Author Topic: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all  (Read 6771 times)

Offline perc2100

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #45 on: July 27, 2022, 04:51:36 PM »
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Less people,shorter lines, they took the busses out of the front area to make that huge walkway which was awesome. I had a great time.
Yeah, I couldn't remember if that was new in 2022 or from a previous year after shutting down Harbor, but that was GREAT!  Helped general claustrophobic crowds thing a bit: even more so in a pandemic.  REALLY great logistics there, IMO!!

Offline rallyv

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #46 on: July 27, 2022, 04:56:04 PM »
They shut down harbor in 2018 and 2019 iirc but I think this is the first year they moved the shuttle location which made everything much better and easier to keep distance from people. I hope they keep this because it was a really good change. I also think it helps the shuttle drivers since there's less people traffic they have to fight as well as the traffic officers since they don't have to keep yelling for people to get out of the dropoff road.

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #47 on: Today at 11:52:19 AM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #47 on: July 27, 2022, 04:56:33 PM »
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Where is the Pro Entrance into the Exhibit Hall. I'm a pro and I've never heard of this.

From the "Pro Registration" thread, that others have said:
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Anyway, go through the Sails Pavilion as if you're heading toward 6BCF or one of those conference rooms. Once you exit the Sails Pavilion, take a left and go one flight down the escalator. Once you reach the landing, you should see signs. The hallway they line us up in is right around the corner.

Offline Vapors

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #48 on: July 28, 2022, 12:21:45 PM »
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Oh, which Disney shows were they?

For me it was the Ghost and Molly McGee and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. They also had Prouder Family but I didn’t go for that signing.

Offline Cut That Meat

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #49 on: July 30, 2022, 09:09:40 AM »
Now that I've sleptwalk through a week of being back at work and have reached the weekend, I can finally put my scattered thoughts down on paper.

As I mentioned in the pre-SDCC expectations thread, I was just glad to have it back in my life: the sensory overloads, extreme overplanning, the abuse on my feet, having to make split-second decisions on the fly, all of it. It felt so, so good to be back in this environment after three years. Overall, I had a great time and don't have any major complaints. I acknowledge major issues DID exist this year, but most did not personally impact me or are things I sort of expect at this point, i.e., I normally don't make time to do Adult Swim on the Green or NDLs, and I deal with line-cutting by not being in situations where it's a huge issue.

After writing all the below, I still feel like I left something off! While I listed about the same number of thoughts for both pros and cons, don't get me wrong: my pros were all major wins and the cons were mostly minor quibbles. I cannot wait to be back in 2023.

The Pros
- The FoCC Discord. I never thought I'd spend more time on another app than Twitter during SDCC. Lo and behold, the Discord. It was around in 2019 - was that the first year? - but it leveled up in a big way in 2022. Unbelievable source of real-time information without having to sort through unrelated Twitter nonsense, entertainment, and a total game-changer this year.

- Related, getting to meet so many FoCCers (I said it) for the first time. What a wonderful community.

- Reuniting with old Con friends was also just an absolute delight. Total "we're back" energy.

- I understand this one is absolutely "right place, right time" and purely luck-based, but being one of probably a handful of people who did both Fandom AND Fundays. Both are SDCC 'bucket list' events for me (and I'm sure many others), so both in a 24-hour span really meant the rest of the weekend was a bonus. It was really hard to get too worked up about anything negative after that.

- Having the option to complete tasks early in the week was awesome and I hope CCI keeps that trend going. On Monday, I donated blood at a Donor Center and got a certificate to redeem for goodies at the Blood Drive, and got my COVID wristband (which held up!). On Tuesday, I picked up my bag, books, and lanyard, and also picked up my Patrick Ballesteros commission at his pop-up (okay, this had nothing to do with CCI, but still). With time being such a valuable currency, anything I can do before the event to free up more time once the event starts is totally worth it. I am totally willing to trade 30 minutes on a Monday if it means not having to take 15 minutes on a Thursday to complete the same task.

- While not perfect, I was really impressed with the overall level of masking compliance. On a percentage basis, anecdotally, booth workers seemed to comply a lot less than attendees.

- Definitely easier for me to navigate the aisles in the exhibit hall, both in terms of how long it would take me on average to cover an aisle to not bumping into shoulders and bags quite as often. I was pleasantly surprised I covered 3/4 of the Exhibit Hall in ~half a day on Thursday.

- Loved how most non-Saturday Hall H panels were pretty straightforward to get into. I got to see more panels than I normally would. I get restless real quick - I need to always be on the move! - so I tend not to do panels where I have to sit through multiple panels to get to the one I want.

- Got most of the exclusives I wanted. Granted, I was mostly focused on ones that didn't require an early timeslot or generally were less in-demand.

- Offsites with reservations. Kudos Severance, Dungeons & Dragons Tavern, FX, and IMDboat.

- Offsites with evening hours after the exhibit hall closes. I think Severance, 10 Forward, and FX had evening hours on at least one night.

- I thought the offsite scene was pretty strong. I got to do Severance, D&D, FX, IMDboat, Disney Bundleworks, and Abbott Elementary.

- After some concerns up until we were about ~two weeks out, the after-party scene was also strong. Even Saturday, which I normally find the weakest, had the Limitless lounge, DBZ concert, and the Prey party. As an aside: I came late to the Prey party when they were "only" down to oysters, but kudos to Hulu for splurging on a huge seafood spread and open bar at Lou & Mickey's.

The Cons
- While I didn't notice the lack of carpet in the moment, I definitely did when I would take a break or at the end of the day when all of the pain I didn't feel in the moment as I walked accumulated at once.

- Panels were easier to get into, not only because of fewer attendees, but because of fewer must-sees and last-minute changes (The Rookie not announcing they were virtual, Bob's Burgers cancelling at the last minute, no Arrowverse block, etc.). I missed the SyFy Great Debate!

- Dungeons and Dragons not having the announced poster/print giveaways at both their panel and the tavern.

- Hall H chute loading procedures on Sunday without having a large number of people pre-filled into the chutes before the first panel like on Thursday-Saturday. Woof.
 
- Eventeny. Give me all the crappy paper wristbands you want, just give me back MySched.

- The Exclusives lottery awarding attendees more than one slot for the same booth. I know some are more popular than others, so if someone ended up with a UCC and a Funko and a Mondo, fine. But people really shouldn't be winning 2+ slots to the same booth. Just my opinion, though.

- The half-assed official merchandise selection.

- Lack of physical souvenir book. I hope the free physical one comes back next year, but if not, I hope they consider having it as a paid option in their official merch selection ($10?). Love having them on my shelves.

- Noticeable reduced buzz on the floor without WB/DC, a huge reduction in cast signings (did the Hulu/fka Fox Fanfare booth even have any?), and companies either staying away or doing the bare minimum (looking at you, LEGO). I hope most of this is rectified in 2023 and that it was primarily a "wait-and-see" thing and not a sign of permanent things to come.

- Whatever that Netflix booth digital queuing system was.

- Offsites without reservations. Looking at you, Hot D and Abbott Elementary.

- Offsites not opening early on Wednesday or staying open past the exhibit hall closing.

- The Children's Park being under construction was an eyesore and took a nice spot off the board, even just to walk past the water. I also feel it really killed Krapopolis outside the Children's Museum, with the construction serving to isolate it and make it more out of the way. Hope it's done in time for 2023.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2022, 09:36:40 AM by Cut That Meat »
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Offline Berts

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #50 on: July 30, 2022, 04:04:47 PM »
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The Pros
- The FoCC Discord. I never thought I'd spend more time on another app than Twitter during SDCC. Lo and behold, the Discord. It was around in 2019 - was that the first year? - but it leveled up in a big way in 2022. Unbelievable source of real-time information without having to sort through unrelated Twitter nonsense, entertainment, and a total game-changer this year.

- Related, getting to meet so many FoCCers (I said it) for the first time. What a wonderful community.

- Reuniting with old Con friends was also just an absolute delight. Total "we're back" energy.

I can't echo this sentiment enough. You hit the nail right on the head. I used to be GLUED to Twitter for almost all of June and July. This year, I barely checked Twitter and instead filled all that time with Discord which was actually very rewarding, fun, and productive. And then getting to meet so many of the members (including you, Cut That Meat) was fantastic. I really really enjoyed what the FoCC Discord evolved into and what it is currently. This community is so great.

Offline Andrew Costa Mesa

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #51 on: July 30, 2022, 04:12:09 PM »
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Here is my review of the con.

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In short, I had a terrific time! There were some things missing, but still more than enough to fill my time and cause me to make hard choices. I did not meet anyone who felt like they had been able to do everything that they wanted. And ultimately, that's what we want, right? A con so filled with options that we have choices. CCSE and WonderCon were severely lacking in that department. SDCC was so much closer to 'normal'.

I was also at the “Rookie” panel in Ballroom 20 and I too was floored the cast only appeared virtually.  Many attendees stormed out.  I also noticed fewer people in Exhibit Hall and far fewer vendors there, making it look almost like the Exhibit Hall at WonderCon.  I was glad to get into Hall H on Saturday.
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Offline Dianekde

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #52 on: July 30, 2022, 09:05:43 PM »
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  I also noticed fewer people in Exhibit Hall and far fewer vendors there, making it look almost like the Exhibit Hall at WonderCon.  I was glad to get into Hall H on Saturday.

It is my sincere wish that the exhibit hall stay the way it was at this con. I had a couple of non-major booths that I wanted to visit and I was able to navigate so easily from one end to the other.

It will probably go back to what it was, but I purchased a lot more this year because I didn’t get the immediate urge to leave.  It didn’t SEEM like fewer vendors to me because I could actually experience the vendors that were there.

Offline alyssa

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #53 on: July 31, 2022, 08:11:41 AM »
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It is my sincere wish that the exhibit hall stay the way it was at this con. I had a couple of non-major booths that I wanted to visit and I was able to navigate so easily from one end to the other.

It will probably go back to what it was, but I purchased a lot more this year because I didn’t get the immediate urge to leave.  It didn’t SEEM like fewer vendors to me because I could actually experience the vendors that were there.

I actually liked the hall this year. It felt refreshed.
There were new booths that I really enjoyed. I suspect they wouldn't have been there if all the old booths had returned.
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Offline Old Man Grey

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #54 on: July 31, 2022, 08:30:50 AM »
Well, I hope DC, Dark Horse, Two Morrows, Torpedo Comics and some others are back next year. I really missed their presence.

Offline marcia29

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #55 on: July 31, 2022, 11:10:57 AM »
Reflections on SDCC 2022

I had an incredibly wonderful time at SDCC this 'return of the con' year.

I was able to produce a fan panel again after more than a couple of years away from that opportunity.

Was able to walk into Hall H and see William Shatner, Keanu Reeves and Kevin Smith.

Stayed at my fave hotel. Not in the Gaslamp, but it is a quieter place to relax and get ready for the next busy day.

Roamed the Exhibit Hall, and saw some amazing things.

Shared some of my new 'Geeks in Heaven' homemade buttons, in honor of my absolutely nerdily wonderful son who passed away just before the last planned SDCC in 2020.  The anniversary of his passing was on July 23.  An SDCC miracle happened that day.

My most favorite personal encounter from this year:

I visited the Transformers booth, where they had a cool Bumblebee car displayed and asked one of the young ladies at the booth if she could take a picture for me as my son loved the Transformers.  She happily obliged. 

When she was done, I handed her one of the Geeks in Heaven buttons, and told her of my son's passing and how cool he would think this was.  My voice started to crack as tears came.  We would go to each Transformers movie together. 

Today was the anniversary of his passing. 

She asked if she could hug me...and I said of course.  We hugged and I turned and moved away slowly, as I could barely see through my tears.  I admit I was a tiny bit embarrassed. 

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. 

It was the young woman from the Transformers booth.  She asked me if I liked the Transformers too, and if something Transformers would mean something to me.  I nodded, yes.  She said, "Stay right here".  Off she went. 

The crowd swirled around me. 

She returned.  "Here", she said.  "This is an Optimus Prime signed by Peter Cullen...the voice of Optimus Prime.  I know he would want you to have it."   

She handed the figure to me. More tears streamed down my face. 

"Oh yes.  I know who Peter Cullen is", I barely squeaked out.  I sobbed out loud.

"Please don't cry", she said to me. She gently hugged me again.

"You are so kind to do this for me.  Thank you." I was crying because...of her kindness, in taking me into her heart and connecting with me.  I had to find a place to spend some time and reflect in gratitude.
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Offline chachime45

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #56 on: July 31, 2022, 02:19:26 PM »
Awesome :)

Offline Vapors

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #57 on: August 02, 2022, 11:01:06 PM »
I'm back home now and slowly (emphasis on slowly) unpacking and collecting my thoughts. I had a great time coming back. I thought Comic Con 2019 was one of my personal favorites so any Comic Con after that going to be hard to top that. But I was just so glad to be back after 3 years. Here are my highlights and boos from this year's show. Let's do Boos first to get that out of the way.

Boos:

- They probably should have increased the number of Covid check stations or loaded up with workers on the first two days of the con. I remember seeing the line stretch from Fifth, go all the way down to Park (the street that leads to the Hilton Bayfront) and then snake back again. All out in the sun. I heard the line went by pretty quickly, but still, more stations and/or more workers at the beginning would have probably helped.

- That Hulu booth. 3 years and the best you guys could is have a grey booth with nothing to distinguish it? No art, no branding on the walls, nothing, just plain metallic grey. If you took that sign away from them, you would not even know what that booth stood for. Plus their giveaways were a bit lackluster. Other than the large poster tube, was there anything worth visiting this booth for?

- Lot of missing comics booths. I know there's a lot of "Out with the old, in with the new" feelings when news broke that a number of big comics companies would sit this out and allow newer, smaller publishers to enter, but I still feel this was an overall net loss for the lifeblood of the show floor at Comic Con. While I was not a fan of DC's new booth when it merged with WB, it still represented a big comics mainstay and brought over a ton of comic talent for signings and other giveaways. Dark Horse always had a well organized and neatly laid out booth year in and year out, also highlighted by a great roster of signings and giveaways. Add in Drawn and Quarterly and Oni Press/Lion Forge and there seemed to be a little bit less energy on the comics side of things. I do know that there were fewer artists on the floor and the booths that did signings seemed to have fewer overall than in years' past.

- Less Swag overall. Far be it from me, a person who will gladly take a used toothpick if offered by a booth as a freebie, to complain about less things to lug around, but it did feel to me that swag was less overall than in years past. Normally, there's a lot of posters, buttons, key chains, those kind of things being passed around. But it felt like there was less of that. There was still some cool free things being given out for sure, but sometimes you had to work for it (like Yesterday's coins, Neflix booths prize machine or Paramount+ Stamp hunt). Again, I can't really complain as I don't need to lug things around, but it did feel like booths were cutting back and swag was one area to cut costs.

- Limited Signings from Disney Animation. I get it, with Covid around (and this strain being more contagious) the company doesn't want its crew and talent to miss any time recovering. Still, it was a bit of a disappointment when I would go do the Limited Signings and show up and just be handed a pre-signed poster. Kinda feels empty when you can't meet anyone. Still a cool thing to get, but for me, the big memory is getting the chance to meet folks.

- This was seen a few times, but I have to say boo to parents who leave their small children in lines to hold a spot and then just disappear for several minutes. Far be it from me, a single guy with no kids, to dictate how parents raise their kids, but I feel it is a bit appalling to leave your incredibly small children (I would be surprised if any of them were older than 6) in a line so you can go wander off to get some freebie or check some other booth. Just ask your neighbors to hold your spot in line and bring the kids along. I'm sure you won't stress out your kids if you take them along as well. I saw this happen three times and I couldn't help be a little frustrated watching this happen each time.

- Cut costs at Comic Con. Given the less than full feeling at the con, I'm not surprised the con elected to try to save some money. Just feels like there was a lot of cutting of corners here and there. Whether it was the missing carpet in the exhibit floor (noticed by my feet) or things like nor childcare/kiddiecare (not something I need, but I'm sure some folks appreciated the service being available). Other notable things missing: no physical Souvenir book this year, no physical daily newsletter and no water coolers in any of the conference/panel rooms. I hope with next year, whether some of the choices were due to Covid or costs, we can get some of these amenities back.

Now let's get to the Highlights:

- First, it was great to meet or catch up with a lot of you from the forums. Whether it was waiting in line, the pre-con meetups or the discord, putting names to faces was my one big highlight this year. Big shoutout to Car Low, who somehow knows things before event organizers can event post them. I was able to get into a party thanks to him. Also big shoutout to my Friday line crew. I could only laugh when after meeting all of you, we realized NONE of us needed to be lined up that early for anything on the floor or panels and we had just been doing it out of duty to help our fellow board member. Good times!

- I know they started doing this in 2019, but being able to donate blood ahead of the convention is a game changer. No longer do I need to worry about pacing myself for the whole day Thursday. Now I can donate Wed and get plenty of rest for the weekend ahead. If I lived in SD, I would have taken the SD blood banks offer to donate even earlier, which residents can several days in advance. That's great. I really do dig the Thor shirt they gave out.

- Dragonball Z offsite behind the Marriott. I love it when an offsite is open on Preview Night. Once again, I was without a PN badge, but since this was open I decided to check it out. A couple of my friends joined me and we took some fun photos, got a cool large bag, checked out the cool toys and got my butt handed to me by my friend on the video games. Definitely something cool to do while most everyone was inside for PN. I was especially heartened when a bunch of kids with their parents were wondering what was going on. They recognized Goku and wanted to go in. Their parents weren't sure if this was free or if they needed to pay. The booth workers, seeing the kids, waved them in and gave them super Saiyan paper crowns. The kids were ecstatic and run straight into the offsite, with the parents chasing after them.  ;D

- Took one last meal at the Tin Fish. Not sure what is going to be put there next year, but for the last meal I'll ever have from them, the Mixed Fish and Chips was, and always will be, one of my con food highlights.

- Paper Girls Con. Thanks to Amazon, they seemed to REALLY push Paper Girls. I love the comic and it was really cool to see Brian K Vaughn and Cliff Chiang get a lot of love. Comic Con is made for things like this where a comic getting adapted should be front and center. Lots of cool pins, posters, the mini poster tube (which I think is a swag highlight for me due to its utility during the con), the replica canvas bag and of course, cast and crew meetups and the first episodes being shown at the Manchester. I was sad I had to decide between that or the Walking Dead party, but while I do miss that I could have watched the episodes earlier. Doing the watch party later with some of you was cool. Seems all that promotion at the con paid off. Got a ton of stuff signed by the creators and the cast, so this was definitely a highlight.

- DnD Tavern. This was totally a fun and well organized immersive experience. I am sad I couldn't time this with friends as this was something made for groups. But going by myself, I still got to talk to a few folks in the booths. The drinks were pretty decent (no complaints since it was free) and the big highlight with the Dragon flying overhead was incredible. They really planned this one out. I'm not like a lot of you thieves out there, so I wasn't willing to try to sneak some mug under my shirt. I swear, some of you will take anything that isn't nailed down to the floor or wall. Ha! Also kudos to the person who handled the lines. I went during my appointed time and made it in and out within 30 minutes, pretty impressive I have to say from an organization stand point.

- Walking Dead Party. I was totally surprised I was able to grab a ticket (shout out to Car Low!). So I decided this was my Friday night party to go to, and it did not disappoint. Even though I stopped watching after the first few seasons, I still kinda kept up based on summaries and watching clips. You saw a ton of props from the show, they decorated the heck out of the outdoor area with tons of cool photo opps and there were a lot of cool people to talk to and chat about the show. I even got a selfie from Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming). Norman was really cool. He did a long loop in the courtyard just chatting with fans, taking selfies and autographing anything in front of him. He was totally cool about everything. Plus got to meet the special effects guy responsible for the shows fantastic walkers, Greg Nicotero. Food was delicious and so were the drinks.

- IGN party. A friend I was with knew a few people and was able to get us VIP into IGN after the Walking Dead panel. There was no real benefit from getting VIP as far as I could tell. Open bar for everyone and photo booth stops for me and my friends. But I like to think it was cool nonetheless.

- Easy to walk in panels. Only panels that seemed to draw crowds was Marvel anything. Missed out on getting into the Marvel Animation panel in Ballroom 20 on Friday, but I did make it into the panel afterwards for Paper Girls. But a lot of panels that would have in the past required a little advanced lining up, mostly were walk ins. I got my taste of Quick Draw/Cartoon Voices on Sat and just otherwise, seemed pretty easy to get into most panels as long as a little planning was done ahead of time to avoid big lines.

- Easy to walk floor. I remember talking to a guy (and I preface this is a random I met, so grain of salt and all that), who had said he had heard from a few folks connected to SDCC that they were expecting crowds 15-20% less than normal. If you had asked me before the con what I thought the crowd would be, I would have assumed less than 5% compared to prior years. I just seemed that most of us kept our tickets and had them rolled over. But in seeing the crowds, I can now believe that 15-20% range, which I would have thought nuts. Saturday, in the middle of the day, the show floor was pretty easy to walk from one end to the other. While there were always going to be choke points or booths attracting large crowds, I don't recall being shoulder to shoulder with anyone at all during the whole time. This is normally something I experience multiple times every con, so for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like a sardine. That was nice. I do wonder how much of that was folks who elected to not come due to Covid and how much was SDCC deciding to hold back tickets to encourage less people showing up? I guess we'll never know.

- The Nat Geo party. Glad I ditched waiting in line for HBO and rushing to this party I totally forgot about. I was able to get the last of the scraps of food (which was fine by me as I was going to eat anything by that point). But open bar was a great way to fill up too. Ha! It was also here that I met a bunch of folks here too and I was glad to do so. It was cool talking to you all.

- Got great commissioned pieces from Mirka Andolfo (Sweet Paprika) and James Silvani (Darkwing Duck). And got a nice quickie sketch from Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls) and a couple of other artists. Always cool to get personal art.

- Dragonball Z concert at the Rady Shell. I missed the first part, but once I got in, I was totally reliving my high school and college years when I would rush home after classes to catch the latest episodes of DBZ. The shell would light up to to match certain scenes as well. Hearing the songs being accompanied with videos of all the epic fights and milestones (Super Saiyan Goku!) from the show had me so giddy. Plus having a singer come out to sing several opening and closing and insert songs was so cool. The orchestra sounded incredible as well. It was like watching television live! The fireworks being shot at the end was a great night capper for the con. I hope they bring back another franchise to do a concert here. I totally recommend folks check a concert out here.

- Mask compliance. I was incredibly surprised how it seemed everyone I saw followed the rules. The guards and workers I saw also seemed to enforce this pretty strictly as well. I know folks in other areas reported seeing less than complete compliance in some rooms or in certain sections of the show floor, but where I could see and what I experienced, the mask compliance was incredibly high. So that's good.

Misc Thoughts for this year:

- I really can't stress how happy I was to be back. To be in the hustle and bustle of the Comic Con crowd. I've been to concerts, I went to Coachella earlier this year, but this is something that means a lot to me. Unlike any other comic or anime convention I go to, San Diego, above all else, really embraces this convention and I feel like for those 5 days in July, this is OUR city. I can't really recall any other con that allows itself to be taken over like this.

-After a week of testing, I didn't catch Covid when I headed back home earlier this weekend. At this point, if I test positive, I assume it was due to catching it elsewhere. I have no secret techniques other than maybe I had immunity due to catching Covid at Coachella. I just masked all the time as much as I could while at the con. The masking would lapse at the various parties when eating/drinking and chatting with friends but that was likely a lot of folks too. My mom (whom I was staying with) also tested negative when I left, so I am relieved I didn't pass anything on to her. Again, I was pleased that most everyone I saw obliged with the Covid rules and I am glad the convention stuck to their guns rather than be wishy-washy with their Covid policies. We can't predict what will happen next year, but whatever Covid policies the con elects to make, I hope they once again make clear ahead of time what they want and stick to it.

- One thing I would like to predict for the future of the con, is that I think what we experienced this year will be the norm for the foreseeable future. I think this is going to be a transitional period for Comic Con for the next few years. You could even argue that the transition started back in 2019 when a few studios didn't bother to show. Its funny. When I started attending the convention back in 1999, there were older convention goers complaining that Hollywood was slowly taking over the convention and that this was more "Pop Culture Con" than "Comic Con." For basically a full decade, I would overhear these comments while in line or just walking around the convention. They mostly stopped by the 2010s as most of those goers likely did stop coming. Funny enough, a full decade later, it looks like their wish for less Hollywood will come true. Whether you think we are overacting to Covid and we should live with it or if you believe that this is a serious health crisis still, the TV and movie studios will likely use this time to reassess their expenses coming here and cut costs as they see fit. We already see that with WB/Discovery and when I think back to all the studios and channels that came to the con promoting their shows (CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, Starz, Cinemax, Showtime, AMC, USA, MTV, Cartoon Network, Syfy, tbs, TNT, etc) only a few of them still send anything and it was really limited to maybe a show or two at most. Add to it, the studios seemed to cut costs by limiting their talent coming, less opportunities to meet for autographs and less swag overall, I think we will see a more leaner Comic Con both on the show floor and in the panel rooms. Add in increasing inflation, worker hiring and supply chain issues, and more bottom line oriented companies, we could very well see a pull back that made the 2010s Comic Cons really fun for a lot of us. I'm sure I'll find something to fill those voids, but I wonder how much others will do the same. I know quite a number come here due to all the TV shows and movies so if there is less, will some of these folks still come? And while I am not as invested in collectibles, I do know that a lot of the exclusives being promoted (or no exclusives for some companies) really put a damper on things to some folks. Again, I'll probably adjust my expectations and find new things that will peak my interest, but I do wonder what this will do for Comic Con for the future.

- Finally, this convention marks the first convention without former President John Rogers handprints on them. While he did pass in late 2018, he likely did a little pre-planning for Comic Con 2019, along with the inertia that his procedures and policies likely followed even with his passing. For all intents and purposes, this Comic Con falls to new President Robin Donlan. And I will be curious how the convention runs in the future. I know talking to some of you who go to other cons, have remarked that this convention really knows how to handle things for a convention of this size really well. But I did hear a few complaints about things like how Hall H lines were handled, how the online lottery played out. and everything that happened with merch seems to scream rush job. Covid I know can be explained for some of the delays and issues, but ultimately, by next year, we will be in year 4 of the pandemic, so the con needs to learn how to deal with a lot of the issues that plagued this year. Here's hoping for smoother sailings in the future, but it does bear watching as well. I don't think it can be stressed enough how much having an experienced hand like Rogers led to the growth that is the Comic Con we all know and love.

Again, this was a fun and memorable Comic Con for me. Lots of things accomplished, awesome sketches and swag received, fun panels seen, great meetings with cool folks both from this forum and the general Comic Con goer. I hope any issues I had or that others had will be ironed out next year. Hope to see you all next year. And thank you for reading my too long fourm post.

EDIT: Oh yea, one more thing for this already long post. I think we should see pretty big increases for ticket prices for next year. Going from Coachella, they increased prices anywhere from 11% to up to 47% on some tickets and packages. Given inflation for this year, and the fact that Comic Con never did any new sales (save for the auctions), I would almost expect Comic Con prices to go up. A Four Day with PN ticket cost about $311 for this year. I would expect the price to go to around $350 to as high as $375. But we shall see.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2022, 10:47:26 AM by Vapors »

Offline perc2100

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #58 on: August 03, 2022, 09:30:22 AM »
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Reflections on SDCC 2022

I had an incredibly wonderful time at SDCC this 'return of the con' year.

I was able to produce a fan panel again after more than a couple of years away from that opportunity.

Was able to walk into Hall H and see William Shatner, Keanu Reeves and Kevin Smith.

Stayed at my fave hotel. Not in the Gaslamp, but it is a quieter place to relax and get ready for the next busy day.

Roamed the Exhibit Hall, and saw some amazing things.

Shared some of my new 'Geeks in Heaven' homemade buttons, in honor of my absolutely nerdily wonderful son who passed away just before the last planned SDCC in 2020.  The anniversary of his passing was on July 23.  An SDCC miracle happened that day.

My most favorite personal encounter from this year:

I visited the Transformers booth, where they had a cool Bumblebee car displayed and asked one of the young ladies at the booth if she could take a picture for me as my son loved the Transformers.  She happily obliged. 

When she was done, I handed her one of the Geeks in Heaven buttons, and told her of my son's passing and how cool he would think this was.  My voice started to crack as tears came.  We would go to each Transformers movie together. 

Today was the anniversary of his passing. 

She asked if she could hug me...and I said of course.  We hugged and I turned and moved away slowly, as I could barely see through my tears.  I admit I was a tiny bit embarrassed. 

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. 

It was the young woman from the Transformers booth.  She asked me if I liked the Transformers too, and if something Transformers would mean something to me.  I nodded, yes.  She said, "Stay right here".  Off she went. 

The crowd swirled around me. 

She returned.  "Here", she said.  "This is an Optimus Prime signed by Peter Cullen...the voice of Optimus Prime.  I know he would want you to have it."   

She handed the figure to me. More tears streamed down my face. 

"Oh yes.  I know who Peter Cullen is", I barely squeaked out.  I sobbed out loud.

"Please don't cry", she said to me. She gently hugged me again.

"You are so kind to do this for me.  Thank you." I was crying because...of her kindness, in taking me into her heart and connecting with me.  I had to find a place to spend some time and reflect in gratitude.
This is a great story, thanks for sharing: it's always awesome to hear about people with empathy and compassion being good people in a less-than-ideal environment!
I've always had great experiences with that Hasbro booth over the years, and I'm glad that 2022 was not exception; whomever hires their booth reps apparently does a good job finding nice people!!

Offline sessionka

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Re: Post con Reactions, Reflections, etc all
« Reply #59 on: August 14, 2022, 02:17:22 PM »
I don't know how I missed this post, but...

I had a great time.  Once I recovered from my flight into San Diego (landed 3:30 AM Tues after 6 hour delay), I took a walk to The Broken Yolk to get a late breakfast.  As soon as I walked out of my hotel (MMM), the trolley went by.  The sound of the bell made me so happy.   :)

I made most of the panels I wanted, but miscalculated on the presentation of the James Webb Telescope.  Since the crowds were lighter, I thought it would be a walk in.  I was wrong (bummer).
I did enjoy the other panels I attended.  'The Trial' by the Legal Geeks was a lot of fun.  The 'mother' of the boy 'killed' by the shark in Jaws was suing the town and the mayor.  Initially you think she would 'win' with no problem.  Turns out after the 'trial', I had to rule in favor of the town.  I wasn't the only one, and that's how the judge 'ruled'.  I love their panels.  They make them both fun AND educational.  I also attended 'The Ghosts' panel.  That was fun.  I had thought about Nathan Fillion's panel, but it conflicted with something else I wanted to do.  So glad I passed.

I only hit the exhibit floor once.  I really wasn't looking for much, but I did decide I wanted a back pack from Loungefly (score).  I love it.  My thing is T-shirts, so I was a little disappointed there weren't as many vendors as I'm used to.  I like the quirky ones.  I did see a T-Shirt on another attendee that I thought was hysterical.  I ordered it on-line.

I attended the Masquerade for the first time.  It was going to be on my list for 2020.  Enjoyed it, even though one of the performers fell off the stage (ouch).

I ran into a YouTube 'celebrity that I subscribe to in the Gaslamp.  It was RDCWorld1.  I was thinking maybe they were there doing a panel, but they were just attendees.  That was a nice surprise.

I was introduced to a 'new' place for breakfast and enjoyed it with some new friends, and discovered another one on the last day.  I did take some down time (I'm a senior  :). ).  I sat by the pool for a while and read my book.  Loved it.

Overall, I was SO glad to be back!!!  I am glad I planned to fly in early.  That's definitely going to be my plan going forward.

My only real negative was the Merch line.  It was super slow.  I even said something to the people that checked me out (when I finally got up to the front).  Apparently, it made no difference.

I took a red-eye back to the East coast on Sunday.  After getting in early Monday morning, while I did take the day off, I had a very small task to perform for my job in the morning.  Once I did that, I collapsed.  I wasn't stiff, but I slept practically the rest of the day into the early evening.  I thought I'd have trouble sleeping that night.  NOPE.  Slept all thru the night.  :)

Absolutely looking forward to pre-reg!!!
« Last Edit: August 14, 2022, 02:27:14 PM by sessionka »
Phasers on Stun!!!