First Impressions: San Diego Comic Con 2011

So what are my impressions of my first San Diego Comic Con?

It was a lot of damn fun.

I don't often let myself geek out. I find hardcore devotion towards any creative type somewhat uncomfortable. Its supposed to be about the work, not the creator.

But it was nice for once to just give in to the spectacle of the whole thing in and chase sketches or attend a signing or sit in on a panel and meet some of the people who's work and talent I admire greatly, but will probably never get a chance to meet again.

Jim Lee, Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison are just people who’s names show up on the cover of my funny books, I never actually thought I’d get a chance to rub elbows with them. (Note: all elbow rubbing in this example was strictly metaphorical. That sentence should probably read, I never thought I’d get to wait in line for an hour to have them sign something. But still.)

I thought I knew what to expect out of SDCC from my Toronto FanExpo experiences, but that's like saying that since I paddled around in a dinghy once I should really be allowed to steer battleships.

First of all, they really should rename the damn thing the San Diego Film, Television, Publishing, Toys, Video Games, Genre Worship, Cosplay and Comic Con. The actual portion devoted of the convention devoted to any and all things comic books is surprisingly small. Hollywood appears to rule the roost here. Thousands of people line up for hours just to be in the same room as some of their favourite televisions stars. I tried one day to get into a couple of these bigger panels before abandoning the seemingly endless line to find something else I REALLY wanted to do.

The scope of the whole thing can take your breath away. I was heartily impressed (yo ho-ho) by the size of the main convention hall and that was before I even made my away around to check out the lines for the signings and panels.

The number of people in attendance at the Con was overwhelming. Walking the main floor was slow, but doable, on Thursday and Friday, but by the time Saturday rolled around the hall was so packed I was forced to flee to the relative quiet and sanity of a couple comic creator panels.

Even though I did so much at SDCC there was so much more I would have liked to have checked out. Despite having three whole days devoted to the event it was flat out impossible to do everything I wanted. But I certainly didn’t leave the West Coast feeling unfulfilled, so it all came out in the wash.

When I was planning this trip it was always billed around the house as being a once in a lifetime thing. But now that I’ve had a chance to experience the intoxicating nerdfest that is SDCC I’m starting to reconsider my options.

I went into San Diego without any pre-conceptions of what to expect and I left with one of the most memorable experiences of my lifetime.

If you want to check out some of my photos from SDCC 2011, head on over to the Iceberg Ink Facebook page.