San Diego Comic Con 2014
Have you ever laughed at some joke and looked around and found that you are the only one laughing? It could have been a joke about a movie, comic,TV show, or even a game. If this has happened to you, then you will have probably looked around and wished that you knew more geeks or nerds.
Now, imagine going to a place where this never happens. Everyone gets the same joke and no one judges you for being completely in love with a TV show. That is what Comic Con was like. I remember waiting in the queue at 4am, waiting for the doors to open before we could all run in an get our hands on the latest fan swag, and people were talking about things that I would usually mention or laugh at under my breath. I felt an overwhelming sense of freedom. The geek inside me was free. Being a geek was normal there.
The difference between hanging with geeks and hanging with so-called 'normals,' is that if they don't get the joke, we will explain it to them and make them aware of what they are missing in their lives. We don't stare and judge. Comic Con is for everyone, it just so happens that it is heaven for us.
If you ever have the chance to go over to SDCC and attend, you should do. Even if you don't consider yourself a geek or a nerd, it is worth it.
Organisation
If you missed my previous post, I did attend LFCC this year as well and even though I had a brilliant time there were some marked differences, one being the organisation of the event.
In LFCC, I think there was around 5000-7000 people there and you knew it. The queues were hours long and once you got in, you were squashed. You couldn't really move. SDCC was a different story. I would estimate that the attendance numbers were in the hundreds of thousands and I could walk around freely without feeling like the person in front of me was betraying my personal space. Before you start saying that the venue is massive and they can fit a lot more people in the San Diego Convention Centre, there was a lot less people at LFCC and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
I strongly believe that the difference is in the organisation. If you have been in the queue since 4am, to get into SDCC, when it opens at 9:30, you will be inside pretty quickly. If there was a queue for the bus back to your hotel, they sent more buses, they didn't just leave you there for hours.
The only thing that I didn't like at SDCC was there procedure for getting autographs because they have a raffle system and you have to run for the queue to try and get the autograph that you want. This is done by network, so if you want an autograph for Bones then you have to queue in the Fox line. Therefore, you could pick out an autograph for any of their shows, you might not even get Bones. In LFCC, you get to the front of the line, buy an autograph and show up at the allotted time, therefore you have plenty of time to do other things. Yes, you have to pay and SDCC will give you them for free, but I would rather pay than stand in a queue and not even be guaranteed to get one.
For everything else, SDCC is far superior. Plus, if you don't want to queue up for something special, like hall H, ballroom 20, or the Funko Pop booth, then you can just turn up at opening time and stroll straight in. I did this on the second day because the 4am queue of the first day, killed me. Which brings me to my next point - merchandise.
Funko Pops
When I got in on the first day, the queue for the Funko Pop booth was ridiculous. People faced a 6 hour wait to get in the booth, and the Pops were selling out fast. I felt a little downhearted because I wanted:
- Headless Herschel
- Glow in the dark Olaf
- Slimed Peter Venkman
- Ruffled Rocket Raccoon
Plus I had told some friends that I would get some Disney Vinylmations for them. There was no chance. This is where I had a stroke of genius idea. Instead of watching the Funko Pop queue with a sense of trepidation, I decided to walk around the other booths and I found a lot of them had Pops as well. They were a bit more expensive but I didn't care about that.
I ended up getting nearly all of my Pops on my list before the afternoon, from other stores. The only one I didn't get was Rocket Raccoon because I thought it didn't look much difference from the general release version. I was totally happy, but I didn't have Headless Herschel yet. I took a chance and just walked right over to the Funko Booth. I started chatting to the guard, and he asked me what I was looking for. I told him, and he got it for me. It just shows that it pays to be nice. So, I got the elusive Headless Herschel without having to queue.
Panels
To be honest, I didn't bother with many panels. The queues were too long and I didn't want to look back at this experience and only remember the queues. I would have liked to have seen The Walking Dead panel, but there was no chance. They were in Hall H and that queue was beyond comprehension. If someone would have told me what the queue was like, I would have believed in aliens before I believed that it was that long.
I waited in the Starbucks queue (which was over an hour), it was 5am and I needed coffee, and the guy behind me said he had been in the Hall H queue for 36 hours! Madness!
I did however see the panels for Helix and Defiance. These panels were not in my original plans but my friend, Rae, wanted to see the Defiance panel, but she was stuck in the queue for Weird Al. So, I got a FroYo, and got in the queue for Defiance to give my feet a rest. The Helix panel was before Defiance so my fate was set. Long story short, I enjoyed the panels and now I am obsessed with both Helix and Defiance.
The panels were very well organised and they were spread over a number of hotels, so you had the opportunity to see the area when you were trying to find things.
NerdHQ
As well as SDCC 2014, we also had the opportunity to head over to NerdHQ at Petco Park. NerdHQ is a smaller convention but it is free to get in and it is for charity. You just have to buy tickets for panels, pictures, or autographs and all the money goes to charity.
At NerdHQ, I met Stephen Amell. I love him. My friend Wales got me tickets because I didn't have internet access and so I will forever be in her debt. I went to the panel and then he took a picture with all of the fans for the charity. I love him, have I mentioned that yet? He answered everyone's questions and then when I was getting my picture taken, he hugged me and told me he liked my accent and that was that. I was in love.
Booths
The booths are the main part of the exhibition centre and there are thousands of them. Some booths are more like stores and other booths showcase something. The Walking Dead booth was a walk through of Terminus and there were zombies floating around. It was really, really good. You start off at the front of the booth and there is a zombie on the floor. This is where you get your picture taken. Then you walk through what looks like a tunnel and then you find yourself in Terminus.
It was incredibly well done and this booth was were the cast congregated when they were doing their autographs.
What I will say about the booths is that sometimes the queue is too big. I couldn't even get near the Game of Thrones Experience because the queue went on for miles! We were lucky with The Walking Dead booth because we had been checking the queue all day and towards late afternoon, they just let us in the queue. We only waited for about 10 minutes and then we were in! It really was an amazing experience.
Conclusion
I could write for weeks about this experience because it is one of the best things that I have ever done in my life. I am hoping to get tickets to next years SDCC and then I will probably try and go every year for the rest of my life. If you love the geek life and the geek culture then you should definitely go to comic con.
I have had the Comic Con blues since then and I wish that it was open all the time. I am now looking forward to the con circuit next year, there is probably stuff that I have missed out in this article, but there was just so much happening that I can't remember everything.
San Diego just transforms into the geek capital of the world. There is a lot going on in the Gaslamp area and then there is more behind the convention centre, by the river. It is so well done that on our flight out of San Diego, the airline had Star Wars music playing and they changed the names of our zones to Star Wars names. We boarded in Chewbacca Zone. It is just the little things that makes the convention as good as it is.
I wish I could live at that convention centre. It was my idea of heaven.
Rating - 100/10
Check out my YouTube Channel, MsNerdasylum, for more videos from SDCC 2014
Raff is a massive Disney Geek, Thrill Seeker, Gamer and Comic Book reader. Basically she's an all round massive geek! Read more from Raff at nerdasylumonline.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube.
What I will say about the booths is that sometimes the queue is too big. I couldn't even get near the Game of Thrones Experience because the queue went on for miles! We were lucky with The Walking Dead booth because we had been checking the queue all day and towards late afternoon, they just let us in the queue. We only waited for about 10 minutes and then we were in! It really was an amazing experience.
Conclusion
I could write for weeks about this experience because it is one of the best things that I have ever done in my life. I am hoping to get tickets to next years SDCC and then I will probably try and go every year for the rest of my life. If you love the geek life and the geek culture then you should definitely go to comic con.
I have had the Comic Con blues since then and I wish that it was open all the time. I am now looking forward to the con circuit next year, there is probably stuff that I have missed out in this article, but there was just so much happening that I can't remember everything.
San Diego just transforms into the geek capital of the world. There is a lot going on in the Gaslamp area and then there is more behind the convention centre, by the river. It is so well done that on our flight out of San Diego, the airline had Star Wars music playing and they changed the names of our zones to Star Wars names. We boarded in Chewbacca Zone. It is just the little things that makes the convention as good as it is.
I wish I could live at that convention centre. It was my idea of heaven.
Rating - 100/10
Check out my YouTube Channel, MsNerdasylum, for more videos from SDCC 2014
Raff is a massive Disney Geek, Thrill Seeker, Gamer and Comic Book reader. Basically she's an all round massive geek! Read more from Raff at nerdasylumonline.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube.
