San Diego Comic Con Preparation Kicks Into Panic-Mode!

If you’re attending SDCC, you probably already have their policy email which serves as a serious reminder that the convention is inching closer and closer by the very second.

Here is a sample from the email:

“Code of Conduct/Anti Harassment Policy

Attendees must respect common sense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Comic-Con reserves the right to revoke, without refund, the membership and badge of any attendee not in compliance with this policy.

Persons finding themselves in a situation where they feel their safety is at risk or who become aware of an attendee not in compliance with this policy should immediately locate a member of security, or a Comic-Con staff member, so that the matter can be handled in an expeditious manner. If your safety is at risk and you need immediate assistance you may also use a white house phone and dial 5911.

Security may be contacted by visiting our Show Office in Lobby C. A Comic-Con staff member will be in the office during public hours.

Recording and Release:

If a non-news organization requests to interview or record you, they will most likely ask you to sign a release form. Remember to sign the release AFTER you have conducted your interview. If you are unhappy with the recording you can ask them not to use your footage and refuse to sign the release form. Remember: sign the release form AFTER you have conducted your interview (emphasis mine).”

I  put emphasis on the last section of this excerpt because I think this can apply to any situation – not just SDCC. I remember the first year I cosplayed, I was recorded by a very rude crew from Stan Lee’s YouTube channel. I wasn’t too familiar with interviews or release forms and stupidly signed the form before the recording started. Unfortunately the entire interview consisted of guys making sexual comments and making fun of a girl cosplaying as Pikachu because they didn’t find her attractive. Fortunately, I have never seen this piece surface on the internet.

Putting that aside, I want to express my inability to follow plans. I said I would be packed up by Saturday(yesterday) night for my Monday(tomorrow) afternoon flight. At this very moment I am still finishing work on a cosplay and I have yet to even fold one item for my luggage. As a regular convention goer, here are some things I want to list for your very own check list:

• Nutrition bars for the trip.
• No refrigeration needed lunches for the con(I like to pack GoPicnics).
• Deodorant. PLEASE bring deodorant.
• Extra bags for swag.
• Water. Lots of water. Not every convention has an Ice-Cold-Water-Guy.
• Aspirin (trust me).
• Portable gaming system like a PSP, a VITA, DS, etc.

And of course, if you don’t like big crowds, you probably shouldn’t be attending a convention anyway. You should also consider making a list of all of the panels you want to see. I like to set an alarm on my phone for two hours in advance of each panel because it usually takes that long to get from one part of a convention center to another and you also want to get into line at least an hour ahead, unless it is a panel for a popular show like Archer. Last year at NYCC I was in line for the Archer panel almost three hours in advance.

I’m going to end this here because I have some packing to do. Ahem.