San Diego Comic-Con & Gam3rCon 2012

My trip to San Diego, and more specifically to Comic-con, almost didn't happen this year.

San Diego Comic-con is notorious. Not only for the convention itself but also for the inability to get tickets. Awhile back I was given the possibility of going to Comic-con for free. How might you ask since all the tickets had been sold out for months? Well, I work for a wonderful organization called The D20 Girls Project. We put out a monthly newspaper and quarterly magazine, as such, members can qualify for press badges. And with the help of my awesome assistant manager, Cryshayn, we were able to attain press badges. However, I struggled to actually get my badge from Comic-con despite the approval. For awhile it looked as though I wouldn't be getting a badge at all, and so, I began making secondary plans. I already had a hotel to stay at and knew that several happenings occur around downtown San Diego during comic con from a previous trip. One of these happenings is Gam3rCon.

So I contacted Gam3rCon to see if they needed/wanted any help. Luckily they did. However, shortly after I agreed to help out Gam3rCon, I finally recieved my badge for SDCC. So now I had two cons to attend. Woohoo!

Day Zero: Thursday

We left NorCal on Thursday late morning and decided to stop by Disneyland, because we can. Of course, this meant missing out on all of Thursday's panels at SDCC AND missing out on Nerdcore nights at Gam3rCon. Luckily we were planning on going to the Nerdcore show later that weekend. Disneyland was great, as usual, but not being used to SoCal, I didn't realize leaving the park at 11pm would mean we wouldn't get into San Diego until after 1am - oops. Luckily our host we so generous and nice, as well as our other roommates. Yes, we were those people, and stuffed seven bodies into our hotel room at the Hilton Bayfront. Being that it was so late we just literally threw sleeping bags on the some available floor space and passed out in our clothes.

Official Day One: Friday

My Gam3rCon staff shirt (photo courtesy of  T1nk the C0n Fairy)

Awoke at a decent hour, but not early enough to grab my SDCC badge, and got dressed and then headed directly to Gam3rCon. We met the awesome Robin, our volunteer co-ordinator, and got settled in. Even H4773r decided to join in on the volunteerism. I was set up to do street team work, which meant heading down the Gaslamp district near SDCC and promoting Gam3rCon. We headed out with our beautiful mascot, Fallen Flyte (aka Olivia) and spent a couple of hours promoting the heck out of Gam3rCon.

Fallen Flyte (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

As soon as I was able, I ran down to SDCC and grabbed my badge and then spent what little time I had left wandering around the con. I had missed most of the panels already so I decided to check out the vendor hall and see if I could meet any of my D20 Girls in person. I found Cryshayn in the "gaming room". I use the verbiage "gaming room" very loosely. The gaming room is located on the Mezzanine section of the main convention center, which in of itself is hard to find (I actually had to look it up on the FAQ section to just find it). And then you make a turn and wander down a hall. Seeing as how I'd just come from Gam3rCon earlier that day, with 3 floors of gaming, I wasn't impressed. I also found Leah Rose from our Arizona location on the main floor.

Ermahgerd! Cermic Cern! (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

After I enjoyed the wonders of the vendor hall and met a few other D20 Girls by just wandering around I headed back to Gam3rCon. I decided to walk back and enjoy all the sights of the Gaslamp district, but I could have taken the free shuttle that was being offered by Gam3rCon. There are so many restaurants in the Gaslamp. I was really disappointed that I wouldn't be able to eat at most of them because we were trying to save money on this trip. Although I did enjoy a delicious veggie burger at Hodad's earlier in the day.


Every evening Gam3rCon hosts some type of rooftop event/party. This night was the showing of Video Game High School, which also had a few of the stars making an appearance. I had actually caught this YouTube series earlier in the year in one of my random, geeky news feeds and was familiar with the opening episode. H4773r and I are big fans of Harley Morenstein from Epic Mealtime. I was a bit disappointed he wasn't able to make an appearance. Overall the cast was super nice and I enjoyed watching some more of this hilarious series before I decided to call it a night.

Day Two: Saturday

Saturday's outfit (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

I woke up at a fairly decent but still not early enough to get to anything at SDCC. Instead I made sure to get breakfast and stop by a Starbucks on the way (not the one at the Hilton though because the line was out of the door). I made my way back to Gam3rCon and made swag bags until it was time to start my next shift doing street team work again. I had debated on wearing a costume that day, but overall decided that since it would be a long day I probably wouldn't have the stamina to tolerate a costume.

Fun story that happened while working for street team: A guy with a microphone and camera man approached our street team and asked Olivia if he could interview her for a segment. I only glanced at him and couldn't quite see his shirt to identify what company he was with, but I did notice he had what looked like a Fleshlight in his other hand. She immediately said yes and then he asked her what she thought about Fleshlights. (So it was a flesh light!) Her face drew a blank as she asked aloud, "What's a Fleshlight?" I immediately made some kind of face at Olivia who took one look at me and then told the interviewer that she changed her mind. I piped in with, "So that is a Fleshlight you're holding?" To which he responded yes, and then asked if I would be interviewed. To which I said, "Yes!" I was asked which superhero I'd have sex with (answer: Tony Stark), which superheroes I'd have a 3-way with (answer: Catwoman and Batman), do I own a Fleshlight (answer: no), would I consider buying one (answer: no, but if someone gave me one that'd be cool). He then mentioned Fleshlight/Hustler Magazine would be having a party that night and I should stop by. I said maybe, but I knew I wasn't going since I had a concert to go to that night.

I trekked back to the Cryptozic store with everyone to get picked up and then stopped in to check with H4773r and another friend to see how they were doing at Gam3rCon. I knew I had missed all the panels, again, but decided to head back to SDCC and into the vendor hall to pick up swag and maybe meet some more people. I did manage to find Adrianne Curry getting interviewed on the street and snag a photo, thanks to her awesome manager/friend.

Could I have more of derp face? (photo courtesy of  T1nk the C0n Fairy)

Honestly, I kind of forgot that getting swag at SDCC is it's own thing to do. You have to wait in line and run around from place to place hoping you'll make it before the line is either cut off or they run out of stuff. I managed to pick up a few things and make a couple of purchases for some friends who missed out on joining us. I also ran into/met Lili for the first time. She's one of my new hire for the California D20 Girls and has a great girls gaming group that she works for, The Mos Eisley Girls.

After running around all day I barely managed to pull myself away from SDCC to meet up with H4773r so we could attend "Nerdcore Nights." This was an event I wanted to attend for a few reasons. One, I absolutely love any chance I get to see MC Frontalot or MC Lars live. They're great performers and the concerts are fun. Also, I knew that Devil's Playground Burlesque would be performing and I wanted to network with people from The Gamer Girls. I had a great time for the time I actually spent there. Please check out this blog for my review on the show.

Sunday: Last day in San Diego

I decided to wear my costume, Alice from American McGee's Alice, on this day since I knew it would be a short day as far as work. I checked in with Gam3rCon and did my final day of street team work. There weren't any panels of interest on Sunday so I didn't feel horrible missing out on anything. And I did spend my last day back in the vendor hall picking up more swag, because really, that's all I could afford.

H4773r and friend playing Starcraft II (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

After SDCC shut down I had planned a D20 Girl dinner meet up at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a very small, but great event. I love when I get to meet other D20 Girls in person and just chat about geeky things.

The D20 Girls (Cryshayn, Leah Rose, and JC) at Hard Rock Cafe (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

I ended the night back at Gam3rCon for their "Deconpression" event. It was a great day to end a long weekend.

At Deconpression as Alice (photo courtesy of T1nk the C0n Fairy)

Where we stayed

View from our room (photo courtesy of T1nk th C0n Fairy)

H4773r and I, in our old age, prefer to stay in hotels connected to the convention center. In this case it was the Hilton Bayfront. However, I honestly had no idea what price we'd be paying even splitting the cost amongst 6 people. In the future, I think we'll look into staying somewhere farther away and using the shuttle buses or the trolley to commute to and from the San Diego convention center. This year SDCC helped those out by extending the trolley running hours as well.

What we ate
H4773r and I usually try to be thrifty when it comes to food. We often bring our own snacks and items to make meals out of. H4773r has a huge preference to using MRE's. But we did eat out a bit. In general, the Gaslamp district offers a huge variety and pricing scale for places to eat. I enjoyed meals at Hodad's and the Hard Rock Cafe. H4773r ate at Cremolose. And then I did have an emergency meal at Papa John's pizza. There are also a few Starbucks around if you're in need of caffeine.

Veggie foods: I always bring vegetarian/vegan snacks with me. I also usually break my no dairy rule on vacations just because I have such a hard time finding decent protein sources. At Hodad's I enjoyed their veggie burger and fries (no cheese). At Hard Rock I had the Veggie Leggie (sooo good!) and enjoyed my side salad with a vinaigrette.

Parking
H4773r and I didn't have any problems with parking this year since we were hotel guests. We opted to pay the $27 per day to park at the Hilton Bayfront parking lot.


Overall trip
This trip was a wash for me. While I did get assistance in get my SDCC tickets and got a share a room (albeit, very expensive room), this trip was highly expensive. In general a trip to SDCC is expensive. I had quite a few of my roommates spend hundreds, almost a couple of thousand on purchasing SDCC exclusives. And this is in addition to hotel costs, travel costs, food costs, and cosplay costs (if you're into that sort of thing). Also, because of my  obligations I really feel like I didn't get to enjoy either con as much as I wanted. I didn't game at Gam3rCon and I didn't catch a single panel at SDCC.


I honestly don't know if we'll be heading back to SDCC next year. We've already missed out on purchasing the passes and since my article was never submitted to D20 I don't know if I'll be eligible for a press badge next year. If we do go next year, I plan on making the most of it by spending my day at SDCC and then joining Gam3rCon in the evening as an attendee.

San Diego Comic Con and Gam3r Con

I'm sure the entire geek world knows that San Diego Comic-Con International is this week. In fact, people have already started lining up. Ref. Many of my favorite comic artists, webcomic artists, bloggers and movie industry people will be making appearances. Unfortunately I will not, as I will be performing in Godspell Jr. But there are a number of excellent resources available for those attending.

I recommend following these twitter accounts:
Official SD Comic Con (the Offical SDCC twitter)
SD Comic Con (a SDCC blogger with great info)
Comic Con Blog (a Comic Con blogger)
Pop Culture Geek (an amazing photographer-it's where my profile pic comes from)
Crazy 4 Comic Con (I really like his packing list on his website)

Also, the SDCC website offers some great information, including a food guide, a customizeable schedule and parking/shuttle info.

Personally, here is what I'm sad I'm going to miss.

Thursday:
Comic Book Law School 101: 'C" Is For Creator (and Copyright!)
The Evolution of Web Series: The Guild to Dragon Age

Friday:
The Big Bang Theaory Screening and Q&A
How to Create an Effective Pose for Paneling and Illustration
Eureka

Saturday:
Attack of the Show! Attacks Comic-Con
Digital Disruption: Comics, Webcomics, and the Business Model of the Future
Webcomics Weekly Live!
The Penny Arcade Q&A
Mythbusters
Masquerade

Sunday:
Full-Time Creative Work on a Part-Time Schedule

Comic Artists/Really Cool People that I Would Love to Say Hi To (If you <3 my blog I don't mind gifts of autographs, merch, and doodles from artists.):
Emi Lenox Creator of EmiTown
Jennie Breeden Creator of The Devil's Panties
Raina Telgemeier Author of Smile and artist of The Baby Sitter's Club graphic novels
Danielle Corsetto Creator of Girls With Slingshots
Scott Kurtz Creator of PvP online
Bryan Lee O'Malley Creator of the Scott Pilgrim series
Kris Straub Creator of Starslip
Dave Kellett Creator of Sheldon Comics
Jeph Jacques Creator of Questionable Content
Vera Brosgol Creator of Anya's Ghost
MC Frontalot Godfather of Nerdcore
Felicia Day Awesome actress and creator of the webseries The Guild
Wil Wheaton Awesome actor and author
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik Creators of Penny Arcade and PAX
Geek Girl Diva Awesome blogger
Anthony Lee Winn Comic Artist currently working on the Stripperella comic

Brad Guigar Creator of Evil Inc.

Edit 07/20/2011:

While I scoured the internet to see which of my favorite people were going I still managed to miss a few. So I would also like to include

Scuttlebutt, Inc Creator of adorable fan badges and Mahou Shounen Fight

Katie Shanahan aka KtShy Creator of Shrub Monkeys

Hope Larson Creator/Author of Chiggers

Claire Hummel Awesome artist

Ethan Nicolle Artist for Axe Cop

So, perhaps you didn't get badges to SDCC this year, but plan on going downtown and people watching. While you're there you could also check out Gam3rCon. Gam3rCon is a new con looking to revive the gamer presence that seems to be lost at SDCC. They have some other fun things set up besides games, such as GAMERS (a geek play), Dr. Horrible Sing-Along and Repo! with shadow cast, Elective Surgery. As well as a few panels and Rooftop Parties. Tickets are super cheap and this con will continue after SDCC shuts down. Please check them out if you're in town.

San Diego Comic-con, Saturday

Today was our last day to enjoy Comic-con. I really only had two panels to catch and the rest of the day was planned to wander the Exhibit Hall and get photo ops with people I'd missed the day before.

As per usual we were running late, but got there in enough time to catch everything. Also, H4773r was kind enough to drop us off again so we could enjoy the con. This time he parked on

Harbor and Sigsbee St. This was a good 6+ blocks away from the convention center and had free parking BUT I wouldn't recommend leaving any valuables in your car and leaving there late at night. It just didn't seem like the safest area.

My goal was to start at one end of the Exhibit Hall and work my way through all the alleys. That worked until I hit the main areas that had Marvel, DC, G4, WB, etc. The madness down those walkways was incredible. There was barely any room to move at all. Then I realized I

wouldn't even make it half-way through the hall before the panel started so I just gave up and started wandering.

I did find Frank Beddor and bought H4773r "Princess Alyss of Wonderland."

Shortly after getting something to eat and paying outrageous con prices we headed to our webcomic panel with Scott Kurtz, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellet, and Kris Straub. The panel was pretty informative and Scott Kurtz and Dave Kellet are pretty fucking funny. All the guys have collaborated to write "How to Make Webcomics" (which I bought). They also promoted their

sites webcomics.com and Webcomics Weekly (podcast). In addition they pretty much just talked about the biz: how you do everything yourself (from merchandising to advertising) and that it's the best way to retain all your rights; the importance of making something people want to read; that if you have 1000 true fans you can

maintain your business; and the most importance advice I learned from Kurtz "Solving the problem of where you're at." Meaning, let's say you have your comic online and have a few followers you might be concerned next with going to a con and setting up in artist alley. You should be solving that problem, not worrying about starting merchandise selling.

Right after the webcomic panel it was time for the Emo Boy panel. This upcoming movie will be

directed by Kyle Newman (also directed Fanboys) and will star Jaime King (from "Spirit" and "Sin City") and Lucas Cruikshank (of Fred fame). Newman also discussed other upcoming Vanguard films: Chupacabras, Alien Band, Space Chimps 2, and Oz Wars. Also we had the chance to meet and talk with Jaime King after the panel. She was incredibly nice, sweet and down to earth. By far a great actress to meet in person if you ever get the chance.

After Emo Boy I went back down the Exhibit Hall and got my photos with peeps.

GeekgirlDiva

MC Frontalot

Jennie Breeden

Scott Kurtz

We were in a rush during dinner time because H4773r and I were going to catch Aftercon. So we ate literally at the first place that was decently priced and had a vegetarian option, Jolt N Joes. By vegetarian option I mean veggie burger, but whatever.

We parted ways with Pievuhg and took a ridiculously long walk back to the car. We made it to

the Aftercon venue, the Casbah, after 7:00pm but it didn't and we found free parking nearby. The show didn't start til rather late, 9:30-ish. The guys from Cyanide and Happiness were there premiering two new shorts, as well as Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal show off new clips in-between sets. YT Cracker was the first one up, followed by MC Frontalot, and the MC Lars. There was a special guest appearance by Zealous1. I really enjoyed the show. The guys are so enthusiastic and have tons of energy and in general, put on a great show. The initmate setting is perfect. I love how MC Lars has his music videos playing along while he raps. The night ended, for us, with MC Lars playing "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock." We missed Doomtree, but it was late and I was so tired. Only complaints, one, MC Lars encouraging the crowd to mosh and having the one douchebag try to be hard core. He almost got his ass beat by another concert goer who didn't want to play with him. Also, I guess there was someone "famous" there. I couldn't figure out who she was for the life of me, but she had a papparazzo following her, taking pictures, with an obnoxious flash. I could've taken her but H4773r doesn't like to encourage my violence and I hate lawsuits.

There were a number of things happening after Aftercon, such as the experiment webcomic meetup with Scott Kurtz, drinks with Geekgirldiva, Repo! with shadow cast and special guests, and Mythbusters at Hard Rock. Unfortunately, we didn't go to any of these BECAUSE I could no longer afford parking for another day and I was still so fucking tired.

(NOTE: Next year we WILL get a hotel room by the convention center and have more Red Bull onhand.)

San Diego Comic-con, Friday

As this was my first time, Comic-Con was quite overwhelming even with Pievuhg's help (she's con veteran). I had quite a few things I wanted to catch on Friday: Coraline panel, 9 panel, and catch whoever I could for autographs and photo-ops.

So we arrived a bit late to Comic-Con. Again, we weren't crashing at a hotel/motel anywhere near the con. We actually stayed with a friend of Pievuhg's, who lives on the only moutain in San Diego.

The Coraline panel I wanted to see didn't start til 10:30am, by the time we arrived at and picked up my badge (I had a mix up because of the single day passes) it was 10:00am. The line looked deceptively short-why? Because it turns out they had let people in early. By the time the room was full I was still waiting outside with three people in front of me. I used the time to put on my makeup and decided I wasn't going to leave until the panel was over, in the vain hope I would be able to get in to catch at least some of Neil Gaiman. Pievuhg waited with me until H4773r showed up (H4773r was kind enough to drop off me and Pievuhg while he looked for parking.) Once H4773r got there, he and Pievuhg took off. Pievuhg went to scope out the Exhibit hall and H4773r went to hold a place in line for us at Hall H. After much waiting I was actually able to get in and catch the last 10 minutes of Coraline, so just the Q&A portion of the panel. I was able to find out what kinds of media influences the director Henry Selick, such as the Kings of Leon. Also it was asked what project Neil was most looking forward to next-The Graveyard Book. And then Mr. Selick told Mr. Gaiman how fans would come up to him asking if Sandman would ever come to the big screen. It was determined that while there are no plans in the making, both Mr. Selick and Mr. Gaiman would love to see it happen. I met Pievuhg in the Exhibit hall and she walked me over to the Hall H line to meet with H4773r. I arrived to see my panel, "9", three hours early. I was glad I did. The line was gi-normus! The kids in front of us were veterans and gave us the low-down on how the line works and what to expect. I had been hoping to catch CBDL's Amanda Palmer session but the kids told me if I left the line I probably wouldn't be able to get back in. I figured I'd stalk Ms. Palmer later.

I had a small discussion about the "unfairness" of waiting in line. I think it's fair that once the

panel is over the hall/room empties out completely. If you want to see the next panel in that room, you have to get back in line. The kids explained how this was actually tried at previous SDCC's and how near chaos/riots broke out. One of the kids countered that her mom was

physically disabled and it would be difficult for her to leave a room like Hall H and then go back in line to see the next panel. And for the people like Topless Robot, who blog about all things in

Hall H, it's also unfair because they actually want to see everything in that room. First off, Comic-con is all about picking and choosing what panels/events you're going to see. And more often than not, you will miss things. Secondly, I believe people who actually want to sit through

all panels in one room actually only makes a small percent. Most people will sit through a panel they have no interest in just to gaurantee they have a seat for the panel they actually want. Thus, taking a spot for some poor bloke waiting outside who wanted to see the previous panel. Example, I really wanted to see the panel for "9". H4773r and I got in to see the Disney panel, before "9". I didn't mind catching the Disney panel, but if given the choice I would've skipped

Disney and only watched "9". But, like everyone else, once I got in the hall I wasn't leaving until my panel was over. As the kids explained it there probably really isn't a "good" way to satisfy

everyone.

Moving on, I really enjoyed the Disney panel from what I caught of it. We got to see some footage of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" in 3D, which is set for release Valetine's Day 2010. Pixar is working to finish a new straight to ABC Family cartoon called "Prep & Landing." It's going to premiere this holiday season and looks absolutely

hilarious and cute. We saw extended footage of Disney's new "The Princess and the Frog." I'm already in love with these new Disney characters, and excited it's following more a musical format. I have no doubts this cartoon will make it to Broadway. And lastly, Miyazaki took the stage and we were able to see some of "Ponyo."

Some of the room cleared out of the Disney panel and we were able to get a bit closer for the "9"

panel. Seriously, I just about peed my pants when Tim Burton came onstage. And then Elijah

Wood entered and he is just so fucking adorable. I really wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home. Also Jennifer Connelly was there, surprisingly Crispin Glover was absent. But essentially we got to see the trailer twice, and extended scene and learn a bit of how the whole thing came together. The worst part about it, the Q&A. Let's just say awkard geeks are terribly, terribly awkward. Even I cringed. (yeah i know it's super blurry, but trust me when i say tim burton, elijah wood, and jennifer connelly are in it.)

After the panel I had planned on wandering the Exhibit hall but learned Ms. Palmer would be making an appearance at the Comic Relief booth. I quickly rushed through the Exhibit hall with H4773r to get in line. Strangely, I actually ran into AFP while on my way to the Comic Relief booth. I mananged to get out a hi, and then waited a few moments while she and her manager went over some things. I then realized if I was famous and going to be doing a meet and greet

soon I wouldn't want to be bothered while working. So I said as much, along the lines of "You know what, you look busy and I'm going to the meet and greet anyway. So I'll see you there." Hopefully she appreciated it. When I got to the booth, they actually had "Who Killed Amanda Palmer" books for sale. Since I hadn't purchased one yet I bought one there. Luckily I did. It turns out only people who bought the book could actually meet AFP. She was in an open enough space that a number of passerbys stopped to take her picture. But I was so excited I actually got to meet her and get an autograph and photo. Hopefully next time I'll have a cool gift to give.

Having recieved my first dose of celebrity, I needed more. So H473r and I headed to the webcomic booth area. I got to meet Jennie Breeden, Scott Kurtz, and MC Frontalot. I already had the Devil's Panties Vol. 1 for Jennie to sign, but bought Devil's Panties Vol. 2 and tipped for alcohol money. Jennie is by far one of the best people to meet in person. Despite the comic portrayals she isn't awkward and very personable/down-to-earth and friendly to talk to. As much as I like pvponline. I didn't make any connection with Scott. I purchased his new Binwin poster and let him know that I really like the new Ding comics, but he just wasn't as talkative/didn't seem to care. MC Frontalot is a cool guy to meet in person, but I let H4773r do all the fan boy talking to him.

While at MC Frontalot's booth he decided to put on a impromtu rap session. It was a nice

preview to Saturday night's show.

We ended the night by having dinner at the Olive Garden. Yeah, all way down to San Diego and we stop at OG. Don't judge.