Yeah, so that happened… And by “that”, I mean last Saturday. Registration day. For those of you who suffered through it, I don’t need to re-hash what went on. If you got a ticket, you’re breathing a sigh of relief and feeling good right about now. If you didn’t… even after 3 to 7 hours of trying… well, I feel for you. I even delayed posting anything about it so you could have time to cool down. If I didn’t have a way to get to Comic-Con, I know I would be angry and ranting like a madman, as many former fans of Comic-Con have already done on Twitter and on San Diego Comic-Con‘s official Facebook page. Comic-Con‘s PR guy, David Glanzer, talked to Newsarama about how they feel about the whole ordeal.
So what now? If you didn’t get a membership, what can you do about it? Do you have any hope of getting into the world’s biggest pop culture event this July? Well, yes, but I really don’t have to tell you that the chances are slim…
Get Memberships on the Rebound – Plans sometimes change. People who can no longer go to Comic-Con can return their tickets for a full refund (no, they can’t scalp them). Bad for them, but good for you. At a yet to be determined date closer to Comic-Con (usually as late as mid-June), Comic-Con International will make those returned tickets available to the public. Two years ago, they used Twitter to announce that they were selling clutches of memberships on eBay, but most of those auctions didn’t last more than a few seconds before they were sold at a little over original face value. Last year, they used their own website to make tickets available at random moments. Once again they were snatched up in moments. So after Saturday’s debacle, you can only imagine how insane it will be when they eventually announce their availability in a few months. If you want to keep yourself in the loop beyond just hanging out on their website 24/7 and hitting refresh (sick of that yet?), you’ll want to follow them on Twitter and LIKE their Facebook page. Odds are good that all major announcements will hit there before anywhere else.
The only other options come in the form of working the event. Be aware, this is NOT a place where you’ll want to be trying to “play” Comic-Con. Each of these options require you to perform the tasks asked of you in exchange for access. It is not unheard of for Exhibitors or Volunteer teams who get burned by no-show workers to report the names to Comic-Con, prohibiting them from ever working, volunteering, or even purchasing a badge for future Comic-Con events.
Volunteering – Volunteering is no longer an option (all booked up)
Exhibitor Help – It helps to have connections with Exhibitors, but you can bet that most of them already have their pals picked out. The bigger companies will hire people to work their booths for a few hours a day handing out swag or doing grunt work. However, many of these companies only hire people they know and trust. It only takes getting burned once for them to swear off hiring skeevy strangers off of Craigslist who get in and then disappear.
Professional Help – Of course, if you have pals in the “industry” or even the indie comics world, many of them would appreciate help watching their tables and selling the Next Big Thing when they’re off at a panel or sleeping in after that late night open bar “meet and greet”. Again, it helps to know people in these situations, because you know that every comic creator out there has fifty friends begging to make use of their allotted passes. The other option is to actually BE a professional. Are you artistic? Do you have a creative streak? Comic-Con is the place you want to show that off. Sure, it means sitting at a table for more hours than you’d care to, but you’re in the show, you could make some great contacts, and *gulp* even meet some of your fans!
Press/Media – The last option would be to write for a major (or minor) publication, whether print or online. A press pass doesn’t get you more perks than the average attendee, but it’s free and it can get you invited to some pretty cool parties and exclusive events. I don’t suggest doing this unless you’re serious about covering the event. Throwing up a crappy blog and faking a few poorly written Twitter posts won’t make the grade. And Comic-Con has become more selective in which homegrown blogs they’ll provide press access, as it has been the most abused option in past years.
One last thing I have to warn you about… scalpers. DO NOT TRUST PASSES THAT COME FROM ANY OTHER PLACE THAN COMIC-CON ITSELF! Some people will attempt to sell passes on Craigslist or eBay or any number of online sources. If they’re asking for hundreds if not thousands of dollars up front, please please please don’t trust them. You will be out lots of money and you will not get into Comic-Con 95% of the time.
Buyers aren’t the only ones who have to be careful. If you try to get rid of your extra passes without going through the approved process provided by Comic-Con (return to Comic-Con for a refund), you run the risk of losing access to Comic-Con forever! Yes, there are people who will likely have bought their tickets and at the last minute, a member of their family or group of friends are unable to make it to the show. They might even go online and innocently offer up their friend Susie Smith’s membership for just a few bucks over the original price (or even the same price or FREE!). They might even offer to meet you outside to make the exchange after they pick up the badge (by the way, they wouldn’t be able to pick up Susie’s badge unless she was actually there to get it with her ID). If they’re not legit, they’ll be handing you a fake badge for your money and you won’t get in. If they are legit, you will be walking around with Susie’s badge around your neck, even though your name is Bubba. And yes, there are a number of other ways you can probably snake the system among friends, but that’s a risk I do not recommend taking. See my post from last year that tells the story of a friend who WASN’T scalping and still got his access revoked, possibly for all time.
In the end, congratulations to those who did manage to snag one or more day’s access to Comic-Con and I’m deeply sorry for those who didn’t. While nothing else is like San Diego Comic-Con, I do suggest possibly checking out some of the other Comic-Con-type events held around the US and beyond (Chicago, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, Anaheim, and tons more!), including San Diego’s little sister, WonderCon, held yearly in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. Also run by Comic-Con International, I’m finding each year it gets bigger and bigger, with lots of surprises in store for 2011. It takes place April 1st through the 3rd. It’s nowhere near as insane (yet), but it’s always fun. Get your tickets, transportation, and rooms now, because you never know who might show up or what they might show us!
Comments: 1
You’re on the money with your advice, especially about buying from non-CCI sources. Two years ago I saw security take passes off of two people and put them out. They showed me how the passes were fake (very good fakes to the unknowing eye).