RETROSPECTIVE: SDCC 08 – One Week Later

This was my first year going to the San Diego Comic Con and I had a blast! It’s a little overwhelming at first because it’s so massive, but once you get your bearings it’s a lot of fun. My main frustration with San Diego is also one of its biggest positives – that being the aforementioned size. On one hand it’s great, each lap I took around the floor I found something new. It’s always great to find new things, especially things like a life-size Batman statue made out of Legos. At the same time, I spent half of my day trying to figure out when Bruce Campbell was going to do his signing. I’d forgotten that the signing area was upstairs, and unfortunately none of the people working the con were very helpful. There was even one point where I asked a group of three who each told me a different location! When I finally found what I was looking for, Bruce had already come and gone. On the plus side, I did get to meet Jon St. John (the voice of Duke Nukem) and he was awesome.

I can’t blame the con though, I went into it without much of a plan. Wizard World is small enough where you can get your bearings easily; there are signs everywhere to make sure you know what’s happening where and when. San Diego is just too big for that. I saw some great stuff and consider it a great learning experience. Next year I’ll be ready. Hell, I might even get to see a panel.

The biggest news for me came at my favorite booth. In the back corner they had the playable Ghostbusters game next to a mock up of the firehouse. A nice touch was the green slime dripping down the door. Ghostbusters is my favorite movie, so seeing that made me want one for my house! It also made me want to steal the proton packs they had on the floor, heh. The big announcement was The Real Ghostbusters cartoon coming to DVD in the fall. It’s a massive 25 disks or so, but it’s also the complete series. Growing up, every Saturday morning was Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles, and Transformers. The series may not hold up that well, but it’ll be great to dash down memory lane.

My advice to any future Comic Con newbies: Be ready and be flexible. Even with a totally mapped out plan, you’re very likely to miss a lot of stuff. Be ready for the crowds and the surprises (guests, signings, or footage) and have fun with it.

– Ben Berger