Lil Voltron courtesy @instantamazon

In the land of geeks, there is only one event that rules them all, and that is the 43rd annual International San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC).  Attendees were diverse in profile from Cosplay, to avid comic book collectors, to your standard voyeur, the international crowds answered the call of all things pop culture at the sold out convention.

Over the past two weekends, I have been fortunate enough to attend not one but two Pop Culture conventions.  The weekend before last I attended the first annual Los Angeles Pop-Con LA and this past weekend I ended up at the Mecca of all conventions, SDCC.  

Comparing the two conventions would be unjust.  After all, San Diego's Comic-Con is celebrating it's 43rd year of sold out shows to an international crowd appeal.  On the other hand, we have Pop-Con LA attempting their fledgling start into the convention circuit.

As a certified geekette (girl geek) I consider myself a connoisseur of all thing pop culture.  I fully embrace dressing up as your fantasy character of choice and speaking in native geek tongues such as Klingon and Elvish.  Certified in all things witchcraft and wizardry I think I have a pretty polished opinion of what makes a convention geek-worthy.

That being said, I shall tread lightly on my review of Pop-Con LA and highlight the best experiences I had there, moving on to all things Comic Con, the Emerald City of the popular culture convention set.  

Headlining Pop-Con LA this year was Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) of Star Wars fame. At the interview panel Williams proved more than generous to Star Wars hounds looking for a sound bite from his experience on the famed set.

Once all questions were exhausted over the Star Wars Junkies, Williams was finally free to offer a very touching actor insight on his experience working with the famed Laurence Olivier.  Known personally as "Larry" to Williams, the star recounted one of his first meetings with the actor, noting how observant the actor was, taking in every bit of information provided about the person in front of him.  It was as though Williams was transported back to that very moment he met Olivier and the audience was witnessing a journey back into the memories of a great Hollywood exchange.  

All roads lead to Star Wars at Pop-Con LA and I would say the second best highlight of the day was the R2-D2 Builders Club.  Yes, you heard that right; a builders club devoted solely to building replica models of the R2D2 droid from Star Wars.  Anyone can join, with or without engineering knowledge, and I

Matel Hoverboard (photo by Sarah Ledesma)

Now, on to the Convention you've all been hearing about over the past weekend (unless you're living under a pet rock) Comic Con!  

Arriving at Comic Con is comparable to seeing the Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory for the first time.  Little trivia fact about that scene, the children in the movie had literally never set eyes on the set until they filmed the scene as it exists today.  As their eyes lit up so did mine as I entered the convention halls of SDCC for the first time.  Look around and you are bound to bump into every fantasy character you can think of as you survey the floor looking to procure your favorite pop culture keep sake.

 Every major Hollywood studio, gaming studio, and comic book publishing studio holds court on the floor vying for their fandom to spread the word of their gospel through social media and personal blog pages.

Nickelodeon offered a new reboot on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise this Fall (September 2012) with larger than life models of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello posing in ninjitsu stances at the front of their booth.

Keeping in line with some major retro themes, MATEL is offering an actual working model of the Hover Board featured in "Back to the Future part II" this November.  While the hovering technology has not been created for a personal skateboard, the company says the board will glide across smooth surfaces and make all the sounds associated with it from the movie.

DC Comics offered the "Darkness & Light" art exhibit raising awareness for their philanthropic organization "We Can Be Heroes" outside of the convention center at the Michael J. Wolf gallery.  The organization highlights the pandemic hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.  

These were just a few highlights from my trip to Comic Con.  For more insights and photos check out my flickr gallery for the new Iron Man 3 costume reveal, and new poster releases from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.     

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