Play Santa with ECCC holiday certificates

2 DECEMBER 2017




Emerald City Comicon is once again celebrating the season of giving with pretty gift certificates to its Con. One is more nature-themed and one more Seattle-themed; you can see them here. Obviously the one with the dragon and Sasquatch is my favorite. (Have we ever had an ECCC t-shirt of Sasquatch attending the Con? We need one.)

You will note that "ticket type" is left blank for you to write in. These aren't tickets themselves, just a colorful way to notify someone else you bought them a nice nerdy present. And if you didn't already buy a 4-day ticket or all 4 single days, well, you can still get Thursday, Friday and Sunday - but Saturday is sold out.

I'm kind of hoping CCI will do something similar with San Diego Comic-Con, since this is the first year in forever that you could surprise your first-timer child, best friend or beau with a badge on Christmas morning. (Sparing them the trauma of the badge sale: an additional gift.) In the meantime, we've got these pretty certificates. If they don't motivate you to buy some ECCC badges and give your favorite nerd an amazing holiday gift, I don't know what will.

Badges are shipping out way sooner than we thought

30 MAY 2017

                                                            Last year's King Spam envelope

It's happening: after saying badges would ship out 3-4 weeks before SDCC, we're finding out that our badges are already in the mail! CCI, you wily minx, you are so unpredictable. First you make us wait what felt like 8 years for the badge sale; now you're catching us off guard with this early badge mailing.

This is good news for several reasons. One: it gives people more time to rectify any problems like "Oh crap, I moved and forgot to update my shipping address." You'll have time to have your mail forwarded to you. Ditto if you weren't sure where you were going to reside this summer and listed a more stable residence as an address. And in what is probably my favorite CCI email address ever, you can contact undeliveredbadge@comic-con.org if you don't have your badge within 10 days of your email.


Another benefit: it jolts us all out of our holiday weekend "I don't have to think about Comic-Con yet" daze and makes us realize it's almost here. It's time to get the wheels moving.

A few words of advice:

• Last year our badges came in the most spam-like envelopes ever. (See above.) It was an envelope that practically screamed "Sketchy house buy offer" or "Fake charity solicitation." I don't think we'll get the exact same envelope this year but we do know it will be "a plain, non-descript package for confidentiality." So you won't have to worry about your postmistress starting a side hustle of stolen SDCC badges... but you will need to be careful you don't chuck it in the trash. 

• That said, this year's badge is coming in a pretty box with a special Comic-Con pin. So I don't think it will be easy to overlook as last year. (The badge theme is still Walking Dead, starring a grizzled Rick Grimes.) There's some question as to whether everyone gets the pin; I certainly hope so. It feels rotten enough to not get a full badge. Being deprived of a pin would just feel too classist.

• Don't post pictures of your badge with your name showing. Devious criminals stole some badge photos last year, used them on Ebay and other online sites, and those innocent badge-holders got in trouble. Obviously you want to brag hard about your badge on Instagram, but block out your name first.

• Find an expert hiding spot for your badge, especially if you have any parties or houseguests planned. True story: my friend's friend stole his badge as a joke last summer, intending to give it right back after watching him have an epic meltdown - but then he forgot where he hid it. They did find it in time for Comic-Con but barely.  Make sure your dog can't chomp on it, your most vengeful sibling can't kidnap it, etc.

Badges will be mailed in batches, so don't worry if you didn't get an email yet. Just be alert and watch your inbox and your mailbox. 

Your December agenda for ECCC

4 DECEMBER 2016

Right now, you're probably enjoying the lack of Comic-Con angst in your life. We still have at least a month of reprieve from SDCC badge sale stress, and any financial maneuverings on your mind probably relate more to holiday spending and tax deductions than Con costs. And between Christmas parties, family visits and end-of-the-year work stress, Comic-Con can seem as distant as another planet.

But there are a few things to be aware of now if you're headed to Emerald City in March. The first: it's not that far away. Less than 3 months - 87 days, to be precise. So if you haven't yet dealt with hotel rooms, airfare, cosplay manufacturing and such, now's the time to do it.

Now is also the time to move in a few other areas, such as:

• Buying single day tickets for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Saturday's gone and not coming back, but 3 days is still a good deal. You can see the comic guests and entertainment guests so far if that sways you. Friday will sell out at some point - all of it will - so don't be lazy about this.

• Apply to host a panel. The deadline is 8 December, so apply this week if you have special knowledge, fan passion or something else to share with the masses.

•  Buy an ECCC holiday certificate to give your favorite nerd. Is there a better stocking stuffer/tree envelope than that?

• Save your $$$. Depending on your Con plans for 2017, the first few months could put serious demands on your wallet between present Cons and badges and hotel room deposits for future Cons. Start saving now, and if any relatives are still asking your mom what to get you for the holidays, be very clear that you need Visa gift cards. They spend so nicely at exhibitor booths and restaurants.

2 March will be here before you know it - even if we're currently besieged with the same 8 Christmas songs on every radio station and mall sound system. Be ready.

Are you giving the gift of Emerald City?

11 DECEMBER 2015

ECCC tickets haven't mailed out yet but you can still have something to wrap up if you're giving one as a gift this holiday season. Just download one of the Emerald City Comicon gift certificates and you can thrill and amaze your favorite nerd.

Do you want to turn your ECCC pass into a Christmas gift?

16 DECEMBER 2014

I find this very endearing: if you bought an ECCC pass as a Christmas gift, you can create a special gift certificate to give to the lucky recipient. There are 3 different designs and you can download them from the ECCC website.

Also, consider this your final reminder: if you can't go to Emerald City after all, and need to request a refund, 31 December is your deadline. And let's be honest, you won't remember to do it once you're visiting your parents and going to your hometown bar with old friends at night and playing with your new tech toys - so it's probably best to request that refund now. You can do that by emailing support@showclix.com, or calling 1-888-718-4253.