Be ready for changes in NYCC ticket sale

17 MAY 2016



Are you planning on going to New York Comic Con this fall? It's a great Con on its own, and especially so if you missed out on getting an SDCC badge. (Also recommended: DragonCon.) But much like San Diego, the NYCC ticket sale has gotten very competitive - and this year it's changing quite a bit.

You won't just jump into the fray and hope your place in line is good enough. This year you'll need to create a profile called Fan Verification. If you think this sounds a lot like CCI's Member ID system, you're not wrong. Here are the rules.

• You'll need to complete your profile between this Friday, 20 May at noon EST/9 am PST and Monday, 13 June at 11:59 pm EST. This is mandatory for anyone 13 and up who wants to attend NYCC - even if someone else is buying their badge for them. But creating a profile doesn't mean you'll automatically get a badge.

• You will, however, be notified by email 48 hours before the ticket sale. Which will be first come, first serve like usual.

• That online sale is your only opportunity to get a NYCC ticket - no more special retailer or event sales. I know that's going to aggravate some of you.

• Also gone: VIP tickets.

So there you have it. None of this sounds particularly onerous, and it could lead to a smoother ticket sale. No doubt some prospective attendees will miss the boat entirely - there are always a few who remain oblivious to changes - and be furious when they realize they're not going to NYCC (without resorting to StubHub, that is.) But overall it's worth remembering that while last year's NYCC sale was choppy, most people did come away with decent badges. So don't view this new Fan Verification step as an ominous sign; if you stay alert and follow the process, you'll probably count yourself among NYCC attendees this year.


ETA: If this changes anything for you, NYCC 2016 is being billed as Stan Lee's "final NYCC appearance." 

Reminder: update your Member ID address now

31 OCTOBER 2015




Happy Halloween, Samhain and Dia De Los Muertos. We all know the scariest thing lurking in our near futures is the possibility of not getting an SDCC badge in Pre-registration. And in case you missed it, just to toy with our emotions and make us dream even harder of next summer, CCI has announced our badges might possibly arrive in the mail.

Maybe. Can you imagine? It'll add another layer of anxiety to the entire San Diego Comic-Con experience - you'll stalk your mailbox, develop a paranoia about mail theft crime rings, accuse your housemates of accidentally throwing out an envelope with your name on it - but finally it will arrive. You'll attach your badge to your favorite lanyard and wear it around the house. You'll take a picture of it and smugly post it all over social, then get nervous about inviting a home invasion. You'll store it somewhere safe, then keep checking to make sure it's still there.

Finally you'll arrive at Comic-Con and stroll inside the convention center, having eliminated the Town & Country and one more line from your SDCC experience.

Maybe that'll happen, maybe it won't - but to facilitate this process, CCI is urging you to update your mailing address now in your Member ID account. They want you to do this before Pre-reg, which might be as soon as a week from today, so do it now. Logically there should be a way to update your address post-badge obtainment, because in real life people move, but I'd still do it now just to be safe.

Obviously this invites many questions on fraud, security and badge registration - but we can speculate on that later. For now, let's share a hallelujah with Charles Darwin and welcome this (possible) new future of evolution and convenience.

SDCC badges MIGHT arrive in the mail

27 OCTOBER 2015




Today is truly a historic day in the annals of San Diego Comic-Con. CCI is entertaining a radical departure from tradition: "We are currently researching the option of mailing out Comic-Con and WonderCon badges prior to the event." 

Yes, please! If you're new to the world of Comic Cons, this is rather huge - even though CCI has radically improved the badge pick-up process and times (which used to be ungodly), it's still a pain in the ass and has been one reason Preview Night is so popular. (Picking up your badge for PN is a breeze.) Obtaining our badges ahead of time would be highly convenient.

Anyhow, enough exulting. The real takeaway: you need to update your mailing address now in your Member ID account. The system is going to close before Pre-reg (I'm guessing 7 November by the timing of this message, maybe 14 November but probably the former) according to CCI so get in there. But of course you'll be able to update your address later, I'm sure; CCI must be aware that some attendees will change residences over the next 9 months.

Change! Revolution! These are exciting times for San Diego Comic-Con attendees.

Book a Fan Meeting Room now

17 JUNE 2015




How exciting - Comic-Con has grown. Not in numbers (god forbid) but in the venues and opportunities open to fans. And one of the changes helps attendees create the Con they want to be at - the introduction of Fan Meeting Rooms.

These are over at the Hyatt and you can schedule a session in one of them by emailing programs@comic-con.org. Include your first, second and third options for time and date and they'll send you an email confirmation if you get in. These could obviously be great for setting up a fan meetup or some other kind of mingle, especially if you don't see your particularly fandom represented yet in or out of the convention center. So don't wait - these will probably book up fast.

A few other changes:

• Marriott Marquis did away with some of our old stomping grounds, so a lot of external resources are at the Hyatt now. That includes the Hospitality Suite, the International Film Festival, most gaming tournaments, one of the main film tracks, and....

• The Fulfillment Room, now called Programming Premiums. First-timers, this is where you'll go to pick up the free t-shirts and other swag certain panels will bestow on you. These range from cheap trinkets to really generous merchandise packs.

• The San Diego Central Library will have 2 programming tracks - one devoted to education and literacy and one devoted to podcasts and web series.

It can't be denied that SDCC is starting to look like the alternative suggested when the expansion financing got shot down - an event that sprawls over multiple city blocks and venues. It might not be as convenient as having all programming on site, but it shouldn't be too much of a hardship either. Just be ready - as always - to do a lot of walking.