SDCC 2018 recap

My first SDCC was 2005.  I know it was 2005 because I attended the Lost panel. Josh Holloway and Maggie Grace was there. My primary goal for that ComicCon was to get Ray Bradbury’s autograph. I succeeded.

That was a different era. I bought my badge 5 or 6 weeks before that show. I had enough miles to fly for free. I stayed with a college buddy and didn’t have to pay for a hotel room. Parking was a breeze. There was no camping out. You could decide to go to Hall H at the spur of a moment. After you realized that was a boring panel, you could go to Ballroom 20 to see if that was more interesting.  If that was a bust, you could check in on Room 6BCF before the hour was over.

Since 2005, I attended every year but one. Work told me I was needed and could not have the time off. That happened about 2 weeks before the show. By my count that is 13 ComicCons I attended. 

When I told the wife that, she said it seemed like a lot more. In a way, it is.  SDCC is not a show you spend a few minutes thinking about and then go. It’s a big monstrous event.  You consume a lot of time researching various sites, message boards, and twitter accounts. You are looking for something that others might not know. You are looking for some info to help you decide if doing ‘A is a better idea than doing ‘B’. Over the years, the amount of research has been reduced as I narrowed my scope but it still a lot of time.

That is not counting the ramp up in emotions to get a Badge that occurs between Oct and Feb. Nor the ramp up and frustration of trying to get a hotel room in the hotel raffle. SDCC is always on your mind.

Enough ruminations of SDCC Past. There is no friendly ghostly Toucan guiding me on my journey.

2018 was an interesting year.

About 2-week before the show, I switched hotels. There was a chance opening and I jumped. We got a room in the Marriot Marque and Marina. It’s next to the convention center. It was a great upgrade.  Hotel room to Expo floor: 10 minutes.

About 4 days before the show, I got a cold (fever, shakes, lots and lots and LOTS of snot). I went to the Dr and he gave me some meds. I was sick the whole time but it was manageable. 2 weeks after SDCC, I’m still recovering.

Yes, I was Patient Zero for ConCrud 2018. I did not see all of the people I usually visit and chat with. Others, I saw but kept my distance. Unfortunately, the proletariats were ground zero. Sorry guys.

Because of the ‘new and improved’ autograph raffle system, I did not need to sleep on the sidewalk all night. I got about 6 hours of sleep each night…in a bed; which was needed because of the cold. But that new system yielded only 1 cast signing from WB and Fox. I normally get 6 or 7 a year.

This year I focused on books and a few odds and ends I previously ignored because I was focused on WB and Fox autographs.  This year I met some new people (hopefully at a ConCrud safe distance) that I hope to see again soon.

The pluses:

Sleep in a bed and not the sidewalk

A close hotel

Saw my SDCC buddies

Saw lots of friends and acquaintances

Meeting some new people

The Beatles were in vogue (Alex Ross, Mattel, and Titan Comics)

The negatives:

The autograph raffle

My cold

Not seeing some of the friends and acquaintances

Getting to be an old fuddy duddy

AH