An emergency stop at a clinic for pink eye, horrible traffic getting to the airport, and a slow leak in a tire were the only issues plaguing us on our trip to the airport. The flight was on time and really felt cramped for the five hour flight. All our luggage arrived safely and we checked into the Sheraton Marina and head downtown on the free shuttle. That Yellow Line shuttle was amazing, allowing us to travel back and forth from the Convention in about 15 minutes.
Getting our badges was very streamlined and quick. After a quick bite to eat, we got into the Con for Preview Night, but found out that Art Adams’ sketch list was already closed. Met the lovely and talented Marjorie Liu, writer for Image’s Monstress. After a couple of hours exploring with our jaws wide open, we headed back to the hotel and decompressed at Quinn’s, which served a lot great local craft beer.
On Thursday, after a big breakfast at the hotel, we headed down for our first full day. We got into the panel and signing ticket line, but quickly gave up after an hour wait and the line not going anywhere. Snagged a great Shadow sketch from Howard Chaykin. Collected some autographs from Chuck Wendig, Mark Brooks, Len Wein, and William Gibson. Had a nice Italian dinner in the Gaslight district watching the cosplayers. Ended the evening on a rooftop patio with an amazing view of the city and had drinks next to Lucy Lawless and Ted Raimi.
Friday was a rather quiet day as I did a bit of shopping and then made my way over to NerdHQ for the Con Man panel. It was a great, intimate venue and the panel was a lot of fun. Got a few of my Master of Kung Fu issues signed by Paul Gulacy. We had a light dinner and enjoyed a bottle of the Star Trek Anniversary beer. We checked out the gaming area and played a few games of Shadows over Westminster where we chatted with the game’s designer. After a bit more cosplay watching along the Gaslight district, we called it a night.
Saturday was crazy, so I knew that I could get to the Con a bit later. I met author Jonathan Maberry who had edited an anthology I was a part of. When he asked me what story I had written, I totally blanked and couldn’t remember the title of my story (which was Dirt Man, about a grave golem terrorizing a small town). Had a great lunch at Smash burger. Got my ROM #1 SDCC Exclusive edition signed by the creative team. The crowds near the end of the day were insane. It took us over 20 minutes just to go from our shuttle bus drop-off area to the Gaslight district. After dinner, we headed back to the rooftop bar, but were turned away as it was an NBC exclusive party.
On Sunday, after carefully backing my books and loot, we hit the show for our last day. Did a bit more shopping picking up an Enterprise Hallmark ornament and a Shopkins exclusive toy for my daughter. I picked up my lovely Punk Storm sketch by the talented Jae Lee, who turned out to be a big fan of my blog. We had a last dinner at a Kansas BBQ joint where scenes from Top Gun were filmed. Exhausted, we picked up our luggage and flew out on the red eye.
This was my third visit to SDCC and each of them is special in their own way. I travelled with 3 other guys who had never been, and part of the fun was simply watching their shock and awe as they experience the enormity of SDCC. The Fan Expo we enjoy in Toronto is nowhere near the scale of SDCC. The venue and administration at SDCC is much better handled and has more of a professional feel to it. Also, San Diego genuinely embraces the Comic Con, with nearby hotel venues, theme restaurants, and an overwhelming amount of off-site activities. My only real complain was how all the lines for the signings were handled. Not a lot of the volunteers knew what was going on which spawned many different and confusing line-ups. The highlights of the show to me were meeting the creative team of Monstress and that beautiful Punk Storm sketch by Jae Lee.
