Ready Player Two: An Underground Review

 

The year was 2015, I think. I had signed up for this pop culture subscription service called Loot Crate. Essentially, they send you a grab-bag of pop culture stuff once a month. You don't know what you're getting until you open it, generally. Although my membership was short-lived, they did send me a couple good things - most notably a Batman/Joker Funko Pop and the book Ready Player One, which I had heard was basically the end-all, be-all of pop culture literature.

On the public's recommendation alone, I gave the book a try and largely enjoyed it. The book pays homage to movies and TV shows galore with non-stop tributes to the 1980s, from start to finish. The main thing I had a problem with as I read was that there were a lot of extended references to things that I wasn't familiar with, such as a prolonged quest where a Willy Wonka-esque Easter egg hunt sends Wade Watts, the main character, into a Matthew Broderick movie that I've never seen (but I've recently added "War Games" to my Netflix list, so maybe I'll get around to it one day). There are also a plethora of nods to Dungeons & Dragons in the book, a corner of geekdom into which I've never so much as stepped a foot, so some of that stuff was a bit hard to digest. Overall, though, it was a pretty good book that I would say that I enjoyed.

After what seemed like years of "will they/won't they" rumors on the Internet, they finally produced a "Ready Player One" film adaptation in 2018 - directed by Steven Spielberg, no less! If nothing else, the fact that they were granted the rights to use so many iconic characters, locations and vehicles in the same movie was truly a marvel, and I applaud them for that. I really enjoyed the movie, which I was able to see in a theater full of nerds, as a member of the FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention staff. Watching that movie with so many people who genuinely appreciated the tiny references to movies we loved was a blast. They did change several aspects of the book (for instance, "The Shining" quest was new for the big screen, and there was a major character death that was omitted, as well), so it was a little different than what I was expecting, but I thought they did a solid job. I'll also say this: I liked the movie more than the book.

I had hoped for a sequel to the story. With so much entertainment history out there, particularly for my generation of '80s and '90s kids, certainly, author Ernest Cline would have a million ways he could go with it if he ever chose to do so. Last year, in 2020 (it's still hard to believe that was only a year ago!), I saw a news headline on Facebook that mentioned that there actually was going to be a sequel. Ready Player Two. Awesome. And it was coming out around my birthday. Even better! The release date couldn't come soon enough. I wanted to get my hands on that thing and hop back into the OASIS.

The time came, and I did read it. For those of you who, like I was, are curious as to what the see what a sequel might look like or whether or not it would be any good, I'm here to give you a good, old-fashioned book report, just like I did in school. And, like I'm sure I tried to do in school, I'll try to keep it brief and relatively spoiler-free. I won't give away any of the juicy stuff, anyway. I'll just give you a little rundown of the plot, then tell you whether I thought it was worth my time.

Just in case, here's this:

What's it about?

Ready Player Two picks up shortly after Wade Watts, the nostalgia-obsessed protagonist of Ready Player One, won the massive Easter egg hunt in the first book, granting him ownership of Gregarioius Simulation Systems - the virtual reality mega-corporation previously owned by the now-deceased billionaire James Halliday - and its limitless VR playground, the OASIS. Winning that contest was, literally, Wade's life's work, and now he and his friends, Art3mis, Aech and Shoto (with whom Wade decided to share ownership of his new company) have a whole lot more to worry about than memorizing every line of classic '80s movies.

Early on in the book, Watts and the remaining members of his "High Five" gamer clan buy out their competition and funnel their resources into the development of new and more advanced technology -- namely, the OASIS Neural Interface - a state-of-the-art virtual reality headset that provides an experience so realistic for their users that they can now feel everything they see on screen.

These new "ONI" headsets provide such an enthralling new adventure for gamers that a new fad emerges: people begin to record and upload their day-to-day experiences to the cloud for other users to download. Say you wanted to know what it was like for George Clooney to eat breakfast? No problem. It's just a click away. Never been to Disneyland? Download another ONI user's recording and you'll be there in an instant. Want to be a woman? Want to be a man? Want to relive the moment you were, um, conceived by your parents - or the moment your mother gave birth to you... as your mother?? The ONI has got you covered! Needless to say, the ONI can get a little freaky, and its hyper-addictive nature raises quite a few moral and ethical dilemmas for those living in this dystopian view of the future.

When Wade and his friends are forced to crack down on what, exactly, is ok and what isn't, what's safe and what shouldn't be allowed, it causes a rift between the newly rich and famous "High Five," particularly between Wade and his (now ex-) girlfriend Art3mis, to the point that their relationship may not be salvageable.

But bigger problems arise when the ONI gets so big and so populated that a brand new Easter egg hunt is automatically triggered by the late Halliday. A new riddle appears for all OASIS users, sending the gamers into a frenzy, searching for seven shards of the "Siren's Soul" - a reference, quite possibly, to a controversial person from Halliday's past.

As the heir to Halliday's fortune and the winner of the previous contest, Wade immediately takes center stage in this book, as his insatiable appetite for victory consumes his every waking moment. What ensues is another whirlwind quest to track down these mysterious shards and, simultaneously, decide the fate of the OASIS itself.

How mature is the content?

I couldn't quite remember the specifics about how family-friendly the first book was, but I learned early on in Player Two that this was not a book for children. Cline is not shy about his use of the F-word in this installment, so think twice before you go, "Hey, 10-year-old son, you like video games, you'll probably love this book!" Profanity is typically, in my opinion, a sign of unintelligence, so the way Wade and his counterparts express their frustration in the face of intense challenges was a bother for me.

Another thing that stuck out to me as, probably, the worst part of the book was that Cline several times expounds upon the dark, dark stuff that people could do on the ONI. Specifically, he mentions that some of the most popular downloads from the cloud are sexual in nature, going so far as to say that, if that's what you're into, you can do it as any gender with as many people as you want, with no consequences. I get it. People are into that stuff. But Cline really spells it out - and he does it more than once, almost to the letter. It's as if the editor didn't catch the fact that there are nearly identical paragraphs in it during two separate parts of the book. I almost thought about going back to see if some of the sentences were duplicated but didn't care enough to go through with it.

On a somewhat similar note, there are some liberal social commentaries about gender identity and gender and race equality that Cline uses to bash the reader over the head a few times. For instance, one minor character is sort of inexplicably transgender. In another portion of the book, Aech (a Black lesbian) takes the time to comment on how there are no characters of color in The Lord of the Rings. I won't get on my soapbox about that stuff, but that stuff came off as pushy, pandering and, at times, a bit cringe-worthy, in my opinion. Trying too hard. That's all.

Is the book any good?

Not unlike the first book, readers who enjoyed Ready Player One will be happy to know that pop culture references are practically dripping off the pages, which is fun for fans of movies, music, television and retro video games. However, this does come with somewhat of a price, as it occasionally feels like good dialogue is sacrificed for the sake of having a character quote an obscure song lyric. It sometimes gets a little silly, and it probably got more than a couple eye-rolls out of me as I read.

Despite there being a bit less of a focus on Dungeons & Dragons in the second book, the running presence of old school tabletop campaigns still prevails, which is a bit polarizing. If you're into D&D (and there's nothing wrong with that), you'll love that stuff, but if Dungeon Masters and the like aren't up your alley, a lot of that stuff will be way over your head.

As I mentioned earlier about the first book, several large chunks of Ready Player One weren't home runs for me because of my unfamiliarity with the subject material, and that's still a bit of an issue in the sequel. I won't completely ruin the surprises here, but there were chapters that got a bit tedious for me because I didn't care to know every single detail of some of the characters they encountered.

Granted, if Cline, who is a big fan of the Back to the Future movies, did a quest about Marty McFly and the Flux Capacitor, or if there was a mission about Weezer's Green Album, I'd eat that stuff up! Unfortunately, there were just three or four of the main quests in Wade's second treasure hunt that didn't quite hit my pop culture sweet spot. But if you're into John Hughes' complete filmography, early-early-early Sega Genesis and obscure J.R.R. Tolkien, you're in for a treat.

Another thing about the main quests in Player Two is that they sometimes seem dragged out. For instance, Cline might take one chapter to explain how Wade discovers where to go next, one chapter to describe what the destination is like once he gets there, the next 20 pages to plot out Wade's plan, then another chapter to take the reader step-by-step through the "boss battle." In several parts of this book, it felt like process that was about two chapters too long.

Something else to keep in mind is that Google is not always your friend. Because these books have so many specific references to actual characters or places from pop culture, I was curious to find out if one particular character was lifted from a movie or something that I hadn't seen yet. It turns out, he wasn't - and I accidentally found a somewhat important spoiler for Googling his name. Whoops. Thankfully, that revelation was made probably a third of the way into the book, so it's not like I unintentionally ruined the ending prematurely.

After I finished the book last night, I looked up a review from another website (which I will purposely leave unattributed). Their review was not very favorable, and one of the things they mentioned was that Wade Watts is not a very likable character in his second go-around. I think that's a pretty valid argument to be made. He's often not a very good friend, his fortune has sort of made him an elitist jerk and he frequently comes off, in the second book, as really "emo" and moody. A crybaby, at times. It's not that I was rooting against him, but it just kind of feels like saying, "I hope Bill Gates wins the lottery." I don't know.

Conclusion

In the end, I did enjoy Ready Player Two, as a fan of the first book and the movie adaptation. I would say that it's probably not as fun as the first book, though. The first book and the movie were all about the freedom and exploration of the OASIS - how cool it would be to live in a virtual world where you could literally do whatever you wanted - but the second book takes on a more serious tone. Player Two is more about the immense responsibility and burden that Wade has to shoulder with this new form of technology. Technology can be a very powerful, scary thing. I told my wife early on, "This is not going to end well." The sequel asks the questions: What would happen if this power fell into the wrong hands, and what would the consequences be if such capabilities were misused by those who controlled it?

It's certainly a thought-provoking concept, and there are some really fun highlights along the way for those who grew up with the reference material; the book just might be hard to digest for those who fall outside of the target demographic.

Rating

3 out of 5 stars

*****

There you have it! Have you read Ready Player Two? If so, we'd love to chat with you about it. If you haven't picked it up yet, we hope this review will leave you more well-informed about whether you'd like it! Either way, let us know what you think! Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, follow us on Twitter (here and here) or reach out through Facebook.

Until next time.

In defense of Wrestlemania

From the top trend on Facebook to ESPN's Twitter feed, pro wrestling headlines have been all over the Internet in the past few days. World Wrestling Entertainment's annual Wrestlemania pay-per-view was held over the weekend, showcasing the top talent in the business on a more global scale than ever before. It's interesting to me that, with wrestling seemingly more popular in terms of fan base and viewership than ever before, the industry maintains its negative connotations and uncool reputation. Call me the devil's advocate, call me a loser, call me whatever you want... but I pro wrestling gets a bit of an unfair rap. Let me explain.

For those of you who aren't aware, I, like most young, American boys in the 1990s, had a decent amount of exposure to pro wrestling during one particular stretch of my childhood - in the midst of what pro wrestling historians call the "Monday Night War." Pro wrestling was a taboo topic back then, just as it is today, in the sense that if you watched it, you didn't really admit it to anybody. Heck, I wasn't supposed to watch it as a kid. Wrestling, along with "The Simpsons," "South Park" and a few other shows, had been banned from my household (and probably for good reason). There are just some shows that parents didn't want their kids watching. I am totally fine with that and don't resent my parents from the restrictions they placed on me and my siblings. But, from time to time when my parents were out for the night, I'd be flipping channels and catch a glimpse of some good, old-fashioned grappling. Violent though it was, there was something so intriguing about it. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking as a kid, but it just seemed cool, and I'd try to sneak in a few minutes of pro wrestling here and there when my channel surfing incidentally lined up with World Championship Wrestling's TV programming.

At one point during the height of the now-defunct WCW's popularity, Karl Malone, one of my favorite Utah Jazz players teamed up with a guy named Diamond Dallas Paige to fight against "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls. The surprising combination of forbidden fighting and my beloved basketball icon proved too good to resist and my brothers and I found ourselves sneakily tuning in to WCW Monday Nitro each week. Eventually - and, to this day, I have no idea how this happened - we convinced our parents to watch the Mailman and DDP feud with Hogan and The Worm as they geared up for a heated confrontation at WCW's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view in the summer of 1996. Believe it or not, it actually turned into a great family bonding experience. We ordered Bash at the Beach and a couple other PPV events over the course of the next several months and even invited some of our extended family to watch with us a couple times. (I'm sure they thought we were absolute morons.) A few months later, WCW hired some former WWE (then "WWF") writers and the storylines got a bit more "mature," I guess you'd say, and my family's short-lived affair came to an end. Honestly, it was a blast while it lasted. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

As a junior at Alta High School, I decided that I wanted to run for band president. As part of my unprecedented campaign (literally, I don't think anyone has ever tried so hard to become band president at any high school), I thought it would be funny to buy a plastic WWE championship belt and make a video portraying me training for the presidency, a la Rocky. I guess the concept kind of caught on and three additional wrestling belts eventually made their way to the sacred confines of the Alta High Band Room. Silly? Yes. But it worked. Again, I'm not ashamed to admit it. My buddies and I took the joke a step further and made a 30-minute mockumentary about a fictional pro wrestling tag team called "The Big Ticket." (In retrospect, I'm sure it was horrible, but we thought it was hilarious.) In 2010, we joined creative forces yet again to make an hour-long "Big Ticket" sequel. (Likely just as horrible, but twice as hilarious.)

As an LDS missionary in Raleigh, North Carolina, I was called to speak Spanish. Contrary to what you may believe or hear, learning a new language is not a total piece of cake. It takes effort. You don't leave the Missionary Training Center completely fluent in the new foreign tongue. Something that helped me tremendously in my learning efforts was speaking with little Hispanic children. They would make fun of me if I didn't speak the language very well, but they were a lot nicer about it than the adults were. I quickly came to realize that little Hispanic kids know a lot about three things in particular: soccer, school and pro wrestling. Thus, I found wrestling to be a pretty easy topic of conversation - something that I knew a little bit about and could use a bit of "Spanglish" in without sounding like an idiot. The kids loved talking about it, which was cool, but it also kept me somewhat up-to-date with which wrestlers were popular, which ones were doing well and, of course, which ones were the bad guys.

Now that I'm seven years removed from my mission, I don't have consistent access to the Rey Mysterio and John Cena fan clubs like I did in North Carolina, but I am savvy enough to spot WWE references in pop culture today. There are nods to pro wrestling (both modern and from the '80s and '90s) all over the place, if you know what to look for. It's somewhat amusing to me. I would incorporate some of the classic catch phrases as I did my college radio shows. In fact, the most popular segment of my show down in Ephraim was called the "KAGE Match" - a blatant nod to pro wrestling. I'm still not sure that any of my listeners understood that. It disappoints me.

Most recently, as I had the glorious privilege of working with Salt Lake Comic Con, I got a chance to meet the immortal Hulk Hogan - to take a picture with him, give him the nWo "wolf" hand gesture and to sit front row at his spotlight panel. It was awesome. I got a little bit of grief for it, but, as a kid who grew up in the '90s, meeting the Hulkster was like meeting one of the coolest guys on the planet. I suppose that today's equivalent might be... Chris Hemsworth or somebody like that? Whatever. It was really cool for me. Hulk still rules!

SO. With all of that context, it's not that I am a pro wrestling addict or something. More like I just know a lot about it. Anyway, I think I've got some valid points and pretty strong arguments for the case I'm about to make, so let me now explain why I don't think that pro wrestling is actually as bad as society purports it to be by listing a few common complaints I hear about the industry and then rebutting them in rather majestic fashion.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is fake."

You know what? It's scripted. Yes. Which is stupid because "Doctor Who" is REAL! Oh wait... No, it's not. Most shows on TV are scripted. This should not come as a shock to anyone. Certainly, to the untrained viewer, like my 10-year-old self back in the day, you bet I thought it was real. Heck, I even prayed that Karl Malone would beat Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach. (Side note: Hogan and Rodman cheated to win. I got really upset and have never prayed for the outcome of a sporting event since.) I'm positive that WWE takes great lengths to ensure that their programming looks and feels real (or unscripted), but... can you blame them? Would you want your favorite TV program to come right out and say, "Hey, everyone, our show isn't real! Look at all these green screens! And here: meet the stunt doubles!" Of course you wouldn't want that! Every show and movie that you watch wants to look real, even though it is clearly fictional. Yes, pro wrestling is scripted. But so is everything else.

Furthermore, those steel chairs can't dent themselves, now, can they? I submit to you that they cannot. There is no denying that these guys (and chicks) that put their bodies on the line each time they step in the ring are a rare, freaky combination of incredibly athletic and certifiably crazy. No stunt doubles, no CGI, no wires. You can pull all the punches and kicks you want, but there is some stuff you just can't fake.

If you've been paying attention to the top Facebook trends in the past week and a half or so, you'll have seen that Rey Mysterio Jr., the first guy I ever remember watching in the squared circle, recently killed a guy during one of his matches. Literally. The guy passed away. Of course, this was an accident, an unintended consequence of a move likely gone wrong, but I dare you to go find that guy's mom and tell him that pro wrestling is fake. I dare you.

On the other hand, you've got UFC and MMA, which is real. Have you ever watched UFC or MMA? That stuff is brutal! I can barely bring myself to watch the highlights from time to time. Thank heaven pro wrestling isn't real! The number of injuries, broken bones and in-ring deaths would multiply considerably and that entire industry would get shut down in a heartbeat.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is too violent."

Going back to a point I brought up in my exposition, I know why my parents didn't want me to watch pro wrestling. I understand why I stopped watching "Power Rangers" and couldn't play any of the "Mortal Kombat" video games. Violence is not the answer to a vast majority of life's problems. The worst thing about wrestling is that it teaches young viewers that the best way to resolve a problem or to take out your frustration is by beating the tar out of your enemies. That's not good.

But at least they're not out there shooting each other with guns or chopping each other's heads off.

Take a look at some of the popular network dramas on TV today. Shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investiagtion," "Law & Order" and "Criminal Minds" are all about gruesome depictions of violence and the aftermath of crimes like murder, rape and domestic abuse. I stopped watching "The Walking Dead" after two and a half seasons because it got to the point where I figured I had seen enough zombies get their skulls split in two by machetes. There are other programs like "Game of Thrones," "Dexter," "Hannibal" and a host of others that I don't dare venture into because I'm afraid they'll be too intense for me. On the other hand, do you know what "WWE Raw" is rated? TV-PG. I was a WCW fan and never got into the WWF "Attitude Era" with the Rock, the Undertaker and D-Generation X, but today's pro wrestling is incredibly mild by comparison. Wrestlers rarely get busted open these days, so blood is at an all-time low. Male and female wrestlers cannot compete against each other, due to the company's stance on violence against women. Long gone are the profanity-laden tyrades of villains like the bird-flipping "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Vince McMahon and company understand that their fan base consists of, largely, 35-year-old guys and 8-year-old kids, and, following the deaths of superstars like Eddie Guerrero and "The Rabid Wolverine" Chris Benoit, they've made appropriate adjustments to the nature of their entertainment to keep the show as family-friendly as possible. I'd go so far as to say that WWE programming is substantially tamer than your average weeknight TV drama.

Complaint: "Pro wrestling is for losers."

This is probably the main complaint I heard as an employee of Salt Lake Comic Con. Wrestling has been included in a couple of the conventions in the last year and a half, including appearances by Hulk Hogan and "divas" Maryse and Kelly Kelly. Most controversially, at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, a local, independent wrestling group brought in a ring and hosted occasional matches in the middle of the vendor floor.

People hated that ring for a couple reasons: 1) it was big, 2) it was loud, and 3) it was pro wrestling. I found these complaints somewhat humorous for a couple reasons. First of all, as with anything, if you don't like it, don't watch it. But secondly - and mainly - for a group of people who pride themselves on being all-inclusive of people of any interest or "fandom," as they call it, it was funny to hear the comic con attendees be so judgmental of those who like pro wrestling. So... apparently it's ok for a dude to like "My Little Pony" but not Hulk Hogan? Wow. (Side note: I have never been more ridiculed in my life for being a sports fan than I was as a comic con employee, which I found to be very strange.)

One thing I learned at comic con was that lots of different people like lots of different things - and that's totally ok. Some people like Marvel and some people like DC. Some people like both and some like neither of the two. It's fine! It doesn't matter what other people like! Just be yourself and like what makes you happy. Whether that's aliens or vampires or sweaty guys throwing each other around a wrestling ring, it's totally fine to be a fan of anything in the world... As long as it's not, you know, committing crimes in the real world or going against your religion or whatnot...

---

I'll stop there, I think. If you made it this far into the blog, I offer you a hearty congratulations. I'm not here to sway your opinion one way or the other. I'm not here saying I freaking love the WWE and watch every second of their programming (because I don't). I have just always found it interesting that we put such a negative label on something that, by the entertainment standards of the day, is actually not all that violent, profane or out-of-the-ordinary. I'm just simply here to ask, "Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you, brother?" Hopefully your response will be a little more open-minded and less judgmental than it has been in the past.

And if you subscribed to the WWE Network for $9.99 to watch Wrestlemania last night, your secret is safe with me.

FanX 15 - Jim Cummings: The Voices of a Generation

Since the mid-1980s, Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2015 guest Jim Cummings has been the voice of a generation, providing some of the most iconic voices in all of animation. His vocal presence was practically unavoidable in throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, lending the sound behind classic cartoon characters like Disney’s infamous Pete, the Tazmanian Devil of Looney Tunes fame, the Rescue Rangers’ Monterrey Jack, TaleSpin villain Don Karnage and a slew of deep-voiced announcers and narrators. He also provided voices for major characters in animated series like “Bonkers,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “CatDog,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “The Tick,” “Earthworm Jim,” “Timon & Pumbaa,” “House of Mouse” and, literally, hundreds more. But of his 438 credited roles on IMDb, Cummings is best known for his legendary portrayal of Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger, too).

When asked whether creating and performing so many different voices was difficult, Cummings told Salt Lake Comic Con, “Well, we are schizophrenic and, uh… we are, too, so we don’t mind it at all. We have a good time with it and the voices in my head are all nodding up and down. They’re all smiling,” he said with a laugh. “So, I think it’s good. I think the answer is – what is it like? – pretty darn good.”

Cummings began developing his skill at a very young age. “I’ve been terminally annoying since the age of four, so I’m really getting good at this,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that I just fell into and people started laughing, and I figure, ‘Well, that’s better than having them beat the heck out of me…’ So I just stuck with it.”

If his experience with live-action performance is any indication, Cummings will be sticking to doing voice work for the foreseeable future. He recalled one of his first impressions of Hollywood: hanging out with Bob Hoskins and Robert Zemeckis on the set of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for which he helped develop several of the Weasels, originally, and later ended up as the voice for “Bullet #2.” During this experience, he realized that the live-action work seemed to be a lot of “Hurry up” and “Wait…”, noticing that actors would often sit in their trailers for three hours before heading to the set to recite four lines.

He specifically remembered rehearsing one exhausting scene on the set at Griffith Park in Los Angeles until 4:00 in the morning – and then, to his disappointment, the entire scene was cut from the film! At that point, chuckling, Cummings thought, “Hand me the microphone, please. I don’t have to be in my trailer; my trailer is everywhere!”

Cummings landed the role that, arguably, has defined his career in the late-‘80s when ABC and Disney sought out to find the next voice of Winnie the Pooh. He described that life-changing experience:

“At the time, it was 1987 and there hadn’t been any ‘Winnie the Pooh’ since the early ‘60s. But the original two or three that they made that were really great and everybody loved them – they won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short, I guess – [but then] they went away for like 25 years. So, at that point, Winnie the Pooh wasn’t as prevalent, if you will. But then ABC and Disney got together and started casting for it and Sterling Holloway (God rest his soul – he’s no longer with us), well, he had retired; he was very old – close to 90, I believe – so he wasn’t coming back to drive all the way up to Hollywood to do that (or Burbank). So they cast out a net and they caught me and I’m so proud and happy and the rest is sort of history.

“At that time, Paul Winchell was still doing Tigger (and, you know… rest in peace, as well) and he had been going back and forth… He was quite something; he was an inventor, an innovator, he came up with the prototype for the artificial heart, you know, and Tigger. Of course, it’s a logical career progression. He was doing research and going back and forth, so I was Tigger half the time and then, bless his heart, he had a terrible stroke […] and he just couldn’t do it anymore, so they said, ‘All right, you’re Tigger, too.’ So I got Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too.”

Cummings and the voices in his head were an enormous hit at FanX ’15, as he and fellow voice actors Jess Harnell and Rob Paulsen rose to superstar status in Salt Lake City. Their first combined panel, a Harry Potter script reading, was filled to capacity and prompted Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder Dan Farr to book an encore performance in the South Ballroom on Saturday. The ballroom was packed as Harnell, Paulsen and Cummings read lines from The Sorcerer’s Stone in the voices of their most beloved characters, including a show-stopping portrayal of the evil Lord Voldemort, done in the voice of the innoncent, hunny-loving Winnie the Pooh.

Cummings said that he enjoyed his time in Utah. “It’s been fantastic,” he said. “I love the hotel, love the staff, love the Con. Everybody putting it on is great and I say, ‘Full speed ahead!’” Then he closed his remarks in the style of the world’s most famous crime-fighting mallard: “If Darkwing Duck were here, he would say, ‘I am the terror that flaps in the night – and it’s good to get out and flap in the day every now and then, so I’d just say, ‘Keep flappin’!... for justice, of course.’ But… let’s get dangerous!”

The Con to End All Cons

As a nerd have you every asked yourself the following questions? Are there other nerds out there who have my likes? Is there a place where all nerds could come together? I’m here to tell you that there is in fact a place. A place so coveted tickets are like gold. Yes, I’m talking about the nerd Mecca, San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). Now if you’ve ever experienced a con, you have been exposed to a mere fraction of what SDCC is like. If you don’t like crowds of screaming fanatics, you best stay away because SDCC is not for the feint of heart.

Having been two times I can tell you that every nerd MUST experience the awesomeness that is SDCC. However, there is a right way to do SDCC and there is a wrong way. In this post I will offer a few tips to make the most out of your SDCC experience (because believe me after this post you will be making plans for next year).

1. Be prepared to spend most of your money on a hotel room

Location is key. My first time, I spent an hour commuting round trip from my hotel. That is a precious hour I could have used for something else, like waiting in line. My second time, I booked a hotel in the Gaslamp district. My commute consisted of a ten-minute walk, which was perfect.  After a full day of geeking out, you will be glad you paid the extra money for a close hotel.

2. Don’t expect to get any sleep

If you want to see the good panels, you must be in line at 2am to have a hope of getting in. I got in line for a panel that early and I almost didn’t make it. Bring a comfy chair you don’t mind sitting in because you will spend a lot of time in line.

3. Bring your own food

Once you get into a panel room, you can stay there as long as you like, but once you leave the room you have to wait in line all over again. At this point, you may have been awake for 8 hours and can feel the hunger taking over. SDCC does sell food, but it is overpriced and not very good. Bringing your own food ensures that you will be well fed and happy the duration of your day.

4. Bring a good camera

Cons are the perfect place for people watching. You really never know what you are going to experience and you may want to remember that moment forever, or not as the case may be. Have a camera handy for pictures of your favorite actor, or just some great cosplaying.

5. Make friends in line

This is one of the best parts of SDCC or any con. You will spend a great deal of time in line, so it’s great to start a conversation with the people around you. Don’t worry, you are both at a con already so you have something in common.  I have met the nicest people while waiting in line. Making friends will make the wait seem much shorter.

6. Remember, you won’t be able to see it all

SDCC is HUGE! No one can cover everything. Make a plan A and a plan B before you go. I have found this to be extremely helpful. A good plan can make SDCC a once in a lifetime experience. A bad plan could leave you feeling disappointed. Keep in mind that you may not get to see everything, but you will have a great time trying.

And that my fellow nerds are a few quick tips on how to experience a great SDCC. Above all, when you go to any con just remember to HAVE FUN. Con’s are a great way for people with similar interests to come together and have a good time. So, if this has wet your appetite to go to SDCC let me know. I’d love to meet up with you next year.

Salt Lake Comic Con announces guests from Arrow, Big Bang Theory

I didn't realize so many people would be there. But hey, when you offer free multi-passes for people who show up in costume, I guess that's what happens.

Salt Lake Comic Con held press conference at the Leonardo in Salt Lake City this morning to update their fans on a few things and, more importantly, to announce another handful of celebrity guests. I made my way to the north side of the crowded lobby, which was packed with Comic Con enthusiasts (most of them in costume). A few minutes after 11:00 a.m., Salt Lake Comic Con co-founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg headed to the pulpit to address the big crowd, accompanied by thunderous applause.

"Tell me how you really feel," Brandenburg joked before thanking some of the convention's sponsors, which include Rocky Mountain Chevrolet, Marvel and Dark Horse Comics.

Brandenburg announced that the event's organizers are anticipating upwards of 120,000 people in attendance for the September convention, which will run from September 4-6 this fall. In April, Salt Lake Comic Con's FanXperience shattered its own attendance record, drawing an estimated 100,000 fans, making it the third largest Comic Con event in the United States. Brandenburg expects there to be nearly 200 panels to go along with 250 special guests and panelists, including celebrity guests, artists, and vendors. Brandenburg mentioned that the September Comic Con will expand its space, utilizing more downtown venues and ensuring that the convention will not "be nearly as crowded as our first event last year, certainly."

 The Salt Lake Comic Con Film Festival will also be expanded in comparison with last year's function. "Our goal is to be right up there with Sundance," Brandenburg said. The festival will be held during Comic Con weekend and hosted at the Gateway mall downtown.

The popular KidCon pavillion, which was introduced in April, is back this fall, providing family-friendly entertainment for families and young attendees. Another returning event will be the Zombie Walk, which Brandenburg announced will be held on August 10. More detailed announcements about these events will be rolled out via social media in the next few weeks.

Brandenburg passed the mic to Farr, who thanked the crowd for their patience in awaiting new guest announcements. Previously, Farr and his team had announced the convention's initial celebrity lineup which included names like Christopher Lloyd ("Back to the Future"), Cary Elwes ("The Princess Bride"), and Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters"). Since the last press conference, several more names had been announced on social media, such as Eliza Dushku ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Michael Rosenbaum ("Smallville"), and Giancarlo Esposito ("Breaking Bad").

In recent days, Salt Lake Comic Con had teased fans with several hints that stars from CW's "Arrow" and CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" would be announced at the press conference. A brief highlight package introduced the next batch of stars that are headed to Utah this fall:

• Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite")
  
• Stephen Amell ("Arrow")
  

  
• Manu Bennett ("Arrow")
  
• Dean O'Gorman ("The Hobbit")
  
• WETA Workshop (special effects, "Lord of the Rings")
  
• Simon Helberg ("The Big Bang Theory")
  

In an interview with Signs of the Times, Farr expressed his excitement for September's convention. "I am so excited just to see the fans' reaction when we have the event," he said. But, in typical Dan Farr fashion, he remained somewhat tight-lipped about which stars he, personally, is most excited about.

"That's always a tough question because I get excited about all of them," Farr said. "Even if it's someone that I haven't followed before, if I know that the fans are excited, then I get excited about it."

He mentioned that he has never really gotten into the ultra-popular BBC show, "Doctor Who," but he always looks forward to booking stars from the show because he understands how beloved those characters are to fans of pop culture. Karen Gillan, known for her role as the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond, appeared at FanX in April - and even stuck around to catch a Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance that Sunday.

"I'm almost afraid to start watching it," Farr said of the BBC series. "I know that, with my personality, I'll get so embedded in it that I'll have another addiction."

Farr said that he and his Comic Con team have learned a lot since their first convention in 2013 and that they continue to evolve as time goes on. "We're always learning," he said. "We're trying new things. We attend a lot of other conventions, as well, to see what they're doing. A lot of things, as far as organization at the con, [we've improved in] that area. The biggest thing is just finding out what people are attracted to - what they like. What is it that people want to come see? ... That's the most I've learned."

For those that are keeping track, the record-setting Salt Lake Comic Con returns in 57 days and 21 hours. Tickets are on sale now at saltlakecomiccon.com. And, as always, more information about the convention and its star-studded lineup of celebrity guests can be found by following Salt Lake Comic Con on Facebook and Twitter. To read the press release from this morning's event, click here.

My chat with a cosplayer: Spotlight on Joanie Brosas

"Cosplay," as defined by the trusty dictionary.com, is "the art or practice of wearing costumes to portray characters from fiction, especially from manga, animation, and science fiction."

That seemed really weird to me back in September of 2013. There I was, a first-time convention-goer  at Salt Lake Comic Con. I basically refused to dress up. "Dressing up is for losers," I said. So there I was in my Back to the Future t-shirt (which is very cool, mind you), but I was faced with a dilemma. As part of the non-costumed minority, I realized that I was the loser! I was the one who felt like he didn't fit in. Dressing up, it seems, can be cool if you do it right. And nobody does it better than people like professional cosplayer Joanie Brosas.

Brosas' life took an unexpected turn when she was in attendance at a Star Trek convention several years ago and was approached by Dan Farr, the eventual founder of Salt Lake Comic Con. Farr, at that time, was heading a 3D modeling company called DAZ 3D. Brosas was dressed in her favorite Star Trek costume - an Orion slave - and Farr asked if she wanted to go model for his company's booth. That chance encounter led to a dramatic shift in Brosas' modeling career and her eventual relocation to the Salt Lake Valley.

These days, although she maintains a normal job on the side, Brosas still tries to attend as many conventions as possible, including an annual trip down to the Star Trek show in Las Vegas. Her love for costuming has turned into a bit of an obsession - but for good cause, as she has occasionally been asked to appear as a special guest with other professional cosplayers.

One such convention where Brosas made a special appearance was April's Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience. As part of the media, I was put in an opportunity during the convention to interview several of the pro cosplayers, including LeAnna Vamp, Kristen Hughey and Nicole Marie Jean. But with Brosas living here locally, I figured I had better talk to her, too. It was probably the most nervous I've ever been in my entire life and I had to promise each of them that I was with the newspaper and not just some pervert or something. Anyway, I recently sat down with Miss Brosas to talk to her about her life, her career, her fascination with all things science fiction and the reason behind why Utah is such a nerdy state. Here are some of the highlights from that interview.

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Signs of the Times: When you do cosplay, describe your style to me. Is the Star Trek [costume] your favorite one or do you have a theme for your other costumes, as well?

Joanie Brosas: I don’t really have a theme. I mean, Star Trek is obviously my favorite. Like, I love talking about "Star Trek." I want to dress up in things that I can talk about with other people because it’s like… I absolutely love it. I’m working on Chun-Li [from "Street Fighter"]. I keep getting frustrated with it, but I’m working on it! That was the first video game I ever played – "Street Fighter 2" – and I loved it, and, like "Kirby," I play "Kirby,’"but I don’t know what I would dress up [as] in "Kirby." …  I know there’s a lot of women out there that aren’t exactly comfortable or secure with themselves and I’m, like, super tiny. I’m super petite. ... I’m trying to just encourage girls to just be comfortable with themselves. I didn’t really start getting comfortable with myself until I started modeling and seeing what I look like on camera. I’m like, "I can be that pretty." So, I just try to do it to encourage other girls.

SotT: How many costumes do you have?

JB: Oh my goodness. They’re like one-and-dones. I am so cheap! (Laughs) But that’s also my other kind of theme, I guess you could say, is kind of, you know, going on a budget because you find what’s in your closet and do it because you’re out there to have fun. Some people are more about accuracy and stuff, you know? As long as it makes sense when you see it and people will be like, "Oh! I know that!" That’s kind of the goal, but, you know, it’s whatever you’ve got and then, you know, just work towards it. ... I’ve got my Vampirella ... I’ve got my Aphrodite IX… I did a Felicia cosplay at one point, but that one definitely was a one-and-done because it was all glue (laughs) ... and then my Orion Slave. I’d say at least four or five so far. I’m getting more as I go, but yeah: four or five, right now. I’ve got three more in the making.

SotT: I saw on Twitter the other day that you asked what movie-quality costume you would want. What is your answer to that question?

JB: Oh my gosh! So I was thinking about this the other day and I really, really want a "Halo" costume. That would be just mind-blowing, for one, but I want it to be pink! I want a pink Master Chief costume. I think it would be so awesome, but I know – I’ve been looking up tutorials and they are so hard! You need, like, a workshop for it. But one of these days! One of these days I’m going to have help, I’m going to do it. Yes. [Even] if it’s foam an plastic, I’m going to do it. (Laughs)

SotT: What do you like the most about doing cosplay?

JB: Talking to people. It just gets people talking. Yeah, it’s definitely just… I don’t know. It’s finding people that love what you love and getting to talk about it because, I mean, as you can see, I’m a talker. (Laughs) I talk way too much. I love, I mean, even the whole… the biggest conversation starter is Star Wars versus Star Trek – and you get that all the time, but it’s just a conversation starter where you can get to know people. There’s people from, like, Germany. You get people from Ireland. Everywhere. You get different kinds of people and they just come together to love the same thing. It’s awesome.

SotT: What is the most difficult thing about it?

JB: Oh my goodness. I guess, finding the confidence to do them sometimes? Me, being as small as I am, there [are] a lot of women out there – and I love these women. They’re the most [awesome] women in the world. They have curves or they got curves, you know? And sometimes, I’m just not feeling it today. I kind of focus on my abs because, you know, you feel flat-chested some days.

SotT: I know the feeling. I feel your pain.

JB: There you go! See? It’s … just getting the confidence and what gets me there is saying, "You know, there are other girls that are feeling the same way that I do. Go out and show them that they can do it, too." It’s really hard. It’s like waking up in the morning and saying, "You know what? I’m doing it. Just do it. Get it on." And people love it. People end up loving it. And that’s what changes my mind.

SotT: Do guys give you a hard time? Do you have a lot of trouble with guys being perverts or being creepy?

JB: You have to expect it. ... I just laugh it off because it’s funny. ... I really don’t care. I do a lot of motorcycle shows and those are probably the most kind of crazy people out there who’ll say whatever they want, you know? So I’m kind of immune to it. I get it a lot, so it’s just funny. I love it. ... I get a lot of negative stuff. I get "Eat a cheeseburger" like 20 times a day. Whoop-dee-do. I don’t care.

SotT: "No, YOU go eat a cheeseburger."

JB: Exactly.

SotT: Did you have a good time at FanX?

JB: I did. Yeah. I wish I could walk around more. I usually don’t and then I forget to eat. It’s all bad. You just kind of go on auto-pilot. You talk to people, and then you realize that it’s 8:00 at night. You’re like, "OK, it’s done."

SotT: "I should probably go eat some lunch or something."

JB: Exactly, yeah. I just… I don’t walk around much and I guess I don’t enjoy them as much because I don’t get out there. I just need a reminder – like, I need an alarm clock on my phone to say, "Hey, go out and have fun a little bit."

SotT: When you’re doing conventions, do you have celebrities that you want to see? Like, is there anybody where you get star-struck a little bit?

JB: Oh, star-struck? I don’t know. I don’t get too often star-struck. I get star-struck about the stupidest things. Well, not "stupid." They’re not stupid to me, but first, some people are like, "Who is that?? I don’t even know who that is." My favorite author – and [he’s] actually local; I went to one of his signings – is Brandon Mull. I’m sure you know his books. I am like a super-fan of his books. He has my favorite books. I love Harry Potter, but I love his books more. That’s a lot to say. I love Harry Potter; I love [Brandon Mull’s] books. I flipped out when I saw him! It was the dumbest thing. … I can talk to William Shatner, [but] I kind of freaked out a little [after meeting Brandon Mull]. I didn’t freak out so much to meet him, but after, like, I flipped. But when I talked to him, my hands were sweating and I was like, (screams), and I couldn’t stop talking… They actually had to say, "Well, we’ve got a lot more people to go…" I was like, "OK-I-gotta-go-bye!" Ugh. It was crazy. But yeah, so I get a little bit star-struck on those people. My favorite person to meet is Brent Spiner.

SotT: Did you meet him at FanX?

JB: I met him at my first Star Trek convention and I’ve talked to him at every single convention [that we’re both at]. He remembers me and I love it. It makes me so happy. He’s so awesome. He’s so funny and he’ll sit there and talk to you for five, ten minutes – it doesn’t matter how long his line is. He will dedicate himself to each person in line and he’s so awesome.

SotT: There was an article that recently went viral about Utah being the “nerdiest state.” Some of the criteria there was, like…

JB: Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons…

SotT: Cosplay was one of them.

JB: I didn't know that!

SotT: And Utah was number one [in that category].

JB: “Because everybody knows how to sew here! Like, everybody! I don’t, really. I got a sewing machine, I learned it… I’m not like a pro, but lots of people know how to sew here! So I understand that. There’s EA here, there’s eBay, there’s tons of video game places, so I don’t doubt it at all. We’re huge geeks. I went to a Star Trek convention once, I dressed up as an Orion slave, I met three other Orion slaves – which nobody dresses up as … - and there were two dudes and one girl – the sweetest people you’ll ever meet – but we were like, "Oh hey, you’re an Orion [slave]. Let’s all take a picture together!" And we were all from the same state! It was really, really weird. So yeah, I totally understand that.

SotT: I was going to see if you knew why [Utah was number one], but everyone knows how to sew. Good point.

JB: Yeah, sewing – if you know how to sew. Plus … I think it was "Game Informer" magazine? It was showing all the top schools for video game designers and stuff – and this is one of the states where – I don’t know if it’s in, like, third place in the country or whatever – but it’s one of the top states for computer graphics, all that stuff. ... [Utah is] full of talented people and I think they’re, like, nerdy-talented people, you know?

SotT: The last question I have is that we talked a lot about why you’re doing it – to encourage people and things like that – so I was just wondering what advice you have for people who are thinking about getting into it or people that are [already] into it, but struggling to get going or whatever. What advice would you have for people like that?

JB: I would say, "Just do it." Even if you don’t have all the parts, get something that looks like all the parts. If people aren’t going to understand the costume, make sure they’re going to understand it. I mean, look in the mirror and say, "Are they going to know who this is?" OK, if they’re going to know who it is, you’re fine. Go to thrift stores – because I think all of us [cosplayers] go to thrift stores.

SotT: That’s another thing we have a lot of in Utah. Thrift stores.

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Joanie Brosas can be found on Twitter at @TheOrionSlave.

A-Town takes Salt Lake Comic Con

My name is A-Town and I attended the first ever Salt Lake Comic Con. I had an amazing experience at Utah's first pop culture convention and I'd like to share a few of my thoughts.

Initial expectations: Heading into Salt Lake Comic Con, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I had been turned on to San Diego's world-famous Comic Con a couple years ago and even registered to get tickets to the 2013 Con, but the web traffic on the day that tickets went on sale made attending in Southern California a practical impossibility. I saw on Facebook that Salt Lake City decided to start up their own convention and I thought it would be fun to go. There were maybe seven or eight celebrities signed on to come to town, so I thought that was a cute little idea. It was originally slated to be held at the South Towne Expo Center, but, as the event gathered steam and more celebrities, authors, and artists agreed to show up, they moved Comic Con downtown to the Salt Palace. Ticket sales boomed and, as the weekend approached, my expectations became less and less defined. Last Wednesday night, I honestly had a little bit of a hard time sleeping because I really had no idea of what to expect.

Biggest disappointments: Scheduling was a little iffy on Thursday, especially. The times listed online were not entirely clear, so we ended up arriving at the Salt Palace at 10:00 in the morning and ended up wandering around aimlessly and people watching for five hours before anything started. That was not amazing. I feel like, by and large, the Comic Con volunteer staff was almost entirely worthless. Most of the times that I approached them for help, they shrugged me off with an "I'm not totally sure" or a "Go ask him." Really? Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all would be one of the things I was looking forward to the most - Adam West. I was really looking forward to seeing Adam West and Burt Ward - Batman and Robin from the iconic '60s television show - but, to my utter dismay, Friday rolled around and the Dynamic Duo (*cough*Adam West*cough*) had canceled their Q&A panel. I quickly formulated a back-up plan, so that wasn't that big of a deal, but for the rest of the weekend, Mr. West would gladly sign autographs for adoring fans (for a very pretty penny, by the way), but would not allow anyone to take pictures with him. I obviously didn't get a chance to talk with him or even hear him speak at all last weekend, but he sure came off as a jerk.

Biggest annoyance: People who bought Saturday-Only tickets and walked around like they owned the place. You know, bless their little hearts if they couldn't get Thursday and/or Friday off, but it was like I was a senior in high school and some punk little 9th graders showed up and thought they were the big men on campus. Generally, stereotypically, many of the Saturday-Onlies were the punks who showed up either because A) they heard something cool was going on and wanted to be part of the "in crowd" or B) immature kids looking for an excuse to cross-dress. That wasn't a problem Thursday or Friday. Just sayin'.

Best moments: My favorite moments from Comic Con probably came from the celebrity panels. I was able to sit in on four of the Q&A panels and had an overwhelmingly good experience with them. -- I sat on the fifth row to see the first celebrity, Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in "Star Wars," Toad in "X-Men," and, most recently, Snake Eyes in the "G.I. Joe" films. Ray seemed like a very nice guy and the audience totally loved him. At the end of the panel, Ray brought a bunch of kids up to the stage and taught them how to do a Jedi pose, which must have been an incredible experience for the youngsters. -- On Saturday morning, I headed up to the Salt Palace early to see Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz, who played Face and Murdock in the original "A-Team" series. They discussed their thoughts about the original show and made a couple comments about the 2010 movie adaptation, but spent most of the time talking about their experience on the set, including several hilarious stories about Mr. T, and reflecting on the unceremonious cancellation of the iconic TV show. As a guy who watched three seasons of that show a couple years ago, it was really cool to see Face and Murdock up close and personal. -- Immediately following the "A-Team" reunion, I stayed in the mail hall to see the Fonz, himself - Henry Winkler, who was making a guest appearance at Comic Con. I've never really seen a whole lot of "Happy Days" or much else of Winkler's work, but I did respect him as a legend of American pop culture and loved him in "Here Comes the Boom" [slight chuckle]. Unlike many of the other panels, Mr. Winkler did not have someone interviewing him or asking him questions. Rather, he controlled the mic and worked that stage, giving some powerful advice to avoid pessimism and promote positive thinking. "Don't put a period on the end of a negative thought," he urged. I wasn't sure what to expect from the man they once called "Fonzie," but a motivational speech probably didn't ever cross my mind. He was a great, emotional speaker and is very good at what he does. Also, he was incredibly kind to the audience, asking to know people's first names and even agreeing to give a 23-year-old girl her first kiss, on stage! Because I was so impressed with his panel, I went directly to the back of the vendors' floor and back to the autograph booths to meet Mr. Winkler and thank him for coming. I waited for a few minutes in line to greet him and eventually made my way up to the front of the line, where he shook my hand, asked for my name, and took a few pictures with me. I thanked him for his panel, which, I told him, I thoroughly enjoyed. That was so cool for me - not only to be there for his amazing and inspirational panel, but to be able to speak with him one-on-one about it, shake his hand, and photographically document the experience. I have a tremendous newfound respect for Henry Winkler, who is not only immortal in terms of cultural significance, but also one of the most genuinely friendly and kind people I have ever met. -- On Saturday night, my brother and I waited in line for an hour and a half to get into the panel with "the Godfather of Comics," Stan Lee. Yes, THE Stan Lee, creator of Marvel and king of all nerd-dom. The wait was long, but not unpleasant, and they only ended up talking to him for about 20 minutes (likely because he was a last-minute addition to the Comic Con celebrity lineup), but those were 20 awesome minutes, all right?? Stan was sarcastically arrogant and pretty funny as he responded to cliche questions like "Who would win in a fight between Wolverine and the Hulk?" and everyone there was salivating over his every word. It was crazy and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'm glad I had.

Nerdiest moments: Three moments stick out in my mind: First, when a kid was on the verge of tears as he thanked Ray Park for making "Episode I" worth watching; second, the moment when a girl approached my friend and fellow blogger, Crystal Nichols, about LARPing; and third, the guy I overheard while in line for Stan Lee who was complaining about Spider-woman's web-slinging abilities. So nerdy. So hilarious. So awesome.

Biggest surprise: Hands down, the biggest surprise of the entire weekend was that I actually came away from Salt Lake Comic Con with a handful of new friends, which I never expected to happen. On Thursday, I was pretty self-conscious and reserved - almost nervous - to talk to strangers, ask questions, or take pictures, but, as the weekend progressed, I realized that everyone there was super friendly and, in most instances, actually wanted you to take pictures with them. With the help of a little personal confidence, that same talk-to-everyone attitude I learned on my LDS mission, and a little activity called, um, Sci-Fi Speed Dating, I was able to meet a lot of really cool people of both genders that I never in a million years would have met otherwise. Now, post-Con, I want to talk to people everywhere I go - the gym, the store, church - and I've returned back to the sad reality where very few people are outgoing and absolutely nobody wants you to randomly stop them for a picture. What the heck is up with that?

The problem: The fire marshal almost had to shut down Comic Con on Saturday because we had filled the Salt Palace to maximum capacity and were still trying to get people in the doors. Now, this is actually a pretty good problem to have. Salt Lake Comic Con exceeded - scratch that - BLEW AWAY its expectations and was wildly successful on almost every single front. Undoubtedly, this was an enormous financial success, not only for the city, but for the entire state! But it to the point where there were basically just too many dang people at the convention. It was inconvenient, it was frustrating at times, and it was just plain hot in there! So there's that. -- The other big problem with Salt Lake Comic Con's monumental success, going forward, is two-fold: 1) ticket prices will undoubtedly increase and 2) ticket availability will undoubtedly plummet.

The solution: Stop selling tickets at some point. I don't mind having tons of people at Comic Con, but it needed to get to the point last weekend where they stopped selling tickets to people at the door on Saturday. First come should mean first served, but instead we had a bunch of late-comers clogging up the halls and increasing line length.

Overall experience: Salt Lake Comic Con was one of those weekends that I'll look back on and say, "Dang, that was really, really awesome." I absolutely loved it. Sure, there were some points where I was tired of waiting in line or trying to navigate through the sea of humanity on the vendors' floor, but as a whole, Comic Con was a total blast. I'd use the term "once-in-a-lifetime" again to describe last weekend, but they'd be freakin' idiots if they didn't turn Salt Lake Comic Con into an annual tradition for years to come. Now that I'm back at work and living life in the real world, I just wish I could go back to the convention. What's more is that, for those of you that know me, you know that I'm not a big fan of Halloween. In fact, you could easily say that Halloween is one of my two least-favorite holidays. I just don't really like dressing up anymore. With that being said, if I had to do it over again, I think I would definitely dress up in costume for Comic Con. I'm actually almost looking forward to Halloween in 2013, thanks largely to my experience last weekend. As I recently heard somebody say, "Comic Con is my new favorite holiday." It was an incredibly fun experience from start to finish and I can't wait to go back next year. Bravo, Dan Farr and associates, and thank you for a wonderful time at the first-ever Salt Lake Comic Con!

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Did you go to Salt Lake Comic Con? If so, what did you think? If not, why? Let's get your feedback in the comments section below!