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Welcome to Nerd Vegas: Comic-Con Guide, The Update
posted May 27, 2007
 

If for whatever reason you can't be bothered to read the entire Comic-Con International guide again this year, I hope that you'll consider reading the following notes generated on the 2006 trip.

1. The crowds that used to swell the convention floor on Friday and Saturday were there for Wednesday and Thursday in 2006. This means you can no longer count on there being a "light day," as in "I'll do my shopping on Thursday when the crowds are light." It's not so bad if you're ready for it, but it was a real punch in the face for a lot of people last year not expecting it.

2. The new badge system at registration is considerably more efficient than the old one.

3. A scant three years after the press room was completely empty for the entire show, the press room was really busy for the entire show.

4. My hotel in 2006 was the Westgate. The Westgate has lovely, sizable rooms, rooms to which you can actually invite people up for a cocktail without feeling like you're a 19-year-old stuffed into a Best Western the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It's not as fancy as it thinks it is -- I checked into a room with all the cords missing -- but then again, neither are you.

5. Hotel room reviews are starting to become less important than getting a hotel room anywhere within ten blocks of the show.

6. People will steal your backpack.

7. People will tire of you whining about your stolen backpack.

8. My sit-down restaurant of 2006 was Brazilian grill Rei Do Gado. Rei do Gado may be one of the best places to eat in the Gaslamp, but only 1) if you're with people you know well enough they won't mind you sitting there grunting in a meat-induced semi-coma, and/or 2) someone else is buying.

9. In general, though, the restaurants are starting to become busier as more and more older people with money attend the show, and the lack of centralized social gatherings puts more pressure on dinner hour meet-and-greets.

10. The show is now officially big enough and busy enough that you can say "See you later" to someone on Wednesday and know in your heart of hearts you are not going to see that person again.

11. Picadilly, RIP. A generation of arts- and indy-comix folks will miss your terrible lighting and lack of seating, and will now seek a new place to drink $2 beers and smoke on the sidewalks. Hopefully, a new place can be found without anyone being stabbed.

12. The best way to get a big crowd for your obscure panel is to get it scheduled in the same room right before a popular panel, because several people will squat in yours to get to the one they want.