SDCC -or- Hollywood Whorehouse

[Dusty Ayres]

It seem some people are having problems with the San Diego Comic Con:

As one who has gone to Comicon for over 10 years - what have we come to? On Sat. there was a fight over a seat in Hall H which resulted in a fan being stabbed near the eye with a pen - OVER A SEAT!!!

My personal experience on the previous day trying to catch the Kick-Ass panel with Chloe Moretz almost drove me to bloodshed. I arrived at 1:30 pm for a 4pm panel and stood those 2.5 hours in line inside the building, outside the building in and endless snake line to the other end of the convention center - then back in the building with about 10,000 people and finally to Room 20 where I was lucky to find a seat way in the back thanks to the "homesteaders"

*those who camp out all day in the room and sit through panels that don't interest them - only insure a seat to the panel they want to see later that day.... @$$HOLE$

SDCC -or- Hollywood Whorehouse

If this is true, then it sad what the convention has become.

 

[Christopher]

Well, if there are 10,000 people there at a time and only two people got into a physical fight over a seat, I'd say that indicates that conventiongoers as a whole are well-behaved. You have to keep these things in perspective.

 

[js]

Actually Comic-Con caps out at around 125,000 attendees, with Hall H seating about 6000 and Ballroom 20 about 3000 as I recall. So yes, only one incident of violence (after what is always an exhausting and irritating experience to even get into Hall H) is rather remarkable.

And people (myself included) have been griping for years about Comic-Con being too big because San Diego's facilities are too small. Count me in as yet another vote to move the con to somewhere with better capacity (Anaheim, L.A., or Las Vegas if necessary).

This year I missed getting into the Caprica panel because of exactly that ridiculous a line to get into Ballroom 20 - I could have lived with missing the panel, but the extraordinary irritant of nobody running the lines bothering to mention there were at least 1000 people still ahead of me in line and that there was NO CHANCE of my getting in to actually see the panel so I didn't need to waste an hour in line for nothing was the bigger problem.

 

[Captain Craig]

I've said since my last visit to SDCC that Hall H needs to emptied at the end of every panel.
I'm also of the opinion that SDCC needs to turn away promotions for shows like GLEE. Next you know Gossip Girl and Deadliest Catch will have panels at Comic-Con.
The Con is only so big and there is enough new Superhero, Fantasy, Science, Gammer, Sci-Fi and Horror material to present.
We geeks live in a great time. Let GLEE get its own damn convention of likeminded material to attend.

On the matter of the fight/stabbing it really was a long time coming IMO. When you cram 125K into one place, no matter how big, year in and year out and NOTHING happens people must be holding back. Some personal restraint and courtesy must be involved cause the 'Con is an exhausting event. I'm frankly surprised it took this long for someone to 'lose it'.

 

[TheBrew]

Well I can recommend Wondercon; when I went there were a lot of people, but I never had any trouble seeing any panels I wanted to; in fact I got a good seat for the Chuck panel even though I was only able to get there right before it started.

 

[Vendikarr]

Clearing the room after each panel isn't the answer.

What if I want to see two panels in a row? Now I'm not allowed? It's unlikely I will get back into the same room, given the lines.

You can't treat everyone like a camper.

The only solution, like it or not, is to pick a room on Saturday, bring friends, and stay the day. Accept you're not going to see everything you want to see.

Either that or accept that you will only get into smaller panels.

 

[FPAlpha]

125000 people and rooms for about 3000-6000 people.. you do the math for popular panels and how long the queues will be.

Personally i'd loe to attend SDCC but it would be a very long and costly trip with zero guarantee i'd actually see the panels that interest me most on top of everything else.

 

[Peter the Younger]

My wife and I didn't go this year, it just wasn't fun anymore. I agree with most of the gripes already mentioned. My two cents:

Homesteading: The campers are annoying as hell, but really are just behaving logically; if everything "cool" is in one room, the only way to ensure you see all of it is to get in line early and then stay put. I guess they are bigger fans than I am, because no matter how much I like Iron Man, I am not getting in line at 7 AM to see a panel at 4 PM, on my friggin' vacation.

Scheduling: I do think the San Diego Convention Center needs to expand, but the ComicCon organizers also need to do a much better job of crowd control and scheduling. There have been numerous occasions where Hall H and Ballroom 20 are packed to the gills, but the combined Hall A-D hall is a quarter full. Sorry, but "The Sergio and Mark Show" doesn't need that big space, and if you broke up the locations of the big events a bit better, maybe everybody would get to see at least some of it.

What Does This Have to Do with Comics: Sure, ComicCon has always been loosely defined, but including stuff like Glee has taken it to a new level of ludicrous. There's almost an air of disdain from the board when this is brought up, as if ComicCon would be wonderful if not for all these annoying comic book geeks. I'm beginning to think they should just rename it "Promo-Con" and be done with it.

Getting Shivved: The incident in Hall H was unfortunate, but as others have said, to have one fight in that whole convention is not bad. I chalk it up to the current stressed out zeitgeist.

 

[captcalhoun]

well, the cop CBR interviewed said it was the only incident they'd dealt with and was praising the attendees for their good behaviour, whilst the PR dude they spokoe too said it was unheard of in the 14(?) years he'd been working for them.

 

[doubleohfive]

Who cares if the Glee people are there? Clearly there's enough crossover that people would go to their panels and see their people ... I don't understand that hate. So what if it's not comic-book based? Neither are Chuck, Caprica, or any of a multitude of other shows and movies showcased at Comic-Con.

 

[Biggshow]

As someone who has been going almost every year since 1973, I've watched this thing slowly but surely evolve into the behemoth that it's become. Maybe I'm used to it from the last two years but I thought this year was much better organized in terms of splitting up the "event" panels into larger spaces. As it has always been, you have to make choices about what you want to do with your time there. This year, for instance, I spent most of my time either on the dealer's room floor or in comics related panels and had a great time. I was disappointed in not seeing the "Smallville" panel but was basically tired from the previous three days anyway so I just found a place to chill and people watch.

You just have to know that you are walking into a very crowded, energized, high-profile event and that you're not going to see everything you want to. Most of the Hollywood stuff will be on the net in a couple of days so don't stress about that. Have plan B or C and be ready to move. Your attitude really has to be, "If I can't get into the Green Lantern movie panel, I'll head over to the Venture Bros. And if I can't get into that, theres a spotlight on Ivan Reis. And if that's full, I'm heading back to that booth to look at the steam punk stuff again. Or, actually, I'm kinda hungry." Check out http://uglycouchshow.com/comic-con-2010-news-and-survival-guide-and-stuff/ for more fun ways to get the most out of your Con experience.

I'm 52 and ultimately had one of my better Con experiences this year. Yes, I bemoan the fact that you can't just approach some of the bigger names as in cons past (like when I got Alan Moore to sign my Superman Annual) but I did have Geoff Johns, J. Michael Strazynski, and Paul Cornell sign some books. It really isn't as dismal as people make it out to be. In fact, with the right attitude, it's a fairly fun, energetic place to be.

And if all else fails, stab a few people in the eye with a pen.

 

[Samurai8472]

I was thinking something different when I read the words "Hollywood whorehouse"

Guy dressed as darth maul- How much for the girl dressed as Wonder woman?

 

[Captain Craig]

Who cares if the Glee people are there? Clearly there's enough crossover that people would go to their panels and see their people ... I don't understand that hate. So what if it's not comic-book based? Neither are Chuck, Caprica, or any of a multitude of other shows and movies showcased at Comic-Con.

The fact is Glee or related shows are taking up space that could be used for something more genre related.

Chuck is about a guy who had intel zapped into his head. Was it a comic, no but it is sci-fi and that has a place in comics thus the tie-in, while loose is justified.

Caprica is a spin off from BSG dude. It is as sci-fi as it goes and BSG has had a home in comics when it wasn't on the tube. It's justification is the strongest of the two you mentioned.

Soon you could have people who just want to show up for the Good Wife panel and then zip down to the Parks & Recreation signing. Nothing against those shows, they just don't belong. They don't contain even the shred of a tie in that Chuck does(and I don't even watch that show).

 

[doubleohfive]

The difference being that neither The Good Wife nor Parks & Recreation seem to have had the impact on audiences or the industry that Glee has had over the last year. Clearly, the people in charge want to strike while the iron is hot and promote the hell out of their new, critical darling. So what?

Look, I don't disagree with you that Comic Con is getting bigger and more unwieldy, but there is crossover for the geeks and "Gleeks." Enough that clearly someone thought it was worthwhile to include Glee at Comic Con.

Did you go to Comic Con? Was there a genre show or production that wasn't there, that might have been had Glee not been "taking up space?"

We can wax philosophical about what "belongs" at Comic Con all we want ... but it doesn't matter. It's gotten bigger and bigger every year. Hollywood has really taken an interest in it as a promotional venue. To me, complaining about it is as useful as complaining about the fact that SyFy is airing wrestling and cooking shows.

 

[miraclefan]

What Does This Have to Do with Comics: Sure, ComicCon has always been loosely defined, but including stuff like Glee has taken it to a new level of ludicrous. There's almost an air of disdain from the board when this is brought up, as if ComicCon would be wonderful if not for all these annoying comic book geeks. I'm beginning to think they should just rename it "Promo-Con" and be done with it.

This.
And yes it's nothing more then a Hollywood Whorehouse.

 

[doubleohfive]

Again, I ask: What genre production, what TV show, comic book, or what-have-you was unavailable or simply not present at Comic Con because Glee was there?

Did Glee somehow magically eliminate all the Battlestar Galactica panels? Was Batman denied a room because of the Glee singalong?

It's one thing if you don't like the show; it's yet another if it's very presence precluded you from seeing something you did want to see. It's another thing entirely to bitch and complain simply because it's there.

If your beef is simply with the fact that Glee was there, that's just being petulant and closed-minded toward Comic Con's obvious expansion over the years.

What it does sound like from the people who are bringing this issue up is simply that all of Comic Con's problems are there because someone somewhere decided to include Glee there this year.

 

[Bad Bishop]

I've said since my last visit to SDCC that Hall H needs to emptied at the end of every panel.
I'm also of the opinion that SDCC needs to turn away promotions for shows like GLEE. Next you know Gossip Girl and Deadliest Catch will have panels at Comic-Con.

Well, Captain Craig, I'm going to disagree with you here. I think it was last year that I spent all afternoon in Hall H. I was ready, with lots of drinks and snacks. I sat through panels that weren't that interesting, just so I would still have a seat when the Iron Man 2 panel started later that afternoon. It was worth the wait.

I wouldn't want Hall H or Ballroom 20 to be emptied after every panel. That would just create more chaos. There are always long lines of people outside waiting to get in. You can't empty the Hall completely every 60 or 75 minutes without making crowd control worse outside. If people want to spend all day in the bigger auditoriums, let them. A certain percentage of people leave every hour anyway, creating room for many others (not all) who have been waiting outside.

It would be nice if people weren't forced to miss events upstairs, just because they were standing or sitting in the line for Hall H. Those are the breaks, unfortunately.

 

[Captain Craig]

^^^^
I knew even when I typed that about Hall H that logistically it wasn't feasible. SDCC just needs more space cause obviously a 6k seating hall isn't adequate. Perhaps that green area we all 'snake' through to line up could be an 'add on' to Hall H. Build it out down at that end.

Again, I ask: What genre production, what TV show, comic book, or what-have-you was unavailable or simply not present at Comic Con because Glee was there?

I'm not ignoring you, I'm just getting back to the board.

No, I wasn't there this year so I don't have a full list of what was available. I just disagree in principal that shows like Glee are getting space. I've not seen the show, don't hate it or have anything against it as a show. Just don't think it should be at Comic-Con.

The years I've been you would look at something and say, "Ok where is the loose tie-in" and it would be there in some way. Glee doesn't at all. I don't want to get lost on Glee, its just the biggest face I know that was there.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

I've said since my last visit to SDCC that Hall H needs to emptied at the end of every panel.
I'm also of the opinion that SDCC needs to turn away promotions for shows like GLEE. Next you know Gossip Girl and Deadliest Catch will have panels at Comic-Con.
The Con is only so big and there is enough new Superhero, Fantasy, Science, Gammer, Sci-Fi and Horror material to present.
We geeks live in a great time. Let GLEE get its own damn convention of likeminded material to attend.

What the everlasting and ever-loving frack is GLEE doing being the subject of a science fiction convention? The people at SDCC have lost all sense of perspective, and have let Hollywood fuck them in the ass, big time if that's what they're doing-I sense the hand of Bonnie Hammer in all of this, somehow. So now, I can really see what the original writer was talking about.

On the matter of the fight/stabbing it really was a long time coming IMO. When you cram 125K into one place, no matter how big, year in and year out and NOTHING happens people must be holding back. Some personal restraint and courtesy must be involved cause the 'Con is an exhausting event. I'm frankly surprised it took this long for someone to 'lose it'.

Either that, or people need to get a sense of perspective, and the convention needs to learn to plan better. That was stupid on both counts.

So it seems that SDCC is just like SFX/CANime where I live in Toronto-with the same shit going on. And I thought that it was different.

 

[firehawk12]

What would be easier is to just have a weighted lottery system for panel seats or something. Either that or just bite the bullet and broadcast the panels in public so there isn't this sense of urgency.

I'm sure they must sell some form of guaranteed panel seating package anyway?