Author Topic: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home  (Read 3114 times)

Offline perc2100

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Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« on: July 26, 2020, 05:10:50 PM »
So now that 2020 Comic-Con @ Home is wrapping up, what did you all think?  I wanted to sort my thoughts out in writing, and I'm curious hear what you all thought..

I've been going to SD Comic-Con now for 20 years: this week would've been my 21st Con.  Over those years I've (almost) seen it all, from an explosion in growth, to Hall H  needing to be open for huge programming to Preview Night being created as a means for vendors to have an extra evening to do their thing as well as attendees to have a bonus night in the Exhibit Hall (and later actual programming), to walking right in to Hall H to having to wait in line starting at 7am for a 10:30 am panel (as I did to see Spielberg make his SDCCI debut for TinTin) to waining in line starting at 5am when the parking lots opened to overnight waiting to 36+ hour waiting.  I've seen the growth of off-site exhibits/promotion and parties getting less exclusive (or at least more open-to-the-public [who are fast enough to click immediately when invites go live] vs what used to be "you have to know people to get in" events for the most part).

In all that time, I never realized what I truly loved and got out of San Diego Comic-Con every year, even though it was right in front of me all along: it's the people.

I first started going in 2000 when a friend of mine got me a free badge.  I went the first few years with my good friend and when the free badges became questionable (1. SDCCI was getting more popular and closer to selling out and 2) he was about to get divorced and his wife was the source of the comp badges) I started registering in advance on own.  When I first started going by myself, I would still either meet my friend, or take my youngest kid (now 18).  My kid would go only on Sundays when they were younger, and as they got older my kid would accompany me every day.  My wife went once or twice in the early/mid-00's (she bought a Sunday badge the Saturday afternoon before, on the last day one could buy badges the week of the Con. and the first time SDCCI sold out 'in advance' each day), and when we had our second kid my wife started going with us on Sundays; last year, my wife co-hosted some educator panels and got a comp week-long badge and she and my youngest went to SDCCI with me and the oldest every day (FWIW my youngest son will turn 6 next week and he's already attended 5 Comic-Cons before this year's @ Home).
Four years back I joined a line group and quickly made fast friends with a not-small group of folks from all over the world with shared passions.

I give you this background, because my pattern of 20 years of attending SDCCI mostly revolves around other people.  I used to think it was mostly panels, as I try to go to as many as possible.  Some years there are a TON of exclusives I hunt down, and other years there are a ton of off-sights I want to hit (or movie screenings).  But the main running theme has always seemingly been hanging with people.
That's weird, since I'm kind of an introvert in the real world (though I'm a teacher, and in now way an introvert professionally).  I'm more social at Comic-Con than any other events I attend throughout the year, and in my experience Comic-Con attendees are generally the most relaxed & friendly group I've experienced.

This year CCI and its panelists all did an amazing job making incredible lemonade out of a ton of lemons, and I am thankful for what they brought us this week.  Vendors like LEGO or AMAZON that had free swag was a great touch!  But none of that registered much.  I might've gotten more out of following attendees on line talk about what they saw, or the plethora of pics of other locals who went down to the convention center or Gas Lamp and took pics (many in cosplay!).  But the thing I miss about Comic-Con is the hang.  The excitement of talking to people with accents from all over the world talking about the same movies or TV or comics or artists or toys we love: getting to know new people in line, or sitting next to 'em in a panel: the absolutely indescribable energy of being in Hall H or Ballroom 20 or any other panel room when amazing footage or news or surprise is revealed: the excitement of accidentally running into a celebrity in a bar or along the sidewalks of the Gas Lamp (or, a student of mine who realizes I'm just as nerdy as them and we instantly have the shared connection for the rest of that kid's time in my school): the fun of catching up with "Comic-Con Friends," the folks you really only spend time with during SDCCI week but you consider good friends nonetheless: the joys of 'discovering' a new property (I can't describe how awesome it was with KICK ASS footage of Hit-Girl was being shown, when the crowd erupts in laughter and joy, and you know you're experiencing the baby kernel of a phenomena-in-the-making). 

All of those things would be hollow w/out the shared experience of the fanatical masses.  Comic-Con @ Home has been the best of a truly horrid situation, but has not meant much to me personally enjoying it from a screen in my condo without all of the other interaction.  I'm grateful for everything CCI and its partners have put together for this week, but I 100% look forward to San Diego Comic-Con IN PERSON, hopefully in 2021  :-\

What about you all?

Offline hikanteki

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2020, 07:11:16 PM »
I tried my hardest to get into it. I took Thursday and Friday off from work and blocked off the outside world. I printed out and bound the Souvenir Book You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login. I made a list of places to pick up dinner from every night, which consisted of the types of places I'd go to in San Diego such as The Kebab shop and various ramen places. I also picked up packs of beer from Stone and Mission which I always make a point to stop at. I had my Kidrobot SDCC-at-home Hello Kitty x Quiccs exclusive nearby which arrived last month.

It was off to a good start on Preview Nite. I tried doing what I normally do on Wednesday night and that's get most of my purchases out of the way and go around and talk to artists. I attended zoom events from artist Martin Hsu and artist-focused retailer DKE Toys. Picked some things from both. I also picked up a few Funko exclusives (as everyone mentioned in the Funko topic, there were a lot of..."issues" with the sale, so basically it was no different than the Funko booth. :P ), found a few more on Gamestop later, and tried to make sense out of SDCC's Virtual Exhibit Hall. I also had some non-work related stuff I had to finish up that I stayed up until 3 AM finishing. Although this sounds bizarre, it did have the effect of putting me in adrenaline mode for the next day, like would happen at SDCC.

I set my alarm clock for a few minutes before 10 to start binging on panels, starting with Star Trek. I mapped out a schedule and tried my best to stick to it. I loaded the YouTube app on the big screen TV and loaded up my panel of choice as soon as it went live each hour. It was nice seeing panels as soon as they were available and hearing news releases as they occurred, though nothing was really groundbreaking. Still, there was a lot of interesting material. Bugs Bunny 80th and Superstore were the highlights of Thursday. New Mutants was also good.

Same thing on Friday. I was glad to see the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim block that would normally be in Indigo. Spent pretty much all day watching that. Many of the new-ish ones caught my attention, especially Infinity Train. The final two which were established shows, Bob's Burgers and Archer, were actually disappointing (more on that in the panel topic.) I also finally got to see the Eisner Awards. I've been curious about it but it has never been a priority given that the DC Animated Premiere and many other events normally take place on Friday. But I took advantage of being able to watch any panel at any time by finishing my night with the Crossing Swords panel and then watching a couple episodes on Hulu. I read some of the souvenir book and then went to bed. So far, so good.

Saturday is when the mood started to crack. I still had my schedule but couldn't bring myself to get up right at 10, knowing that I could watch the videos any time. So I got up at about 10:30 and began to settle into my @home routine but I felt pretty lethargic for sitting down the last two days, so I watched one panel and then went out to take an hour walk. I had started really missing the laps around the convention center.  I got back and put on the Simpsons/Family Guy/American Dad block, took a nap, then put on Stumptown and Bill & Ted. But I couldn't gather the motivation to pick up ramen so I just had leftovers for dinner.

Sunday...I'm mostly over it so I get up at 11 and didn't turn on the TV until 12. I tried flipping through my list, but then it hit me even more and I found it very hard to pay attention to anything. The only ones that held my attention were Looney Tunes (which was actually pretty great) and Next, which was moderately interesting. In one last attempt to salvage a last bit of SDCC spirit this year, I bought an official SDCC T-shirt and the two toucan pins.

And that's a wrap for 2020. I agree with perc2100 that CCI and its panelists did a great job at making lemonade out of lemons. This isn't the con that anyone asked for, they tried their hardest to give us something rather than nothing, and I tried my hardest to get into it. I have absolutely no complaints about what CCI gave us, especially for the price of free. They did an excellent job at putting together the best show they could under the current circumstances.

Overall I enjoyed the panels but watching them on TV just can't compare to the excitement that comes with being in person alongside the hundreds-to-thousands of fans. The online exhibit hall was also a cool idea but again, nothing like going booth seeing the products in person before you buy. I expected to miss those. Less expected was how much I missed the walk from one end of the convention center to the other, but now that's something I also look forward to once the real thing comes back. The only thing I don't miss is paying $1500 for the hotel room. (Or not paying $750 to split it with someone) :P
« Last Edit: July 27, 2020, 04:04:53 PM by hikanteki »
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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #2 on: Today at 10:40:38 AM »

Offline NCDS

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2020, 09:12:35 PM »
Definitely wasn't the same! 

A few friends from here made it a memorable con. We message all 4 days like we were at the con, saving each other seats, complaining about the lines, talking about what the booths were selling, our hotel accommodations, being at off-sites, who had swag, secret parties (not that I ever get into any of those), fundays, and all the other things we would have been messaging about during the con.  We discussed the panels as we watched them together.  I can't thank them enough for brightening up my week!

I look forward to seeing them in person next year.
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Offline perc2100

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2020, 04:34:04 PM »
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I tried my hardest to get into it. I took Thursday and Friday off from work and blocked off the outside world. I printed out and bound the Souvenir Book You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login. I made a list of places to pick up dinner from every night, which consisted of the types of places I'd go to in San Diego such as The Kebab shop and various ramen places. I also picked up packs of beer from Stone and Mission which I always make a point to stop at. I had my Kidrobot SDCC-at-home Hello Kitty x Quiccs exclusive nearby which arrived last month.

It was off to a good start on Preview Nite. I tried doing what I normally do on Wednesday night and that's get most of my purchases out of the way and go around and talk to artists. I attended zoom events from artist Martin Hsu and artist-focused retailer DKE Toys. Picked some things from both. I also picked up a few Funko exclusives (as everyone mentioned in the Funko topic, there were a lot of..."issues" with the sale, so basically it was no different than the Funko booth. :P ), found a few more on Gamestop later, and tried to make sense out of SDCC's Virtual Exhibit Hall. I also had some non-work related stuff I had to finish up that I stayed up until 3 AM finishing. Although this sounds bizarre, it did have the effect of putting me in adrenaline mode for the next day, like would happen at SDCC.

I set my alarm clock for a few minutes before 10 to start binging on panels, starting with Star Trek. I mapped out a schedule and tried my best to stick to it. I loaded the YouTube app on the big screen TV and loaded up my panel of choice as soon as it went live each hour. It was nice seeing panels as soon as they were available and hearing news releases as they occurred, though nothing was really groundbreaking. Still, there was a lot of interesting material. Bugs Bunny 80th and Superstore were the highlights of Thursday. New Mutants was also good.

Same thing on Friday. I was glad to see the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim block that would normally be in Indigo. Spent pretty much all day watching that. Many of the new-ish ones caught my attention, especially Infinity Train. The final two which were established shows, Bob's Burgers and Archer, were actually disappointing (more on that in the panel topic.) I also finally got to see the Eisner Awards. I've been curious about it but it has never been a priority given that the DC Animated Premiere and many other events normally take place on Friday. But I took advantage of being able to watch any panel at any time by finishing my night with the Crossing Swords panel and then watching a couple episodes on Hulu. I read some of the souvenir book and then went to bed. So far, so good.

Saturday is when the mood started to crack. I still had my schedule but couldn't bring myself to get up right at 10, knowing that I could watch the videos any time. So I got up at about 10:30 and began to settle into my @home routine but I felt pretty lethargic for sitting down the last two days, so I watched one panel and then went out to take an hour walk. I had started really missing the laps around the convention center.  I got back and put on the Simpsons/Family Guy/American Dad block, took a nap, then put on Stumptown and Bill & Ted. But I couldn't gather the motivation to pick up ramen so I just had leftovers for dinner.

Sunday...I'm mostly over it so I get up at 11 and didn't turn on the TV until 12. I tried flipping through my list, but then it hit me even more and I found it very hard to pay attention to anything. The only ones that held my attention were Looney Tunes (which was actually pretty great) and Next, which was moderately interesting. In one last attempt to salvage a last bit of SDCC spirit this year, I bought an official SDCC T-shirt and the two toucan pins.

And that's a wrap for 2020. I agree with perc2100 that CCI and its panelists did a great job at making lemonade out of lemons. This isn't the con that anyone asked for, they tried their hardest to give us something rather than nothing, and I tried my hardest to get into it. I have absolutely no complaints about what CCI gave us, especially for the price of free. They did an excellent job at putting together the best show they could under the current circumstances.

Overall I enjoyed the panels but watching them on TV just can't compare to the excitement that comes with being in person alongside the hundreds-to-thousands of fans. The online exhibit hall was also a cool idea but again, nothing like going booth seeing the products in person before you buy. I expected to miss those. Less expected was how much I missed the walk from one end of the convention center to the other, but now that's something I also look forward to once the real thing comes back. The only thing I don't miss is paying $1500 for the hotel room. (Or not paying $750 to split it with someone) :P
Yeah, I was a bit more depressed about missing my first Comic-Con of the millennium than I thought I would.  I even slept past 9am on both Saturday & Sunday: I don't know the last time I've slept in that late (I don't think I have in 2020 - seriously), and the fact that it happened on SDCCI weekend seemed telling to me.
I was sick for a while at the beginning of July, and I haven't really communicated with my Comic-Con line-up group peeps since before I got sick (I was sick starting July 4).  I kind of wanted to reconnect last week, but I think it wold've bummed me out too much

Offline debster

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2020, 05:45:17 PM »
Some of my con friends and I had a Zoom Happy Hour on Thursday night - we all live in different parts of the country, so we sometimes only see each other at the con. So that was really fun. While it obviously wasn't the same as being there, it was nice to still have panels to see, even if they were online. I still have some to catch up on before they go away...and I didn't have to worry about a tall guy or a person with a big cosplay head sitting in front of me to block my view :) .

Offline marcia29

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2020, 03:44:33 AM »
I really, really tried. I made my schedule, and encouraged others to do their own.  I perused the exhibit hall, and looked at the art show and masquerade several times. I tried for limited swag...I think I have a tote from The Boys on the way, but not sure I got the right confirmation email. I did order some SDCC merchandise, and that came a couple of days ago. I love all the merchandise I got.

The panels not being live, with no live chat, simply squashed my intensity and urgency to view them as they were released. Bleeping out Kevin Smith's salty language was frustrating.  The obvious editing of panels, just saddened me.  This was not the at-home experience I had hoped for.  Yes, it was something, yet I feel CCI could have had much more live interaction.

It is 2024, and I am still asking...where's my flyin' car??!! @fannishmarcia

Offline darqamin

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2020, 08:15:42 PM »
Nice post, good to see your history of attending, the changes to the event and this year.

It didn't feel the same this year. I thought in theory I could watch more panels and not have to worry about conflicts, etc. But there's a certain rush you get from attending panels during the convention with your friends, waiting to get in, trying to walk across far distances and among huge crowds to get to that special panel on the other end of the convention area. There's a commitment to it that makes you want to stay in a panel longer than usual to make it worth it, and often leads to seeing good discussions you would have missed otherwise.

Watching from home it is almost too easy, and thus too easy to give up on something and never come back to it. I certainly saw less panels this year than any year I attended Comic Con!

Offline perc2100

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Re: Your experience w/Comic-Con @ Home
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2020, 08:54:10 AM »
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Nice post, good to see your history of attending, the changes to the event and this year.

It didn't feel the same this year. I thought in theory I could watch more panels and not have to worry about conflicts, etc. But there's a certain rush you get from attending panels during the convention with your friends, waiting to get in, trying to walk across far distances and among huge crowds to get to that special panel on the other end of the convention area. There's a commitment to it that makes you want to stay in a panel longer than usual to make it worth it, and often leads to seeing good discussions you would have missed otherwise.

Watching from home it is almost too easy, and thus too easy to give up on something and never come back to it. I certainly saw less panels this year than any year I attended Comic Con!
Agreed, and it's something that when I formulate in writing, or speak aloud to someone (like my family) sounds almost ludicrous, right?!  "Because I could watch panels from my couch after sleeping in and casually waking up my computer, I wasn't that interested even though I might've been excited about the exact same panel in a ballroom after waking up super early, skipped breakfast, drove 20 minutes to downtown, paid $25 bucks for parking, etc"  ;D
It's the experience: not the panels.  It's the people: not the stuff.  That's what I learned

though, to be honest, I did watch the DC FanDome all-day panels a few weeks ago and mostly enjoyed that: not as much as SDCCI, and while some of the panels were lean on details, I appreciated the effort and had enough fun - maybe moreso than the SDCCI experience (I missed last weekend's comics panels and other stuff, I'm talking just the big movie/TV/video game panels)