San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Wednesday

We were a little late headed out to Wednesday’s “Preview Night” at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, thanks to some unexpected air-conditioning problems brought on by the 115+ degree heat in Phoenix, but we still managed to make it in time to pick up a badge and a retro “Batman ’66” Comic-Con bag and only missed an hour or so of the opening salvo of pop culture goodness. Oh, and the 77 degree temperature at 9:00 p.m. in San Diego is so much sweeter than that a/c killing 107 degrees back in the valley.

The Wednesday night crowd on the exhibit floor started off very mellow and there was plenty of room to move through the hall and get some early photographs of the exhibits (see below), but by the time they started announcing the last 30 minutes before closing, the show was packed with enough people to make it feel like a Friday instead of a mid-week evening.

Some of the coolest things seen Wednesday night were Batman related, as the caped-crusader is celebrating his 75th anniversary at the show this year in a myriad of ways. The highlight was that I was actually able to touch Batman creator Bob Kane’s file copy of Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of Batman.)

Now, mind you, I don’t think I was supposed to put my grubby meat-hooks on that rare collectible, but nevertheless I HAD to adjust its position for a good picture; so for a comic fan like myself this was like touching the Mona Lisa, or the Holy Grail – fortunately I didn’t melt, a la Raiders of the Lost Ark; although ComicConnect.com Director of Consignments, Rob Reynolds, was probably wishing that I had.

(See more about ComicConnect.com’s upcoming historic auction in this Sunday’s Classic Comic Cover Corner – on NERDVANA!)

The DC Comics exhibit at this year’s Con has gone all-out in celebrating Batman’s B-Day, with an awesome stoic statue of the hero and all sorts of costume movie memorabilia. They also have an incredible art display of cowls and capes with intricate artwork by artists like Carlos D’Anda and Jeff Lemire.

Once again, the amazing artisans at Weta have created one of the best displays at the Con. This year, once again promoting The Hobbit films, they’ve brought a life-sized head of the temperamental dragon, Smaug. The beast appears to be slumbering, but as you mill around the exhibit the creature periodically opens an eye to check out the crowd – a crowd that is praying he doesn’t completely wake up.

Enjoy our Wednesday night photo gallery below and follow our live Twitter coverage from Comic-Con through to its close on Sunday afternoon. Be sure to check back at this same nerd-place for daily Comic-Con recaps and pictures.

San Diego Comic-Con 2014 – Wednesday Photo Gallery: