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Lament for Comic-Con

So, though it is a sore subject with me right now, I can't go this whole week without giving a shout out to the geek Mecca to which I should have been making a pilgrimage this past Tuesday - San Diego Comic-Con International.

My sob story is as follows: my usual Con buddy and I were, of course, prepared to click the "secret" link for Comic-Con passes right when the clock struck 8:00am on March 3rd. Unfortunately, said link did not work properly, and by the time my pal and I had the opportunity to purchase passes, only Thursday and Sunday were available. If we lived in beautiful San Diego, or had unlimited funds, we would have gone ahead with purchasing passes for those two days. However, neither of those things are true for us, and being far from the Con, it is difficult to swing the expense (time-wise and money-wise) of travel only for the first and the last day of the event. I usually don't attend on Sunday anyway. So my Con buddy and I had to make the decision not to attend at all this year.

I thought I would get over it, and maybe I did for a while. After all, I've had the privilege to attend twice before, and there are plenty of people who have never been able to attend, whether it be for financial reasons, family reasons, distance reasons, etc. But I am not over it right now. All day at work today, I could not stop thinking about what I would be doing if I were where I belong - at San Diego Comic-Con...


At around 3:30am, I would have been setting out for the event, either being dropped off or in search of expensive long-term parking... By 4:00am, I'd be in line, sleepy but anxious about making it to the multitude of panels that I would have added to my packed schedule and would probably cry if I missed them. The line to get into the main building probably wouldn't even be moving until 8:00am, but the hours in between would be spent reading books, checking and re-checking my schedule, yawning, trying to find the appropriate balance between staying hydrated and yet not drinking so much that you have to actually use the restroom, and of course, making new nerdy friends at every turn. (And I mean that word in the best possible sense.)

The front of the convention center - Comic-Con International 2009
By 10:00am I'd probably be in my first panel, in the first couple of rows of chairs, because I am that dedicated to getting a good spot in line. I'd have my camera ready, and I'd be hungry and freezing cold from the blasting air conditioner inside the convention center, but it would be okay, because I'd be at Comic-Con.

Even if you don't make it to tons of panels, there's just something about that place at that time that warms a geek's heart. There is something beautiful about seeing so many fans (150,000 at the event every day...) deciding to come out in public and let their geek flags fly. It was exhilarating the first time I experienced it. You think to yourself: "Wow. I didn't know there were so many people who are crazy about the same nerdy things I am crazy about. If we all revolted right now, we could take over the world!"

But nerds don't want the world. In fact, most of the time we daydream about living in different worlds - the ones we read about, explore in MMOs, or see fleshed out in beautiful detail in films. What nerds want is to go to Comic-Con. And you can be sure, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get there next year! This scrabbling for tidbits from the Con from afar is just too miserable.

Did you get passes to Comic-Con this year? What have you experienced so far? What are the best costumes you've seen? I'm sure my readers would love to hear!

Comments

  1. :( This makes me want to cry. I swear I have been talking to a lot of my nerdy co-workers about how depressed I am over not going. I saw two children wearing superhero t-shirts (one spiderman, one captain america) and had to have the conversation with them over who was the best superhero. We all agreed that it was Superman. Gah nerds, gotta love 'em.

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    Replies
    1. Captain America is most definitely the better super hero! (I'm a little biased, since I'm waiting for my first issue of Captain America to come in the mail...I'm all about him right now.) :)

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  2. I'm right there with you, lamenting. I've never been to a Comic-Con before, but I desperately want to - especially now that blogs and Twitter is overflowing with peoples' comments and photos.

    A friend of mine and me are considering going next year, but if tickets to the whole shebang are that hard to get by, I don't know... I'm travelling from Norway and she from Australia, so we really need to get our money's worth. We might just go for NYCC instead (unless I'm mistaken when I believe that tickets are more readily available for that one).

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    Replies
    1. First of all, I admire the two of you for keeping a friendship going between Norway and Australia! Now, THAT is some distance. That would be awesome for the two of you to meet up and attend Comic-Con - I KNOW you would love it. Some of my fondest memories ever are from there. :)

      Passes ARE extremely hard to acquire, however, so I do think you would have a better chance of getting to NYCC. But like I said, even though it is madness, I'm still going to try to get passes to the international con next year!

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