Con coverage this time of the year slows down a bit even though I still have a few more to attend (I’d honestly rather not ihnadat the site with post after post announcing each guest artist or cosplayer at local cons). I figured I’d write an article about one of my favorite things, San Diego Comic Con!
Yes, this site covers Arizona conventions but I’ve been attending San Diego Comic Con (sdcc going forward) since 2008. No, my math isn’t off, I elected not to go in 2010 since my wife was 8 months pregnant. Sdcc was my very first comic convention and it was so over whelming. You wonder why you see a lot of Twitter accounts dedicated to sdcc, it’s because some of them are truly needed. I went into the con knowing close to nothing about it other than the fact my wife wanted to see the Supernatural panel (back when it was held in a smaller room, not Hall H like it is today). Even then the con was intense, there was so much to see and do. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to experience it for the first time now, it’s grown to capacity at the convention center and now it’s literally taken over downtown San Diego.
I didn’t attend a convention besides sdcc until 2013 when I finally decided having a convention experience was something I wanted more than one weekend a year. I started hitting every convention in Arizona that I could but not one of them fills that euphoria that sdcc brings. It’s the perfect storm of everything in pop culture that I love: comic books, movies, and video games. The more I attended other conventions, the more I couldn’t wait for sdcc and not because those cons were bad, most are awesome but I compare it to seeing high school or college football teams play and then going to see the Super Bowl. It might not be your favorite teams playing but it’s a wild experience that you will always remember.
I’d like to take a minute to look back on my favorite moments of each sdcc:
2008
My first time I remember like it was yesterday. I slept through (on accident, I swear) a panel by author Jim Butcher in anticipation of the 24 panel with Kiefer Sutherland. That same year at the WB booth, someone tripped over my feet, turned out it was Dave Gibbons of The Watchmen fame.
2009
My first year I didn’t even know what Hall H was but after doing some research, my follow up visit to sdcc included a two hour wait for my first trip into the legendary hall where I saw panels for Zombieland, 2012, and Iron Man 2. I’m a Dragon Ball Z fan and I got to meet a few of the voice actors which was an awesome experience.
2011
My return after a one year hiatus. This year was a laid back year for me with the only panel I really wanted to get into was a Star Trek captains panel featuring William Shatner, Scott Bakula, and Avery Brooks which was moderated by Kevin Smith.
2012
My goal was to see Jackie Chan and I got into Hall H early to ensure that. However, what I missed out on was my wife and 1 year old son running into Sarah Silverman where she took a minute to hold my kiddo and play with him all the while my wife’s phone was dead. My wife also camped out for the Firefly reunion panel that year.
2013
I only attended one day in 2012 but I made it a meaningful one day. I got to meet Robert Kirkman and have him sign one of my Walking Dead graphic novels. I returned to Hall H once again in 2012 to see the farewell panel of Dexter where a lot of the past and present cast was in attendance.
2014
This was the first year I camped out for Hall H and it was all for one panel: Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. The coolest thing about that day was the sheer energy of the room which broke out into several chants before the start of the panel.
2015
Another laid back year for me but I still saw a lot. Got into Hall H twice over the weekend with out camping. I had met Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld so many times up to this point that he recognized me and referred to me as Legion which made me laugh.
This probably sounds like one big infomercial for sdcc but it’s an event I love and hope to keep attending. If you’ve attended, feel free to share your favorite moments in the comment section below!
Legion of Sand 
2012 was our first year, and it continues to be my favorite. Firefly reunion was so amazing, and we didn’t even have to camp out overnight for it. Then we met Nathan Fillion when we camped out for Hall H on Sat night. This was also back when you could arrive at midnight and still be on the grass section of the Hall H line. Not sure if anything will ever beat that year for me.
2009 was our first year. I remember we wanted to see the Burn Notice panel, so being naive we lined up an it 30 minutes prior to. Now this was in Ballroom 20 but we didn’t understand what that meant. We got in to the room for the last 25 or so minutes of the panel and then Bones was next and somehow we managed to get front row. I got to shake Emily Deschanel’s hand, it was awesome. I also met Neil Gaiman and that was easily the coolest thing ever. We lost our camera from that year and lost all of our pictures too, so my proof of meeting Neil and Emily is gone forever.
This year was my first ever Hall H experience and the only reason I got in was because of the ” Guest pass” my Dark Horse connection got me since Joss Whedon had his spotlight in there. I’ve never experienced the camping out, and I honestly don’t think I ever will!