As a San Diego Comic-Con veteran for over 15 years I’ve seen the ups and downs of the largest comic book/hobby convention in the world.  On a positive side — SDCC has EVERYTHING (books, comics, anime, toys, science fiction, games, movies).  On a negative side — SDCC attracts EVERYONE (fans, celebs, gamers, families, press, collectors).  So how do you balance out the madness and actually try to get some ‘work’ done while at a show like this while reppin’ a media badge?  Almost impossible — in fact it’s almost impossible to see and do everything at the SDCC – so absorb what you can while you are there and take everything in one day at a time!

Highlights from SDCC — awesome cosplayers like Voltron and Papa Smurf, impressive booths from Fox, WB, Capcom and Marvel (which was basically a giant Thor throne), hands-on time with Dragon’s Age Origins 2, Dead Space 2, Enslaved, Killzone 3D, Gears of War 3, Halo: Reach, Mafia 2, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Marvel vs Capcom 3, Celebrate The Web 2, off the hook parties from Activision, Sony, Microsoft, G4, Tweet House, Maxim and EW.  We also saw better air conditioning and improved parking.

Low lights from SDCC — panels for Hall H are just too insanely crowded to interest me, terrible spacing and crowds each day, off-site locations that are a mystery to find (yes even you Flynn’s arcade!), celebs who charge money for a photograph, bags and back packs that extend more then 6 inches from your body, the ‘fight’ in Hall H during a Marvel panel, terrible quality of food in convention center and ‘the guy who stops in front of you’.

The San Diego Comic-Con is still an enormous and fun event but it has lost some of the charm over the years.  Rumors of a move to a different city loom over us all  — things can be improved and should be improved in order to stay in San Diego (where I prefer it to remain).  If the SDCC is gonna take press/media seriously they should open for a full day on Wed for press/media only and then open to the public for the remaining four days.  Other conventions around the world practice this policy – industry members take note and speak up!

More photos from SDCC 2010 can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertwelkner/sets/72157624583496950/