On July 18th-21st we finally got the opportunity to visit the mecca of pop-culture that is San Diego Comic-Con. This was a very special show for us as we made via the generosity of fans, friends and family and this was also the 50th SDCC, it was a party like no other. Let’s go ahead and break down the show.
Pre-Show:
Due to missed connections we didn’t get the press experience on the preview day, but from speaking to several folks, it was apparently hella fun! Now let’s chat about our Thursday, Day 1, we found free parking, luckily everyday (otherwise would be $70 a day). 5th Ave was closed all the stores, restaurants were on full on con mode. People, cosplayers, fans were getting ready to enter the convention center. As I walked down 5th Ave. several media outlets had live shows and showing going on(e.g. Conan, Pennyworth, etc..), even if you did not have a SDCC tickets there were tons of free events for fans in general. Popup shops such as a Clerks storefront, Star Trek shop, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Walking Dead, etc.. Already I was uber impressed how this convention literally took over the whole downtown area. East Coast shows have a lot to learn!
Venue:
The show is held at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA, right across the street from the Padres stadium and along the waterfront. If you’ve gone to Pax East, the size of this building is like 1 1/2 x’s its size and events are also held at 2 adjacent hotels. This is HUGE, you literally need more than 5 days to have experienced it all. It was put together well, signage everywhere letting you know what’s where. It was very easy to identify aisles and get your way around. Some staff weren’t to knowledgeable while others were wizards. The panel rooms were all huge regardless of whether in the hotels or the center such as Hall H, WOW, it’s a very big theater that remained full ALL weekend. I was lucky to have even gotten in at all to experience it. I also had the chance to hang out at the Netflix Seis Manos panel, The Boys Press Panel, chatted with the voice cast of Batman Hush and even hung out with the Impractical Jokers at their press panel. There were even boat events at the harbor, IMDB had Kevin Smith on board and several other brands had events going on on luxury yachts. The venue with it’s many events/panels located all over will keep you moving for sure, so stay hydrated!
Guest List:
Holy smokes! Whatta list! Creators, Artists, Actors/Actresses from all across fandom were here! From legendary shows/movies/comic creators to the newest/up-and-coming talent were all over SDCC! I’m admit, I saw many familiar faces just walking around the show, however, I only could remember their character name and not their real name so I left them alone lol. It’s an overwhelming guest list with tons of opportunities, so if you go make sure to allocate your time efficiently the lines were no joke for some of the A-Listers at the event.
Exibitors/Vendors:
Tons of exhibitors displaying all sorts of paraphernalia for all types of fans in our universe of geekdom. T-Shiurts, toys, games, custom figures, you name it, they got it! Marvel, Dc, Image had massive exhibits displaying their products with exclusive signings with their talented creators all day. Artist Alley, indie publishers sections was also setup really nice and easy to find with very engaging creators, vendors and fans alike all willing to chat about their particular fandom. There were obviously vendors with the SDCC exclusives and wow, unless you got in within the first 30 minutes, you were S.O.L. for the hot ones like Slim Jim Macho Man, Mezco’s Agent Gomez, Ninja Turtles NECA set, etc…
The comic vendors had a fantastic selection of books from Golden Age to Modern, the problem, prices! Through the roof pricing, not too many deals going on but there were some that had $1 boxes. A good friend of our Klep from WeAreCritix.com had tagged along with us and found a great deal on fist app of Black Knight! The only thing I purchased was a Spawn T-Shirt, you know I’m a Spawn fan, I had to do it! Take a good amount of cash with you, cash gets you better deals than a swipe.
Cosplay:
There was tons of awesome cosplay, some of which I have not seen on the East Coast (e.g. Thundercats cosplay) All the cosplayers were friendly and very happy to engage with you for photos, check some out below:
Final Verdict:Â
This is a bucket list event! Every fan of pop-culture needs to experience this amazing convention, there is truly something for everyone. It’s overwhelming with all the choices you have, Reed Pop really knows how to produce a high quality experience for fans! I highly recommend going at least once in your life!
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Check out some of the panels here: http://ow.ly/394530pgeib
Thank you to Reed Pop for the press pass allowing us to experience the mecca of pop-culture and to everyone who pitched in to send us to SDCC, via GoFundMe/Facebook and thank you to all who supported, shared, engaged with us. Special shout out to our Saturday sponsor Mad Cave Studios also to Swanman Painting LLC, to my fellow podcaster/friend from the UCPN family, Bud Young and Bob’O Mac, whom put us over the top to get to SDCC50!
Author Profile
- I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!
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