innocentfreak

I know a couple people said they were going to Orlando Megacon this year. I am debating going, just not sure if it is worth the drive and entrance fee since I would most likely end up browsing more than anything.

If anything I would be looking for super cheap trade paperbacks and hardcovers. I swear in the past there were dealers there who specialized in almost $1 TPBs, but I don't know if this is still the case.

TomOpus

Yeah, not looking good for this year. Not only the passes but, since I don't live in San Diego anymore, I'd have to pay for a hotel room... and we all know how that can go. Susan is also going to be getting pretty busy soon. She's going to be student teaching ON TOP of her regular classes. Once things settle down, we'll try to make it out. She wants to check it out, knowing how important it was to me.

It still saddens me to think how it's changed in the last 12 years or so since I've been attending. It will never be like that again.

drq2

Comic Com, SD started going to it some time ago. Got married, could not go. Wife gone (Ya) been going back since 2007. As a rule I just go there for the stuff not the movie people. Still fun if I get in.

Supermallet

Just a note: Gallifrey One is awesome. Tons of access to the guests, very gracious and generous staff and attendees, and you can walk in to any panel whenever you want. What a relief coming from Comic Con.

The Valeyard

My only problem with Gally is the fans.

Supermallet

Really? Everyone I met was very nice. A few people asked some awful questions in panels, but that's to be expected at any con.

TomOpus

You know it's gotten out of hand when Comic-Con needs to post a video on completing online registration.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cm8siBex9rY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Superman07

Is there a thread for SDCC his year? My friends and I managed to get tickets and have made plans to head out there. Would appreciate any insights, tips, tricks, restaurant recommendations, etc.

chase3001

Anyone here going to The Calgary Expo? The entire TNG cast will be there.

www.calgaryexpo.com

Patman

Anyone been to C2E2 before? I'll be going for my first time in April. I'll be flying up on Friday and flying back on Sunday, staying at the hotel next to the convention center.

Any tips or suggestions?

Patman

If you want to see panels in Ballroom 20 (and they are featuring really popular TV show panels), make sure you line up before 6 a.m. SDCC doesn't clear the room, so once you get into the room, you can stay there all day (they issue passes if you need to go to the bathroom and go through the proper exit for bathrooms), and many people squat in the room just to see a later panel, so a lot of fans of shows for panels early in the day get screwed by the squatters, but it's not a perfect system, as clearing the room would take too long, and less panels can be scheduled.

If you get there later to line up, be prepared to wait a long time. I prettty much wasted Thursday waiting in line for ballroom 20 (wanted to see the Games of Thrones panel, and missed it by one panel, but still got to see a few more panels after that one). Depending on the movie lineup for Hall H, lines for it might not be too bad unless they have a big name showing up (like Spielberg, and Peter Jackson on Saturday; or the Twihards on Thursday, or the Gleeks on Sunday of last year). I waltzed into Hall H after the big names/panels were done early in the day, and then it was much easier later in the day for Hall H.

If you want to get into a popular panel in the Hilton Indigo ballroom, also prepare to get there really early, they had ridiculously long lines on Saturday for AOTS and Community panels.

The Gaslamp district has a few spots for food, I think I just ate quickly at Dick's Last Resort a few times, but you can also hike up to the Hortons Plaza for more food choices.

Wear really comfortable shoes, you will walk a lot if you venture inside the exhibitor's hall (takes up most of the convention center on the lower level).

TomOpus

Someone should start one. I won't be there this year but maybe next year.

One tip is to be prepared to be overwhelmed by the size of the thing. So many panels at same time, so many people, so little time for it all.

It's almost easier to ask one specific question at a time. Usually Comic-Con will come out with a guide as to how to make things easier. Maybe their website might have something now. But some of us have been going for several years (over 12 years for me) so there's a lot of info available.

If you haven't yet, friend the Facebook page and/or Twitter account. They will post updated info. Plus people can provide their advice too. Several years ago back in the MySpace days, there was a really good discussion group going. All that info went kaput when they got rid of those pages.

Bronkster

One week to WonderCon, and it looks like I've decided to journey off into the real world and attend (as much as a comic convention could be considered "real world"). I gotta see if I can do some better bargaining than I did at the Yorba Linda con

TomOpus

That's great, Bronk. Hope you have fun. I keep forgetting it's not in San Francisco this year.

Patman

One more thing about SDCC: if you collect sketches from artists, your best day to get on their sketch list is Wednesday night, AKA Preview night. I wish I'd brought more money last year for sketches, as I would have have the pick of the litter for most of the artists in the artist alleys.

Otherwise, you should look to contact the artists for pre-con sketches they can bring to SDCC with them, probably 4-6 weeks before SDCC.

TheBang

I recommend following these Twitter accounts:

https://twitter.com/#!/Comic_Con
https://twitter.com/#!/comicconblog
https://twitter.com/#!/sdccsurvival
https://twitter.com/#!/SDCCnerdsattack

They'll be really busy during the Con, but you might catch something that you might have missed otherwise. They also sometimes give realtime room line updates, so, for example, if they're saying the line for Hall H is super-long, you'll be able to make more informed decisions about where you want to go/stay.

sinned

Can you give me an idea of what the hotel rates are? I'm thinking of doing the same thing. What hotel specifically are you talking about? I'll have to check if they have special C2E2 rates.

Patman

When I looked (about 10 days ago), the C2E2 website had some listings of official C2E2 hotels (where there was shuttle service to the hotels not next to the convention center), and the Hyatt Regency at McCormick Place (next to the McCormick convention center) was the most expensive at $189/night (ended up being $220/night after taxes/fees). I check with Expedia/Travelocity/Orbitz for a flight/hotel deal, and found a deal on Expedia where I got the Hyatt Regency for 2 nights for $250 (all taxes/fees included) if I also bought the airfare in a bundle, so I jumped on the deal. The next day, the price creeped up to $310 for 2 nights at the Hyatt. I didn't look at the other 3-4 hotel options since I didn't want to stay farther away and deal with the shuttle bus.

davidh777

sinned

Thanks Patman. Maybe I'll try next year. I don't want to deal with a shuttle bus either. I went to a comic con in Atlanta about 10-12 years ago (wish I could remember the name of the con) where the hotel was about a mile away from the convention center but the shuttle didn't follow it's set schedule so it turned out to be a hassle.

matrixrok9

I'm going to try and get quick sketches from artists at WonderCon. Some have said they do it for free on their website. David Finch charged me $20 for a 4 minute sketch of Batman on my iPhone. In the end he gave me the sketch for free because I was buying a $20 poster from him and just charged me for that. It was really detailed sketch but I'm guessing it varies depending on the artists.

kodave

$20 for an iPhone sketch? Jesus.

What was he charging for sketches on paper or in books he was signing?

matrixrok9

I think it was $75 for paper. He was signing for free.

Here's a vid of the sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQw8k...layer_embedded

superfro

I'll be hitting up Saturday at C2E2 and SDCC for the whole week. The SDCC thing for me has become much more entertainment focused over comic related stuff though.

kodave

When you said iPhone sketch, I thought you meant a sketch in some app on your iPhone. The case makes it a different story.