The San Diego Comic-Con International attracts a total of 130,000 attendees for its four-day event to the southern California city. This is apparently the biggest culture convention which involves lining up as its signature act.
As Stuff describes it, you will definitely line up for panels, food, toilets, and to collect tickets so you can line up again to enter a special event later on.
Cosplay or dressing up in costume is a huge and colorful part of Comic-Con. Attendees don't feel confined to choose characters that match their gender or ethnic background. No one bothers to question their choices. As a matter of fact, there are women dressed as the hero Green Arrow and men dressed as Rey from the Star Wars movie.
The variety of costumes comes with the variety of people. The overwhelming crowd is indeed diverse, with every ethnicity present in large number. People get along happily despite the great mix of ages, sizes and shapes. After all, that's what Comic-Con is really about - celebrating diversity.
When it comes to the numerous panels, it varies from sober assessments of the comic book industry to lighthearted tributes to popular TV and film 30 years ago such as Aliens, Highlander, Top Gun, Blue Velvet and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
However, the most sought-after panels are those headed by actors from popular TV shows, and this part of the event is hard to get into. You will certainly spend so much time queuing.
The Laughing Place cited Once Upon a Time which returned to San Diego Comic-Con for the sixth year, delighting a packed Ballroom 20 on the most popular day of the convention.
As for the overall experience, Sage Mitchell who has flown from Portland, Oregon, for the weekend, says, "It's been great. There's a lot more cosplay here than the small conventions I've been to. It's been like playing Pokemon Snap, chasing people in costumes down and taking pictures. I saw a gender-swapped Jack and Sally from The Nightmare before Christmas, and they did that really well."
If a person is not fond of going to panels, he or she could spend hours in the Exhibit Hall. Stalls selling merchandise from companies big and small could be located here.
As Stuff would summarize the whole event, the San Diego Comic-Con International is about the happiness that arises from celebrating stories and characters in all their varied forms.
