San Diego Comic Con!

There is a place that is considered sacred to all geeks, a place of gathering that brings people from across the globe together to celebrate their shared heritage.  It is the San Diego Comic Con and although it contains fewer rituals, it is certainly, for many, akin to a religious experience.

Begun in 1970, the first SDCC was a tiny thing and brought in around 300 people.  Over the years, however, it has grown and with the current rise in geek culture, it has become massive.  Today, the convention sees more than 130,000 people showing up in a great sell-out event.  It takes place at different times each year, ranging from mid-July to mid-August and lasts for four days.

SDCC is truly home to anything and everything that a geek could want.  There are comics, television shows, movies, video games and toys (many of them exclusives that you can only get there).  There are panels aplenty that feature some of the biggest names in the industries talking about what they happen to be creating at the time.  This year, for example, will feature huge panels on The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

But it’s not just about buying stuff and seeing famous people.  There are plenty of panels and event for those that want to further their geek hobbies.  There are arts and crafts events, video game tourneys, discussions of geek-related subjects, skilled artists willing to share their knowledge, cosplay workshops and contests and even after-parties which have become notorious for their hedonism.

But SDCC is not for the amateur convention-goer.  You’ll need to stand in line, sometimes for many hours, if you want to see the most popular panels.  And even getting a ticket can be a complication, as they sell the entire event out within a few hours.  If you do manage to secure a ticket, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars.  Not to mention the hundreds you’ll need to spend on a hotel room (since they jack all the prices way up for the event).  It may not be the most intimate of events, but it’s one that every geek should see at least once in their lives.  For more information on what SDCC is bringing to the table this year, check out their official website.

SDCC Ballroom courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikicommons