Comic-Con 2011

[BlackLantern]

Now they're gonna be stereotyping us black geeks as rabble.

yes....it does not help...I was so upset when I saw it was a black guy

 

[Anita18]

I mainly want to make it for the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Batman or Superman panel if it's there. Is it relatively easy to plan a camp-out for the big ones to guarantee a seat? Ideally I don't wanna waste time lining up for hours on end unnecessarily when I could be cruising around.

Only if you want to get first-row seats. But things may have gotten more crowded. I last went two years ago, before the Twilight frenzy.

Hall H seats 7,000 people. I think as long as you don't get there 15 minutes beforehand, you should be fine. I've also taken the "attend earlier panels to get good seats" route. It works well if you want to see multiple panels in one day, and don't have anything else you want to go to.

The smaller rooms might be tricky. I waited in line (and through another panel entirely) for the Mythbusters panel in a smaller room, and that's how I got in. My friends tried to wait in line 30 minutes before it started and couldn't get in.

About signings, is it standard that you have to pay to get something signed or drawn? I've noticed that it's different from convention-to-convention. Don't know what the rules are for the Con.

I've never had to pay to have something signed. Sometimes they might have special signings for an artist/writer's new book, so you might buy the book there and have them sign it. But that's all I've heard.

Not a problem, I'll be deciding by this month anyway. Would you recommend planning early for hotel rooms as well, or is it no different than getting a room the week of?

The rooms will all have been booked the week of. They supposedly have rooms at special rates for Comic Con attendees, but I've never gone that route. Those rooms fill up quickly anyway.

My first year, I booked a room at the Quality Inn about 1.5 miles outside of downtown at AAA rates and it was cheap. Although that meant we had to drive in and then pay for parking (or ride the sketchy bus), but it was still WAY cheaper than paying like, $100 more a night. Hence, sharing hotel rooms will be key.

 

[BlackLantern]

I panel squatted for a couple things...(sitting through other panels to get to the one you want to see)

 

[The Riddler]

Big panels are on Friday and Saturday. Best shopping day is Sunday since some of the vendors will lower their prices to try and get rid of stuff. Plus it's less crowded. Although they obviously might run out of popular items if you wait until Sunday to buy stuff...

4-day pass is worth it, I think. I missed checking in on Wednesday (preview night) and was stuck in line outside for two hours on Thursday morning. The line actually went fairly quickly considering it went halfway around the entire convention center but...yeah. Check in on Wednesday night if you can.

thanks for the advice. i definitely plan on going friday and saturday then, since the big panels are a draw.

gotta decide how many of friends want to go and for how many days.

 

[Gamma Ray]

Why isn't this show free? It's a bunch of people pushing product on you for 4 days.

 

[Kurosawa]

Because people are willing to pay to get in. I'd love to go but it's on the West Coast and I'm in NC and I R poor.

 

[PyroChamber]

yes....it does not help...I was so upset when I saw it was a black guy

And a black guy wearing a Harry Potter shirt.

Makes you wanna shake your head and say "goddamn"

 

[Anita18]

Why isn't this show free? It's a bunch of people pushing product on you for 4 days.

Well, they do have to pay to rent the convention center and I believe many of the people behind the scenes are actually volunteers. There isn't one big company or studio sponsoring the whole thing.

And besides, as I've said before, the $80 4-day pass or $20-something one-day pass is NOTHING compared to what you'll pay for transportation, hotel, food, and swag. It seems like a silly thing to be complaining about.

I'm always really impressed by how organized it is, considering just how many people go there every year. It's crowded, sure, but the signs are huge, the crowd control is impressive, and they hire like, half of the SDPD for the weekend to make sure nobody gets run over by the trains.

 

[zanos]

Stabbing at comicon at the Seth Rogen panel.

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/comic-con-stabbing/

 

[BlackLantern]

Why isn't this show free? It's a bunch of people pushing product on you for 4 days.

Well, they do have to pay to rent the convention center and I believe many of the people behind the scenes are actually volunteers. There isn't one big company or studio sponsoring the whole thing.

And besides, as I've said before, the $80 4-day pass or $20-something one-day pass is NOTHING compared to what you'll pay for transportation, hotel, food, and swag. It seems like a silly thing to be complaining about.

I'm always really impressed by how organized it is, considering just how many people go there every year. It's crowded, sure, but the signs are huge, the crowd control is impressive, and they hire like, half of the SDPD for the weekend to make sure nobody gets run over by the trains.

renting the convention center, they use the hotel next door for stuff, the security there is a private company hired for the event

and they do a great job of keeping it organized

 

[MadVillainy]

And besides, as I've said before, the $80 4-day pass or $20-something one-day pass is NOTHING compared to what you'll pay for transportation, hotel, food, and swag. It seems like a silly thing to be complaining about.

How much do people usually spend on swag? I thought you get handed alot of stuff for free

 

[BlackLantern]

How much do people usually spend on swag? I thought you get handed alot of stuff for free

a lot of the free stuff is meh, but they have a lot of figures and collectibles that are only available there....you can usually find them later on EBay but the price goes way up

my buddy gave me money in 2008 to buy some stuff which included the whole Build a Figure set for Fin Fang Foom

 

[MadVillainy]

Date for 2011 announced: July 21-24
But I hear they might move it from the San Diego convention center next year. I thought they werent going to do that in 2013

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Stabbing at comicon at the Seth Rogen panel.

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/comic-con-stabbing/

Hahaha, love the woman following with the camera and the giant Frindge bag.

 

[BlackLantern]

Date for 2011 announced: July 21-24
But I hear they might move it from the San Diego convention center next year. I thought they werent going to do that in 2013

the contract that CCI has with San Diego is up either in 2012 or 2013 and there has been talk of moving it for the past couple years

possible sites are Anaheim, Las Vegas....Anaheim does have a new or newly renovated convention center and they have not been shy about letting it known they want Comic Con there

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

i thought of going once but when i looked into it, with flights, hotels and tickets it was £900 before i even thought of food or spending money

 

[Anita18]

How much do people usually spend on swag? I thought you get handed alot of stuff for free

They're usually free bags. They're helpful when you're moving, because the Smallville one I got my first year was HUUUUUGE. Viz Media has a good-quality canvas tote they hand out intermittently throughout the weekend. A long line always forms for those. Although they have that plastic smell when you first get them...

The first year I went, everybody was carrying around cardboard shields from 300, because those were free. And Joker masks from the viral marketing thing which I'm still somewhat bitter I missed.

The swag stuff is reeeaaally up to you. They have figurines and art there, those can get pretty expensive. Last time I went, I spent less than $50 since I was very picky and was only there for books that I could get signed by the artists.

You can pick up some free books as well, but usually they're more like promotional pamphlets. The book I picked up from Mike Mignola I believe was free, and it was pretty nice considering it was free. It was bound and everything, it was just small. And he even offered to sign it and draw a little something for me, even though all I picked up was a free book.

i thought of going once but when i looked into it, with flights, hotels and tickets it was £900 before i even thought of food or spending money

Speaking of food, obviously convention center food is terrible and expensive. $7 for a small personal pizza the last time I went. I took the trouble of buying groceries from Ralphs (which is nearby) and making sandwiches for everybody in our group every day. You save a lot of money that way too, but obviously you'd need to request a fridge for your hotel room.

 

[BlackLantern]

I did that as well...hit up Ralphs and bought granola bars and pop tarts

 

[Kelly]

People might want to really look into finding a hotel that is within walking distance. Most of your hotels provide free transportation to and from the airport so that is taken care of, and sometimes you can get a discounted rate if you reserve early enough and get a Hotel+Air Fare combo price. I would definitely look into Southwest Airlines though because sometimes they do great sales IF IT ENDS UP IN Las Vegas. Paying a little more getting closer to the venue may actually save you money on transportation in the end. Also, check to see if there are free meals that go along with your room. Sometimes, you can ask.....if they say no, then say you will have to look elsewhere....they may actually add that to your room for free. I've done it before with some Hotels and got Breakfast served in my room....free. You can always ask, all they can say is no.

 

[BlackLantern]

and there is nothing wrong with staying a mile or so away...its a good walk

 

[Anita18]

I did that as well...hit up Ralphs and bought granola bars and pop tarts

That's such a guy thing to do.

 

[BlackLantern]

hey...I ate a proper breakfast, the granola bars are good energy food throughout the day...then I would go and grab a proper dinner

 

[Silvermoth]

Was anyone else a bit dissapointed in Comic-con this year? It was mostly information we already knew or only mildly interesting projects. There was no news that actually knocked me off my feet this year.

 

[Kelly]

and there is nothing wrong with staying a mile or so away...its a good walk

That's within walking distance to me...

 

[danoyse]

I'm dying to go to one of these (plus it gives me an excuse to go back to Disneyland)...but I'm just afraid it's gotten so hugely popular now that it's just going to be way overcrowded when I try to go. I'm still recovering from the first Star Wars Celebration convention.