The calendar page has been turned to July and to comic book and pop culture fans everywhere that can only mean one thing: San Diego Comic Con is mere weeks away. If you're one of the lucky ones able to score tickets, congratulations! For some of you, including our own Don Ventura, this may be your first SDCC or first comic con in general and you may not know what to expect. Well I'm about to provide you all of the most important tips a first time con-goer, or even second or third time con-goer, needs to have a happy and successful convention experience.
First of all, you might want to know what credentials endow me with the authority to provide you with this knowledge. Let's just say I'm certainly no stranger to conventions. Since attending my first Star Wars Celebration in the spring of 1999 (which can sometimes be crazier than SDCC but in a different way), I've attended 10 SDCCs, 3 Star Wars Celebrations, 2 WonderCons, and 4 Wizard World LAs as well as working my own booth at 2 Long Beach Comic Cons, 1 Long Beach Comic Expo, and 2 Anaheim Comic Cons. So with bragging rights out of the way, let's get to the tips.
1) Attire
This cannot be stressed enough: WEAR GOOD SHOES! The most important thing to take care of at any convention is your feet. You will be hating yourself all day every day if you don't clad your self with appropriate footwear. Here are some brands to stay away from: Converse, Vans, Etnies, etc. Here are some brands to look for: New Balance, Brooks, Nike, etc. DO NOT WEAR SANDALS. You also don't want to buy new shoes the week of or the week before a convention; make sure to give yourself at least two to three weeks to wear your new shoes in. Obviously I feel very passionately about this and I really hope you follow my advice.
Beyond shoes, I highly recommend wearing comfortable clothing in general whatever that may mean to you. For me, that's t-shirts and shorts. Additionally, a hat is a great idea in case you're stuck in an outside line for hours in the sun. As a side note on this topic, please take showers every night and apply deodorant each morning. If you don't know con-scent is yet, you will, and you don't want to be part of the problem.
2) Backpack
Get yourself a backpack that fits comfortably on your shoulders. You'll want to have several things in here before you even get to the convention (we'll talk about that next), and even a backpack that feels light at first will feel like a sack of bowling balls after a few short hours on the exhibit hall floor. If you're lucky you can find a backpack that can also be used as a sidebag. I managed to snag one of these at Star Wars Celebration IV and it's been a lifesaver. When the backpack straps have sufficiently bruised your shoulders, you can transform it into a sidebag and start bruising a whole new part of your body.
3) Water and Food
There's two really big problems with food at conventions: 1) it's very expensive and 2) the lines are often very long and every minute you waste in line for food is a minute you can be scouring the convention floor or waiting in line for something else. You want to bring enough snacks to sustain you throughout the day and one bottle of water. Don't bother weighing yourself down with more than one bottle of water as you can always refill it at a drinking fountain later in the day. Typically I'll bring a peanut butter sandwich, two bags of Goldfish crackers, and one Starbucks Doubleshot can to get me through the day. It's also extremely important to eat a good breakfast with as much protein and as few carbs as possible in order to keep your energy levels up in the early part of the day. Make no bones about it, you will be tired and hungry at some point during the day, but these steps can help you survive as painlessly as possible.
4) Money
This is the tip that requires the least amount of explanation. When you step onto the exhibit hall floor, make sure you have cold hard cash in your pocket or wallet. Yes some exhibitor's do take card but the vast majority do not and you DO NOT want to be stuck in long lines waiting at ATMs in the lobby. Additionally, I also highly recommend carrying several different types of bills so you can haggle with dealers more easily. It's a lot easier to look at a $60 item and ask "will you take $50?" when you can pay in exact change.
5) Free Stuff
While perusing the exhibit hall, you will be bombarded by free stuff everywhere you go. DON'T BECOME ENAMORED WITH STUFF JUST BECAUSE IT'S FREE. Space in your backpack and weight on your shoulders is at a premium and you don't want to load up on free stuff you're just going to chuck out later. I know that many first time con-goers are ecstatic to partake in handouts but trust me, you won't care once you get home.
6) Plan Out Your Schedule in Advance
Every convention, especially SDCC, has several different events and different types of events going on at the same time. It is imperative that you check out the schedule of events on the internet beforehand to plan out your convention experience. This is the best way to make sure you waste as little time as possible. You can always deviate from the plan but at least start with a plan in place. Additionally, if there's two or more events you'd like to go to that are scheduled for the same time, take not of them all; you may not be able to get into your first choice but you'll have a back-up plan already in place. You also must keep in mind how early you must arrive to each panel. For most comic book related panels, I recommend arriving at the very least 30 minutes before the panel starts. If you're attempting to attend a television show or movie panel, unfortunately you probably have to arrive at least 2 hours in advance. This doesn't mean that you couldn't get there an hour or 30 minutes early and not get in, but those opportunities are few and far between. It's not inconceivable that you could wait in line for a panel 3 hours ahead of time and still not get in.
7) Prioritize
Like I said previously, there are a million things to do at any convention and you won't get to do them all. You must decide for yourself what is most important for you to accomplish. Just for example, I place the highest importance on panels. What is the one thing that only that convention can offer me? Live and in person interaction with creators. I definitely enjoy shopping on the floor and artist alley but nothing beats the panels for me. I highly encourage you to spend more time in panels than the floor.
I think that about wraps it up. Keep a look out for an audio version of this in a podcast we'll be recording and posting this week. If I think of any more tips I'll post them here and if you have any questions, go ahead and leave them in the comment section below.
Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.
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