Of the wondrous phenomena of Comic Con that’s received such thorough coverage already, I don’t think enough words have been relayed about the mind-bogglingly long, utterly-insane, morale-clobbering lines at the convention center. Just roll these numbers through your bean counters…
- 7,000 attendees (at low estimates)
- Six hours of wait time (at the shortest)
- Ten panels or so in the room per day
- One ballroom everybody’s trying to get into
I showed up well before the convention floor’s opening, aiming to get into the WALKING DEAD panel (among others.) As much as we ridicule the fans who camp outside the convention center overnight, they actually must’ve had the right idea. I was led by staff through a line that coiled on the front lawns and snaked up and over the convention center before finally twisting into the shoreline at the opposite side. Not even the lines at Disney World are that outrageous (and at least those have some entertainment on the way.)
== TEASER ==
Word is, the much-ballyhooed withdrawal of some studios from the con led to many attendees taking their attention off the infamous Hall H and putting it on the less-discussed Ballroom 20. I was told later that it was actually easy to get into Hall H, and I suppose it had to have been, because it felt like every single attendee was standing in this damn line. Everybody told me that the length was unprecedented for the show and, once my view of the convention center started receding to the horizon, I finally had to throw up the white flags of surrender. You simply can't vanquish a serpent with 7,000 heads.
Look upon all the angles of this monstrous crowd and gasp in horror...
With all that given its proper due, I want to say that Comic Con 2011 was otherwise another phenomenal experience. Fun times were had with Tony, Sara, Mat, Daniel, Ana, Joey, Norm and Rorie. I'm honestly still closing my eyes sometimes to relive it all in a kind of astral meditation. It was that good of a show.
The most important part of the show, of course, was getting to hang with you maniacs in person, so I want to give a proper shout-out to sora_thekey, Bruce Vain, Grim, TheMess1428, Iron Lad, Rayeth, Dvorak and Artistic Needham. More so than getting to sign copies of my books, more so than making contacts with my favorite creators... seeing you all in the flesh is what really makes SDCC fun. You make these sites, and you make these shows.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here. Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk
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