SHONEN JUMP Vs. Comic-Con 2009!
Like a giant rubber monster crashing through a set of miniature cardboard buildings, SHONEN JUMP rampaged across the normally peaceful seaside town of San Diego with one goal in our tiny brain—must get to Comic-Con. And after destroying half the town we finally made it. Here's what went down!
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Feel the might and power of Comic-Con!
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Comic-Con is a massive four day convention celebrating comics, manga, sci-fi, video games, manga, anime, toys, movies and a whole lot more. At Comic-Con, anything goes! It's the greatest show of the year!
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It's estimated 120,000+ people attended this year!
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And lots of people dress up like their favorite characters. The costumes range from reused store bought Halloween outfits to custom-made elaborate costumes costing thousands of dollars. And there were plenty of SJ characters seen running around.
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A very convincing Kankuro, complete with authentic face paint!
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The main draw for most people is walking the enormous show floor. There you'll find an overwhelming array of merchandise to buy: comics, clothes, action figures, plushies, posters, shirts and a million other things. Basically, there's something for everybody regardless of your tastes.
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Wide-eyed with wonder the fans shuffle in a zombie-like fashion.
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Beyond the floor, the show offers many other things for fans to do like attend exclusive screenings, signings, video game or card dueling tournaments and much more. But the biggest draw are the panels where they can see their favorite artists, creators, actors and directors, face to face. Some of these panels require fans to stand in line for hours! That's the power of love!
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Panels are all the rage at Comic-Con!
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And speaking of panels, the SHONEN JUMP panel was nothing short of earth shattering! When special guest Hiroyuki Takei entered the room a chorus of thunderous applause erupted and his very presence sent shockwaves of awesome through the crowd. Then the skies above split and the one and only Stan Lee arrived riding a horse made of pure lightning. Well not quite, but the light-hearted banter of these two legends showed how much affection and respect each had for the other and also showed their love and devotion to the comic creation they share—
Ultimo.
You can find an astounding video of the panel and more right
here!
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Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei on the same panel!
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From there, the dynamic duo sat in the VIZ Media booth literally making people's dreams come true by signing copies of SHONEN JUMP with
Ultimo on the cover. The crowd was thick but respectful as these two legends sat side-by-side showing their appreciation for the legions of fans who adore them.
And after four days of total madness, Comic-Con comes to a close. Fans go home exhausted with bags full of comics, Batman costumes get put back in the closet, and San Diego goes back to normal—until next year!
