I bet you thought I said all I could say about SDCC, WRONG!
Over the course of the Con Julius Marx hosted a number of panels with the bigwigs in the toy industry. Each panel revolved around a different theme, like a Sculptors Panel, a Toy Biz Panel, a DCD Portfolio panel, and a state of the Industry Panel.
Julius did a remarkable job leading these panels and it was a pleasure sitting in the stands heckling Jesse Falcon and the rest of Toybiz, (yes even at the panels they did not attend).
One of the best parts of these panels is that you get to put faces to names, voices to names. I met a great number of Fwooshers and other Internet Icons at the panels and it was a pleasure to participate.
For those that attend the panels I urge you take the time after the panel and fill up the hallways and talk to the participants and attendees. I had a great chat with Steve Kiwus, Phil Ramirez and Ed Wires after the Toy Biz Panel. I saw some other folks harassing Jesse and Damon. The same occurred at the Sculptors panel and the DCD portfolio Panel. We came late to the state of the Toy Industry Panel (STARRO was scheduled a few minutes before), but there was enough time for us to heckle Jesse Falcon some more.
I have to say I went to all the panels that I could. Of the 4 that I attended Digger, from Art Asylum, was at 3, and the man has the gift of the gab. I think just about every panel he was on he managed to take over and steer it to his liking. And that’s not a bad thing, I got to see a little more of how the guys who work talk more loosely about thier jobs and the state of the industry rather than sit up and give the same generic song and dance that we cn get in magazines and online. It was refreshing and somewhat human.
If you have an interest in the Toy Industry, wether as a bystander or a potential involvee, I highly recommend that you attend the panels. It is an oppurtunity to meet and greet others in the hobby and field, plus you get a chance to listen and query those who work in the industry.
-pabs