Okay: The first thing you need to do is to decide what you want out of Comic-Con. It can be as simple as "I just want to see what it's like" or as (possibly) life-changing as "I want to get into comics." Both these things happen at Comic-Con, though the latter doesn't seem to occur anywhere near as often as the career-seekers wish. I've heard from a number of folks who have a very negative view of Comic-Con because they didn't find the job of their dreams there.
Once upon a time, that was a bit more likely than it is today. Major publishers like DC and Marvel once had active portfolio evaluations, making reps available to look at samples — mainly artwork — from potential talent. That doesn't happen much now. That's not the way they find new writers and artists these days…and DC and Marvel now use most of their convention presence to promote movies and TV shows. Presently, I think you can have a perfectly rotten experience at Comic-Con if you focus on getting work.
Then again, if you self-publish and hawk your own wares, I think you can have a perfectly wonderful experience doing that at Comic-Con. Just how wonderful will, of course, depend on how good and commercial your wares are. There's a lot of competition in that room.
Get in touch with what you want. And I think that line which I just went back and italicized for emphasis, is great advice not just for Comic-Con but for life. You don't have to set one goal forever but you need to have some direction for your personal compass. Over the years, I think I've benefited from asking myself the musical question, "What do I want?" And once I have some semblance of an answer, I follow it up with the question, "Do I really want that for myself? Or do I think I want it because I see others wanting it?" If you can answer those questions honestly, it helps. It truly helps.
Are their certain celebrities or creators who'll be there who you want to meet? That's not a bad reason to want to go to Comic-Con. Neither is to seek certain items you want for your collection. Excellent reason. Would you find it exciting to see previews of forthcoming movies or TV shows and to hear their stars and makers talk about the work? That's a fine reason, though maybe not so much for this past convention. How about the sheer entertainment of certain programs? Or to get a drawing from a favorite artist?
Or to learn from experts about some area that interests you? Study the schedule of panels and presentations. You can have a great time going from room to room, listening to panelists and authorities.
Or maybe you just want to see the cosplayers and maybe photograph them. Or maybe you're really into gaming and want to see what's new and grab up whatever freebees the companies are offering in their booths.
I have friends in or around my age bracket who go mainly for social reasons — to see friends they only see at conventions and to drink with them. I've heard them evaluate different conventions mainly for the bar scenes — which hotels had the best places to gather and imbibe. As a non-drinker, this is of zero interest to me but it might be the best reason for you to attend Comic-Con or any convention.
I could go on and on about this but the point is that you need to have some sense of why you want to be there, above and beyond the fact that lots of other people want to be there. And once you know, you can begin planning your convention around that goal. Remember how in Part 1, I told about how a friend of mine and I went to Disneyland with no real concept of what we wanted to experience there or where to find it? Don't make that boneheaded mistake with Comic-Con.
This, of course, comes after you arrange to be there.
If you've read this far thinking I'm going to reveal the secret of how to always get as many badges as you want, I'm sorry. I may have dragged you this far under false pretenses…but you should know that the San Diego Convention Center can only accommodate X number of people and the number who want to get in is more like 10X or 20X or maybe even higher. There are methods that involve being in tight with exhibitors or being program participants but I'm not the one to explain them. It may just be one of those Facts of Life you just have to accept the way you finally figured out there was no guaranteed way to win the California Mega Millions State Lottery.
There's also no way I was ever going to fit this topic into two installments on this blog so it's no longer a two-part series. Check back here in the next few days for Part 3 and the way I'm going, that may not ever be the end of it. We'll start by discussing things like travel and lodging.