Julia Slaughter

Every year that I go to Comic-Con I take TONS of pictures to try to capture the sheer size of the event. There are over 125,000 people there between the attendees, professionals, and exhibitors (or that was the magic number in the past), so just to put things in perspective for you when you look at the list of panels and programming offered and you hear people talking about not being able to see what they want here’s why – Hall H is the biggest venue that the San Diego Convention center offers it seats 6500 people. (And every year the fire Marshall comes to make sure that everything is in order so those rules are pretty strictly enforced.) I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt and say that at least 25,000 people are exhibitors that are tied into the Exhibit hall that means there are around 100,000 people competing for alot of the same content so like it or not – you’re going to end up in a line at some point in time. If you’re lucky it will only be for a few minutes but if you’re trying to get into Hall H, it could be for hours, so I wanted to share my tips and tricks for San Diego Comic-Con.

Bring your fully charged cell phone and put it on vibrate in your pocket! It’s almost impossible to keep your group of friends together, the odds are good that you aren’t all interested in the same panels and whatnot, but even if you are – the crowds are so immense that you get separated, cell phones help you find each other. (They do NOT offering a paging service in the convention center so if you get separated with no means of communication, you’re out of luck.)

Pack a Backpack full of Essentials, you’ll be glad that you have it. My backpack includes the following:

• Handiwipes, hand sanitizer, and travel sized lotion – If you’re flying solo you can’t get out of line to go to the bathroom so it’s nice to have the tools to freshen up. (The hand sanitizer dries your hands out so the lotion is a nice counterbalance.)
• A snack – this year it was dried fruit and some nuts. Yes, there are food vendors but again you can’t always leave the line. The people around me were overjoyed when I broke out my pistachios and shared. (Again this is where the handiwipes come into play.)
• Water or Fruit Juice – you need to bring something that will actually keep you hydrated, if you aren’t from California – it’s alot hotter than it feels and if you get stuck in line for a few hours outside Hall H, you’ll be glad you have it.
• The Program – this may seem like a no-brainer but more than once people asked to borrow mine because they had left it in the hotel. The odds are good that you’re not going to get into your first choice panel if it’s something really popular so you may need to develop a back-up plan.
• A Camera – whether you like to be in pictures or not, there are things you’ll see that you wish you had a camera for whether it’s a celebrity, or an amazing costume.
• Sunscreen – This mostly applies to anyone who is going to try to get into a bigger panel where you might get stuck outside for long periods of time. I got a fabulous Farmer’s tan while waiting to get into Hall H on Thursday.

Other things in the bag that are not essentials but nice to have –

• A book to read and my iPod – it’s rare but there are times you find yourself in line around people that you’d rather not talk to, it’s nice to have an escape plan.
• A pen and a scratch pad – sometimes you meet some amazing people and you’d like to stay in touch or if you’re creative you might get some idea that you want to hold onto, write it down, hurry! Something else amazing will distract you in a hurry.
• Contact Cards – a faster way to distribute information to the people you want to stay in touch with. I got some Moo minicards, I didn’t give them out often but I was glad to have them when I needed them.
• My old Dell Axim – Wifi is offered for free and sometimes while I’m waiting on a panel – I poke around on the internet, play silly games, whatever.
• Hoodie – sometimes the panel rooms get a touch cool, it’s nice to have something with sleeves. I also saw someone ingeniously using their hoodie to protect themselves from the sun while waiting for Hall H. (Too bad I hadn’t brought mine that day!)

Some important notes:

Keep your badge out and prominently displayed whether you wear it on the provided lanyard or not. As you move through the Convention center they check it at various points, you will be frustrated and frustrate the people around you if you have to stop and find it.

Cut in line and prepare to suffer the wrath of the people around you. I watched two girls get harranged and ridculed until they finally gave up and went to the back of the line. You are surrounded by people who want to see the same content you do, the difference is that they have been patiently waiting their turn – rest assured the crowd gets ugly when you try to jump ahead.

Do not save an empty seat so you don’t have to sit near a stranger! I must confess, I prefer to have an empty seat to act as a barrier between me and the person next to me but when you have literally thousands of people fighting to get in to see the show – is it really fair to hold that seat?

There’s more to the schedule than what you see in the program. If you know an artist or author you like is supposed to be there, check by the booth where they are supposed to be so you can find their signing schedule. There’s alot more going on at Comic-con than most of us even realize so it’s hard to keep track of it.

Accept defeat gracefully! This year I ended up in line over and over again for the Green Lantern Blackest Nights figures. I was shocked at the guy who started screaming profanity at the vendors in front of several thousand other people. Was it disorganized? yes. But that attitude makes the Con unpleasant for everyone around you.

Now for the most important note -

HAVE FUN! Everyone who goes to Comic-con has a unique experience, take it all in – it goes by fast!