We had an AMAZING time at our first San Diego Comic Con. There were fantastic panels, cosplayers who created costumes with awesome detail, and attendees who represented the joy of being a geek. We were truly honored to celebrate the third anniversary of The Legal Geeks at San Diego Comic Con.
I cannot say enough nice things about US Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal. The Judge might be the first Federal Judge to present at SDCC. Judge Grewal rocked on stage, gave one heck of a presentation, and truly loved Comic Con. I cannot thank him enough for joining Jessica and I on this adventure. Plus he asked to take a selfie with us. Jess and I were truly honored.
Tatooine Law
We were ecstatic that our Star Wars panel filled the room. I estimate that we had between 250 to 300 people in the room. We had a giant line outside the door and filled every seat. My only regret is not everyone was able to get in.
Our audience truly made our presentation experience excellent. We had Star Wars fans of all ages who really love the story, laughed at the humor on the slides, and asked very thoughtful questions on the law.
Our session highlighted to me that discussing legal issues through popular culture is an excellent way for community outreach. Many members of the public do not understand “The Law” and others are afraid of “the Courts.” Going over property rights by studying the ownership history of R2D2 and C-3PO, or Darth Vader modifying the deal with Lando, are great ways to illustrate legal issues for people who would like to know more on how “The Law” works.
I also was very happy that my brother and his fiancé attended our panel. As children we played with Star Wars toys for hours, having dog-fights with X-Wings and Tie Fighters and shootouts with action figures. It was awesome he could join us for our Comic Con debut.
A very dear friend from my volunteer work and her husband also joined us for SDCC. Both are Naval Officers and I was glad we were able to get active duty military personnel to the show as our guests.
Just a Few Panels
I was able to see multiple panels, including one on Marvel’s Secret Wars with Tom Brevoort, Harbro’s Star Wars team, and an interview with Jack Kirby that originally aired on public access TV in the early 1980s that had not been seen in over 30 years. There were tons of just excellent panels.
I was very impressed with Comics for Impact: Healing Wounds of War. The panelists discussed how comics can be used to help our vets with PTSD using different authoring tools. The two of the three methodologies empowered vets to tell their stories of to others by creating a comic. The third focused on a story of a Sargent tell his troops the story of the Odyssey and returning from war.
The Exhibit Hall
“Mind-blowing” is a accurate description of the Exhibit Hall. Booths ranged from vintage comics to TV shows, movies, and stunning models. I was especially impressed with Sideshow Collectibles. I have no idea where I would put a 1/6 scale Millennium Falcon cockpit or 5-foot Tie Fighter, but strangely want both.
Tom Hiddleston also walked by me, so that was pretty cool.
It was a Monster Party
I was very happy to catch up with my old friend Matt Weinhold and the team from Monster Party. I first met Matt back in the mid-1990s when my family owned Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club. It was a joy to met his wife in person and go to dinner with Larry, Shawn, and James from Monster Party. It was very cool to join them for their SDCC podcast and I look forward to hearing it.
2016?
We had an absolutely amazing time at San Diego Comic Con. A huge thank you to Mike Towrey from San Diego Comic Fest for all of his help in getting us a panel at SDCC. I hope we can present again next year, perhaps to honor the legal issues in Star Trek for the 50th Anniversary.