Nerdin' it up.

San Diego Comic-Con 2008.

This was our 4th or 5th year in a row attending the mother of all comic book conventions. I can't quite remember as they are starting to blend together. This year we got a hotel in Hotel Circle. We were late in the game to getting a hotel this year, so we were lucky to get what we did. It turned out to be cheaper than a downtown hotel and relatively convenient as it was only a 10 minute walk from the San Diego Trolley, the city's light rail system.

I'll just run thru some quick thoughts with this blog instead of holding your hand and walking you thru the play by play action.

The Con (hip and lazy way in which I'll refer to this event) has been getting more and more crowded every year. We've noticed this over the years and have modified our attendance by visiting earlier in the Con schedule. This puts us there from Wednesday night thru Friday. The weekends are unmanageable. Far too many people to make it worthwhile. Just not worth it.

For me, the Con reached critical mass this year. This is measured in my ability to enjoy the event by doing the things I want to do and seeing the people I want to see. The ever growing crowds are the sole factor that oppose me and my goals each year. The lines get longer. Showing up to hear a particular director talk would normally require showing up an hour before. This year 2 1/2 hours didn't even seem to be enough to help. Maybe I'm not patient enough. Maybe I'm not hardcore. Maybe I've just got better things to do with my time. Whatever the case, there were sh!+|0@d$ of people and I had to adapt my plans a few times.

All in all we had a good time. There were the usual stereotypical things you expect to see at comic con. People dressed up as various characters. Autograph signings. Half off trade paperbacks. Klingons and Stormtroopers.

Even though it was crowded, we got to see some artists that we liked and bought some books. We'll decide our plan of attack next year. Do we go? If so, what do we do different to fine tune the experience? Do we try other Cons in lieu of the SD Comic-Con? Time will tell.

Until then. Here's some highlights from our trip.


sdcc.2k8 from dominick on Vimeo.