San Diego Comic-Con 2008, Day One,
Wednesday July 23, 2008
By Al Desmadre
San Diego, CA.

The first thing that strikes me about coming to Comic-Con in San Diego, is the stark human contrasts one sees in everyday settings during this week. Generally speaking, San Diego is a conservative, laid back, kind of military oriented type of town. At my hotel, mainly you see a lot of old white guys smoking cigars and talking about golf and boats. It’s really funny to see the looks on all those Arnold Palmer types when they’re suddenly sharing space with the Freaks, Geeks, Goths, Klingons, Jedis, and other assorted characters arriving from all over the world for Comic-Con. And the really amusing encounters occur out on the streets. Riding the local Trolleys or buses, the costumed Comic-Con attendees stand out like a Chuppie at a Cockfight. And the local Paisanos you see on the buses are usually quiet, modest and conservative working class types who look at the invading Con freaks with looks that say: “Mira nomas a esta Bola de Pinches Locos!” then they look at me with a look of seemingly further disbelief, as if saying: “I can believe anything from these crazy Gringos, But you’re a Paisano, and you’re one of them too??!!!”
Yes, I am one of them too. And damned proud of it. And this is our week to come out of our fantasy dungeons, and yell: “I AM NERD! HEAR ME ROAR!”

Today was Preview Day, so I decided to drop in at the Convention Center and pick up my credentials. On the walk from my hotel I spotted this local joint so I decided to give it a try.

 

All I can say is that if you love delicious, fresh, un-greasy Mexican food, then do not go here. The staff was a bunch of Latinas who might interrupt their Hen Session to serve you, or maybe not. They did remind me that I’ve always been amused at hearing women call each other ‘GUEY’.

Thanks to the convenient and surprisingly clean Trolley, I soon arrived at the Convention Center ready to face the crowds & chaos. As I was surfing the Sea of Humanity, I suddenly caught a glimpse of an extraordinary being standing calmly and waving at the confused passerby. I was drawn to his happy and inviting aura and without thinking, I fell out of my place among the human flotsam and approached this magnetic figure. I managed to capture this image just before the authorities pounced upon him and ordered him to relocate. As he was being led away, a confederate quickly pushed some sort of ad flyer into my hand. “What is it?” I asked, pointing at the lumbering round figure, “A Donut!”, came the answer. For the rest of the day I was gripped by the enigma of a Mexican Donut handing out ads for a movie called: “SEXDRIVE”.

I managed to pick up my credentials with less hassle than I had expected, and I made my way back on the return Trolley. A hotel sponsored pool party BarBeQue was in full swing when I arrived. As I lounged by the pool enjoying the complimentary hot dogs and beer, I began to psych myself for tomorrow’s full day on the convention floor…….