6 Things to do at Comic-Con

Explore downtown San Diego with like-minded geeks.

I’ve described almost every item on this list as ‘one of my favorite things about Comic-Con,’ but it’s actually this:  For four whole days, the entire downtown area of San Diego is taken over by geeks.  These are people who came from all over the world celebrating what they love: pop culture, comics, film, fandom.  

Historic Heart

The energy in the city is wonderful, everyone united by enthusiasm, so I say take advantage of it!  Go out, explore, meet people, drink, eat.  These are your people, and you’re all there together for, most likely, the same reasons, so there’s not reason not to enjoy it. 

Both the Con and your general trip to San Diego will be better the more that you try to enjoy the convention as a group, a massive organism made entirely out of fans, with you as an eensy part of it.

Also, hella cheap stuff.

Dig through bins

While comic-con has become a haven for geekery of all sorts in recent years, and a major hub for film and television studios to show off their projects, it is important to remember where it all began:  Comic books.  Which is why I always try to spend some time on the comic-heavy side of the show floor, not only trying to get signatures, but digging for deals in the many many discount bins.

Picking out comic books at Comic Con


This is not just true for comics either.  At Comic-Con you can find all sorts of stuff for nice and cheap, if you’re willing to spend some time digging around and sifting through the vast amounts of sheer stuff. 

Even better is watching the prices drop steadily as the week wears on, knowing that this awesome statue/trade/dvd/shirt is going to be, like, 80 percent off on Sunday…. if it’s still there.  And that, my friends, is the dangerous game that we play. 

Run from zombies

Haven’t you heard?  The makers of The Walking Dead are going to make your (and by ‘your’ I mean ‘my’) wildest dreams come true.  For the mere price of anywhere from 70-90 dollars, you can be the survivor of a zombie apocalypse, and run through obstacles in PetCo Stadium with the a horde of undead hot on your trail.  What’s been described as a ‘three-to-four hour experience,’  ‘The Walking Dead: Escape’ hopes to put you in your favorite zombie movie (or show,) so that maybe, just maybe, you’ll stop talking about how excited you are for when real zombies get here.

Crowd of zombies at Comic Con

(Hopefully the Hulk doesn't come to this one)

If it’s a bit too rich for your blood, like it is for mine, then have no fear.  For an unspecified (lower) amount, you can either watch and cackle with glee as hundreds of fools sprint from their inevitable deaths, or you bring that death down upon them as a member of the undead horde. 

I don’t know about you guys, but there’s nothing about any of that that I don’t like.

Bring shit to do in line

Apart from walking the convention floor and seeing all that there is to see, the other big draw of Comic-Con is the panels.  Sometimes they’ve got awesome sneak-peak stuff like advance trailers, or behind the scenes factoids, and sometimes they’re a chance to ask some of your favorite creators questions about their work.  Regardless, they are awesome, and the only problem with them is the lines.

line of people waiting in line


The line for Hall H, the biggest Hall of all, is by itself several thousand people long at any given moment.  If you want to get in to see that awesome Iron Man 3 panel, then you had better be prepared to wait in line for a while, just for the chance of getting in.  This means bring something to do.  It could be cards, a 3DS, a book, whatever, but you and your friends will be grateful to have it.

Alternately, you can talk.  The lines often turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because it is in lines that you will meet a lot of the awesome people at Comic-Con, whether it’s the father-son duo from Minnesota, or a cute redhead dressed as Jean Grey. 

Stalk/get drunk with a minor celebrity

Whenever someone asks me why Comic-Con is awesome, I normally just tell them about the time that Felicia day hugged me, and then they…. well, they still look at me funny.  But I like to think that they get it a little more.  (Speaking of Felicia Day, a friend of mine who is obsessed with her is going to Con for the first time this year, and the merchandise that I’m most excited to bring back from my trip is pictures of my friend freaking the f*ck out.)

Felicia Day picture

(Yes, that's me.  Shut up.  This was a very exciting moment.)

Seriously though, one of the nicest things about the convention is the way that actors and writers mingle among us, walking the show floor in awe themselves, shaking hands and connecting with the fans.  Sure, this isn’t true of every celebrity that comes to comic-con, but a lot of the smaller ones are more than willing to take some time talking to and getting to know fans, which is pretty damn awesome.

So who knows?  Maybe the star of that webseries you love will be more than happy to have dinner with you and your friends, or to get shitfaced and wander around San Diego.  My point is, you’ll never know until you ask, and then you don’t have to worry about potentially missing out on that story about the time you and Seth Green got hammered sang karaoke together.

With Comic-Con coming up, thousands of geeks will soon descend upon San Diego, indulging in all of their geeky appetites for games, movies, comics, and tv.  It can be a little overwhelming, if you’ve never been, with dozens of great panels competing for your attention with an almost mile-long show floor, and plenty of great, wonderfully geek-infested bars and restaurants.  Fortunately, I’ve compiled this handy guide to 6 things I recommend doing at Comic-Con, although I’ve left off ‘hook up with cute guy/girl dressed as a supehero,’ because hey, that’s a given.

Find a screening

I’m still laden with guilt over the time, several years ago, that me and some friends conned our ways further up the line for a screening of Tropic Thunder, thus causing some folks who got there before us to not get in.  Was this awful of us?  Probably.  Was it worth it?  Definitely.  The thrill of getting to not only see a movie before it’s out, but to see it in a theater full of fellow fans just as excited as you, is one of my favorite things about the convention.

San Diego Comic Con Screening

Getting tickets to these things can be a stroke of luck, but if you keep an eagle-eyed look out for folks handing out passes on the show floor, you should just take them, and hope it’s for something awesome.  They generally hand out more tickets than there are seats, but it’s worth waiting in line a bit to see something awesome, not to mention the bragging rights.

This year the rumor is that there will be a screening of Rian Johnson’s Looper, which I’m so excited for that I will literally fight somebody for tickets.  What worries me more, though, is that Dark Knight Rises comes out the week after the con, and if they hand out tickets for there, there’s going to be a full-on riot.