Don’t believe what the amateurs tell you: Comic-Con doesn’t come easy.
You’ve got to work it, you’ve got to plan for it, and train for it. The secret to having a really great Comic-Con is endurance, a blueprint, and the right gear.
(Read also: Comic-Con in Moderation: Advice for Panelists; and What's New Under the Comic-Con Sun?)
A few tips on building a better Comic-Con experience from TheWrap:
PICK YOUR BATTLES -- With four days of back-to-back blockbusters, superstars, zeitgeist franchises, parties, Nicholas Cage’s hair, swag, panels, fanboys fawning over G4’s Olivia Munn and well, Olivia Munn -- no one person can do everything at Comic-Con. As Munn herself, who will be there in her “Attack of the Show” co-host capacity, said in the Wall Street Journal, the number one mistake I see made is people look at Comic-Con like it’s shooting fish in a barrel.” It isn’t, not for the studios and not for the fans. “You will always leave Comic-Con wishing you'd done more, and you will feel like you're ‘missing things’ the entire time you're there,” says Drew McWeeny, Film Editor at HitFix.com. “Let it go. See what you see. Do what you do. And don't stress.” Amen.
POWER & ACCESS – Whether you’re reporting for TheWrap, posting for the New York Times, or tugging on some superhero’s cape for your own CapedCrusadering.com site, the one thing everybody needs at Comic-Con is power and access – neither of which comes easy. With limited outlets and free (but inconsistent) wireless in the San Diego Convention Center, the committed journalist and blogger must have two things – a power strip and a wireless stick. The former will allow you to recharge your laptop and phone without having to wait for the guy who got there before you unplugging from the wall. The latter will cut through the clutter of too many microwaves and get your “Cowboys & Aliens” panel post up before anyone else’s. Also, be careful where you sit. That producer sitting next to you in Hall H may seem very affable, but as I almost learned the hard way last year, that bicarbonate beverage in his hand could end up getting spilled all over your keyboard (and that just bites on so many levels).
PLAN AHEAD -- You know that you won’t see everything but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll get into anything. The big blockbuster panels are harder to crash than a White House State dinner. The parties are mainly invite only. The booths are unmanageable and seemingly never ending. So make a plan. Be strategic and surgical about who and what you want to see and remember that if you don’t get into “Tron: Legacy” now, it’ll be in theaters soon.
BE COOL –What do you do when Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter of “Resident Evil: Afterlife” walk by? Start snapping pics with your phone and getting in their face? Um, no.
