In theory, I will go to San Diego Comic-Con this year—as a paying customer. For that I am most grateful and for the ease of the Open Registration process. From 2009 to 2014, I attended as registered press, but for some reason my status wasn’t re-certified. There was no formal rejection, just no approval during the typical “within 6 weeks” period after verification document submission.
SDCC’s streamlined process is a grabbag of chance. If you have an active ID on the system (before a cut-off date) and attended the previous year, you receive a code to participate in the registration process. That means using the number and last name to enter the waiting room between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. PST. Anyone in the room when sales commence at 9 o`clock can be randomly chosen to purchase passe(s). Chrome refreshed me to the buying queue about 20 minutes after sales started.
San Diego Comic-Con no longer sells full event passes. Attendees choose which days to attend. Preview Night and Sunday are each $35, and any of the other days is $50. I paid $220 for the full event. Sunday, e.g., Family Day, is my favorite. Locals are more likely to attend, with their kids. The Con’s character dramatically changes on the last day. Preview Night is insanity, but I love the energy.
My participation will be a bit more relaxed this year, since I won’t formally be on the clock, so to speak, not attending as a journalist covering the Con. But I will nevertheless live post for my followers and readers, while shooting lots of photos. This year, I will be more participant—but still the observer—for I love the roles people play, when for a few days they aspire to be whom they wish they could be.
As I write, San Diego Comic-Con’s Twitter feed says tickets are sold out, at 9:59 a.m. 🙁
I consider attending this event, in its entirety or even in part, to be a privilege—particularly given how many people who want to participate but can’t. I feel guilty for shutting out someone else and this post isn’t meant to brag but inform—for some of the people who follow my posts and otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t attend but are nevertheless interested in on-site reports.
I shot accompanying photo Supergirl during SDCC 2010 using the Leica X1. The cropped pic is among the most popular of my Comic-Con shots. This is the original with some distracting people removed. My Flickr galleries, if you’d like to see more photos:
- San Diego Comic-Con 2009
- San Diego Comic-Con 2010
- San Diego Comic-Con 2011
- San Diego Comic-Con 2012
- San Diego Comic-Con 2013
- San Diego Comic-Con 2014
Until I receive final confirmation from Comic-Con International or see charge to my credit card, ticket purchase is still if. But should I have a pass to attend, and you also, ping me to meet up.