These are the 10 things every San Diego Comic-Con goer is well familiar with. If it's not the lines, it's the crowds. There are so many things to love and hate about SDCC, but I find that even though it may sounds like I'm complaining, I kind of love it all. Here are the 10 best inside jokes understood by Comic-Con attendees.
When I think about what it's like to live in Los Angeles, it's like constantly waiting in a line...for everything. SDCC is kind of like that...except that there's also a line for every line. Sometimes you get lucky (cue Daft Punk) and can walk right into a Hall H panel, or be the first in line for a giveaway, but most of the time, that'a not the case. Many people will wait in line for hours and give up an entire day of Comic-Con or an entire night of sleep just to get 5 rows from the stage that Jennifer Lawrence or some other pop star will be speaking on. On the positive side, 90% of people at comic con are very kind and friendly. Even though we're all rushing through the crowds and competing for the same swag and spots in line, everyone is incredibly cool and you're bound to make some like-minded nerdy friends in line. Just don't cut in a line, because if you do, heads will roll.
Get in line first, ask questions later. The difference between you getting that sweet swag, into that much-desired panel, or a drawing for a valuable trinket can be the 60 seconds you try to figure out what the line is for. Therefore it's always best to get in line and figure out what it's for once you're in the line.
3 Free Swag
SDCC is the king of free swag. Granted, most of it ends up being garbage, but the point is that it's free and people go nuts for free stuff. Usually you never know what it's gonna be - a Star Wars poster, a dumb entertainment magazine, a plastic trinket you can sell online for $50, a cardboard box made by Google. But the free doesn't end with swag - odds are you'll also get into a free concert, show, movie screening, exclusive party, or at the very least - a free meal.
San Diego loves Comic-Con. So much so that its hotels, restaurants, stores, and taxis are offering their special Comic-Con rate! It would be considered so generous of them, if it weren't for the fact that the Comic-Con special is usually two to three times more than the standard prices. A $200 hotel will probably cost you close to $600 and a $10 restaurant meal will easily cost you over $20. SDCC brings in over 150,000 people, the size of a small city, and the revenue that local businesses bring in is through the roof. So if you intend to save money, you should probably request the standard rate as opposed to the Comic-Con special.
5 Awkward audience questions
We love them and we hate them. At the end of each panel, there are about 15-20 minutes open for the audience to ask the cast and producers questions, and 9 times out of 10 the people asking the questions are the weirdest, most awkward, starstruck people at Comic-Con. And their comments/questions are even worse. It's like watching an uncomfortable episode of The Office where Michael Scott is making a fool of himself. The audience and the cast always laugh at these people (and fortunately) they always feel we're laughing with them. If only there was a blooper reel combining all these, then I could post a link and we could die laughing while cringing at the overabundant awkwardness. #GoalForNextYear #MakeThisBlooperReel
6 Making friends
Typically nerds are not known for their well developed social skills and abilities to make friends. I happen to fit into this category fairly well, however at Comic-Con you instantly gain the ability to make instant friends. Why? Because most people are just as awkward (probably more so) than you. It just takes wearing the right nerd shirt, or cracking any Star Wars joke, and someone nearby is sure to chime in and laugh with you. It's one of the reasons I love being at SDCC, I can just totally be my awkward nerdy self and not feel alone or out of place.
In their defense, they really don't know. Whenever we see someone in a yellow or blue shirt we are sure to ask them questions that they cannot answer. The staff at Comic-Con pretty much exists just to keep people out that don't have a pass and to prevent line cutters. If you've been waiting in a line for hours and want to know if you have a shot at making it into Hall H for that much desired panel, don't expect an answer. Whether they are hired by the Convention Center, Comic-Con, or are SDCC Volunteers, I am convinced that they all have no idea what is going on, just that they need to manage the lines.
8 Phone ProblemsWhen you put together 100,000 people who are constantly on their phones, you should expect that text message to take 10 minutes to send. You should also anticipate that the overloaded free wifi will take 10 minutes to load that Instagram or Tweet you need to read to check the status of lines or freebies. Rumor has it, cell phone companies plan to build 3 new cell towers right next to the Convention Center for the sole purpose of being needed at Comic-Con. Okay, that was a joke. And thanks to our overuse of our phones, we end the day by walking around with a dead phone, trying to find an open jack on the walls, half of which are patrolled by the fire marshall who restricts you from resting your weary head there.
9 The Shuttle Buses
If you're not one of the fortunate few to have (or are willing to pay for) a hotel within walking distance from the Convention Center, then you are well-acquainted with the SDCC shuttle buses. These buses are awesome because they run 24/7 from your more affordable and very distant hotel, they're comfortable, clean, and totally free. But they come with their problems, if you're not waiting forever in a line to get on one, you're waiting forever on one to get to the Convention Center, which happens to be miles away and separated by loads of traffic. At night, tired zombies board the bus and almost always fall asleep on the long quiet ride home. For this reason, I have dubbed the bus, The Knight Bus. Yes, of course that's referencing the one from Harry Potter. In fact I even met a guy this year who claimed to have stumbled onto the bus drunk, passed out and woke up a few hours later, still on the bus making its rounds.
From registration on day 1, we start filling our official swag bags, collecting poster rolls for our posters, and perhaps already carrying a backpack or purse. It's hard to pass up the cool freebies, posters, and buying those toys and trinkets that are exclusive to that year of Comic-Con. By the end most people are a walking pile of advertisements and swag with weary backs, shoulders, and arms from carrying all the excess weight. The best part is shuffling into a tight seat at the packed-out panels and barely being able to sit down. But it makes coming home feel like Christmas, unloading all the stuff we've accumulated is like dumping a stocking full of Comic-Con goodness.
End of line.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE:
Of course I skipped over one very obvious component of Comic-Con: the cosplay. Probably because it just seemed too obvious, but here's a look at what I thought was the best (and most hilarious) cosplay costume of the year.
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