I confess I am still scratching my head a bit over the fact I actually got those Comic-Con passes. Someone up there likes me, maybe?
Here’s a UPI story that ran about the rapid sellout:
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 17 (UPI) — Tickets for the annual pop culture orgy Comic-Con sold out in less than two hours online, organizers said.
Tickets to the event, sold in single-day and four-day passes, were gone in little more than 90 minutes. With an online waiting room reaching capacity in mere moments, many would-be attendees were shut out shortly after the 9 a.m. start-time.
Organizers acknowledge the event, which draws some 130,000 attendees to San Diego each July, has sorely outgrown the city’s convention center. Plans to expand the center to accommodate the event are stalled, awaiting a court’s decision on whether an increased hotel tax aimed at helping fund the $520 million expansion is legal, U-T San Diego said Saturday.
An economic study found Comic-Con generates $67.8 million in economic activity annually for the city. Organizers said they’re committed to keeping the event in San Diego through at least 2016, despite being heavily courted by other municipalities
I really, honestly, truly feel sorry for most of the people who tried to purchase Comic-Con passes, following all the instructions to the letter, and yet still got caught up in the technical glitches that struck Saturday morning. This is not the first time would-be ticket buyers have cried foul over how the system is set up, either. Surely there has to be a better way?
(courtesy of unsocialized.net)
But for some, I do not feel sorry. The person who whined about already shelling out $1600 for hotel and plane tickets without having Comic-Con passes in hand?
As someone commented,“What’s really annoying and frustrating? Hearing someone stupid enough to prepay for stuff for an event that they didnt even have confirmation of attendance to and then complain as if it is someone else’s fault.” Totally agree.
There’s actually quite a lot going on outside of the convention center that doesn’t require the “golden ticket.” Benny doesn’t have a pass for Saturday, so I am guessing he will be checking out some of the alternate offerings. I really don’t think he’ll be bored.
As for what will be offered inside, Comicbook.com is speculating the following panels will appear in massive Hall H this July. I think I could live with sitting in on some of these sessions:
Marvel Studio Panel: Lots to promote, including Thor 2. Yeo, that means Chris Hemsworth and a certain Hiddles that a number of RA fans also crush on are likely to be present, plus expect early looks at Captain America 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Tom HIddleston
Dimensions Films Panel: With Sin City: A Dame To Kill For set for October 2013 release, it looks like cast members such as Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin & Joseph Gordon-Levitt will probably be attending.
20th Century Fox Panel: With Wolverine set to open the week after Comic-Con, it seems a sure thing that the film’s director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman will be on hand and an early screening is likely. Director Bryan Singer and several cast members for the next X-Men film, Days of Future Past are also probably going to be in attendance.
Hugh Jackman
Sony/Columbia Pictures Panel: With the Amazing Spiderman 2 coming out in May 2014, this will be the only opportunity to promote it at Comic-Con. Director Marc Webb (who is already promoting the film on Twitter) and key cast members including Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx are almost certain to appear.
Warner Brothers Panel: Man of Steel opens before Comic-Con and no new Batman film has yet been announced. But those weren’t your top priorities, were they? Because WB is the studio that will bring us The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which Comicbook.com is certain will be featured during the studio’s panel. There may also be footage from the Godzilla reboot and some sort of presentation on the 2015 release, Justice League, but no director or cast is expected. Who will show up to represent for TH? We’ll have to wait and see . . .
I think there should be an even LONGER Hobbit presentation this year with massive amounts of Richard Armitage in the flesh and in movie previews as Thorin. But that’s just me. 😉
(Picture courtesy of HeathRA Productions. Please credit accordingly.)
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- They have my money, so it’s official. (thearmitageeffect.wordpress.com)
the armitage effect 
Sounds like a bountiful harvest! Congrats on scoring passes – I know we will get an excellent bird’s eye account of the happenings 🙂
And that’s not even getting into the television stuff that will be there. 😉 Thanks, I hope all will go well.
Yay! I hope all will go well, too, despite the obvious failings of their computerized registration system and the logistics of 100,000 people in the same space. I hope, too, that we get a generous helping of Richard in advance of “The Desolation of Smaug”. By now, WB should know which side of the bread is buttered, that the AAAs are a significant market segment.
Yeah, there’s a serious need to expand the space but they are hung up with some red tape re the planned expansion of the center. San Diego obviously wants to keep such a lucrative event in their city. Someone said they should move it to Las Vegas, but apparently Vegas is not interested in hosting. As well as The Hobbit has done around the world, I am sure there will be a contingent representing the second film. You know, I would love to see some of the other dwarves, too, and there might be new faces like Lee Pace (hey, Judit!) and Luke Evans. But naturally it’s the handsome bloke in the bottom photos that I hope to see the MOST. 😉
You getting your tickets is that little thing I think they call karma 🙂
And it looks like you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to what to see. You might travel the world vicariously through blogs like mine, but we’ll all be enjoying Comic-Con vicariously through yours! 😉
That’s kind of what I am thinking, too, Kathryn, re the karma. 😉 I have also been looking through their list of authors/artists/illustrators and several favorites are on there as planning to be a part of this year’s event. There’s also a ton of stuff that will be going on outside the complex. It may hectic and exhausting and crazy, but I DON”T think it will be dull. LOL Just the cosplay costumes alone are eye openers. 😀 It will be fun to share it all with you.
Comic-Con sounds like it is going to be a beefcake festival, especially if a certain 6’2″ dwarf shows up.Speaking of which the photo of his backside: 1) Hope it’s alright but I’d like to post it for Tuchus Tuesday (with credit) and 2) Am I the only one to notice the place of the hand, not RA’s but lower, in the picture?
Sorry, guys, I fell fast asleep yesterday afternoon and awoke in the night with aching knees, foreshadowing the rain we’re getting today. I forgot to mention that photo of the backside was taken by HeathRA who was present at last year’s Comic-Con and please DO give photo credit to her. The others were whisked off RANet.
Hope you feel better after the rain passes. Seems like we’ve had a very wet winter in the South this year.
Thanks for letting me know aout the photo, I’ll go and edit my post now. No big deal.:-)
Yeah, everybody else has gotten snow, we’ve had the rain. My knees are a bit achy still, but when you see the abrasions and bruises, it’s to be expected. 😉 Yeah, I need to edit MY post, include the photo ID in there. Heather is so nice, I do want to give her credit.
I was just thinking what Kathrynruthd said…. karmic retribution! You were royally screwed last year! Congrats! I know you’ll have an amazing time! PS…where’d you find that picture of the peaches?
Yeah, last year—*sigh*. I am determined 2013 will be an improvement on the past couple of years. Thanks! And again, that amazing photo is courtesy of HeathRA, our own AAA member who got up close to the action at last year’s Comic-Con. 😀
I’m so glad you got your tickets to Comic-Con this year. Don’t ask why, just grab them and run. You’re just as entitled to them as anyone else, and you are a journalist with a large, committed following. We are relying on you to give us your own inimitable take on this affair.
Jackman and Whats-his-name are all fine and good, but there is only one M. NE PLUS ULTRA, and we want to hear about him. The next best thing to being there is to imagine the fun you are having and reading your first-hand reports. Benny, I have to say, is a superlative sweetheart for going with you and easing your trip as well as our experience of it.
Actually, when Benny started reading about it and looking at photos, etc. last year he started realizing it was something he could enjoy, too, being the sci-fi/horror geek that he is. 😉 And after last year’s debacle, once I stopped crying, we talked about the possibility of getting our own tickets and not being dependent on anyone else snatching them away from us AT THE LAST MINUTE (I’m looking at you, CBR!)
LOL I hope, naturally, to see and hear from RA most of all, but I am excited about the whole enterprise. It should be quite the experience.
Congrats, Fedora – I am already excited for you. I really, really hope that the Hobbit crew is going to make an appearance at Comicon. Well, who am I kidding. I don’t care about the HObbit crew at all, I only want RA to turn up publicly. And I soooo want you to get the opportunity to interview him. Best of luck.
Thanks so much, Guyity. I doubt I will get any chance to interview him, as I am not attending in a professional capacity, just as a fan. But I’d be delighted to get to meet him and shake his hand and say, “Thank you for being YOU.” 😀
Did you go back and fix that comment? I was just going to say, “While you’ve got him by the head, give him a big smooch for all of us!” 🙂
LOL yeah, I fixed it. Although the temptation to give him a big kiss might very well be there, too, if he smiles at me with those eyes. *sigh*
You might want to mention that you are representing more than 400 AAAs.
More bang for your Buck (or buss as the case may be 😀 )
LOL exactly!!
Ooh, yes, that sounds like a plan.