Seanan's Guide to Surviving the San Diego International Comic Convention, 2011 Edition.: seanan

Seanan's Guide to Surviving the San Diego International Comic Convention, 2011 Edition.

Every year around this time, someone says to me "Gosh, I've never been to the San Diego International Comic Convention before. I don't see what the big deal is. I really don't believe it's as big as everybody tries to make me think it is." And every year, I smack myself in the head and update this guide and pray for their survival.

Since I've been posting these obsessively-detailed Guides to Comicon on a yearly basis for some time now, I strongly suspect that these people are being aimed at me. But since I love you all (those of you I know, anyway; I am well-inclined by amiably indifferent toward those of you who just came in out of the cold), and want you to have the best convention experience you can possibly have, I have once again updated my Handy-Dandy Survival Guide to the San Diego International Comic Convention. See? It's both handy and dandy, and that means it must be good! This guide includes tips on:

* Reaching the convention alive.
* Getting a hotel room.
* Enjoying/surviving the con.
* Things to do at the con.
* Eating food.
* Staying healthy and sane.
* Not getting killed by your friends.
* Budgeting.
* Bathing.

It is also heavily biased toward my own opinions on all these things, because hello, so totally me. But I'm honest about my biases, and I'll be factual whenever it's fact, rather than opinion. (In short, don't expect me to falsify hotel room rates to suit my own ideas of "fair," but don't expect me to recommend a good Thai place, either.)

Ready? Okay!

ladymurmur

July 8 2011, 01:57:43 UTC 6 years ago

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Wow. Surviving and enjoying CONvergence still feels like an accomplishment for me! Reading about the gigant-o-cons makes my poor brain boggle. I'm not sure if I need to slowly work up to a larger con, or just jump in the deep end some year.

seanan_mcguire

July 8 2011, 14:12:26 UTC 6 years ago

They're so different from general science fiction conventions that just jumping in is sort of key.

rkbwrites

July 8 2011, 02:55:22 UTC 6 years ago

Great tips. Hope to see you at one of your panels.

July 8 2011, 14:12:43 UTC 6 years ago

I have two panels and three in-booth signings this year, so I should be easy to catch!

kaleidors

July 8 2011, 03:49:06 UTC 6 years ago

Good points.
I only went in '98, where it was crowded, but not as crowded as now, apparently o_O. My traveling companion tried to subsist on Mt. Dew and sandwiches--she ended up in the emergency room on the last day of the con due to dehydration, missing the Neil Gaiman signing.
I also recommend nice paper and sharpies for autographs. The quirky sketch or autograph will look better in 13 years on vellum rather than on a napkin.

crewgrrl

July 8 2011, 04:02:50 UTC 6 years ago

If I ever make it to Comicon or WorldCon, I'm bringing a Moleskine hardbound baby notebook. Paper lasts forever, and you look cool carrying it! Also, baby size doesn't add weight to whatever bag I'm hauling around.

July 8 2011, 14:12:54 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, GOOD points!

July 8 2011, 04:00:42 UTC 6 years ago

I learned the "care and feeding of

crewgrrl" rules the REALLY hard way at my first Arisia. Keeping kosher means that raiding the con suite isn't as much of an option for me, and by Sunday night (after having left NYC Friday morning) I was eating the only hot protein I'd had all weekend. My blood sugar levels were all over the place. This year, I came with a case of Luna Bars, kosher beef jerky and more microwavable food than I could use.

Next year, we will practice maintaining the non sleep deprived version of

crewgrrl!

July 8 2011, 14:13:06 UTC 6 years ago

Hooray!

jenrose1

July 8 2011, 09:46:16 UTC 6 years ago

Every time I see a panel for a show I like on youtube from Comicon, I sigh wistfully and wish I'd been there. Then I remember that I don't like crowds, I have no stamina, and filk cons with 200 people leave me drained for days, Orycon at 1600 can toast me for weeks, and I thank my lucky stars that there are people who record the panels at Comicon for homebodies like me.

Worldcon Denver left me beyond exhausted. That was under 5000 people. I just... no.

July 8 2011, 14:13:19 UTC 6 years ago

Yeah, this would be a bad scene for you, I think.

kireishojo

July 8 2011, 21:16:59 UTC 6 years ago

In terms of transit to San Diego people should not forget there is the amtrak train. It may mean budgeting in more time but for people on the west coast it might be a helpful way to save energy for the con itself.

July 12 2011, 14:50:42 UTC 5 years ago

There isn't always time to budget, sadly. I don't have the vacation days to attend via train, and neither do most of the other people I know. Still, it's a good tip if you have the flexibility!

fififolle

July 11 2011, 19:18:55 UTC 6 years ago

I enjoyed reading that, and I'm not even going!! I just came here randomly from Twitter, LOL, and love cons. *g*

July 12 2011, 15:57:03 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

Artists

mimisgrotto

July 12 2011, 02:54:33 UTC 6 years ago

One from the other side of the tables:
Please remember that the artists exhibiting are people too, not machines.
Some artists will fill up their commission lists quickly, others will ebb and flow in waves.
We are all trying to be fair and serve people in order they come to us. So if an artist says they're full, don't think that you are any special exception for 'just this one little thing'. There are only so many hours in the con day, we need food and bathroom breaks too and some of us actually like to relax and rest after hours instead of be bent over commission art until 3am.
If we could accommodate every person who asks for a sketch or a commission, we would. Please understand if we just can't.
Also, don't use your adorable children to try and get free art. It's awesome that so many parents share the con experience with their kids, but there is the odd entitled parent and we CAN spot you. The denizens of Artist Alley aren't just there to be seen, we've spent lots of money like you to come to comicon and we're here to earn our living in a very crowded, tough industry.
So if something free is only an autograph or a quick doodle rather than an hour-long marker sketch, don't get huffy. You get what you pay for.
Be courteous and pleasant and GET THE HINT that if an artist is REALLY focussed on their work rather than enraptured by your verbatim recount of your Favourite Episodes of Dr Who, it's time to move on and leave them to it.