Hey there!
I am currently sitting on my couch drinking tea, listening to Taylor Swift's LATEST ALBUM, and thinking about my very first COMIC CON EXPERIENCE. Since I have a ton of thoughts whirling around in my mind, I've organized this little post into categories. Whether you read the whole thing, or just the highlights, or just checkout the cool pics, ENJOY!
GETTING TO COMIC CON AND TOM HOLLAND'S PANEL:
My sister and I woke up at 5:30 A.M. so we would be able to get to Philly in time and have a fighting shot of getting seats for Tom's panel. Now, I only got 2 hours of sleep the night before because I could not stop thinking about Comic Con and meeting Tom Holland. So I got up at 5:30, threw on some mascara (ok, a lot of mascara), got my coffee, and got in the car to make the 2-hour drive to Philly. We made it! And I ate my lunch in the car so then I had no lunch when I got there. YEAH. And get this - we got amazing seats - 3 rows behind the premium seat holders (yeah, even the great After Dinner Mint Show host doesn't buy premium). Seeing Tom Holland's panel was - MARVELous. Although he really couldn't say anything about the whole Sony/Marvel drama, I really think there's hope for Spidey. #SaveSpidey. The panel ran about 45 minutes, and during that time, I thought there was a nice variety of questions asked. There was a nice mix of thought-provoking, personal, and just plain fun questions directed toward Tom Holland. And he did an AMAZING job answering every single one of the questions. Saying that like, there were 5,000 people in the room...no pressure, Tom. He did not let any spoilers drop (blast).
MEETING SPIDER-MAN (or Spider-MEN) and other cool characters:
Since Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero of all time since the time of Saturday morning cartoons, I made it mandatory to get as many pictures with different Spider-Men (Mans? Peoples? Persons?) I could. Take a look at the pictures! I also met R2-D2 and Black Panther (Wakanda Forever!). AND from afar, I saw James and Oliver Phelps (the Weasley twins), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Scott Patterson (Luke from Gilmore Girls), and Levar Burton (I was thinking Reading Rainbow but forgot he was also in Star Trek). Cool!
MEETING SPIDER-MAN: TOM HOLLAND:
I waited in line for over an hour. Usually, I chat with people while I'm waiting in line for things like this, but there were so many crazy emotions raging in me and a million thoughts running in my head that I just kept to myself for the most part. I kept rehearsing the conversation I was planning on having with Tom Holland. I had some witty jokes and a quick question planned. I also brought along a Santa hat for him to wear because I wanted to use the picture as my Christmas card. Wouldn't you? The closer I got, the more I freaked out. Finally, it was time. A woman took my ticket and said "alright, here you go!" and sent me through a curtain. There he was. In the flesh. TOM. HOLLAND. Remember that I said I had something witty to say? Yeah, totally blanked on that. All I said was "Oh f@ck!" Luckily he did not hear. I quickly recovered and said, "hi!" He responded with an equally enthusiastic "hi!" But his "hi!" was in a British accent and sounded way cooler. Blast. I walked over to him and quickly said, "uh so would you mind putting this Santa hat on? I want to use this picture as my Christmas card." There must have been a miscommunication because Tom replied, "Oh sure! Hold it like this?" OH NO. Tom Holland thought I wanted him to just HOLD the hat in the photo. AH. So I quickly corrected "eh no, like, wear the hat. On your head. Would you mind doing that?" Tom replied, "ohhhh sure!" I said something witty about him getting to be like Father Christmas but he made no comment... I like to think he didn't hear me. He was wearing a baseball cap backwards. He took it off his head and tossed it to his assistant. I wish I had the words to describe it because the way he took his baseball cap off was so freaking confident and sexy. Is that a thing? This shows you where my brain was. Who THINKS, "Damn, that's one confident, sexy way to take off a baseball cap." Anyways, he put his arm around me I put my arm around him and we smiled for the camera. He gave me the Santa hat back I said, "Thanks, Tom!" and then I was scooted out.
REVIEW OF KEYSTONE COMIC CON, THE GOOD AND THE BAD:
THE GOOD: So this was my VERY first Comic Con experience. Overall, it was SO MUCH FUN! I definitely would check it out again. It was incredibly organized and things ran like clockwork. The staff was super patient, helpful, and kind. An event like that can be super overwhelming and I was super impressed that the staff and security really gave it 100 percent. Thanks, guys! Also, their customer service was AMAZING. Since it was my first Comic Con, I had a ton of questions leading up to the convention. I probably sent out about 4 e-mails, and customer service replied to every single e-mail in less than 24 hours. I also loved that there was something for everyone at the convention. It was so cool seeing people my age, older people, and families all having a good time. There were a lot of cool things for people my age to checkout like vendors and panels. But there were a ton of kid-friendly activities as well. We really need more events in our community that allows such a wide age variety to come together, connect, and have fun.
THE BAD: My one complaint was that I felt things were a tad disorganized leading up to Keystone Comic Con, which is strange because the Comic Con itself was SUPER ORGANIZED. For example, the website was like a maze. It was really hard trying to figure out schedules, figure out what I was allowed to bring into the convention center, and plan ahead. They did not send out e-mails with details until the Wednesday or Thursday before the convention. Which for me, felt a bit late since I was trying to plan out what I wanted to do. I'm grateful their customer service was so on point because it was so hard to actually find any info on the website. And this just wasn't me. A few other people I talked to also had difficulty getting around the website. Now, this was my first Comic Con so a lot could have been just me. But even those who have never experienced Comic Con should be able to figure things out pretty easily and get the information they need.
FINAL NOTE:
Meeting Tom Holland taught me something huge: being famous can be really hard. It looks like the lush life, but it really can have its stressors, just like any other job out there. The moment Tom and I first made eye contact, I could just tell that he was on information overload. Which I get ALL THE TIME so I could totally tell he was going through it. Think about it, you're meeting hundreds of new people and you have about 15 second TOPS with each new person. So for like at least four hours straight, Tom Holland had to be super enthusiastic with each fan and be on point for each picture. His face muscles still have to be in pain. I'm sure he's super grateful for all his fans and this experience. He's Spider-Man! He has to be living the dream! What could be so bad? But this moment with Tom Holland really gave me a brief glimpse of how overwhelming and exhausting fame can be. He's constantly in the spotlight. Especially now with all the lame Sony/Marvel stuff going on.
Well, that was my Keystone Comic Con adventure! Thanks again to all those who made it a marvelous day! Until next time!
-Gracie Autumn