Anyone who knows me has seen me get a little geeky, a little nerdy about stuff. I like Sci-fi, I like my tv shows that way, and I love pop culture. I have never been to a comic con, but when I saw that Eddie McClintock from Warehouse 13 was coming to Denver Comic Con, I set aside some money to go.

I settled on getting the 3 Day Pass, because it offered flexibility for the price. I paid $40 (buying from a local art store), whereas buying for just Saturday was going to be $25.

Ticket holders were supposed to have the option to exchange their tickets for the badges on the Thursday before the event. I don’t know what went wrong with that, but it wasn’t going to happen. They posted this on Facebook and Twitter. I had not planned on doing that, figuring that I would have time Friday during the registration hours (1pm-3pm), which was two hours before the convention opens (3pm). This was näive on my part, call it a rookie mistake. Partnered with that was the DCC’s underestimating(?), disorganization(?) with the check in process. I took the train downtown and arrived at the Convention Center around 2:20pm. At this point, the line was wrapped around the building once. I was bright enough to see that my best bet was to head in the opposite direction to find the end of the line.

The line grew and grew but we seemed to be moving every 3-5 minutes. I was a little shocked at how long the line was getting. It afforded some great people watching. I made a list of the costumes I saw to share with the kids later. It took me 2.5 hours to get my badge. My plan for Friday was simply to get a lay of the land, find out where panels would be, where I could meet celebrities, and where the shopping would be. I accomplished that. In the end, I had spent more time waiting to get in, than I spent inside. I did snag some photos though, one of a Rose & Doctor (from the episode The Idiot’s Lantern), and one of me with a TARDIS.

Rose & The Doctor

Me with the TARDIS

Friday night when I returned home I was checking on Twitter & Facebook to see what people were saying about the Denver Comic Con. The overwhelming response was negative. Many people either left the long lines before getting in, or stood in the line and did not get in. This made me a little nervous about attending Saturday.

But I set off back downtown by train Saturday morning. Pulling into the stop, I could the line was long, and drew a deep breath. I was relieved to discover once I got closer that there were two lines, one for people who already had their badges, and one for guests needing to pick up badges. My wait was only 10 minutes. Once inside, I headed straight for the exhibitors, to seek out the one person I knew at Comic Con, and had seen when I was getting into line. Thousands of people there, I was still able to run into Kayley (@Kayleycane), daughter of my friend Laura.

Kayley is a naked Sim

Next stop, was meeting the stars of Warehouse 13. You know, the whole reason I bought my ticket. I was a little nervous, I’m such a fangirl. Lucky for me, the lines were practically nonexistent, so I could take my time speaking with them.

First, Eddie McClintock. He has done a slew of guest starring roles, but Warehouse 13 was his first chance to be the lead. He’s much like his character Pete Lattimer- a goofy guy who loves comics, wrestling and has much respect for the Marines. He was very nice.

Hugging Eddie McClintock

Right next to him was Saul Rubinek, also from Warehouse 13. Now Saul has been in so many shows and movies. Since I was the only one in line to see him (what is up with that?!), we spoke for several minutes. We talked about Canada (he’s Canadian), he asked about my kids, and I told him he was wonderful on Psych. “The telemundo episode”-Saul. “Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.”- Me

Meeting Saul Rubinek

I headed back to the exhibitors hall to get the boys a souvenir, some Doctor Who toys, still giddy at meeting Eddie & Saul. I had time to kill before the Warehouse 13 panel. I grabbed some lunch, and did a lot of people watching. I knew where the panel would be, since I had scoped it out the day before. I waited in an (unorganized) line, maybe 20 minutes beforehand. There were essentially two lines, going in opposite directions. Mildly annoying, but since I was solo, I knew I’d have no problem finding a seat for one. The panel was packed, which I think surprised a lot of people. I’m telling you, this show is awesome.

Sitting about 10 rows back, I listened to Eddie & Saul talk about their auditions, the show, how much they love their fans, and what we can do to get a Warehouse 13 movie made. Yeah, the show is ending next season. They said SyFy fought for them to be able to end the show in a good way (versus what had happened to Eureka), so season 5 will have 6 episodes.

Factoring in wait times for panels, I knew I that I had to prioritize what I wanted to hear. The other panel on my Must-Do list was the Phineas & Ferb one. Held in the same room as WH13, I just did a loop of the convention floor before heading back (allowing the next panel to fill up). I returned 45 minutes before P&F was to start, and I was maybe 10th in line. By now, the volunteers figured out they needed to make sure there was only one line. This played well for me, and I scored a seat in the front row.

The Phineas and Ferb panel featured Dee Bradley Baker (voice actor for so many shows & a Coloradoan), who does Perry’s growl, Kelly Hu, who voices Stacy (Candace’s best friend), and Greg Guler (character designer & a Coloradoan)

Phineas and Ferb panel

The moderator was Greg Weisman (writer & producer of some awesome stuff). He mentioned that he & Greg Guler had previously worked together on Gargoyles (insert Melissa and several other fans cheering). They were a little taken back by the response. It was equally as loud when Greg Guler mentioned Darkwing Duck. Now you have an age range of the fans in the room. One of the cool things brought up during the Q&A is the upcoming episode called Mission Marvel. Because Disney owns both Phineas and Ferb and Marvel. Yeah, there is a crossover episode (or episodes) coming (hopefully) in the fall.

It was after this panel that I felt I was done. I’d seen what I wanted to see, and I was ready to go back to the family. I bailed on using my 3 day pass to go Sunday, since it held no panels I was interested in, I had bought my souvenirs and I wanted to avoid the crowd showing up to see William Shatner. I was not willing to pay extra for a Shatner package, or bother taking my chances of getting into one of the rooms showing the simulcast.

Last thoughts:

Would I take the kids? Maybe. I think I would take them while they are still free, and so long as I could obtain the badges early. That first day’s wait would have been too much for my kids, even at ages 6 & 8.

Was it worth the price? I’m going to say yes. I paid $40 for my 3 day pass (which I purchased early and at a local art store). Plus $20 for photos, $40 on souvenirs, $16 on transportation.

Would I go again? Yes. It was delightful and a hoot. I would go again, and wear a costume. I would aim to be dressed as something I didn’t see a lot of (there were a lot of Star Trek officers and Finn from Adventure Time). My attendance would also factor on who the Con was able to get to attend.

Thanks Denver Comic Con, for a fun experience. I hope next year goes smoother for you.

One of my souvenirs- more buttons!