Wake up. Caffeine up. Nerd up. My mornings at San Diego Comic Con prepared me for four days of geeky glory that I had been waiting for most of my life. Basically, the “Holy Grail” of all comic cons was everything I had hoped it would be. Once that “golden ticket” of a badge was placed into my hands, my heart jumped. Within minutes I had enthusiastic kids descending upon me ready to trade swag. Thank you little ones. I now proudly own a “Batman” pin and an “Arrow” bag.
Survival of the early mornings, long trolley trips, and wide-open eyes were made possible thanks to caffeine. Were the infamous crowds an exaggeration? Not at all. It came with the territory of being the largest comic con in the world. Preparedness with a dash of patience got me through each with a shiny smile. A big shout out to John at Manga Classics for inviting me to moderate the SDCC panel “When I See Myself in Comics”.
Not only did it provide me badges to nerd heaven, it was a thrill to be on stage in the company of talented graphic novel and comic book artists. If it weren’t for John, I would be following in the famous footsteps of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj when they avoided meltdowns while trying to score tickets.
It was a Disneyland for nerds
The entire Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego was transformed into a giant celebration of what makes many of us so very happy. The first sight off the trolley was a car propped hood first in a pond to excite fans for the new series “Castle Rock”.
Trolley cars, buses, and entire sides of hotels were covered with movie and television banners.
Everything down to the toilet seat covers were promos. Toilet seat covered with Deadpool’s face? Sure, why not!
There were Pedicabs that displayed “Save Shadowhunters” banners and even a plane flew over with a giant “Save Timless” spot. The power of devoted fandoms might just have saved both of these shows. One can only hope.
The FXhibition area outside had places to explore for “Legion”, “Archer”, “Cosmos”, and more. SyFy Channel had a karaoke bus that circled the streets getting people in restaurants and passers-by to sing along.
The infamous Hall H
To no surprise, Hall H was pretty much untouchable. The closest I got to the famous room was a visit to a friend who was camping out in line.
However, the Indigo and Ballroom 20 lines were totally doable. Here I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt with panels with the cast and creators of shows like “The Simpsons”, “Family Guy”, “Robot Chicken,” and “Bobs Burgers”. The hours spent in the ballrooms were the time of my life despite the cafienated drinks and bad french fries. Of course it was all worth it by seeing the likes of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Matt Groening, and H. John Benjamin.
SDCC Exhibition Hall, ready…set…go!
Imagine thousands upon thousands of humans-some in cosplay, some not–wandering wide-eyed through a never-ending dealers room. Yes, much of it was a gigantic eye-crossing extravangza of Hollywood promotions, but it also was some of the sweetest eye candy I’ve ever seen.
There were amazing Lego creations and original costumes from “Planet of the Apes”, “Star Trek”, “Superman”, “Edward Scissorhands”, “Star Wars” and more.
Talented artists with mind-blowing beauty and creative interpretations of favorites like “Godzilla” and “Star Wars”.
…And of course there was the cosplay
Sewing needles, glue guns, and extreme creativity went into the cosplay of San Diego Comic Con.
Will I go on this adventure again? Ask me again next year.
