Comic Con 2011 - Part 2

This is the second post on Comic Con 2011.  To see the first post, click here

Welcome to Part 2 of my adventure at Comic Con International 2011.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, lots of fans like to come to the event dressed-up in costume.  LOTS of fans.  Some of these are quite elaborate.  Some are really creative.  Some...well, let's just say that some people's bodies just didn't fit into the costumes that they designed.  I guess not all of us look like superheros in the movies ; )  Here are some shots of folks I ran into:

A nice picture of Alfredo Linguini, from Ratatouille - that's Remy on his head

This girl was trying so hard to be in the movie Tron

Entertainment Weekly's picture was much better than mine...

An interesting take on Batman

I don't even know who these guys are supposed to be...

Back on the show floor, there was plenty more to see.  Here is Sony Pictures' booth - where they were starting to preview Men In Black 3:

One of the new TV shows this fall is called Pan Am and is set in the 1960s.  They're trying to capture some of the fans of the show Mad Men:

One of the cartoons that G-Man and I both like to watch, is Disney's Phineas and Ferb.  This was a fun booth:

For those that know me well, you understand that I was fascinated by the array of action figures that were on display (and many for sale):

Even Hallmark was getting in on the action.  They have a TON of science fiction/TV/movie ornaments and keepsakes that will be on sale this Christmas season:

There was a company that specializes in replicas of costumes from movies.  They did an impressive job on these costumes from Harry Potter:

Next to this, in the Star Wars booth, they had an artist "decorate" a VW vehicle...I'm sure some fan would love to drive this every day...

Outside of the actual Convention Center, the chaos continued.  As you can imagine, with over 100,00 people at the show, there were lots of companies trying to reach people as they were walking to the actual convention.  For example, some companies took over entire buildings to decorate:

Here's a video clip of the craziness.  Lots of companies hired people to just hand out flyers and give away coupons, posters, etc.

More star sightings.  Outside the show, Hugh Jackman showed up to promote his new film Real Steel by throwing prizes to a large audience that had gathered outside.

Obviously not my picture...

Inside some of the hotels, they decorated entire lobbies.  This picture came from the Hard Rock Hotel, where all the images were for the new Underworld film, with Kate Beckinsdale:

For my company (AMD), we set-up a large area at a hotel across the street from the Convention Center.  We wanted to let the fans have a little fun, so we provided something we call the Virtuasphere:

The best way to describe this, is that it's a giant hamster wheel for people.  Basically, you can move in any direction inside the sphere, and it will translate your movements into an actual video game.  If you want to run over to pick up a weapon, then you actually run over and pick up a weapon.  Here's a picture and video clip of the action:

We handed out thousands of free comic book, with characters and stories based on our graphics technology:

We set-up several areas for people to play games.  The most popular were the three-monitor configurations that we like to call Eyefinity:

OK - this last shot requires a little explanation.  Two of my employees were with me, as we were taking some computer equipment to another booth.  It was the day before the show opened.  In the middle of the street, there was a photographer taking pictures of two girls who were dressed as Leia from Return of the Jedi. This was the costume she was, as she was a prisoner of Jabba the Hut.  This happens to be a favorite costume at Comic Con...for obvious reasons.  Anyway, we took pictures of this strange scene with our cell phones.  The photographer asked us to come over and be in the picture.  So - this is the image that is actually available on the Entertainment Weekly website.  If you look at the expression on my face, you'll understand that this was a "staged" shot...

All part of the fun, right?  Right? Hopefully, I'll have a chance to go back over the show on Saturday.  Until then - thanks for reading.