BWW Special Feature: One Fangirl and Her Day Inside NY COMIC CON's Saturday Panels

First of all I would like to say "HELLO!" Hello to new readers and fangirls (and boys) alike. NYCC is truly an awesome experience and if you haven't gotten the chance to go to a con you should really try in the future. But for those 3,000 of us that did go to panel screenings on Saturday this article will be a lovely recount of the hours of waiting...waiting...and more waiting until Norman Reedus blessed many a swooning woman with his presence. And if you dont know who Norman Reedus is...then you probably don't watch The Walking Dead. And if you don't watch The Walking Dead...well you should probably start.

First of all you need to know these things about NYCC and me in general:

1. I. LOVE. THE. WALKING. DEAD. I have many a funko pop zombie figurine that can attest to this. Why else would I sit in a theatre for more than 7 hours just to see the cast?

2. The rule of the Mainstage Theatre is this; once you're in, you're in. You can stay there all day and wait for the panel you want, and hop around the room for better seats. This being said, if the panel you want to see is The Walking Dead at 6:30pm- and nearly everyone who goes to the panel on Saturday is there just for that-you need to get there early. And I mean you need to be at the Javitz Center ready to run before doors even open.

3. At panels and events there are these wonderfully awkward things that happen called Q&A's. This is where fans can ask the cast and creators of shows any question they want. Sometimes it ends up great, and for the most part fans ask really introspective questions and it's an all-around good time for the audience. But every once and awhile there is a fan who asks a member of the cast to sign something or take a look at their work or some shameless self-promotion. There are no words for how much second hand embarrassment is felt by the audience. DON'T DO IT.

4. Don't be a douche. One would think this is just a rule of interacting with people in public but no, some do indeed choose to defy this social norm. Please be nice.

5. Leave the kids at home. And by kids I mean any child under 12. They don't do well sitting for long periods of time. And to be honest, unless the child really watches the show and loves it, there is no reason they need sit through the fans of rules #3 & 4. Also-and I can't believe I have to say this, but actually-DON'T BRING BABIES TO COMIC-CON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now with that out of the way, it's time to recount a day in the life of a Walking Dead Fangirl:

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9:00am: Leave for the Javitz Center. As many a native New Yorker know, the Javitz Center is out of the way with only one convenient subway near it. This 1,2,3, subway line however is not convenient for me. So, dressed in my batman shirt, beret, and Wonderwoman backpack, I made the treck to 11th Avenue amongst the stares of many a tourist and young child.

9:40am: Literally standing outside the Javitz Center. The conversations and complaints from others who cosplayed...priceless.

10:10: Doors opened and I rushed down to the panel room for the queue hall to the Mainstage. I'm very small so running was neither a hindrance, nor did it hurt other con-goers. Score 1 for the shorties.

10:40am: Frantically texting my friend that I'll save her a seat once inside. And when I say frantically texting I'm serious. Little known fact of the Javits Center; below the show floor (the floor where all the money changes hands; from comics to jewelry) there is no reception, let me repeat. THERE. IS. NO. RECEPTION. It is a death trap to your phone. Do yourself a favor and put that thing on airplane mode so your battery doesn't completely die once you leave. You'll thank me later.

11:00am: Got inside! Got a mildly good seat! Found my friend! All was well and right with the world. Also I got some swag from the Archer Panel! One memorable highlight from Archer, besides getting to see the Season 5 premier episode: Judy Greer screaming "You're not my supervisor!"

12:00-5:45pm: Amongst the blur of excitement, there were other panels including the 75th Anniversary of Superman.

Teen Wolf Q&A; in which the screams of tween fangirls could be heard all the way to Beacon Hills High.

Special pilot screening of Reign. Whether or not you like the show (and if you are a man not interested in fashion and a girl not interested in anything that comes out of the CW this will be the case) let it be noted that the show's leading lady, Adelaide Kane, won my respects when she graciously explained to her British co-star Toby Regbo about shipping and flower crowns (if you don't know what I mean just go on tumblr for about ten minutes).

Special screening for the second season premier of Beauty and the Beast. This is where rule #4 applies. To all the dudes who sat in that theatre for hours on end waiting for Norman Reedus, something needs to be said. You need to have patience. Also, the stars of the show are backstage and they can definitely hear you boo-ing. Please for the sake of saving face, clap politely and then talk trash behind their backs (or blog) about your hatred like the passive aggressive I know you can be.

Special screening Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D episode 4. Fitz and Simmons. That is all.

And then came the moment we all were waiting for...

THE WALKING DEAD: Sneak peek at the premier episode, and a sneak peek at a deadly situation somewhere down the line for some fan faves.

Highlights include:

• Every man and woman becoming jealous of a little girl when she got to sit on Norman's lap for the panel.
• A young boy calling out Steven Yeun (Glenn) for constantly having Maggie (Lauren Cohan) protect him. (A battle of machismo followed)
• Michael Cudlitz fooled everyone in the audience by pulling a rule #4 and calling new showrunner Scott Gimple a "motherfucker" in the Q&A (in character) and introduced himself as Abraham- a reoccurring character in the series.

Believe it or not, there was a panel after the screaming, laughing, and all around AWESOMENESS that was The Walking Dead. Hercules: The Legend Begins gave us a teaser trailer for the film: out in spring. Trailer aside, the film's director Renny Harlin, is a man I would definitely want to have lunch with. One of the most insightful things he said about pursuing your dreams: "If you have passion and talent, that will equal luck."

And so that concludes Saturday panels and screenings. To give you a nice visual of how the excitement of sitting for 8 hours watching t.v. shows and seeing Reedus wore me out for the day...

Until next year NYCC...