Emily S. Whitten’s Grand San Diego Adventure, Part Two!

After reading my Twitter feed one night during SDCC weekend, my friend (and cool voiceover dude) Bob Joles joked that I was just at SDCC for the parties. And while that’s not entirely true, I do love a good party and folks at SDCC host some killer shindigs. I’m eternally sad that I can’t somehow clone myself and be at all of them at once, but I did manage to make it to a good handful this year, so here’s my SDCC Party Round-Up!

Gabe Eltaeb’s Comics Kickoff Fundraiser with Jinx Clothing

Wednesday night I didn’t actually expect to be at any parties, but I did meet some friends for a late dinner over at Basic Bar & Pizza, and it turned out that Jinx Clothing was co-sponsoring a comics party there with artist Gabe Eltaeb. It was pretty cool! For atmosphere they had the big ol’ Jinx skull up on the wall, and a fun comics-themed drinks menu. And along with artists Gabe Eltaeb, Carlos D’Anda, Doug Wheatley, Dave Wilkins, Eddie Nunez, and Todd Nauck doing live sketches, they also had some great art prints for sale (I coveted the Harley Quinn one, but by the time I got there they were all sold out), and a raffle going for some of the prints, with all funds going to benefit the important Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, and the pizza was good. All-in-all, it was a great chill little party with which to kick off the weekend! If they do something again next year, I’ll surely be there!

TNT and CraveOnline’s The Last Ship Party:

When I saw the notice for this Friday night party, I couldn’t resist, because, hello? Party on a ship! And the historic U.S.S. Midway Museum at that. How cool, yes? The party was put on to promote one of TNT’s new shows, The Last Ship, which airs Sundays at 9 (ET) and features Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, and more as the crew of a naval destroyer tasked with finding the cure for a global pandemic that’s killed eighty percent of the population.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see everything that was going on. Apparently there was a laser tag target practice game and a Science Lab, both of which I would have loved to review but missed due to a delay in press being let in to the party. But I did get to catch a few songs by MGMT on the flight deck of the ship, which had a great stage setup and ended with some pretty awesome fireworks. They also had some finger food and free drinks, which are always welcome. I chatted with a few partygoers, who were having a great time, and also saw The Last Ship cast member Travis Van Winkle, as well as celebs Nathan Fillion, Julie Benz, Keahu Kahuaniui, Jason Mewes, Charles Michael Davis, Maitland Ward, and others coming on board to hang out in the VIP area and watch the show. Regrettably I didn’t get a chance to see what was in the Loot Crates that were being given out as party swag, since I didn’t have time to wait in the line where they were being given out at the end of the party and press were not provided with them ahead of time, but if you’re going to give swag, I’d venture to say you probably can’t go wrong with Loot Crates, so hopefully attendees went home happy.

3BlackDot Launch and After the Eisner’s Party

My next party of Friday night was Milestone Comics co-founder and fellow ComicMix writer Michael Davis‘ After the Eisner’s Party which, this year, was also the launch party for 3BlackDot. If you’re lucky enough to swing an invite to Michael Davis’ yearly After the Eisner’s party, do not miss it, because it’s a total blast. This year’s was at BarleyMash, and featured several live performers, including amazing musician and DJ Lil Jon. It also featured a burger bar and tasty hors d’oeuvres, and a cool swag bag. The music, food, atmosphere, swag, and company were all top-notch.

While there I danced and chilled with the ComicMix family and with several members of this year’s SDCC Black Panel, including J. August Richards, Orlando Jones, and Tatiana EL-Khouri, and of course panel founder and host Michael Davis, along with other super-talented folks like Phil LaMarr, Deric Hughes, Denys Cowan, Georges Jeanty, and Damion Poitier. The party went until 2 a.m., and I enjoyed every minute of it. Good times!

The Robot Rendezvous Party

At SDCC this year, not only did Tweet House help organize the excellent I Know That Voice panel (which I will be covering in a separate column), but for Saturday they also put together a “Pop Culture and the Robot Reality” panel (which, alas, I missed, but it sounded super fun!), followed by the “Robot Rendezvous,” a chill gathering at Stone Brewing Tap Room from 5 to 7 PM, both sponsored by GM and Sphero.

The Rendezvous included appetizers and two drinks on the house, and featured several of the panelists with their robotics projects, including Jennifer Barry with a robot that poured you a beer on request, and Marty Linn with the Robo-Glove, which is designed to help people with weak grips (like those with MS or the elderly) be able to exert more pressure to lift and carry things. It was pretty darned cool (and super nerdy in the best way) to get to walk around and see and hear about these great robotics while having a drink and a snack. The party also featured special guest Brent Spiner, who graciously did photographs during the party and was a pure delight to talk with. I and the several friends I brought along had a fantastic time, and can’t wait to see what Tweet House decides to do next year.

And that was it for me and the party scene, y’all! Although I did get the invite to SlamCon (the casual, impromptu end-of-the-con party that can include everyone from regular attendees to celebs) via running into Deric Hughes on the street on the day of. I totally wanted to go, but was way too sleep-deprived to manage it. However, reports from friends said it was a great time, and Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins from Supernatural, among others, were spotted enjoying the vibe. I’m sad I missed it – but maybe next year! …If I get more sleep first.

Stay tuned for more of the news round-up from SDCC, and until next time, Servo Lectio!