Here it is a week and a half later and I'm still processing Comic-Con stuff, mostly for TV For The Rest of Us (and perhaps a few other outlets).  For now though, I have several more photos and stories about "Supernatural" and other misc items to share.  No spoilers!  Just pure fun.  :)
 
This year at Comic-Con, there was more of a "Supernatural" presence than ever.  As I arrived on Thursday to pick up my badge, this was the little prize waiting for me.

Also on Thursday, a Characters in Music panel featuring "Supernatural" composer Chris Lennertz and Producer Todd Aronauer was held.  That panel was a great hour if you wanted to know all about how much music in a sense becomes its own character, shaping the emotional elements of the TV or Movie.  These were quite a mix of some amazing composers and producers who had a wealth of experience to share.  I will someday have that full panel report up on TV For The Rest of Us, but for now, in case you missed it, here's the report on Chris Lennertz and Todd Aronauer:

(Photo courtesy of BMI)

http://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/archive-articles/33-con-reports/17252-comic-con-2012-report-characters-of-music-with-chris-lennertz-and-todd-aronauer.html

On Saturday, there was the "Spotlight on Ben Edlund" panel, which featured not only his "Supernatural" work, but a stuff from "The Tick" and "The Venture Brothers" as well.  Nothing was funnier though than DJ Shadoe Stevens playing in a sense through his questions is inner conscience.  Here's one vague picture I got from the panel, which was hard considering I was trying to videotape the whole thing (and did shot some bad video, but the sound is good).  

On a side note, I give a big shout out to the Mini Mates guys, who tried to give a panel about what's new with their Mini Mates creations while the room was filling up with Ben Edlund fans.  There were quite a few.  Most people had their noses in the phone waiting for Mr. Edlund's panel to begin, so I applaud their efforts.  

http://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/archive-articles/33-con-reports/17255-spotlight-on-ben-edlund-videos-part-2.html

On Sunday, it all started at 10am with the signing at the Warner Brother's booth.  I was there to witness the signing, and couldn't get within five feet of the booth to get any good pictures.  I did capture these from the monitor though!  

There's these too, courtesy of Warner Brothers:

Then there was the "Supernatural" panel.  Before the panel, I got to hang out with the VIPs while waiting for them to open up Hall H.  Here are a couple of private photos I took.  I had just read a tweet from Richard Speight Jr. about getting ready to go into the panel, and then I looked up and guess who was in front of me!  He was there with Rob Benedict and writer Robbie Thompson, so they were nice enough to pose for a picture for me.  

 

Then next to me turned out to be writer’s assistant Jenny Klein, who recently co-wrote “Out With The Out” with Robert Singer.  She and I talked for a little bit.  She and the rest of the staff are very excited to have Jeremy on board are really pumped about this season.     Behind Jenny was Osric Chau, aka Kevin Tran.  He was at his very first Comic-Con, there promoting Halo 4.  He had spent the prior day with Mark Sheppard, Misha Collins, and Jim Beaver walking around and that’s how he got a ticket for the panel.  He said it was a total riot hanging out with those guys.  He said Mark and Misha are as crazy as you think, and even Jim was surprisingly funny.  As someone who's been to a lot of cons, I do get that impression!  Sounds like he had an awesome time.  

I ended up sitting next to Osric during the entire panel, even leading him through the dark Hall H as we were being seated.  Good thing I knew where I was going from last year.  This was his first ever panel and he’d never been to a "Supernatural" con, so he wasn’t familiar with a lot of the fandom lingo.  I was able to fill him in on all that.  Trying to explain “Destiel” to him was a hoot!  He had no idea the guys on stage were so funny together and really loved the entire panel.  

After that, I rushed over to the press conference.  The videos of that have been up for a while now, but I have to say that this was the best organized "Supernatural" press room this year yet.  Warner Brothers did a really great job of running their press rooms this year.  It helped that there was a separate press area at the Hilton Bayfront this year instead of us being crammed in at the convention center.  Good job to whoever arranged that and I hope that becomes a normal thing.  

Finally on Sunday, for the second year in a row, Zachary Levi's "Nerd HQ" series featured a Sunday afternoon panel with Jared Padalecki.  I wasn't able to attend again this year (had to travel Sunday afternoon) but luckily Clarissa from TV Overmind was there and gave a full report.  There was something really funky going on with Jared's hair and a fan that was worth the price of admission alone.  Perhaps it's good I wasn't there, this may have set off the fatal coronary. 

 



http://www.tvovermind.com/supernatural/supernatural-jared-padalecki-nerd-hq-comic-con-2012/ 
 
Memorable Other Moments in the Press Room

I did get to talk with a couple former "Supernatural" folks about their new projects.  First was Alona Tal (Jo on "Supernatural"), who has a new series called "Cult," which airs midseason on The CW.  Here's her interview in which she talks about her new show and new character, and tries to answer one really bizzare question from Anthony at Screen Rant.  It's pretty funny. 

http://youtu.be/x4r1GLperjk

One of the highlights of my weekend was getting to talk to Eric Kripke again.  He was there to talk about his new show now, but he did mention "Supernatural" a bit while talking about "Revolution."  

http://youtu.be/_Ng5Gp_0NSY

It's funny though how certain people will surprise you.  I was in the roundtable with actors Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel of "Person of Interest."   They were very serious and subdued, as if they were in character.  They talked about the show a bit, and then I got to ask my question.  What did they think about the big success of the show? After all, it was the number one new show for not only CBS, but network television.  They gave a pretty good answer about getting great support from Warner Brothers and their network, even sharing how Les Moonves came to visit, so that's always a good sign.  

After the question was answered, Jim Caviezel (right), noticing my "The Simpsons" t-shirt (it's the one with all the characters on it), suddenly broke character and said how their show won't be as great as "The Simpsons."  Then he broke into a dead on Homer Simpson impersonation!  Not only did we all laugh, but Michael Emerson broke out in laughter as well.  So much for holding character!  It was just one of those rare moments that will always stick with me now, especially whenever I see an ad for "Person Of Interest."  Too bad they didn't allow video in that session.  It would have been priceless. 

Finally, here are some of the other pictures I took of the weekend.  Just to prove that there's always something interesting going on at Comic-Con.

Okay, I wouldn't call this interesting, but here's part of the Hall H line on Thursday.  It's the same picture as Friday, Saturday, Sunday... Heck I think people are lined up for next year!

If you think about it, Batman is getting pretty old...

Of course, if all my old cars were on display for people to finger, I wouldn't be happy either.

Out of all six Batmobiles, this is still my favorite.  I'm a true sucker for the classics!

Speaking of classic cars, it's really KITT, and not the KITTpala.  Super cool to see up close!

Here's a Kevin Bacon sighting, aka new darling of Comic-Con.  If you squint.  It's for his new Fox show, "The Following."  This was the best I could do for photos at signings all weekend!  It was a zoo during any signing on the floor the whole weekend and security pushing you along didn't help.

I have no idea what this is, but a lot of people were hanging out there!  This year there were more events outside of the con for people who couldn't get tickets than ever.  Oh wait, my daughter says it's Finn of "Adventure Time."  Go figure.  

How'd this get in here?  Yes, this is what happens when none of your Friday afternoon press room requests get accepted.  Rough life in California, right?  

And that's it!  Another summer in San Diego done.  Hope you enjoyed the eyewitness report/vacation slideshow. Until next year!