Super San Diego Comic-Con 2018

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Pre-Con

I was reading my post from last year and I guess the same thing happened where this week came and I wasn’t prepared because it seemed to come so suddenly. Once again, I didn’t have time to prep a cosplay as I couldn’t really decide on one to commit to.

I actually didn’t have any must-go panels this year; I really wanted to just go with the flow and make sure my blood sugar was up and listen to my body. I also wanted to make sure that my backpack was light.

Friday

We had a late start to the day as we didn’t have anything super urgent to get to. There were a lot of new things outside, so the exhibit floor didn’t seem too crowded. My goal for this year, as with every year, is to obtain a free shirt, tote, and/or pins.

Insider information: free shirts are always the softest and are perfect as pajama shirts (I exclusively wear SDCC free shirts to sleep).

First things first: get our bag. I think I stopped caring about the bags this year, but my main thing is getting a pin. It’s pretty cool that the badge comes with an exclusive pin and we also get pins with our bags. 100% chance of pin retrieval, mission accomplished!

The next thing to do if you’re not rushing to a panel is to walk the floor in a very organized, methodical manner from one end to the other, snaking up and down.

This year, I took notes on my phone of all the booths with freebies that we could see and all the booths that looked like they had some good merchandise. I’m not really one to go after exclusives, but they are fun to see what they are.

Insider information: always keep an ear to the ground for spinning prize wheels.

We took to the floor and were able to do the entire thing in under an hour. It was bizarre, it felt like there was a lot of lacking excitement and a lot of missing booths. Nothing really stood out. We figured all the stuff was outside, so after a rest in my favorite spot, we headed out. Unfortunately, the sun also came out at this point, but we braved a non-shaded line for a Shark Week shirt. And the FX stuff seemed pretty cool and I got a free tote and some more pins. While we did want to do more outdoor stuff, the lines were just too long. The downside with all the outdoor stuff is that anyone can do it.

We looked at the Hall H line and it wasn’t long at all, but it was still too long for us to care to wait. I met all my freebie desires, so everything else was just a bonus. Netflix didn’t have a big thing this year, but they did have a booth for Disenchantment, where I luckily got another free shirt! I also actually bought something this year: a Crash Bandicoot crate at Huckleberry Toys, which wasn’t a mystery box; it actually included all 6 items for $25. They were having a flash sale and it was already worth it for me! Usually, I actually can’t find anything that I really want to buy that feels unique to the con, but I’m glad I found this.

I don’t know where the time went at this point, but it was time for Hall H to get into the late night Preacher panel. And once again, we just strolled in and got in pretty close. I love this panel because this cast is electric. After that, we went to meet up with friends and witnessed a white dude yelling at a cop because he dropped his child and blamed her for telling him to move to the sidewalk.

Insider information: it’s not a con unless you witness an angry white dude.

After that, I felt invigorated enough that I wanted to go drinking. I’ve actually never gone drinking after a con day because I’m usually just so tired. Luckily, we were able to drop things off at our friends’ hotel room and go out for drinks. Unfortunately, the Taco Bell popup closed while we were in line, but there was always La Puerta! And when we were there, they had half off frozen margaritas. I got sloppy while watching Spongebob, good times. I’m glad we had solid food throughout the day and I was keeping myself hydrated.

31,000 steps later, it was time for bed.

Saturday

Another late start, but thankfully not hungover. We hung around the floor aimlessly and I was able to meet Freema Agyeman. When I asked for a photo, her handler said no, so I just told her that I loved her in Sense8, and she said thank you. That was satisfying enough, but as she was walking away, she turned around and said, okay real’ quick, and we were able to get a picture! I caught a glimpse of Jason Momoa during the Aquaman signing, which was cool.

After that, I went to “Spotlight on Thi Bui”. Her graphic novel The Best We Could Do, which is about her story as a Vietnamese refugee and an Asian American, was relevant and moving and inspiring. I was so excited to see her; this is the one panel I would say I really wanted to see this year. I was actually shedding tears in the panel, so it was a bit awkward, but I urge you to check out her stuff, she’s great. I got to meet her after and thank her too!

I didn’t know what to do next, but some friends said Hall H was empty, so I headed over and got in for Cut Throat City, “Women Who Kick Ass”, and Deadpool 2’s super duper cut. The Deadpool animatronic booth was great by the way. I was excited for the Deadpool booth and we got to see some extended cut scenes. Haven’t seen Ryan Reynolds in Hall H since Green Lantern, which is some irony for you.

We hit the floor one last time as it closed and headed out. The plan was to go to some after parties (um, hello, Zachary Levi posting party details on Twitter), but we were too tired to wait and so we headed back home.

21,000 steps and tired! I braved the crowds in sandals and a tank for the day and did not get stepped on nor did someone sweaty swipe against my nude arms. I’d call that a success!

Post-Con

It was a strange year; many things felt different. A lot of this year was spent wondering how they changed so many things around. We had to look up a lot of things to see how things were different and what was going on at any moment.

Next year, we collectively felt like maybe we can go for more than 2 days so we’re not rushing around too much. And perhaps we will stay at a hotel so we’re closer- much more convenient.

At this point, I’m still letting it soak in. While it was an odd experience, I think I will look back on this year’s con fondly.

– Freebies? Check.
– Meeting people? Check.
– Drinking? Check.
– Insightful panel? Check.
– Forgetting to take pictures again? Check.