Comments on: SD11: Preview Night 2011 already sold out

By: A Navy Montel

A Navy Montel — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:28:23 +0000

roypar

You are my new hero!!! Bravo to you, my friend, for placing and emphasizing that the ‘Con will continue to have balance. Everything has to evolve, and if the ‘Con didnt have the appeal it has, it wouldnt have evolved either. This institution will continue to grow and prosper as long as they maintain that balance of comics and media that have made it the mecca of pop culture. If veteran attendees, men and women who have been going to the ‘Con for over 10 years plus not only dont have a problem with the changes but praising them, then why should those of us who have only attended a handful of ‘Cons have a problem.

I, personally, love the ambience that you experience at the Con. Nothing can describe the feeling once you enter the Sail Pavilion to get your pass and head towards the exit taking you near Ballroom 6..I love it…

As for the Preview Night passes, though they have sold out the ones they had at the Con, I dont believe they have sold out completely. Remember, CCI staff are comic fans as well, so they arent going to just make preview night sales available ONLY to those in attendance. Many folks have had difficulties that prevented them from attending. That would be penalizing and ostracizing them as fellow fans. I dont think Preview Night is SOLD OUT. The sales have only just begun, so keep your eyes open and credit cards ready. I will be at the Con next year and I hope to see all of you there…

Oh and by the way…The Con will not be moving, understand that and digest it. When tradition is successful, dont change the formula.

L.A., Anaheim and Vegas: sorry guys, you already have your claims to fame and are WAY TOO DISTRACTING…Let us have our Con and enjoy your already thriving economy….

By: Zemba

Zemba — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:31:28 +0000

Roypar,

Well said.

By: ed

ed — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:55:23 +0000

roypar—

AMEN. Preach it, brother!

Spotlight panels, Mark Evanier’s programming track, those Comic Arts Conference presentations are always there to give me nutritional ‘Comics’ sustenance— even if I indulge in the junk food of the Hall H and
Ballroom 20 Film/TV programs…

Those SDCC grapes can sure be sweet for those of us who choose to go to the Con, eh?

By: roypar

roypar — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:47:39 +0000

For all of those complaining that the Con has lost all of it’s focus on comics, guess what, the panels are still there. SDCC has over 400 panels during the course of the convention, more than double any other con. AND you know what, nearly all of them are comic book related. Stay on the right side of the Convention center and you’ll still see that the old Con is still there utilizing the same floor space that it had 15 years ago. I’ve been going for 20 years and those old vendors and the same Comic Con feel is still there on the right side of the Hall. And you know what it’s very manageable to walk around. No one’s forcing people to go to the studio and video game side. It’s annoying looking at all of these panel reports from movie and tv web sites and seeing these comments like, “what about the comic books?” They’re movie and tv web sites. Of course that’s what they’re going to be talking about. If you want comic book news go to the sites covering comic books.

Pheww, and now that I’ve got that off my chest. I actually have a blast waiting in line. Mainly because you can converse and talk to interesting people who have a passion for the same thing you have. And now that attendees really are coming from all over the world, it’s great to hear about their perception of Comic Con. A group of kids from Manchester, England told me that the Con has become sort of a Mecca for a lot of kids there. There are tons of them who are trying to save money so they could experience it for the first time. There’s nowhere else in this world where this kind of melting pot of Pop culture exists. THAT’S why I’VE embraced what Comic Con has become. It’s unique, and that’s why it’s become popular. And it all started from a love of comic books. Everything in this world has to evolve in some fashion, if it doesn’t it ends up like record stores, Discotheques, and Mervyns.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:29:12 +0000

What is Preview night for anymore? Swag. People are lining up to get tickets so they can be the first to get free or exclusive stuff. No wonder they were sold out so early.

By: Dave Hackett

Dave Hackett — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:42:02 +0000

I’d disagree with @Blackeye that it’s not fun anymore, I had a blast (though it was my first Con). I thought the mix was just about right. Granted, I used the rush of others to get free swag on preview night as a time to get signatures and sketches from the creators I like, but other than sacrificing a few panels, I got to do and see everything I wanted and more, both on the comics side and the “other stuff” side.

By: ed

ed — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:44:14 +0000

Gotta admit, I was myself surprised at this developement… WOW. Didn’t know that the Max. Capacity of the Exhibit Floor without all the attendee-siphoning Hall H and upstairs Rooms to be 15K; seems such a small number given the crowds I saw for Weds this year.

And put me down for Feb 11th for The Beat’s
next “When will SDCC ‘11 Sell Out of ALL its passes?” contest.

By: Blackeye

Blackeye — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:44:15 +0000

The demographic is definitely changing at Comic-con. An example is, the panels that “Archie” attended. How many of those really relate to comics? (as in Comic-con)
I know there has been a shift for years, but this year I feel like it really hit home. I know a lot of professionals and retailers were talking about not returning, and instead attending smaller more comic specific conventions (Wondercon!) This convention will eventually collapse under it’s own bloated weight. Hotels are way overpriced, restaurants are way too full, and the convention center is way too crowded. It just ain’t fun anymore…sigh!!!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:07:00 +0000

I, too, was so surprised and bummed out about the preview night sitch. I just figured it’s a somewhat stupid move to sell ALL of the preview night tix only at the show. Pretty sad that this will set a pattern for future years that only those people already at the show will be able to get preview night tix. Would have been better to offer half or something on pre-sale at convention center, then the rest to first come business online…..satisfies exclusivity at show and fair to competing online sales. Just my two cents as a hopeful attendee for ‘11.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:37:30 +0000

I’ll just hope my friend and I can get those 4 day regular passes come August when they go on sale.

Preview Night in the end is not an essential thing, but we’ll see what the SDCC people decide to do next.

By: Mark Bourne

Mark Bourne — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:59:48 +0000

They should just make Wednesday a regular con day and Tuesday preview night! That would solve alot of issues! Right??

By: mpneeb

mpneeb — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:40:57 +0000

Not really surprising considering…

THE PRICE FOR A REGULAR 4-DAY PASS is the same AS THE PRICE FOR A PASS WITH PREVIEW NIGHT.

Until Preview night passes cost more, they will sell out.

By: Jimmie Robinson

Jimmie Robinson — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:33:42 +0000

Amazing. I’ll be there next year (though I’ll be on the other side of the table).

By: Jarod

Jarod — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:01:19 +0000

What?! That’s crazy. They are probably saving a bunch for the online website registration. (At least I hope that’s what they’re doing.)

I was going to buy my ticket for next year as soon as they went on sale, but if there’s no preview night I might change my mind.

By: 4WI

4WI — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:58:01 +0000

@Archie: Correct me if i am wrong, but doesn’t much of that list include a lot of Ballroom 20 camping? (To which I find nothing wrong with) If you have several interested panels that all fall in the same room, it’s a beautiful situation.

My own personal experience though falls closer to Kevin’s description. I can highlight a punch of panels throughout the day; but floor activity and the que time for any one of those panels then has to be taken into consideration.

It’s like playing chess, dominoes, and tetris all at the same time. Through all the aggravation though, I love it.

WIth the additional annexes added on this year, it felt like some of the crowding tension had been eased. This early sell out does not bring me hope that Con will stay in SD come contract renewal.

That said, I also have faith that we’ll see more +Preview passes added a little further down the road as we start the march towards ‘11