San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog

I shared my Top 10 ways to ruin your Comic Con last week which received 70+ comments! Thanks all for sharing lessons learned from past Cons. I wanted to follow up with some tips on how to turn your experience from good to great. This is the only time of the year to enjoy an event of this magnitude and it takes intentionality to maximize its potential. Here you go and please leave comments with other ideas:

Click through the jump to continue reading the rest of the post…

Read the rest of this entry »

The debate on whether or not Comic-Con can really help a movie’s box office continues to rage on, but studios haven’t seemed to notice. They know SDCC is still an amazing place to get the buzz going or bring it to a massive level for the films that can impress the crowds. 2011 is looking to be one of the biggest years for movies so far and the possibilities for what could be shown are huge. I looked through all the potential picks and chose the twenty films most likely to make big impact at the con. Will they all have a huge panel with amazing footage? Definitely not. But some likely will and others might be heavily promoted on the show floor. Check out the predictions after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Who says there isn’t anything worth watching on TV?

It’s evident the networks haven’t abandoned the SDCC crowd, based on the line-up of new shows scheduled for summer and fall. This, on top of the shows returning to the airwaves in 2011, will undoubtedly give our DVRs a workout.

Let’s take a look at which returning TV shows might be coming back to SDCC in July, and which panels you won’t want to miss.

Read the rest of this entry »

2011 is another huge year for new shows at SDCC as all the networks are expected to bring a handful of their upcoming programming to show off and get the buzz going. Which of the new shows will be filling the convention center is the big question though, and I attempt to answer it after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is Part 4 and the last post in a series. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

Yes, the convention center is an amazing place. If you can run off Starbucks and Mrs. Fields you should feel free to stay there all day. Hey, if you can find a dark and concealed corner you could stay there all night. We’re assuming neither of those will happen though, so this is the guide for when you leave the convention center and journey into San Diego!

Read the rest of this entry »

This is Part 3 in a series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

This is the reason that people save their money up. This is the reason people invented wallets. This is the reason you cleared out an entire shelf in your house. So that you can walk into Comic-Con and spend $3,000 on a collectible bust of your favorite character.
Shopping at SDCC is an integral part of almost every attendee’s experience and whether you’re looking for all the free stuff you can grab or a wildly expensive Con exclusive, the Exhibit Hall is the place to go. In this post we will cover tips on navigating, buying, and staying alive.

Read the rest of this entry »

Part 2 in a series. You can read Part 1 here.

My favorite part of Comic-Con and the aspect that takes up most people’s time is the panels. With subject matter ranging from the biggest movies in Hollywood to the smallest indie web-comics that you’ve probably never heard of, SDCC panels are where the magic happens. In this post I will guide you through how to have an awesome time at every Q+A, discussion, and footage premiere at the con:

Read the rest of this entry »

Description: With hundreds of Comic-Con tips floating around the web I’ve decided to mix ours up. It is divided into four parts (Packing + Arriving, Panels, Shopping + Exhibit Hall, and Outside the Convention) and one will be posted daily. In each part I won’t just list out some tips, I’ll also give a strategy of sorts to that part of the convention and provide commentary. Enjoy!

After months of scheduling, packing, and anticipating you finally get off the plane in San Diego and think “what now?” Do you rush out to get passes, relax in your hotel room? Eat? And what if you forgot something important? Let’s just relax and start at the beginning.

Read the rest of this entry »