So who's all going to be at the San Diego Comic Con?

General discussion about Usagi Yojimbo, the comics, the stories, the characters, collectibles, TV appearances, Stan Sakai, Space Usagi, Nilson & Hermy, and all other related topics.

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Todd Shogun
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Post by Todd Shogun »

Yo Kim! Glad to see you finally made it to the DojoBoard! (Where ya been???) I'll put your vote in for a UY Dojo gathering at night. If we get enough takers, it'll be a go. Stay tuned.....

Todd
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RobbieOhio
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San Diego

Post by RobbieOhio »

I'll be flying out from Ohio to my first San Diego con. Actually, my wife and I will be visiting her son and his family out there, and we're tying the con weekend into that. Stan has been to MidOhioCon and Motor City con for several visits, so it's my turn to go out west. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the other members of the Dojo that weekend, too. And, meeting Stan is always a special treat for me.

See you all in a couple of weeks. If anyone has any tips for a first time SDCC-goer, please feel free to send them along.

Robbie Lewis - Canton, Ohio
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Robbie, Canton OH
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Leonardo-san
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Post by Leonardo-san »

hi!

I've been to 8 of the last 10 San D Cons, and a whole bunch of other cons.
First: comfortable shoes! They say this will be the biggest ever SDC, at 400,000 square feet.
Second: a book bag or backpack. Keep an eye on your goodies and wallet of course. Most ppl are cool, but there's always a few scum buckets. IF you plan on buying posters for sure, it wouldn't hurt to bring a poster tube with you. They sell them there, but it's certainly cheaper to bring your own. You can have it as carry-on on planes.
Next: MONEY. Have some cash on hand so you don't need to always hit the bank machines. The lines get really long at those machines in the Con itself. Try to find the ones in the surrounding area, like near your hotel, or whatever. Also, be prepared for expensive food in the Con, and they don't want you bringing your own in. However, there are lots of great restaurants not too far away, and a Ralph's grocery store they added to shuttle bus routes, quite smartly I must say! :D Make sure you have a water bottle with you, cause it can get thirsty. Smuggling in a few snacks for those super long panel days like Saturday doesn't hurt.
Panels: if you are going to the Sat. movie panels or panels expecting a big attendance, it doesn't hurt to attend the panel before the one you want to be sure to get seats. Especially for Saturday's movie panels. At least they got those into rooms that hold more people now, but be ready for Saturday. It's a MADhouse.
Shopping: If you registered early for Preview night, GO. Do most of your shopping on Preview night and Thursday, for the least crowds. Then finish up on Sunday if you don't have to fly out too early. Saturday is the worst day to shop.
Places to avoid: don't head from the Con center toward the Coronado Bridge. That's getting into the Barrio, baaaad news. If you follow the main crowds and maps into the Gaslight District. That's fine. Use the shuttle buses at night as best you can. Don't be out alone at night. San D is not a bad city, buuut....

Anyway, any other questions, just ask!
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RobbieOhio
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Thanks, Leonardo-san...

Post by RobbieOhio »

... for the tips on San Diego! I'm glad there are people out there to hand out advise on attending this big convention. Most of my cons are usually MidOhioCon, Motor City Comic Con, and the Pittsburgh Comicon, though I love SPX the one time I went, but I didn't much care for Wizard World Chicago the one year my wife and I drove over. I like the smaller conventions, so it makes me wonder why I want to go to SDCC... well, everyone has to go to San Diego at least once... and this is the right time to do it. My wife's son and his family live in El Cajon, so it's saving a bundle on hotel rooms.

One question, though. What's at the Gaslight District?? Shopping, restaurants, and all that, I assume. Is the Hard Rock Cafe over there?

Thanks for your help! Hope to meet you and the others at Stan's table in a couple of more weekends!

Robbie
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Robbie, Canton OH
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Tounian
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Post by Tounian »

The Gaslamp area is basically the nightlife scene. It's basically all restaurants and bars, with the Penthouse store thrown in for good measure. All the restaurants are EXTREMELY overpriced, I would say avoid them like the plague. And it isnt the kind of good expensive, its just average food, and average drinks, for way too much money. I'f you're going to be in El Cajon, theres plenty of good places to eat at there. There's a really good jewish deli place there, and an amazing italian place. I'm sorry I can't remember the names offhand, doesn't do you much good without them. I'll ask my girlfriend, and repost em. But I'd say if you want the best food around, go to Claim Jumper. It just cant be beat.
Also, if anyone is planning on making an extended stay, there is a comic store here I suggest you all visit, called Southern California Comics. It's the largest comic store I've ever seen. They have six copies of X-men #1, if that tells you anything. The coolest part about it though, is that they have 2 rooms. One is all the golden, silver and bronze age stuff thats expensive. The OTHER room, has about 600,000 comics, maybe more, all for a dollar apiece. And it isnt just crap either, theres good stuff in there for a buck. Tons of old Batman, Groo, TMNT, everything except Usagi (cause I've already pilfered everything). If you need older back issues, this is the place to go. I'll post directions if anyone's interested, cause its a real pain in the butt to get to, but its worth it.
Well, I hope all my blabbering has done you some good. Take Care.
Mike
"Aragorn... Don't tell the elf about this"

"We really shook the pillars of heaven, didn't we Wang?"

"No Horse sh%t Jack?"

"No Horse sh%t Wang."
john h.
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Post by john h. »

Tip #1: If you have a general admission ticket, the line up for entrance usually starts at around 3 hours before opening. If you don't want to get there early, try to get there about 1 hour after opening (the
length of time it takes to get everyone in).

Tip #2: If you drive to the con,
you'll have to get there before 8 am to get parking under the con. There
isn't too much parking available around the con.

Tip #3: Read your daily convention update flyer and program book.
Write down what panels/artists you want to see.

Tip #4: When price shopping for items, always write down the booth
number and price of the items you're looking for.

Tip #5: For anything free, you'll have to line-up 1 to 2 hours early.

San Diego is about 4x the size of Chicago. Saturday is the WORST day,
crowdwise.

Enjoy the con,

John H.
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dangelo
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LORD TAKEYAMA and TERRA MAJOR at SDCC

Post by dangelo »

We will be with Khepri Comics / Khepri.com: Booth #5426

Brian adds:

A point of clarification - there is no 5400 row. If I spread out the 34" of
map it takes to show me this year's EXPANDED AGAIN floor, it starts with
aisle 100 on the far right, by the Art Show, and ends with aisle 5200 on the
far left, by the Artist Alley Pavilion. So where's 5300 and 5400? Trust me,
it took me a few minutes to let the rage subside and look carefully. Booths
along the front wall are numbered in the 5300 series. Booths along the back
wall are the 5400 series.

So, Khepri is booth #5426, along the back wall in Hall B. Find the 1000
aisle and take it to the back wall of the convention center - we're between
the Bayside Lobby/Stairs and Concession B. Behind us are restrooms; and the
Small Press Pavilion is nearby, in the 1200 aisle. Look for the Khepri logo
banner!
Bruno D'Angelo
www.terramajor.com

And now, for something completely diferent:
www.yellojello.com.br
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Todd Shogun
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Post by Todd Shogun »

Okay, Dojo members! The UYD's SDCC event will most likely take place Saturday. I'm going to leave the actual time open for now to accomodate the panel schedules... last year I scheduled the meeting around the same time as the Lord of the Rings panel... big mistake! So this time rather than announcing a time, I will take a look at the program on Thursday and get the info to Stan. He'll make a sign and post the time of the UYD event there, on his table.... so check Stan's booth to find out what time the UYD Event will be!!! See you then!

PS: I haven't received a whole lot of responses on the 2nd UYD gathering I proposed... possibly a chambara movie festival somewhere in downtown. This will probably coincide with the masquerade (I hope no one is a big fan of the masquerade -- frankly I find it pretty boring myself!) If we can get a majority committed to attend, then it's a go. So if you're interested, send an email to SDCC@usagiyojimbo.com! Abayo...
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Todd Shogun
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Con Programming

Post by Todd Shogun »

Looks like the SDCC Website has the latest program for the con (all 4 days). Here's a good one to go to...

1:30–2:30 The Sergio and Mark Show— The people who bring you Groo the Wanderer (all of them) and other silliness gather to talk about their work, why they do it and what can be done to stop them. With Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier, Stan Sakai, Tom Luth, and maybe an editor if any of them has the guts to show up. Room 8

If you go to the www.comic-con.org site you'll be able to look over the entire program. Saturday looks like a programming nightmare! We may end up having the UYD meeting on Friday instead of Saturday... does anyone object to that?

Todd
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Stan Sakai
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Re: Con Programming

Post by Stan Sakai »

Todd Shogun wrote: We may end up having the UYD meeting on Friday instead of Saturday... does anyone object to that?

Todd
Friday, I'm scheduled to sign at Dark Horse from 10-11 am, and at Tide-Mark 1-2 pm. Otherwise, I'm free that day.
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Leonardo-san
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Post by Leonardo-san »

Can I vote for Friday around noon, or later afternoon? Like maybe 4 or 5??
:D
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Tounian
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Post by Tounian »

I agree with friday, since I may not go saturday. Also everyone, the theater that was supposed to be showing Kurosawa films is not showing them, they got bumped back a month. Sorry if I got peoples hope up. I just found out today. Oh well, I'm sure we'll find something to do. See y'all friday.
"Aragorn... Don't tell the elf about this"

"We really shook the pillars of heaven, didn't we Wang?"

"No Horse sh%t Jack?"

"No Horse sh%t Wang."
Glennosuke
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Post by Glennosuke »

Friday is do-able! 8)
Glennosuke
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Post by Glennosuke »

Friday is do-able! 8)
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RobbieOhio
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Post by RobbieOhio »

Friday is a lot better for me, too, Todd. My wife and I are coming out late Wednesday night (so I miss Preview Night... drat!), and I'm going to the con all day Thursday and Friday only. She wants to go tour Los Angeles one of the four days we're out there, and Saturday was picked for the day to do that.

Stan, will you be at the con on Thursday, or is your first day Friday?

See everyone next weekend!

Robbie
Canton, Ohio
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Robbie, Canton OH
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