Weekend at Comic-Con International San Diego Comic Convention Special Edition

By the time this is posted it will have been a couple of months since I attended Comic-Con Special Edition 2021 (November 26 - 28th) in San Diego California. Every time I started to write this there was a lot of noise going or something would ultimately pull me away. I have noise canceling headphones, but those don’t always do the trick and other times there are just a lot of texts, email, or phone calls to return. Especially during the holidays. Anyway, this kept getting pushed back but now it is time to post and better late than never.

I thought it was important to talk about Comic-Con International in San Diego since it is the largest of its kind in the world and it was its first time back since everything shut down due to the pandemic. Whether you go every year or haven’t ever been, I hope there is something in this article you can take away from my experience. I was so excited to get to go. I was there from open to close every day to make the most of it. This also meant I was pretty tired by the end. I’m going to go through each day which should give you a good idea of what it was like and I’ll sum it all up at the end.

PRE-SHOW (Wednesday)

One thing that helped to get past the lines on Friday was picking my badge up early. This year, since there were no panels in Hall H it was the place where everyone picked up their badges. I went on Wednesday later in the day and there was no line. They also had two booths set up where you had to show proof of vaccination or a recent test that showed you didn’t have Covid. After showing proof, they gave you a bracelet which you had to keep on for the whole weekend.

As long as the bracelet wasn’t too tight, you could slip it on and off so you didn’t have to wear it to bed. After each day, I put it around my lanyard so that I wouldn’t accidentally lose it and put it back on every morning. Having my badge and bracelet early was a huge time saver and I highly recommend anyone going in the future to take advantage of early badge/bracelet pick-up. The busiest times for pickup seemed to be on Friday (Day #1 of the convention). I talked to a few people who had to wait in lines for a while (maybe an hour or more), but Saturday and Sunday didn’t seem so bad.

S.W.A.G.

When you get your badge you also get a bag with some stuff in it. Some people call this Swag (also known as: Shit We All Get). Comic-Con gives you some cool stuff and can change depending on the year. In the past, it has been the program, vinyl totes that can be used as backpacks, and a lanyard. This year, they gave us a program, lanyard, hand sanitizer (which came in handy), and I got a Comic-Con pin. I’m not sure if the pin was for Professionals only, but it was a nice touch and it boosted my spirit.

Thanks Comic-Con Special Edition!

THURSDAY

I spent some of this day going through the program and highlighting the panels that I wanted to attend. Most people go to Comic-Con and don’t even attend panels. You can easily fill your time talking to artists in the exhibit hall, buying one of a kind pieces, and going to pop-up experiences outside the convention. But, one of my favorite parts about San Diego Comic-Con is going to panels so I like to scan the days and see what is offered to figure out what I want to do.

San Diego Comic-Con usually starts on Wednesday night, which is called Preview Night and then the first day tends to start on Thursday. However, since it was different this year (2021) there wasn’t a Preview Night and the first day started on Friday. That was fine with me. Three days was plenty to ease my way back into going to conventions after years of being at home.

Thursday was my prep day because the way I do Comic-Con is I like to take a backpack with all the things I might need morning until night. This has come from years of not being prepared and also getting older and realizing it is a much better experience with a Comic-Con survival bag. It’s not worth leaving the convention if you forget something at home or your hotel because it can be tough to find parking and it can get pricey. Unless, you are at one of the hotels right next door to the convention center and even then you are doing a lot of walking on top of the walking you are already doing to go back and forth to your hotel.

I love walking, but trust me on your last day your dogs will be barkin’. With all this in mind, this is why I try to prepare and take everything I might need with me. Also, it’s not a bad idea to keep your Comic-Con survival bag fairly lightweight because you’re most likely going to buy some things and you’ll need somewhere to stash your Comic-Con treasures. In that case, your survival bag will get a bit heavier. If you’re buying art, you’ll probably want to get a good plastic or cardboard tube so that it doesn’t get damaged.

It’s especially important to bring snacks and water. Of course there are restaurants around the convention center and some options of pre-made food like sandwiches, salads, chips, cookies, and pretzels inside. But, you will pay a good amount. I like to have a happy medium and save money so I bring a few things to eat and snack on during the day and then I usually buy a coffee at some point and go to a restaurant for dinner. Don’t forget that restaurants are also packed at these times so you could be waiting around an hour before you get seated. Preparation is the key.

FRIDAY

I arrived at the convention center early on Friday and acquired a parking spot for $30, which these days is worth it. The convention was opening at noon so I had a good couple hours to take in the scenery. I walked along the harbor, got a coffee, got a fortune at the Zoltar machine, and admired the view. After I was fueled with caffeine and excitement, I headed back to the front doors of the convention center and eventually found the line to go in. There were a lot of people, but there was still enough room to move around freely. I got in the door at about 12:30pm. It was a fun feeling walking in. People were enthusiastic and the door attendants were also having a good time welcoming people back after years of not being able to open. I have to say, it almost made me teary.

My first line of business was to walk the whole exhibit floor and check out what was there. It was definitely a bit smaller without some of the big companies and everyone was required to wear masks the whole time. Throughout the convention a lovely lady would make comments over the P.A. system to remind everyone to keep their mask on. These comments got funnier as the convention went on as she would pretend to call out people that were breaking the rules. It was all in good fun though, nothing mean spirited.

That first day I’m pretty sure most of the vendors and exhibitors were a bit nervous since nobody really knew how the first show back would be. I’ve worked at conventions. A lot of work and money is put into having a table or booth and you want to be able to cover the costs and also make an income so that you can continue your craft. Having the convention on Thanksgiving weekend probably lessened the crowd a little so that was another factor that added to the uncertainty. But, as the crowds poured in there was more of a buzz in the air and it seemed like overall it was going well.

My first panel that I attended at Comic-Con was called “How to Be a One Person Comic Company” with award winning comics creator Brian Haberlin. I was really happy I went to this. Since I’m working on a graphic novel, I’m constantly looking for the best ways to work and strategies on this topic. This panel really opened my eyes to how much you can create on your own just like some of the huge companies out there. Brian Haberlin was a great person to speak at a panel because he was encouraging and gave the room so many ideas. It can get discouraging when you are trying to put out content. There is a lot of troubleshooting when creating a comic so that’s another reason I enjoy panels like this. I’m grateful there are professionals out there who want to share their knowledge with other creators and be a positive influence. There are a lot of panels at Comic-Con so it can be hard to get to everything you want to go to, but I was really happy with my first one.

After that, I headed to my next panel on my list “UFOs: Fact and Fiction” with author Michael C. Grumley, UFO researcher of thirty years William Clausen, and Clydene Née who told an amazing story of her experience with UFOs. Let me tell you, this panel did not disappoint. It was also packed full of believers and non-believers. The panelists told some suspenseful stories and opened it up to questions from the audience. It was pretty funny because if you went up to the mic and asked a question they gave out packs of Tic Tacs as a nod to the famous Tic Tac UFO footage we have all seen. If you haven’t seen it, Google it and let me know what you think. Anyway, I love this topic. I’ve always been fascinated by UFO research and can’t get enough of hearing stories and other perspectives. I finished off Friday thinking about what else lies beyond our universe, had a good walk around the exhibit floor, browsed some role playing dice, and hung out in front of the Pac-Man arcade where Deadpool was hanging out with his boombox.

SATURDAY

I parked in the same hotel parking structure next to the convention center about 8am. The lines were much less on Saturday since most people probably picked up their badges and vaccine bracelets by Friday. I’m still not used to using the word “vaccine bracelets”, but I don’t know what else to call them.

Vaccine charm? Covid Band? Corona Wristlet? Antibody Bangle?

I planned to walk through Artists’ Alley first thing and I had a few particular things I was looking for. If you don’t know, Artists’ Alley is exactly as it sounds. All talented and creative people selling all types of crafts and art. This year, there seemed to be much less vendors and some empty tables that had names. It looked like some artists couldn’t make it for one reason or another. Either way, I had a great time. I bought a few things. Mostly enamel pins. I figured if I bought any prints it should be at the end of the day since I didn’t have an art tube to carry my precious art around in. If you can wait to buy later in the day, it can cut down on lugging stuff around or having to go back to the car and squirrel away items.

I was also on a mission for my older brother to find anything that had Godzilla or King Kong. I feel like any other year this wouldn’t have been hard. For some reason, it took me a long time to find vendors that carried something that had Godzilla or King Kong. When I did find them, I had to whittle it down to one so as I walked more, I whittled. I continued this whittling down until the end of the day. In the meantime, I took photos and videos of people in costumes. One of the best was Doctor Strange having a conversation with Doctor Doom. I also went over to where all the cosplayers were hanging out. There were all these backdrops set-up with different backgrounds for photo ops. I took a couple selfies in front of those for fun. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a costume but I hung out and watched a few photo sessions with stormtroopers and some Japanime characters.

After this, I went to a panel called “From Concept to Audiobook” which was a discussion on self-publishing and audiobook release. I’m still in the midst of self-publishing so this was something I thought would come in handy at some point.

The next panel on my list was “How to Promote Yourself and Your Work Online”. I figured that I could use any help I could get in this area. Especially since I recently started my website and would like to make it better. This was an awesome panel to go to if you were an artist of any kind. The room was filled with musicians, writers, graphic designers, illustrators, painters, singers, actors, cosplayers and more. It was a full room.

The artist who spoke at this panel was Denise Vasquez (an artist, author, writer, photographer, actress, recording artist, stand-up comedian, and content creator). She was such an inspiring speaker and told us about her life which was amazing. She shared wonderful advice on overcoming her own challenges. Since she is multi-talented, it was a great lesson on being able to wear different hats when you have more than one skill and how to show that. I loved hearing her talk and I know others did too. She also went into how social media plays an important role in whatever art form you are pursuing and encouraged the whole room to network and get their content out. Afterwards, I met a comic book shop owner, graphic artists, and other writers. I really hope Comic-Con has her back to speak. All of us were re-energized and super motivated after hearing her.

The next thing I decided to tackle was outside the convention center across the street. I didn’t know what it was, but told myself I should check it out. As far as I saw there were only three things outside at Comic-Con Special Edition. There was a giant RV that was giving away swag for a new animated show called “The Freakbrothers”, a dinosaur walk-thru for the show “La Brea”, and there was this obstacle course that I decided to try for an upcoming DC TV show called “The Peacemaker”, which I learned is about a DC superhero dedicated to world peace.

The line for the “Peacemaker” obstacle course was sort of long, but I figured I should follow through with it. I got in line behind this girl with cool maroon boots and the best Agent Dana Scully shirt I’ve seen. I had a lot of coffee by this point so started talking too much and she became my friend in line or was nice enough to listen. I think we waited about an hour together in line. As we got closer to the front we decided we would team up if needed since both of us were by ourselves. We had to sign a waiver before entering and ended up in a team of six when we got to the front.

When you first walked up, there was an old metal trailer painted in blue, red and white stripes, and an American eagle was dancing out front. There was also a giant blue hand giving a peace sign that was a photo op area. Gandalf the Grey was also wandering around the area, but wasn’t a part of the whole thing. But, it was funny to see him hanging out because in a way Gandalf is also a Peacemaker.

Anyway, back to the obstacle course which was full of fog, trees, flashing lights, a tunnel, and a spinning target with gnomes stuck to the edges. A sergeant gave us the rules in the beginning and some kind of nerf guns to battle our way through. I had wedges on and my professional camera in my backpack so I was trying to be careful. The giant tires and the body bags were the hardest part to navigate. It was about a ten-minute course and then afterwards we got to head over to a food truck and get free food and something to drink. If you want to keep the Comic-Con crowd happy, give us something cool to interact with and free food and we will most likely watch your TV show.

As soon as I got my free mozzarella sticks and bottled water I had to leave because there were more panels I didn’t want to miss. I said bye to my newly found Peacemaker friend and ran back over to the convention center shoving the last of my mozzarella sticks in my mouth and quickly masked up.

Next up was “Finance for Creatives”. This was on tax, finance, and credit planning that creatives need to prepare for. It was good information to hear and the panelists were helpful answering a bunch of questions. The best comment was from a woman in the front who basically said she didn’t understand anything they were talking about. That got a good laugh from the panelists and everyone else (not laughing at her, but with her). We all want to be in a better financial situation, but a lot of creatives in the room struggled with paying back huge student loan debts while trying to raise a family or even just make a living. Personally, I’ve always felt that any creative study should also include business classes so anything like this is worth attending.

The final panel for Saturday was “Spies, Secrets, and Espionage”. The moderator was Steve Broback (co-founder, Dent the future) and the panelists were Jonna Mendez (former chief of disguise for the CIA), Clint Emerson (Navy SEAL ret., author), Barbara Rae-Venter (genetic genealogist), and Jamy Ian Swiss (magician and author/historian). They discussed spy technologies of the past, present, and future. I absolutely loved hearing the panelists tell their stories and wished I would’ve sat closer. Instead I happily sat next to a blind cosplayer who kind of reminded me of Daredevil in a pirate costume. Superheroes and espionage go together like coffee and cherry pie so this was another panel they need to bring back. A perfect ending to my Saturday.

SUNDAY

After two full days of Comic-Con Special Edition, I was ready to take it easy. My main goal today was to acquire a few last items on the exhibit floor and attend some panels. I had done a good amount of walking so I didn’t mind sitting for a while. The first panel on Sunday I attended was “The Writers Coffeehouse” led by bestselling author Peter Clines. This was basically a bunch of writers sitting around talking about writing, which was just my cup of tea.

He discussed traditional publishing, self-publishing, script reading, publishers, and agents. This was a nice laid back and informative panel and I appreciated that because it was Sunday, I sat in the back listening and taking notes. Before my last panel, I went down to the exhibit floor and did a final couple last walks around the exhibit floor and then went back upstairs to attend “Nerdy Finance” which went over exactly what the title says. By the time this was finished, Comic-Con Special Edition was closing so I met my significant other and his other artist co-workers and we had dinner.

Walking back to the parking structure late at night was a little weird as there was a homeless man that came up to us. I had seen the same man being ushered off the convention property by the police on Friday. He was posing as a superhero and asking people to take pictures of him and had some blood on his forehead that made it look like he was shot in the head. Since I had walked past this guy before, I knew he was going to say something to us.

I tried not to make eye contact, but it was too late. He first went on a rant yelling about jocks driving trucks. Then he wanted to walk us to our car which we declined, but he walked with us anyway. He then proceeded to tell us about how he was in the CIA and said they ousted him. I thought this was funny because my last panel I went to was on espionage. Of course, I told him nothing about that as we were trying not to engage him.

Regardless of our attempts to go our separate ways he kept sticking around. I didn’t want to aggravate him so I told him that I was sorry he was being ousted by the CIA and he said, “Don’t say sorry. You only say sorry if you’re in the CIA!”

We were slightly scared of him so we kept telling him we were fine to walk by ourselves. Of course, he didn’t listen and there was no other soul around. He started to tell us how dangerous it is out there and said he was walking with us to make sure we were safe. We were definitely not going into the parking garage with him, but he was making us nervous. Talking with him was sort of like being with the Mad Hatter.

As a car passed us before we crossed the street he said, “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I got hit by a car?” I looked at him hoping he wasn’t being serious and to my relief realized he was morbidly joking. I decided to go along with his antics so I replied, “Yeah, and then after you got hit I would look over at you and say…” and at the same time, he and I both blurted out “Sorry!”. We both laughed because as he told me in the beginning of our conversation that word meant someone was in the CIA. Now "sorry" became this weird inside joke with this homeless man which was funny in itself. After that, he let us go on our way. This was definitely odd and I was glad he let us go.

And that’s a good lesson in the art of laughter getting you out of an uncomfortable situation.

When we got back to the parking garage, the elevator was broken and the parking garage had overcharged us. For some reason every day the parking garage was messed up. Luckily, the attendants were nice and able to easily fix it.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I wanted to break up the days in this post so that you had a clear picture of what San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition was like. I will say that this was on a slightly smaller scale than usual, but a lot of fun. To sum it up, I had a wonderful time. I haven’t ever gone by myself (usually I’m with a group of people). But, since it was on Thanksgiving weekend it was a bit different. It was a little smaller because some of the big entertainment companies weren’t there and there were some empty spaces in artists’ alley which I’m not sure why. Like I mentioned before, it’s possible some vendors just couldn’t make it.

There were also less off-site pop-up experiences, and it was weird to see Hall H without a line of tents. There were also a lot more first timers (people who hadn’t ever been able to go to San Diego Comic-Con before). I thought this was nice because it allowed people to go who usually never get the chance. Talking to some of the vendors after the show, it seemed like they did fairly well and it turned out to be a good convention for attendees and exhibitors. At least that’s from the ones I spoke with.

Overall, I had such a great time. I met some awesome people, listened to some amazing panels, got free food and swag, got to hang out with my main squeeze (who’s also an artist) and both of us got more inspired to finish Issue #1 of our graphic novel. Not bad for the first San Diego Comic-Con being back since the pandemic started.

Another thing I should mention is that the Comic-Con museum in Balboa Park had its grand opening on the same weekend. There was a shuttle service going from downtown to the park. I haven’t had a chance to go yet and all my time was spent at the convention, but getting to the museum will happen soon enough.

Do you go to Comic book conventions? If so, which ones have you been to? Have you been to San Diego Comic-Con? If so, what is your favorite thing to do at them? Let me know in the comments. And, wherever you are… Have a good Con.