Hamill, we were told the main theater was already full. However, we could watch a live stream of the panel in the theater across from the event. What’s the fun in that? I could watch any interview with Hamill online. Why would I want to see him on a screen? I figured forget it and headed down to the showroom floor. On the showroom floor, I didn’t do much other than observe my surroundings. I used to love buying nostalgic toys for decoration, but I didn’t want to waste my money on useless plastic.
Nostalgia Burnout
After being to multiple cons, I didn’t spend much time exploring the showroom floor as I’ve seen it all before. Comics, video games, anime, it’s all there. There’s even an artist alley where popular comic book artists, along with independent artists, will sell you their work. It can range from extremely detailed fan drawings of Anakin Skywalker to unknown characters from Indie franchises. I enjoy seeing all that stuff. Yet, it has limited value. You can only enjoy browsing for fun merchandise before you’ve seen everything and are ready to head home. It’s fun, but not as fun as seeing celebrities. And this year was no exception.
There were many celebrities at Fan Expo 2024, so many that it caused problems with panel and autograph lines. Waking up early for the second day of the Convention, I wanted to attend Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei’s panel at 12:15 p.m. Getting to the Convention on the second day was a hassle. The amount of traffic leading to the flooded parking lot was substantial. After navigating through angry traffic control cops, I made it to the Hotel hallway forty minutes before the panel started, only to discover that it was almost empty to see Ms. Tomei. Instead, everyone was lined up to see William Shatner in the theater across from her. I couldn’t complain. I got front-stage access to an actress whose work I admire.
An Uncomfortable Panel
Marisa Tomei’s panel was awkward, yet it wasn’t her fault. The panelist interviewing her, whose name I’ll leave out due to respect, clearly didn’t do his homework. Something that Tomei politely addressed. She didn’t say anything to the nature of, “Did you do your research?” It was more like, “Do you have any other questions for me?” followed by an awkward laugh. The panelist’s questions were something he clearly just jotted down right before the interview. Questions like “Did you have any trouble playing a particular role?” or “Where do you keep your Oscar?” As a journalist who conducts interviews, I could tell these were very low-hanging, generalized inquiries that anyone could have come up with. Then, Marisa ended the panel abruptly.
There were no audience questions. Tomei simply said, “Thanks, guys!” ending the conversation on an awkward note. I don’t know if I can blame her entirely. The room was almost empty despite her high status. The guy interviewing her was underprepared, and a creepy audience member yelled, “Woo!” when she mentioned that she got naked in The Wrestler.
The room probably wasn’t filled with people familiar with her filmography, so she decided it wasn’t worth her time, or maybe she was in a hurry to leave. That was a big letdown. I was dying to ask her about working on Sidney Lumet’s final film, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. I wanted to know if Lumet really only did six-hour days. Something unheard of in film production. I also wanted to ask about what she learned from working with the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Instead, Tomei had to get stuck with questions about what it’s like to be an actor.
Born Again: Daredevil’s Charlie Cox
I had the good sense to wait a solid two hours for the following panel, Born Again: Meet Charlie Cox. It was a tedious wait, but I did get to interact with other fans who had grand stories about attending Star Wars Celebration. The Charlie Cox panel was far less awkward than Maria Tomei’s, probably because Cox is more rooted in the comic book universe than her, who has a wider filmography. Cox was asked the usual questions. Many of them consisted of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again, which Cox couldn’t answer since the series hasn’t come out yet. The only awkward moment was when a fan asked Charlie Cox a detailed question about religion tied to Matt Murdock’s roots in Christianity. With an extended pause, Cox was able to concoct an answer that avoided any potential pitfalls in religious controversy.
Originally, I was planning to end my day after that panel. But a friend informed me via Facebook messenger of the Terminator panel featuring Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese), Robert Patrick (The T-1000), and Lance Henriksen (Detective Val Vukovich). Because I was press, I got VIP access to the front of the line. Something a fellow attendee, not the overworked staff, let me know, which I wish I had addressed earlier to the staff, but I didn’t want to come off as an entitled diva. The access allowed me to sneak into actor Cole Sprouse’s panel filled with girls thirsting for him. It was a lively event where Sprouse was extremely vibrant with the crowd. After Cole Sprouse’s show ended, it was on to the Terminator panel.
You’re Terminated
The Terminator presentation was fun. I got to have a front seat to my childhood icons. Two particular parts stood out from the presentation. One where Lance Henrickson was questioning why all the Terminators were naked. “what are we making, a porno?” Henrickson said he thought at the time, generating a laugh from me. Next was Lina Hamilton revealing she thought it would have been interesting if Sarah Connor was fat in Terminator: Dark Fate. To her, Sarah Connor is different in every film. In Terminator, she’s a person who’s simply getting by in life that’s suddenly hunted by a machine. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, she’s a grizzled warrior trapped in an insane asylum. Making Connor fat in Dark Fate would have been an unexpected transition. Although I like the idea, I’m not sure it would work. Seeing an out-of-shape Sarah Connor would come off as more comedic than serious.
I have always admired Linda Hamilton. Now, I love her even more. After most major panels, the artists sneak out through the backstage. Not Linda Hamilton. She stuck around after the show to interact with fans. From our brief interaction, I got to share our mutual friendship with an actress she worked with on Easy Does It. It took her a minute for her to familiarize herself with who I was talking about, but when she did, she lit up. Linda Hamilton is awesome. On a side note, I got to interact with Robert Patrick at Wizard World 2020. He was a blast. We talked extensively about what happened to his character after his exit from The Sopranos. Did he die? Did he get help? Patrick told me he thinks he went to rehab for his gambling addiction, which is a fitting conclusion.
After attending my final panel, I browsed the showroom floor one last time before leaving the Convention for good. I saw the lines for celebrity autographs were astronomically long. Let alone painfully expensive. $700 for a photo with Mark Hamill is way above my pay grade. I even heard many guests were late. Hayden Christensen didn’t show up on time, for instance, because of a rumored fan who was press that demanded immediate access. Sorry, pal, that’s not how it works. You have to wait just like everyone else. Tear his credentials up!
Autographs
I vowed not to spend my money, but I folded. Forking out a good chunk of change from the ATM, I spent my cash on a photo with Jango/Boba Fett himself, Temuera Morrison. The line for him was nonexistent. Everyone wanted to take photos with Matthew Lillard, Mark Hamill, and Hayden Christensen instead. It allowed me time to speak with Mr. Morrison, but I got so star-struck I froze up, only saying hi to him when they took my picture.
I hope to one day interview him so I can fix my regret. I wanted to ask him about implementing the Haka into The Book of Boba Fett, places to visit in New Zealand, and what are Boba Fett’s thoughts on the Clone army. Were they a bastardization of his DNA or people he considered as fellow brothers? Or is he indifferent? I’m going to be kicking myself for a while for that.
A Sloppy But Fun Convention
This year’s Fan Expo was much more about the celebrities whose work I admire than the nostalgic merchandise available on the showroom floor. I had a blast at the Convention. Minus a horribly disorganized parking lot, an exhausted, ill-informed staff, waiting in long lines with not enough convention space, and being packed like sardines in the main hall, there are tons of unforgettable memories I had. From meeting Sarah Connor to talking to X-Men Producer/Director Larry Houston, I’m glad I attended. I didn’t have the energy to go for a third day. A con is an exhausting experience, especially if you try to attend all the panels plus purchase merchandise/autographs.
I had a good time but I’m concerned the complaints from the patrons on the official Fan Expo Facebook page might limit the amount of celebrities who come in next year. There were various gripes about line management and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) access. I can’t speak on behalf of the ADA treatment, but I can say a lot of these objections, although some valid, are just the way cons work. They’re a lot of attendees making it messy. It’s organized chaos. Still, there’s much room for improvement. Despite the chaos, I had a grand time, hoping to come again to meet more prominent artists in attendance.
