[Deefuzz]

We now have another San Diego Comic-Con that has come and gone. Already I find myself reflecting on the madness of last week and really take it all in. What could have been done better? What was a real success? What was missing?

So with this discussion I want to take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of San Diego's Comic-Con of 2011. If you were following the news back at home, what were some highlights and low points of the show for you based on the coverage provided? If you were at the show, sound off on your own personal high points and low points!

My personal list:

The Good:

Mattel's Mattypalooza Panel - Always a great time, always a huge response, and this was our most popular event coverage wise as well among all of the networked sites. Awesome stuff coming, the return of mini-comics, the announcement of the Filmation license, Thunder Punch He-Man! And we were given the first mini-comic as we left the room. Awesome!

DC Comics - They had some new DC Direct reboot figures and Flashpoint figures on display, which made me interested in DC again. The stuff surprisingly looked very good. They did a pretty good job at promoting Batman Arkham City at their booth as well, and as someone who is a big gamer I really appreciated it. Their booth was set up a bit better than Marvel's booth and as someone who is currently more into Marvel, I was surprised that I found myself at DC's booth more times than Marvel's.

Hasbro's Displays - Hasbro had some of the finest dioramas I had ever seen. There was a fantastic G.I. Joe diorama based on a USS Flagg aircraft carrier that caught my attention first, very large, had a Sky Striker and a Black Dragon VTOL suspended from the top of the plexiglass case covering the dio, hovering over the Flagg. Several Steel Brigade troopers laid fallen in battle while others fought on. It was something to be seen.

Surprisingly, the better display was found over at the Marvel Universe area of Hasbro's booth. This was absolutely the finest diorama I had ever seen, but as I said I never really pay too much attention to these things but this one drew me in. There were two Sentinels on the scene, one being taken down by a couple of X-force members and several mini battles and confrontations going on all over the place. My words really cannot do that display justice, and if you missed it you can check out photos here. It was really awesome and inspiring, now I may actually try to do some better displays at home thanks to this incredible piece.


The Bad:

The Food - If you have to rely on convention food it is consistently bad. There was not one thing eaten inside of the convention center that was any good at all. But this is to be expected. If you want to eat away from the con you will need a couple of hours because all restaurants outside are getting some heavy volume, so you either have a long wait to be seated, or very busy wait staff after you are seated.


The Ugly:

Hasbro's Exclusives Line - This is always a madhouse, even more so this year. The line is usually packed to capacity within 10 minutes of opening. Can't really blame Hasbro for it though, it just shows that there is a lot of demand for their product. Seems to be the booth that EVERYONE tries to hit first, and it remains packed and the talk of the show all weekend long. There were times we would be in line for something else, someone would see our Hasbro bags and say: "Wow, you got through the Hasbro line!?" as if we just scaled a mountain.

ThreeA Exclusives Line - This was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. If you lined up early on Thursday it didn't matter, you had to be a member of a club to buy anything anyways, and no one told you that unless you asked. Hall opened at 9 but they weren't selling until 11 anyways. Why? That makes no sense at all, you have a line, when you are allowed to sell, then sell. It felt too forced to generate hype or exclusivity or whatever. How ThreeA ran their exclusives at Comic-Con completely turned me off from their WWR line altogether.

Strollers and Infants - (This is a personal one for me so it may come off a bit preachy and may rub some of you the wrong way). It is VERY difficult to navigate the crowds at Comic-Con on foot. At spots on the floor it can take 10 minutes just to move 100 yards it is so crowded. There are people EVERYWHERE and at some places even shoulder to shoulder. So to try and navigate a stroller through all of that is not only foolish, but a little rude and irresponsible. As the father of a stroller aged child, I would NEVER attempt such a thing. My other issue with having an infant at Comic-Con? They are much more susceptible to illness than an adult. I saw a couple of infants probably around the 8 week mark while at the con and it just made me want to slap those parents. If you have a newborn, or a child that needs a stroller, stay home. You do not belong at Comic-Con.