When dawn broke on Comic-Con's Star Wars day, the doors to the Convention Center opened to let in a very diversified crowd of fans. Some of them were standing in line for the first time, while others had already made a habit out of the gathering, having spent the previous day in early convention adventures. Stories of treasure discoveries and exciting encounters rang out from the lines of waiting enthusiasts, mixed with retellings of nocturnal experiences - some conventioneers had spent the night in a nearby hotel, others in the apartment of a friend, others yet had slept directly in their vehicle, turning the convention into a total drive-in experience.
Costumes were much more prominent than they had been on Thursday, as several people walked around the numerous booths and activity rooms dressed as their favorite super-heroes, characters from various science fiction movies and television shows, or even an original (and often strange) costume they had come up with themselves. Representatives from the Don Post Studios reported a high number of Star Wars sightings around their booth, with costumed fans stopping to pose alongside the life-size replicas on display there. The statues of Boba Fett, R2-D2 and C-3PO didn't seem to mind the visitors at all. The numerous masks also on display, both from the classic Trilogy and from Episode I, had several fans trying them on and becoming, for an instant, their favorite Star Wars character.
The Del Rey/Random House booth attracted a lot of readers interested in the latest books related to the Star Wars saga. From the novelization of The Phantom Menace to coloring books, there was something of interest to everyone, making adults and children alike stop in front of the counters to flip a few pages and admire some pieces of cover art.
Dark Horse kept very busy at their large booth where visitors could stop by and take a look at some of the latest offerings in the comic book department, including the newly-released Aurra Sing, in the Bounty Hunters series. Near the end of the day, a drawing had one lucky fan walking away with a complete collection of all the Dark Horse Star Wars comic books.
Moving away from the traditional horde of demo tables, the Decipher team spent the day doing demos of their new Episode I customizable card game, Young Jedi, on a large Velcro wall, where attendees were invited to play a sample game using giant cards. This allowed more people to follow the explanations at the same time. In addition to their innovative demo technique, Decipher set up several tournaments, both for Young Jedi and their classic Star Wars game. They also held a "last man standing" trivia contest, where contestants could put their Star Wars knowledge to the test, earning several prizes from Decipher's vault in the process.
Promoting the Smithsonian's Magic of Myth exhibition tour, the San Diego Museum of Art had a large, open, and very welcoming area managed by museum representatives and a group of volunteers. The tall, beautiful booth acted as a sort of Star Wars magnet that had fans converging on it from the four corners of the convention hall. Greeted by one of Don Post Studios' stormtrooper replicas, visitors could buy tickets to the upcoming exhibition as well as exclusive Magic of Myth merchandise (which will also be available at the museum), and other Star Wars items.
In the midst of all the Star Wars activity, one of the highlights was the panel where fans were invited to ask questions to a group of professionals involved in the publishing business related to their favorite saga. The panel included Steve Sansweet, head of fan relations at Lucasfilm and Star Wars author, Steve Saffel from Del Rey, Peet Janes from Dark Horse, Haden Blackman from LucasArts, and authors Michael A. Stackpole and R.A. Salvatore.
Steve Saffel announced Del Rey's new Star Wars series, The New Jedi Order, which takes off some twenty years after the Battle of Endor, and will continue to evolve along its complex and rich story arc for several years to come. The first novel of the series, Vector Prime was penned by R.A. Salvatore, who was more than happy to answer inquisitive questions from fans. Vector Prime is scheduled to be released in October. It was also announced that Greg Bear had been brought aboard to write a bridge novel that would cover some unexplored ground between Episode I and Episode II.
Peet Janes discussed the new Aurra Sing comic book by Dark Horse, as well as their plans for future Star Wars adventures in the realm of comic books. The Bounty Hunters series was one of the topics, as well as the numerous Jedi that appear in the Jedi Council Chamber of Episode I, and who will soon join Ki-Adi-Mundi in the Star Wars ongoing series.
On the computer gaming side of things, Haden Blackman announced that Lucas Arts would soon be releasing the popular Episode I Racer for Mac, as well as their Phantom Menace action/adventure game for the Playstation gaming platform. The newly-released Episode I Insider's Guide was discussed, joining Behind the Magic in Lucas Arts' ongoing line of reference software. Several upcoming titles were also mentioned, including Force Commander, a strategy game set within the classic Trilogy timeframe and scheduled for a late fall release, and a "first person slasher" featuring a lightsaber-wielding Obi-Wan Kenobi, and which should be available in the first half of 2000.
At the end of the day, fans were left with a lot to look forward to in the upcoming years, and two more convention days to satisfy, though it might be temporarily, their thirst for Star Wars. As most of the visitors left the Convention Center to go back to their hotel rooms, some retreated to their minivans with a knowing grin, anticipating the fun-packed weekend still ahead of them.
