I just returned from my first Dragon*Con and my head is still spinning. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think any event could match Comic-Con for geek impact and intensity, but I was wrong.
A lot of people like to compare the two Cons in a heated exchange. I think this is unnecessary. Both are fantastic events with vast and varied programming, cosplay opportunities, and star gazing. It’s important to understand the key differences between the two if your time and budget limitations allow for only one event each year.
For five days my feet touched the holy ground of San Diego Comic Con 2011 geekness. Short of working in SyFy’s Vancouver-based studios or being on set filming the next Tron: Legacy, Avatar, or Star Trek-type movie, this is the closest I will ever come to geek-topia. The friends were phenomenal, the panels were funny and full of information, the cosplay was food for the geek soul, and the exhibition floor was the neverending hall of “I want it all.” I came away supercharged for the next year of scifi, and I’m happy I had the opportunity to attend.
SDCC is more than just the panels you see on YouTube or the coverage on G4. SDCC is a total geek experience. It’s fun. It’s engaging. It’s creative. It permeates all of your senses. It allows you to relive past material and it excites you for upcoming or new material.
Today was the first day of the five-day-long geekstravaganza that is San Diego Comic-Con! This is the second year Chuck and I have attended, with special thanks to our hosts and GWC friends, BKitty, The Hub, Topgun, and Lady D. Since GWC is indeed a family and no family event is complete without all its members, for those who couldn’t be here I wanted to share a tiny vignette of what SDCC looks like through my eyes.
After flying into LAX for the more affordable airfare (and the chance to fly Virgin America’s passenger-friendly line), Topgun, Lady D, Chuck, and I cruised down to San Diego this morning and met up with Barb, the Hub, Raemani, and Shooter, plus a few local friends. We all carpooled over to the Convention Center for badge pickup, which had begun a little earlier in the day in preparation for the opening of the giant exhibit floor for Preview Night at 6:00 p.m. The Convention Center was already swarming with geeks of many colors: a woman ninja with a cigarette dangling from her lips; a teenaged couple dressed as steampunk, well, punks; a little girl dressed as Wonder Woman, and a man in an oddly realistic-looking horse’s head mask (perhaps a Dr. Horrible nod?). In five minutes of walking along the city-side exterior of the Center, I saw more funny and clever geek shirts than I’ve seen in the last year.
Tomorrow I leave for my geek post-graduate final exercise. It’s been just a few years since my return to Geekdom, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve connected with other like-minded geeks. I’ve experienced new-to-me sci-fi material like Farscape and Buffy. I’ve re-emerged myself in gaming. I’ve collected science fiction memorabilia. I’ve purchased geek-related clothing. I’ve written blog posts like this one about sci-fi material. With the gracious approval of Chuck, Sean, and Audra I have even had the opportunity to record a couple of sci-fi discussion podcasts. But there is one thing that I’ve never done in my life: I’ve never been to a science fiction, gaming, or comic convention before. So tomorrow I start my final exercise in my Geek Cred Master’s/PhD and depart for my first geek convention ever: the 2011 San Diego Comic Con.
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