E.S. Raye

Well, I’m back from Comic Con, and what a trip is was! We crossed a lot off our Comic Con Bingo Card, from ignoring the obnoxious street preacher, to supporting indie comic creators, getting asked to pose for a cosplay photo, forgetting to eat, attending some awesome panels, and not making it into Hall H, haha!

I’m still a little jet-lagged, so I’m going to keep it simple this week with a photo dump, organized by day. If you follow me on Threads, Instagram, or Facebook, you’ve probably seen many of these, but not all!

Thursday

We landed in San Diego a little after 10:00 AM PDT, but couldn’t check into our hotel until 3:00 PM. Luckily, since we were actually there because my wife Jessie was invited to be part of a panel, we had a “basecamp” of sorts to drop off our luggage right in the Marriott at the center of the event. We took it easy on Thursday and just tried to get the lay of the land. We grabbed some lunch before dropping off our bags, walked the vendor floor, tried (and failed, because we got there too late) to get into a panel, and then went to check into the hotel around 5:00.

Friday

Friday was our first full day at the Con, and the day of Jessie’s panel, “Supersuits: From Concept to Reality.” Jessie works in film and TV as a costumer, and for the last 8 years or so, has worked specifically as a “Supersuit (or Specialty Costume) Supervisor” on shows like The Boys, Titans, and most recently Murderbot, coming soon to Apple TV+.

This was the reason we were even there, and honestly, this was the thing I was looking forward to most. Not only was this a panel I would have attended even if Jessie wasn’t on it, I was also very much looking forward to getting photos of her on stage under all the “San Diego International Comic Con” branding. And as you can see, I got the exact shot I was hoping for!

What’s more, the incredible Doug Jones, who I’ve been watching since Hocus Pocus, and then on Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Star Trek, and What We Do In The Shadows, moderated the panel. Which meant we got to hang out with him at basecamp for a little more than an hour beforehand. He was as warm, kind, and generous with his time and personality as you could possibly hope.

I also finally got to meet some of Jessie’s coworkers in person, including her boss (who invited her and got us the passes) LJ Shannon, who designed the costumes for all the superhero shows Jessie has worked on, as well as for movies like Elf and Iron Man, and Shannon Short, who has built costumes for The Mandalorian (including sewing up Grogu’s smock before Disney even knew about the character!), Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. And after the panel, they all sat for autographs! It was a thrill to get in line and tell Jessie I’m her biggest fan, haha!

No elaborate cosplay for me that day, but I did wear a 3D printed Futurama brain slug on my hat, and got more than a few comments on it!

Saturday

Saturday was the big day at the Con. So many fantastic cosplays (including my own, if I do say so myself!). And speaking of, this was the day I was asked to pose for a few photos (if you happen to see them out in wilds of Instagram, let me know!) What’s more, I think my cosplay was somewhat unique! We saw a group of Nostromo crew members on Thursday, but none had the chestburster, and we didn’t see any others the whole weekend! I got lots of comments, many directed to me, many more whispered as I walked by, haha!

We took in a few smaller panels, including one featuring a local independent indigenous press, and another on writing for TV, which featured writers for Star Wars: Rebels, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. And while we didn’t make it into any of the really big panels in Hall H, I did manage to get into the one for Hellboy: The Crooked Man, featuring the man himself, Mike Mignola, which was a highlight of the weekend for me!

Saturday Night: 50th Anniversary of the Comic Con Masquerade

In addition to our free passes to the entire weekend event, LJ was also able to get us VIP passes to the Masquerade on Saturday night! We sat close to the stage and watched 30 individuals and groups parade their incredible cosplays for the judges (LJ being one of them). I think my favorites were “naked C-3PO” and Ludo from Labyrinth.

The competition was followed by a D&D dance performance and a Lucasfilm approved lightsaber group!

Sunday

And finally, Sunday was the last day. We checked out of the hotel around 11:30 AM, and had a few hours to kill before we had to be at the airport later that evening. So, we returned to the Con to take in one last panel (this one on writing and publishing a novel), and walked the vendor floor one final time (that’s the legendary LJ Shannon and Jessie in the last two photos at the Costume Designer’s Guild booth).

All in all, it was an incredible, unforgettable weekend that I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to participate in! And we’ve caught the con bug! We’re looking to go to more conventions closer to home, and maybe even going back to San Diego in the future. Who knows, Jessie did such a great job on her panel, she might be asked to go back again!