Comic Con is an event of epic proportions. Attendee tickets sell out in a flash when registration opens online. Facilities like hotels.. restaurants.. and even parking lots... get stretched beyond capacity in a scramble to meet demand.
LOGISTICS
A street lined with towering, top notch hotels -- priced sky high for the con and still have no vacancies..
There are signs everywhere .... of the price of so much popularity...
San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) ... a gleaming paradise of pop culture celebration..
The lure of TV and Film Stars....Con Exclusives..... Hall H Programming.
The reality of lines...
and more lines..
gridlock in the aisles...
and a chronic lack of seating in the main lobby.
Fans overcome obstacles .. on the quest ....
EXPANSION AND EXPECTATIONS
Finding the answers to all sorts of questions....Like ... where can we get these wonderful toys!
Years ago... larger companies started expanding their presence on the exhibit hall floor. Booths morphed into pavilions.
Comic publishers have evolved into studios...
Marvel's space includes a large stage are to showcase film stars.. with oversized screens to share the star sightings with the crowd. Attendees can't linger around the space as they are urged by convention staff to keep moving. There's barely time to snap a photo of Stan Lee signing on the stage.
Artists who made their reputation doing art for comic books have become their own brands...with gallery-like exhibit spaces
Toy companies are a dominant retail presence on the exhibit hall floor. Rabid demand for "con exclusive" items means attendee resources are tied up chasing elusive .. and expensive..door prizes. That doesn't leave much time or money for shopping the rest of the hall.
Elaborate procedures for attendees lucky enough to get a chance to purchase convention exclusives.
There are daily offerings at the large vendors... and updates on "sold out" status for many items...all to encourage return trips for attendees with multi-day badges.
Serious consumers of con exclusives were easy to spot.. thanks to the torso-sized tote bags they were given along with their multiple-item purchases...
Are there even Comics vendors anymore??? Yes, Virginia.... a few..
Also.. film soundtracks..
Old school printed Press Kits...
But it feels a bit like....
Movie character "action figures" have become highly detailed collectibles...
Vinyl records have been re-imagined...
Warner Bros. film studio pavilion had elaborate screens to broadcast famous faces during their autograph sessions. Also notice the two-story set-up... with an upstairs seating area for guests. A unique view.. and escape from.. the crowded ground level.
While attendees waited in the switch-back line inside the pavilion to reach the guests, they could enjoy 360 views of life-size mannequins of in-house/DC characters..
The interactive exhibit for AMC's "The Walking Dead" offers photo ops with vivid zombies.
There was even a partial set of a plane crash. Attendees could sit for selfies of themselves being attacked by zombies in the plane wreckage...
Walking Dead always has an extended line...
The rush of the crowd when the Exhibit Hall first opens in the morning...
Cries of "NO RUNNING" as they roar towards their destinations...
With such a fan-focused crowd.. you'll find custom items for niche fandoms.. Like this gal with her Jar Jar backpack..
and sparkly t-shirt..
The popular main lobby Starbucks store..
thanks to one of the most efficient lines at the conventions. Plus this nifty gazelle image...
Almost every studio has a very large floor space...
with their own "con exclusive" lines ... managed by full-time line wranglers with signs like this.
This exhibit for a new TV show on ABC included a scaled down.. but still sizable.. White House..
One could lose one's head with all the offerings...
The Star Wars pavilion ...
... is a combo movie memorabilia road show and high-end retail emporium.
This line-up of costumes and props from the upcoming Rogue One film was impressive...
The Star Wars pavilion also showcases licensees -- like the "Her Universe" clothing line...
Official Star Wars action figures.... at Star Wars pavilion and around the exhibit floor. In every sort of scale..
Below is typical volume of attendee crowd at Star Wars pavilion...
The Lego area had several super heroes. Quite a few Wonder Woman themed exhibits for the character's 75th anniversary.
SMALLER VENDORS FIND A NICHE
Smaller companies also offer exclusives. This exhibitor table for "Mando" was offering prints of characters from the Pixar film "Inside Out"
With the long line below.. on the left. stretching far into the aisle..
It was heartwarming to see a long line for the Peanuts booth....
Hugs from Snoopy and photo ops!
Popular enough to need line wranglers and signage...
Photo below shows entrance to exhibit hall from the main lobby... this was typical of the volume of crowd moving around all the hall entrances...
In an effort to counteract previous issues with rampant counterfeiting of entry badges... this year's SDCC continued a program launched earlier at WonderCon.. where there is a "tap-in" "tap-out" electronic pass gate at the entrance to the convention center to verify badges...
This was a line for coffee and cookie cart....
This was a line against the wall.. combined with through traffic in the aisle...
Two constants at Comic Con: Lines and crowds. Tip of the day. Bring a hand-held fan.
Powerpuff Girls were flying high.. inside the exhibit hall
and across the street from the convention center...
Many activities scheduled around the venue these days... to try to bring the Comic Con experience to eager fans who were unable to navigate the logistics required to get an actual Con ticket... The convention center is just one part of the comic con "campus"...
Here are views -- from inside the convention center --- of some of the programming and exhibits going on across the street in the Gaslamp District..
Walk of a few blocks to find a quieter spots for a cup of coffee or a sandwich. But you can see from the "Dr. Strange" banner at the lamppost in photo below... the Comic Con vibe continued...
From the swag bags... always a variety of images promoting different shows or studios ... issued free with badges...
To the parking lot entrepreneurs... It's Comic Con Jake... (as you can see in the 5 other posts about Comic Con 2016 here on the blog)
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