The 2014 San Diego Comic-Con is off and running. Sadly I won’t be waiting in line at Hall H or getting my hands on free stuff. I’ll be at home working and hanging out with my wife. There’s nothing I love more than hanging out with Alycia and work definitely has its moments. But there’s still a big part of me that wishes I was at Comic-Con.
I’ve never been to Comic-Con. I really feel like I should have gone by this point. I’ve been a nerd my entire life. I’ve been writing a nerdy blog for the past three and a half years. And San Diego is only a short two-hour drive away.
Whenever I think about going to Comic-Con, though, I always have some reservations. While I’ve never been, I have heard plenty of horror stories that give me pause.
Here are some of my Comic-Cons and Pros.
Comic-Pros
- Comic-Con really is Nerd Mecca these days. There are obviously the big announcements in Hall H, but there’s also so much to see just on the exhibition floor.
- I want to be in San Diego. It’s been over 100 degrees this week in Rancho. San Diego is beautiful and in the 80s.
- I feel like Comic-Con would definitely help my nerd cred. I think I’m a pretty big nerd but how big of a nerd can I really be if I’ve never been to Comic-Con?
- I’ve got some friends I’ve met through The Christian Nerd who go to Comic-Con every year. It would be great to spend time with them.
- When I got tired of hanging out in large crowds with a bunch of nerds, I could go hang out with my grandpa. He lives in San Diego and he’s the best.
Comic-Cons
- There’s a lot of cool stuff to see at Comic-Con, but the coolest stuff requires standing in line for hours upon hours. I would love to see footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron or Ant-Man but I don’t want to have to stand in line for 12 hours to see it.
- Along with the lines there are also a lot of crowds. I can only take so many people at once and I think I would struggle with the sea of people at Comic-Con.
- I would be far too tempted to buy too many collectibles. Just because I don’t need a $200 statue of Ms. Marvel doesn’t mean I don’t want one.
- I’d be worried that some of the people at Comic-Con would be a little too nerdy even for me. I love nerdy stuff but I don’t necessarily love nerds.
- Cosplaying is not my bag. Do they even let you in if you’re not dressed in a costume?
I imagine I’ll make it to Comic-Con someday just not this day. When I eventually make it to San Diego, though, I’ll have to embrace all of the pros and steel myself for all of the cons.
Would you ever want to go to Comic-Con? Have you ever been?
Another fun and well-written post, Scott. I don’t know how you turn out such consistently good stuff on such a consistent basis, especially being in full-time pastoral ministry, but I’m certainly glad you do.
I didn’t realize you only lived two hours from San Diego, so now I understand your desire to make the Comic-Con pilgrimage a little better. Rest assured, though, you need no help with your nerd cred. (Also, since SDCC is such a mainstream affair these days, does it really inherently help one’s nerd cred to attend?)
I would only want to go if (a) it were somehow free or uber-cheap; and (b) if I were going with friends. All that cool stuff you mention that requires standing in line for hours for makes it onto the internet eventually. It seems a high price to pay for a fleeting “latest thing.” But if I were going with or meeting up with friends, and we spent our time using Comic Con to build relationship and community, doing things other than what can be done on one’s own (like watching videos, listening to speakers, buying stuff), that could be worthwhile.
As always, thanks for your kind words. I too wonder sometimes how I get a post out 5 days a week. It helps when I have awesome people like yourself with whom I can interact.
The two-hour drive definitely makes me want to go. I could also stay with my grandpa if I didn’t want to pay money for a hotel. We should just plan on going next year, Mike. You fly out from PA and I’ll pick you up at the San Diego airport.
Welcome! And you can stay with me. Really, you are welcome anytime; just be sure to bring Alycia. God bless!
I went last year and had a blast (particularly since I’m local). I can’t go this year because I’m helping out at a big youth conference in USD :-/