Today’s post is from guest blogger David Tra, Digital Publicist for Discovery Channel & Science Channel, who just came back from San Diego to fill us (and you) in on all the mayhem at Comic-Con.
What do Comic-Con International 2010 and Discovery Communications have in common? Discovery Channel and Science Channel both had a presence at the four-day event held in San Diego. Discovery Channel hosted panels for MythBusters and Reign of the Dinosaurs, while Science Channel sponsored a tweet-up for the Geek Girls Network.
After staffing CatchCon 2010, I thought I was somewhat prepared for Comic-Con. But the truth is, there is not much you can do to prepare yourself for 125,000+ passionate people. If the sheer volume of people is not enough to overwhelm you, than the daunting number of program events and star power present will send you into a Comic-Con tizzy.
Comic-Con 2010 marked the first time that all five hosts of MythBusters were together at a convention. Fans at the event had the opportunity to grab exclusive MythBusters Comic-Con posters and bags, while Adam, Jamie, Grant, Kari and Tory greeted fans at autograph sessions before their panel. Check out more photos of our MythBusters street team, Comic-Con fandom, and behind-the-scenes action at the MythBusters Facebook page.
Once again, Adam Savage conducted his “Adam Incognito” contest on Twitter. Instead of wandering the exhibition hall in a secret disguise, this year Adam publicly announced that he would march with the Star Wars fan organization, the 501st Legion, as a Stormtrooper. Adam awarded one lucky winner, Matthew Fisher, with a one-of-a-kind customized MythBusters iPad.
At the MythBusters panel, moderator Chris Hardwick was introduced by a surprise guest: Robot Skeleton Geoff Peterson of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. During the panel, all five MythBusters talked about the upcoming season and fielded questions from the audience. Fans were also treated to an exclusive rough cut and a sneak peek from new episodes coming this fall. Afterwards, MythBusters Superfan winner Lindsay Archer had a chance to meet the team backstage.
Discovery Channel also launched a new series, Reign of the Dinosaurs, with an autograph session and panel, moderated by producer Erik Nelson. Premiering in 2011, Reign of the Dinosaurs enlists the creative minds of some of the world’s most renowned animators and illustrators: Iain McCaig (Star Wars prequels), Ricardo Delgado (Age of Reptiles, X-Men Origins), David Krentz (Disney’s Dinosaur), Mishi McCaig (Iron Man), Pete Von Sholly (James and the Giant Peach, Darkman) and Tom DeRosier (Lilo and Stich).
Science Channel was also on hand in San Diego to sponsor a tweet-up for the Geek Girls Network at Jolt’n Joes. Kari Byron of MythBusters also sat on the Geek Girls Panel: Geek Girls Exist and talked about Head Rush, a new one-hour, commercial-free kids’ programming block on Science Channel that she is hosting.
Photos by Rahoul Ghose