My thoughts on my first ever Comic Con:
- Fun
- Glad I went
- I'm not going back.
It was a fun experience, but for me it was a one-timer. There were just plain too. many. people!!! It took us an hour just to get in, and we were given the impression we were very lucky to get in so incredibly quickly. That said, the long wait in line gave us a chance to see a LOT of really cool costumes. I was dressed as the 10th Doctor, and I saw (and took a picture with) a girl in a TARDIS dress that totally made my whole life. She had a Police box cloak, and her dress inside looked like the TARDIS console. Her hair was white, and she even had white contacts in her eyes.
As the 10th Doctor, I was pleased to see that most other "Doctors" were decked out in fezzes and bow ties (one fun-looking guy even had the mop), meaning I wasn't one of a million 10's. While in line, I only saw one other 10, which made me feel ever so slightly special. (I think the final count of 10's I saw while there was about half a dozen.)
As we walked through the doors we were told to show our bracelets, and the sea of people all held their hands high in fists. I felt like I was part of some kind of revolution against the line. It was pretty awesome.
Once inside, we were walking at a turtle's pace (fitting, since Carl went as an actual Ninja Turtle...), trying to find the artist booth of one of our friends. The crowds were so packed together that "standing room only" doesn't cut it. There were thousands and thousands of people there. After navigating through the thronging masses, we found Thomas's booth. We hung out and talked to him for a bit, then went in search of the TARDIS prop.
Okay, I'm sorry, but I went as one of my favorite characters from all of Nerdom. And if I'm going as the 10th Doctor, I'm GOING to take a picture of myself in front of the TARDIS.
Or... since it's me... about 357 pictures of myself in front of the TARDIS.
We found a TARDIS prop, but it turns out it wasn't the TARDIS prop. It was just a small one for fun. The guy in charge of it let us take about 10 pictures each (snapsnapsnapsnapsnap - okay, hurry up, guys. People are waiting), with about 3 shots of both of us together.
A little later we met up with an old friend of mine, who pointed out that there were actually two TARDISes, and we were at the lame one. So, we scoured the area until we found the big one, and once there, I was (after waiting in line for about 30 minutes) able to take as many pictures as I wanted... sort of. As many pictures as I could squeeze into the 45 second window you get before people in the atrociously long line start getting annoyed with you.
I also got in trouble for "attempting to take a picture of Hulk Hogan."
No. No, I wasn't.
Seriously, why the heck would I care about Hulk Hogan?
No, what I was trying to do was take a picture of the guy standing near Hulk Hogan, holding a sign that said, "No Pictures." I might start a fan club for him. Because now I have a picture. I can sell that online and make millions, apparently.
We went to a couple of panels, but honestly, I was pretty unimpressed with them. Having attended writing conventions for quite a few years now, I really felt like there was no new information. Carl and I got bored and left part way through both of them.
Around 2:00 PM, after being there for about 5 hours, we went looking for food. My new shoes were hurting my feet, my pants were uncomfortable, and I was exhausted. I really wanted a good slice of pizza. Carl was getting fed up with the lines and the waiting, and when we got to the food court, the lines were hundreds of people long. We went looking for another food stand, and found every. single. one. to be exactly the same. Hundreds and hundreds of people, in line, waiting to pay $6.50 for a single slice of pizza, and $3.50 for a cup of Dr. Pepper.
I suggested that I was pretty much done - I'd seen and done everything I'd wanted to do. And maybe we could at least take a break and go get food outside Comic Con.
But, after slogging through the crowds at little more than a shuffle, we found a line to a pizza stand that was only about 50 people long. The stand was tucked WAY in the back, behind all the displays, where nobody ever goes. We joined the line, but after about 5 minutes, that was enough. We were done. There was a back door (that was probably just a maintenance and/or fire exit) right there, and we popped out of it.
Once out in the open air, it was wonderful to be able to walk unobstructed, at a normal pace. I shed my jacket and my tie, untucked my shirt, and loosened my pants, all before we'd gone more than a few steps. A half-mile walk later, we were back at the car, a/c blasting, and I couldn't help sighing in relief.
There was a lot to see and a lot of fun, and there's no way I regret going. I went to Comic Con as the Doctor, accompanied by a Ninja Turtle, and it was awesome.
But that's a check on the bucket list, not something I plan to do over and over. In the future, I want to go to less well-attended cons. I was told Comic Con had tens of thousands of people, and until I got there, I didn't see how that was possible. After spending a day among them, I can't imagine how it's any less than that. A couple hours among them was fun - all those people were really creative, and I saw some truly epic costumes.
And now, after lunch, a hot shower, and a 3 hour nap, I'm settled into my big, fluffy rocking chair, watching Carl play Assassin's Creed III (talk about awesome costumes - I saw about a dozen Assassins there today). And I feel quite content.
