Comic Con Baltics 2024

May 22

Thus, I found myself bright and early on Wednesday morning, May 22, taking Monki to school and then hopping a Bolt to the train station. Time to get the show on the road. Of course, I made the most of my time on the train, grading papers and trying to prep as much of the end of semester work as I could, knowing that I would be incredibly busy once I landed in Vilnius. 

Paulius picked me up and let me know that for the first two nights, we’d be in a different hotel than usual (where the guests stay). We checked in and headed off to Litexpo to start work. 

Walking into the convention center was like coming home. Saulė and Diana were already hard at work doing all the panels and arranging for the opening ceremony. This time around, I was going to have a cohost, Zel, a cosplay mainstay. He wasn’t scheduled to arrive from Poland until the next day so we just brainstormed some ideas and I wandered the various halls, getting the feel for things. 

Like last time, we were going to be picking up all the guests at the airport to get a quick interview, some product promo shots of them with the logo of a sponsor or two, and then send them on their way. Or first pick up turned out to be Rob and Heather of Cyanide and Happiness, a wickedly funny comic strip. They’d been guests about 5 years ago and were returning for a second go ‘round. Since then, though, we’d become Facebook friends and so when I found out they were scheduled to come over, I immediately sent a message saying how good it would be to see them. Rob responded likewise, they said he was excited for kepta duona. Well, who was I to let a friend down? We arranged a nice surprise for them after our airport pick-up and took them to a great little pub for a snack and a beer. 

Then they were off to the hotel, and we were back to work. 

Our next pick up were the folks from Natural Habitat Shorts, Brennan, Nicole, and Tyler. It was a late arrival and even though they were all tired, they were absolute troopers, and we had a great chat before sending them off to get some rest. We did the same. (To be fair, this meant missing a pick-up for Nobody Sausage but that worked out okay in the end.)

May 23

There were three scheduled pick-ups for Thursday, Sean Gunn & Natasha Halevi and Adrian Paul from the actor side and Nathan Pyle, creator of Strange Planet, and his family from the cartoonist side. Of course, as soon as we walked into Litexpo, we got the news. There was bad weather leaving Nice, so it looked like Sean & Natasha would probably not make their connection to Vilnius. It was amazing how quickly everyone mobilized to try and sort this problem. At one point, I think there were three people (me included) on the line with various airlines and airports trying to get flights held so our performers could make it. 

In the end, they did, in fact, miss their flight, but thanks to the hard work of our team, they were able to get tickets out of France fairly early in the morning the next day. 

In the meantime, we were off to the airport to pick up Nathan and family. He was traveling with his wife and two small children, and yet managed to look alert and refreshed when we interviewed him.

Next was Adrian Paul, the Highlander himself. Again, talk about a professional. He’s been in the business for 30+ years and knows how to make an interview work. 

The only other people coming in that day were Natalia Tena and Devon Murray, both from the Harry Potter films. But they didn’t want to be interviewed coming off the plane (couldn’t really blame them) so we’d get our welcome videos later at the hotel. 

Back at Litexpo, I helped one booth with a bit of an English grammar error (I couldn’t help myself), did a prep day video, and in the evening, when Zel had arrived, we did a run through of the opening. 

The thing with the opening this time is we were trying to figure out a way to keep the Lithuanian crowds (stoic and reticent by cultural nature) excited and engaged throughout. Last time, back in October, there had been a lot of text and statistics to get through, things like prize money and number of people attending and what-have-you. It was a lot for anyone. 

So this year it was decided to streamline a bit. Zel came on board to try and bring the cosplay crowd excitement and while he and I were going to split the text, we were still going to limit all of the info. The only major thing we needed to mention was that this year’s con was “powered by Samsung” and they were giving away a phone. With Saulė and Diana directing us, and making adjustments to the script as we went, we were able to get in a few good run-throughs during the evening.

The only thing we couldn’t really practice was the guest interactions. This opening ceremony, while not unique to us, is still not a widely done thing, where all the guests appear on stage at the same time. And part of that was we wanted to do a brief interview with everyone. Last time, though, with everyone coming onstage at the same time, it became a black hole of energy. It made for a good picture, but we lost the audience. So this time, Saulė and Diana figured we should bring them out separately. First, we’d introduce the cartoonists, let them exit the stage and then bring out the performers. Of course, we’d bring them all back for a group picture, for both us and the crowd, and that seemed to work a little better. We still need something a little more energetic, but we’ll get there. 

May 24

Opening day was upon us! A few years ago, Con expanded from two days to three with the addition of a “student day.” See, Lithuania has this great cultural program where schools get a certain amount of money every month for cultural-related activities and events. A few years ago, CCB was placed on the approved list so on Friday, we get tons of students of all ages bussed in to experience the joy that is con, free to them. This also means we need programming for them, which is where the “Meet Lithuanian Film Industry” came about, panels and hands on demonstrations on how to make movies as told by both local Lithuanian filmmakers and those who had gone off to success in Hollywood and elsewhere. It’s really a great collection of talent, all sharing knowledge and wisdom with our crowds.

Paulius and I made our way to the main con hotel in the morning, after checking out of our alternate, to grab interviews with Natalia and Devon before a scheduled trip for the actors to Trakai. This was my first time meeting them, and they were both great! Lots of laughs and enjoyment to be had. Also ran into Adrian again, and met everyone’s agents. 

Then it was back to Litexpo for an opening day video and finally, back to the airport for the final time to get Sean and Natasha. Even after all they’d been through they were all smiles and cheer. So nice! And we got a great welcome video out of it! 

As the day progressed, we recorded some videos and I finally met Marina, the marketing person for Nobody Sausage. Turns out the creator himself never leaves his computer so all the public facing tasks fall to her. She is awesome, so friendly and energetic it’s hard not to get caught up. 

Rasa and Monki were going to head into Vilnius in the evening, since they had a wedding to attend in the afternoon. It was going to be a busy day for Monki to be sure, especially since they were coming directly to Litexpo. By the time they got there, we were ready for another round of rehearsals, and they got to help us out by pretending to be guests. For Monki, this part wasn’t as much fun as the participating she did last time (yelling “cosplay” on stage) but she was still good with it all. 

When we all got back to the hotel it was late, so we decided to order McDonald’s for delivery. Monki and I went down to the lobby to figure out the logistics, where we ran into Devon. He was off in his own world so I inadvertently scared the crap out of him when I said “hello” but we all had a good laugh about it so it was alright. 

May 25

Saturday and things were in full swing! All of our guests were here and I had met them all, Zel and I were as ready as we’d ever be for the opening ceremony and the sun was shining outside. Rasa, Monki, and I drove down to the con together (they would be going home at the end of the day, while I still had another day or two of work to get done) and things started quickly. I showed the girls around a little bit, including a spot where Monki could get a miniature figure and learn how to paint it, and then, at 10am, when the doors opened, they were off and running. I did some video recording and last minute prepping for the opening, including explaining the schedule to the guests, and then it was time to go. 

Rasa sent me a message at 11:00, when the ceremony was scheduled to begin, that the painting was taking longer than expected and while they were hoping to make it to see the show, she was wishing me good luck in case they didn’t. Fair enough! As it turned out, I saw them sneak in while I was on stage (and as soon it was over, they were gone again, Monki had seen a face painting booth and needed to get in line). 

As I said, the ceremony was fine, with a just a couple of slow spots, but Zel and I came in on time so that was a win! Once it ended, though, I didn’t have much time for anything. I saw my friend Huw and managed to track down Rasa and Monki for a few minutes before I had to go and get ready for the first of my three back-to-back panels. First up, on the main stage, was interviewing Natalia Tena. 

She is a riot! No topic was off limits and she was bouncing all over the place. It was fun trying to keep up. Turns out she’s an incredibly well-read woman, and comfortable with all manner of performance. 

My next panel in Hall 5.1, were the folks from Natural Habitat Shorts. These three are all incredibly sharp and quick witted (I suppose you’d have to be to do what they do) and the whole discussion was, I think, a great success. 

My last panel of the day was in the same room with Adrian Paul. This one was a hoot. It started off fine, but then Adrian decided to get some volunteers on stage to enact a “quickening,” offering a free autograph for the winner. I stood up to try and moderate but Adrian had it well in hand and just told me to sit down and enjoy. So I did. It’s a very different thing moderating a con panel as opposed to an interview for an article. There are different parameters and different objectives. In this case, the audience was not there to see me. I was merely a facilitator and if that service wasn’t needed, it was my job to get out of the way and let the performer do what they needed to do. Same thing happened last time with Raymond Cruz. These guys are professionals and know what the crowds want, so they give it to them. Certainly makes my job a bit easier. 

With my panels done, I found Rasa and Monki outside in the rain (while it had been sunny in the morning, it was now quite grey and wet) getting some food for the ride home. I said good-bye to them and headed back inside to do videos about the Artists Alley and the day itself. 

Saturday night is always my favorite night of con. It’s the night we take all the guests out to a brew pub in Vilnius for traditional Lithuanian food and drink. It’s a great time to get to know everyone in a more relaxed setting. This year was even more fun since it was Sean’s 50^th birthday a few days before so we got him a cake and all sang our good wishes. 

The thing about this Saturday night party is it’s the only time of year I drink beyond having a glass of tipple. Now, I’m not much of a drinker to begin with (yes, I have a nicely stocked cupboard at home, but since Rasa doesn’t drink, and it’s sad to drink alone, I rarely indulge). What this meant was that after a couple of beers and half a shot (I split it with Brennan, who just wanted a taste), I was feeling it. Not in a bad way, but I definitely wasn’t about to operate any heavy machinery. 

At about 1:30, the Natural Habitat gang and I headed back to the hotel (we walked since it was a nice night and it wasn’t that far anyway) where I dutifully drank some water and got to bed. 

May 26

One problem I have is I don’t sleep well. Never have, really. What this means is that no matter what time I go to bed, it’s hard to sleep past 8am. Even after a delightful night out, full of laughter and imbibing, come 7am, I was up and showering and heading down for breakfast. This also meant that my first panel, with Rob from Cyanide and Happiness, was moving a little slowly. Rob decided to spice things up by giving away merch for question askers. Later, he immortalized it in a great little cartoon!

I had one last panel, this time with Sean talking about the MCU and Gilmore Girls and whatever else came up. To be honest, this is the panel I was most looking forward to, having been a fan for a while. And it did not disappoint. He is really such a nice guy. Very smart and insightful. And his wife, Natasha, is also amazing. On Saturday, she discovered the Vilnius marathon was running so she went down and signed up for a 5K and ran it, in the rain, kitted out in Comic Con Baltics gear. Way to represent!

After that, it was just recording some final video spots and packing up things. 

By the time we got back to the hotel, Paulius was going to heading home rather than staying the night and leaving in the morning, so I volunteered to go with him (which got me home earlier and meant I didn’t have to worry about a train ticket or Bolt home). The only slight issue, which got resolved after about an hour, was that Rasa wasn’t picking up the phone when I called to tell her I’d be home early. Now, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that a few summer ago, when we went to the UK, there was a night in Nottingham where I went out and she stayed in the hotel and went to bed, locking the door behind her. This meant I couldn’t get in, even with the key, and she’s such a heavy sleeper, she almost didn’t wake up to let me in. I almost had to sleep in the car. In this case, though, if she locked the house door from the inside there was no way for me to get in and there was no car to sleep in. I would have had to wander the streets for a while. 

Thankfully, she did finally pick up the phone and we made arrangements so I could get in and sleep in my own bed…albeit with Monki already taking up part of it, it might have been more comfortable on the couch. 

All told, it was a great Con, some amazingly fabulous guests, and I had a great, if exhausting, time. Of course, come Monday morning, it was back to the grind of finishing out the semester, but what are ya gonna do? That’s life.