While standing in line for three hours, waiting to get into the exhibit hall at San Diego Comic-Con for Preview Night, I had plenty of time to contemplate the reasons why pop culture fans from around the world make this annual trek to sunny Southern California, just to get out of the sun and surround themselves with tens of thousands of like-minded people, like cattle at a trough full of yummy, nerdy oats.
SDCC is the premiere pop culture event on the planet (yeah, I know Japan has an anime convention of some sort that is allegedly bigger, but San Diego has a ton of anime vendors and programming too, plus so much more), and even though it has grown so big and so popular, that it is nearly impossible to obtain a pass, hotel and parking, there is still something about this show that makes it special – despite the headaches.
Maybe it’s the history and longevity of the event, or maybe it’s that despite your special niche of pop culture proclivity, SDCC likely has you covered, or perhaps it’s the pure surreal spectacle of seeing a teenager in a “Coulson Lives” tee talking it up with a forty-year old guy in a Superman shirt, while young kids marvel at a guy in a Captain America Costume next to a young woman in a Doctor Who dress excitedly marking up her programming schedule, planning out the week to come.
I dare say you haven’t lived until you’ve survived for days on nothing but Ms. Fields’ cookies and Coca-Cola, until you’ve camped all night in a Hall-H line, just to see a movie preview that will be probably online the next day, until you’ve braved a crowd of thousands just to obtain that exclusive free Game of Thrones poster.
about his artist’s edition of “The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck.”
The non-nerd ilk scoff at the craziness of this convention, but that’s fine, go enjoy your cars going in circles and your gun shows (try not to hurt anyone please), meanwhile the geeks will be here living in peace and harmony, waiting in line to inherit the Earth (or multi-verse, as it were.)
Enjoy our photo coverage of the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con Preview Night, and follow us through Sunday (7/12/15) for more coverage from SDCC. We’re also tweeting “live” from the event @Nerdvana.
SDCC Gallery: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 (click an image to see the large version):
