We're gonna need a bigger boat (or convention center in this case).
Thanks go to my friend Jesse for pointing this out to me. For those of you out there who were planning on buying a four day pass to the San Diego Comic Con this year, but had held getting it for whatever reason . . . . . you're out of luck.
For the first time ever, the four day passes for the SDCC have SOLD OUT a good four months before the show even begins.
The four day passes have sold out the last two years before the show opened, but they didn't sell out until a few weeks before the show. Now here we are, still months away from the convention, and the four day passes are gone.
Wow. This is going to be a packed convention again, isn't it. It's almost enough to make me not want to go. After the intimacy that was Wonder Con, I'm really not looking forward to long lines for hours and an overly crowded sales floor. I will still go of course. I haven't missed a year for over 16 years now. But I am dreading it a little.
Once again though I'm wondering why they don't just move the convention to a bigger venue? I would love to see Comic Con in Las Vegas. Imagine that. Over 150,000 comic geeks descending on sin city all at once. It would be glorious.
I don't see why it should be that big of a deal. The last two years were sold out. This time it just sold out faster. It will still be the same amount of people. They cap the attendance at the same number. I get that it is crowded and has been uncomfortably so for some time. But selling out faster doesn't mean that anymore people are showing up. Honestly I would be angry as shit if I had to go to Las Vegas to attend Comic Con. It's been in San Diego for 40 years and it belongs to San Diego. Vegas already has a comic book convention. Honestly the size of SDCC isn't going down anytime soon. I've just learned to deal with it and have my own fun. I don't know. I feel your pain on the subject Pat, but with comics as big as they are now it's not running out of steam anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThere's another reason to never, ever have Comic-Con in Las Vegas: there are a good number of people there who smell bad enough in the temperate summer weather of San Diego. But those same persons in the Las Vegas inferno? That smell would kill even Rorsarch.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Matt, I'm not expecting there to be more people than in previous years, nor am wishing that the size of the comic con crowd would go down anytime soon. I'm stoked for comics to be ruling mainstream media channels nowadays, and I'm really happy that comic con has exploded the way it has. My complaint comes with the San Diego Convention Center's inability to handle crowds the size the con draws in now. The crowded sales floor and panels are a result of more people being crammed into a space than that space was designed for. If there are going to be crowds this big, then the convention should be held at a location that can comfortably accomodate them. I feel bad that the show is selling out. That means that there are fans that can't get in to share the glory that is con. If they're selling out the SD convention center this early on, they should consider moving to a bigger venue at the very least so they can sell more tickets. Fans shouldn't have to be denied entrance to what has become the geek Mecca just because there isn't enough space to hold them all. That's a sign of bad planning as far as I'm concerned. If San Diego wants to keep the con, then it needs to step up as a city and either expand the convention center or build a bigger convention center somewhere else nearby that can contain the massive groups of comic fans who descend on the city every year. I don't think we should have to wait for hours in line to get into a panel we want to see because the room its being held in is too small to hold everyone who wants to see it when if we moved the show to a bigger convention center, the rooms would be larger and could hold more people.
ReplyDeleteOK...the Con may be getting massive, but has anyone noticed the actual amount of comic books in the building is getting smaller? I have. I would like to see the con go back to it's comic roots and kick a few of the Hollywood studios out, maybe just the ones who are not making the big budget comic book movies.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that Con is close to home and I want it to that way, but wouldn't it be fun to see Geekdom in it's finest in Las Vegas. That would be a sight to see. Sin City wouldn't know what hit them.
I wonder if all those folks who have bought their tickets know what their in for? LOL It may be crazy...it may be so crowded you can't breath...but I wouldn't miss it for anything :)