The eagerly anticipated Comic-Con Museum - the permanent exhibition space to be presented by Comic-Con International, and setting up shop at the previously title Hall Of Champions in Balboa Park in San Diego - had it's big reveal to Comic-Con attendees this year, with many banners in place of where fans would usually see GAME OF THRONES house sigils hanging from the ceiling, a booth on the Exhibition Floor throughout this years convention and a full panel, unveiling the ambitious plans of the Museum team.
It was this panel which took a number of people by surprise, not only for those left stood standing outside Room 29ABC on the Sunday (a line of thirty-odd people, which even prompted CCI Director Of Programming Eddie Ibrahim to come and see what all the fuss was about), but also for those that managed to get in: many were galvanised by what Museum Director Adam Smith, Director of Programming Keegan Chetwynd and Founder Member Melissa Peterman were proposing, most raised eyebrows at how much hard work - and funds! - was still required to get the project underway, and all were a little deflated by the estimated timetable of getting the doors open. The message was clear: to get this project right, these things take time.
Directly following the panel, I managed to sneak Adam away into a side room to talk a little further about where the project currently stood, about how momentum might be continued with interim 'virtual content', and about how to properly present the project to baying fans without spoiling the surprise, once those doors eventually open. Enjoy.
Image Credit: @carolkimSD / Twitter