Comic-Con 2009 Guide for Families

Fans of the popular arts come together every summer in San Diego to celebrate Comic-Con. This year, Comic-Con will be held at the San Diego Convention Center from July 24 to July 27, 2009.

People that come to the four-day Comic-Con convention are as varied as their countries, galaxies, backgrounds, creeds, interests, and ages. One particular group that interests us is the families that attend Comic-Con every year.

We wanted to know, among other things, does a family that goes to Comic-Con actually stick together? Is everyone in the family interested in animation, comic books, video games, and science fiction? This question and more were posed to a family in San Diego that was willing to share their animated interests and navigation strategies with us and with you.

The Family

The Dad - Bill is a 50-year old interested in artistic films of any genre.

The Mom - C.J. is a 45-year old interested in “Star Trek”, “Star Wars,” and science fiction-based television shows.

The Daughter - Rowan is a 17-year old interested in anime, manga, and film.

The Son - John is a 12-year old whose interests have progressed from trading cards games of Pokémon to Yu-gi-oh to Dungeons & Dragons and miniature war games.

When Did the Family Start Attending Comic-Con?

According to Rowan and John, part of the family first started going in 2004 and they went just for one day. Can you guess which part of the family did not attend? If you guessed C.J., you are correct. C.J. joined the “bandwagon” in 2007 to see what all the fuss was about. She has been interested in science fiction for years but, much like many people reading this, thought that Comic-Con was just about comic books.

Before Bill got married and had children, he had attended Comic-Con in the late 1970s and early 80s.  He recalled that in the early days of Comic-Con, it was a much smaller event with “far more comic-book collectors and real rabid fan boys (always boys) than the massive corporate extravaganza it has become.” However, Bill admits that he likes the Comic-Con experience more now because there is much more to do, much more to see, and much better swag.

Once the family got bitten by the Comic-Con bug, they all realized the value of attending and have been coming back year after year for all four days. According to Rowan, “our specific interests have changed and grown over the years, but since Comic Con has a little bit of everything we love, we will probably always keep coming back.”

What’s Your Family’s Strategy for a Successful Comic-Con Experience?

John said that the first thing his family does is to go to the main exhibit hall and search for all the new stuff (as Bill says, “the swag”) that is coming out. According to John, “we go to Preview Night and run for giveaways even though people say over the loud speaker for us not to run.” John adds that Preview Night is fun because the organizers show fan videos on giant monitors that are always funny.  He also likes the collectible characters and adds that Lego always has a great display of Star Wars characters or other big displays made of Lego bricks. These days, John’s favorite thing is the video game testing area.

Rowan and John agreed that the family usually stays together for awhile, then splits up and meets later. John really appreciates that his family tries to attend an event, lecture, screening, or display that each member of the family wants to do. Rowan adds that “we do have all sorts of different interests and goals, and want to go to different panels and booths. Also, many of our friends also attend, and we often split up and join them.” Rowan’s strategy for the family is to never have much of a schedule because “you never really know what is going to happen.”

C.J. admitted that she never knows where anyone is. She usually walks around and sees if there are any open rooms without a line “with boring stuff in them no one else wants to see.” C.J. believes that this no-line strategy at panels is a key to her ability to discover some interesting things such as the class she attended on how to draw comics.  C.J. spends a lot of time walking around the convention floor looking at people in costume and at any celebrities on the stages answering questions. For Comic-Con 2009, C.J. is going to “plan what I want to see and wait for it since there are people coming that will never be here again.”

According to Bill, the first part of the day is usually spent together taking in the new sites and getting a feel for the set-up. “The family likes the same kind of giveaways - the bags, books, and buttons - so it’s fun to find them together.” He and C.J. work together to take care of  their children although they anticipate that they will be doing less of it this year because of their children’s’ age.  By Saturday, the family is usually meeting up with other families and friends, “giving everyone a little more mobility - there’s safety in numbers at this crowded event. That gives the adults time to explore the more unusual offerings and the high-end art that abounds such as the “$10,000 art nouveau posters. ”

Let’s Talk Sustenance - How Do You Handle Meals?

Rowan told us that there are not that many good options for food at Comic-Con, so she recommends that families and individuals bring their own vittles, or to get food outside the convention center and return. She finds it impractical to be holding food while hauling around all those freebies. Rowan added that there are a few pretzel stands, and a cafe that sells pizza and hotdogs inside the convention center. The café’s location is appealing because it has a large window that allows you to still see  the action taking place during Comic-Con. Rowan said that “it’s a good place to play a sort of “Where’s Waldo” game while you catch your breath.”

Bill believes that the key to nutritional success for him and the family is to schedule a mid-day break outside the convention center. Both Bill and Rowan mentioned that they last year they took their break at Ralph’s (on First Avenue and G), just a couple of blocks north of the convention center. They grabbed some deli and fried chicken, selected their favorite drinks and fruit, and sat on the stoop outside. They were too tired and hungry to care about where they ate their Ralph’s meal. Rowan added that although Ralph’s was a faster option than eating at a sit-down restaurant, it had one main draw-back - no place to sit down! Bill added that the family has also made a tradition of catching up with their cousins, who are also in their teens, on Saturday night for a real sit-down dinner at one of the restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter.

John’s secret to keeping his endurance up is to “Bring food and eat snacks every hour. If you run out of food, buy pretzels.” Spoken like a true 12-year old boy!

C.J. has a secret place that she likes to go when she attends Comic-Con.  Her friend, J.J., runs a little grill café right behind the convention center. J.J.’s café has a great location looking over the waterfront. Better yet, J.J. serves beer and wine and at night. C.J. likes that at night, you can hear the San Diego Symphony from his place. She appreciates the opportunity to catch her breath and as she says, “to de-stress.”

Do You Have Any Final Words of Advice for Families?

Rowan took on the challenge of answering the age-old question: to dress up or not? Rowan responded that she had dressed up last year for the first time which caused her undue stress. She also made the mistake of wearing something that was incredibly hot in the middle of July. However, she admitted that “it is a lot of fun to be in a sort of character, not to mention how flattering it is when people ask to take your picture. It’s like an instant conversation starter too, so you make a lot of friends.” This year, Rowan plans to dress with comfort in mind but does not put the idea of dressing up out of contention for future Comic-Cons.

We wondered how the family keeps together with all the crowds of people around them. C.J. recalled that when John was ten years old, he walked into a crowd of people to get a free giveaway of Lego mini-figures of Super Heroes because he knew that his Mom wanted the Wonder Woman set. Young John disappeared into the crowd and both Bill and C.J. started jumping up and down trying to find him. C.J. acknowledged that it was very scary for a few moments just thinking that her child might be trampled by the crowd all for a mini-figure. This year, C.J. feels more confident with John’s ability to maneuver crowds since he has been trained in karate and a lot taller. C.J. is so confident that she thinks she would send him in for another great giveaway.

However, it might be C.J. who has to dive into the crowd after all since John stated that the one thing he would not do again would be to volunteer to go into a crowd of mobbing fans for anything!

Bill had some final words of advice for families that are considering going to Comic-Con 2009 for the first time in San Diego.  In the mid-afternoon, try to avoid the huge crowds of teenagers that wait in line for the “Hall H madness.” He theorizes that his family’s plan of attack and predictable endurance levels dictate their schedules. Both he and Rowan emphasized that cell phones for each member of the family are a must! Water is also a necessity for obvious reasons. This year, and for the first time, the family will be bringing a sling-mounted art tube for the posters to help preserve them from the “sweaty hand prints.”

Editor’s Note: We truly appreciate the level of cooperation we received from Bill, C.J, Rowan, and John. We are thrilled that each member of the family contributed to this guide to help other families understand just what is involved when a family goes through the Comic-Con experience.

Alexandra Hart is the co-editor of the Visitors Guide for SDNN and the co-owner of San Diego Travel Tips.com, a local’s guide to San Diego. Email Alexandra at: sdtips (at) sandiegotraveltips.com

Tags: Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2009, comic-con international, Comic-Con San Diego, San Diego Comic-Con, SDNN

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