Comic-con 2011 + LA (Universal) + Vegas baby!

Heya -- just returned from my business trip to Comic-con in San Diego, followed by a meeting at Disney Studios in LA and then some fun in Vegas. I was over there promoting my kids show Cog and Turbine as well as my online graphic novel Red Giant, which goes live next month. But you don't wanna hear about that -- just show me the pictures, right?

Ok...bunch of photos below. Enjoy! These are in reverse order of the trip:-)

Disney Studios -- First up, some piccies of my visit to the Disney, where I had a meeting with the amazing and talented director Rick Jacobson and David Hoberman from Mandeville Films. David and his team have had some great success lately...producing films like 2010's Academy Award nominated The Fighter, which was a really great picture. Details of the meeting obviously need to remain hush, hush, but I can share that its very exciting to be involved with these guys on Rick's WWII flick. More news on that when I'm able to share it!

The iconic water tower. Go Mickey!







On the walls, there was a heaps of animation art...I could have spent a few hours just walking the halls. Forget the meeting...I got shit to look at people!










I said to Rick I'm gonna look like a dick...but I had to stop and take some pictures of the signage. Quintessential Disney -- Dopey Drive. Way cool!

Here's a shot of Rick walking into the building...he was walking on air on his way out!

Universal Studios -- I had a free day, so meet up with the gorgeous Michelle Rose for a fun day at the theme park. I hadn't been to Universal since 1994, and it was even better than I remembered it!


Jurassic Park -- the ride! There be dinosaurs here...

Dem bones, dem bones... dem dinosaur bones!

Don't go in the water!

Is our tram on fire!! what the heck!

3D Homer!

The Simpsons ride waiting area...great lighting!
You're just waiting in line at this point, but its very fun to be immersed in the Simpsons world.



The Simpson ride replaced the Back to the Future ride a few years ago, and it is truly awesome. I was really looking forward to sitting in the Delorean with the flux capacitor, but the new ride is really fantastic so I didn't feel like I missed out. Both Michelle and I giggled our guts out each time we went on it.

Hello boys! That's Michelle...she's a good mate (and gorgeous too)!
Las Vegas -- Ended the trip with a few days in Vegas. Really, it had to be done. My mate James Bennett who is a very talented animator, currently working in previs for Dreamworks Animation and the self-confesed ladies man.

Love the neon at night and how it photographs (so much mood and ambience).









Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego -- So James and I stayed at the Sheraton, which is about 3 miles from the convention centre. That may seems far to some, especially those that come from Australia and measure everything in metric so don't have a clue how far a mile really is. But they have shuttles that run frequently and when desperate, its about a 7 minute cab ride, so no biggie.



Having worked on Spartacus last year, I had to get a shot of the Vengeance booth. Can't wait to see it on the tube next year!

The Heritage Auctions have an amazing display of illustration art...these don't photograph so well but the artwork is amazing to see in real life. Mcginnis, Elvgren...they had some of the giants. Worth the trip alone!

Here's a photo of Dean and Paige at the Mandy booth. I contacted Dean before the con and proposed a deal: If he would allow me to share his booth (mostly as just a home base), I would provide a model who looked like Mandy. Paige was absolutely fantastic -- gorgeous as you can see, but also a real professional. I hired her for two days from Vantage Advertising LLC...she attracted quite abit of attention and handed out postcards for me. I'll just quickly add that I would highly recommend her or them (ask for Ben) for any promotional work you require. Dean was tickled pink (as you can see). In fact, I thought he was going to have a heart attack when she first walked in! More of Dean's Mandy work here.

An original Bob Peak from Excalibur. Droolllll...

Child minding at the con. The girl was non-plussed but I don't think Artoo was too happy!

Stormtroopers galore. Strike a pose, fellas!

The exhibition centre in beautiful downtown San Diego. Its a great town...very similar in alot of ways to Brisbane...but with less yanks.







This is the type of thing you see at Comic-con...no explanation necessary I reckon!



The historic area...some fabulous restaurants serving fabulous food. But boy, those servings are big! Geezuz people...

So this was my first con and I wasn't quite prepared for the strange and bizarre things you see. For instance, this was an impromptu gathering of Disney Princess cosplayers who magincally gathered together for a group photo...and then the crowd's swarmed! None of these are professional actresses or anything...just females who love the characters. Quite a bizarre, but really fun experience seeing this happen.

Closeup of Tinkerbell. She was my favourite out of all the princesses...for two reasons.

A beefed up Mark Hamill...legend!

More troopers...one before and after after going through the car wash.

Lot's of booths...lots of posters...and lots of companies all vying for your dollar. It was certainly a learning experience about how competitive the market really is. Spongebob, Futurama, Captain America...small press, big press...artists alley...YARRGGGHHHHH!



The sketching demo's at the DC booth. Fun to watch and drew a big crowd.

I thought this dude was Captain Canuck...and I got excited and took his picture. He then pointed out that he was in fact Guardian from Alpha Flight. I then noticed his strange crotch area and I immediately excused myself and walked away. Gotta love the cosplay!



Sideshow Collectables had one of the biggest booths...and lots of toys on display. Unlike most people in the animation industry I don't collect them...but it was very cool to see the amazing figures you can buy.

Lot's of people.







This was the Marvel booth...which if you're interested in comics, is horrible because its all about the upcoming Avengers film. I was hoping to talk to an editor but couldn't find anybody unless they were signing. For a company that is apparently looking for artists, they could have fooled me. Hopefully they'll organise it abit better next year!



Where's the comics?



View back towards downtown San Diego. Top spot! After finally going, I hope the con never leaves for bigger pastures...its a great town. See ya next year San Diego!

The obligatory shot of the end of my journey...a view out towards Sydney as we are coming in for a landing at 6am. Good to be home:-)

And that's it! I have a heap more photos but this should have given you a good cross section of my experience, which I've gotta say was alot of fun and I'll certainly be returning next year.

Thanks,

d