Confession: This past week marked my first time at the nerdfest known as Comic-Con. This fact has surprised many people. Aren't I a west-coast nerd? A nerd journalist, in fact, and thus someone who could have gotten in for free for a decade or more?
Well, yes. But I always resisted the siren lure of the San Diego summer. I heard horror stories. I knew how many people were in attendance (an estimated 130,000 this year). I got the sense that it had become too commercial, packed with big-budget movie marketing and dripping with hype. I recently interviewed Charley Lippincott, the marketing director on the original Star Wars, and the first guy ever to tease a forthcoming movie at Comic-Con. When asked about what had happened ever since, he simply said, "I'm so sorry."
In the end, however, I had a very enjoyable (if profoundly overwhelming) time. Here's what I learned about this ultimate geek gathering:
It's Not the Zombie Apocalypse
Before attending my first Comic-Con, I read up on everything written for newbies online, and asked a bunch of veterans for advice. My takeaway: I had to stock up on protein bars, practice walking with a heavy pack and prepare myself for an odorous assault on my nostrils.
In reality, it's not nearly that bad. It's a crowded show floor, to be sure, but not all 130,000 attendees are trying to get in the hall at once (even though it certainly felt that way on preview night). Most attendees have, in fact, showered. You mitigate the worst of it. You develop a sixth sense for the least crowded entrances. You learn not to stand in line for food at the Convention Center; there are plenty of good eats a short walk away. There is jostling on the show floor, but it is probably the world's most polite jostling.
See also: Comic-Con Recap: What You Need to Know
Still, one of the things I was warned about in advance was true:
You Can Spend All Day in Line (And People Do)
Lines snaking around corners. Lines snaking across an entire seafront. Lines chopped in two or three segments or more, managed by people wearing "Line Staff" t-shirts. Lines for panels, lines for signings, lines for free stuff, lines for expensive collectibles. You can see lines of all shapes and sizes, with people of all shapes and sizes queuing patiently in them.
I never understood the lure of the line before now. At Comic-Con, there is the absolute conviction that any line must lead to something cool. I found myself resisting the urge to join all of them.
Some of the Best Things Happen Outside the Convention Center
The Comic-Con system is geared towards making you buy a badge that costs up to $175 (or, if you're press, making you jump through an inordinate number of hoops to get a pass). But don't fret if you're on a budget, or missed the several-hour window in which tickets were actually on sale. In many ways, you can have more fun standing outside the Con.
You'll get better pictures of the costumes. You'll see giant armored robots making friends with little girls. More and more movies (such as Ender's Game) and TV networks are moving their displays to the area around the Convention Center, theoretically open to everyone. Downtown San Diego is hopping, and you'll actually be able to get food without queuing for an hour. That panel you wanted to see? You'll get a closer look on YouTube. That precious collectible? It'll show up on eBay soon enough.
It's Not So Much About Comics
There are still places around the edge of the main exhibit hall where you can buy comics; they tend to be the quiet zones. There are plenty of panels where you can learn how to break into the comics business, or how to draw comics on your iPad.
But overall, sadly, comics feel like they're playing second or third fiddle to other forms of visual entertainment. If Comic-Con were starting from scratch today, there's no way it would have that name.
You Can Either Go to Comic-Con or Hall H, But You Can't Do Both
If you get in the @HallHLine right now, you'll be first in line for 2014. #SDCC2013 #sdcc14 #SDCC #SDCC2014 #SDCC13
— Chris Gore (@ThatChrisGore) July 22, 2013
Hall H is the arena-like room where the big-name panels happen: Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Doctor Who. There is room for 6,500 people, in theory, but that is less than 1/20th of the total number of Comic-Con attendees. So what you get is another line — the granddaddy of all Comic-Con lines. One that has been estimated at a mile or longer. One that people actually camp out overnight in.
If you get in Hall H, you stay in no matter what, because that seat is golden. Want to see a panel at 4 p.m.? You'd better get there first thing and hang out all day. People do this, naturally, but it puts a major crimp in their Comic-Con experience because they don't see much of anything else that day.
My advice? Skip Hall H and panels in general because ...
Most Comic-Con Panelists Barely Get to Say Anything
Panels are a wonderful thing, in theory. You get to see some of your favorite actors, writers and artists. But in practice, many panels are a victim of bloat. Everyone wants in. Quite often, you've got the entire cast and crew up on stage, along with a moderator who's trying to be inclusive and ask everyone the same amount of questions. Throw in an audience of fans who are going to applaud everything their heroes say, and there's really very little time to hear much from any individual. Two or three answers, max.
A prime example this year was the hour-long Game of Thrones panel in which we heard a lot from the showrunners and the actors whose characters died in the Red Wedding, but too little from writer George R.R. Martin, and almost nothing from everyone else. Almost all of these panelists could have held the hall enraptured had they been interviewed on their own.
Be Prepared to Meet Your Heroes
Even if you don't spend all day in Hall H, you're going to run into some famous faces. A disturbing amount of attendees seem to think this is what Comic-Con is all about. Personally, I see it as the icing on the cake. I'd never line up for a signing, but it is nice to turn a corner and run into, say, Lt. Data from Star Trek TNG, a.k.a. Brent Spiner. (I also ran into Lou Ferrigno, a.k.a. the original TV Hulk, but he was charging $40 for a picture.)
Comic-Con Is More Diverse Than You Can Possibly Imagine
We already discovered this year the surprising fact that women rule Comic-Con. What I didn't mention in that story was just how many families I saw, how many ethnicities, how many orientations. It was extremely heartening to see.
Yes, there are a lot of white guys who look like they just left their mother's basement, but they are by no means the majority, or even the plurality. The geek crowd in 2013 is as diverse as America.
Been to Comic-Con? What's your take on the event? Let us know in the comments.
Images: Chris Taylor, Mashable
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