SDCC 2016 Journal

As I am typing this…it is 7:45am on Thursday, 7/21/2016…and…let’s just say I had a lot of fun at Tony B. Kim’s Game of Bloggers last night (check out our photos on Facebook).

I’ll be updating this post constantly with little notes about what I did each day.

To start with, here a couple of panels that look interesting to me. Though, since they are at the same time – should I flip a coin?

Becoming Nerdstrong
Thursday July 21, 2016 / 10:00am – 11:00am
Pacific 24, North Tower, Marriott Marquis & Marina

From Fan to Creator: Goal-Setting for Creative Types
Thursday, July 21 / 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 23ABC

Time for some coffee and a cold shower (need to WAKE UP) and a donut…doh…scratch that. Need to stay #SDCCfit!

Oh…if you can, cruise by our artist meet and greet event, #ArtistsAssemble, tonight – I would really appreciate it! 🙂

Thursday, 1pm

The ugly: Had to finish a few last minute freelance requests and was late getting to SDCC. Almost didn’t find any parking at Hilton Bayside (have reserved parking).

The bad: Missed the two panels mentioned earlier…so no coin toss.

The Good: Got a tweet DM from Hot Nerd Girl that she had a friend who had an available ticket to Conan-Con!

Her friend turned out to be Geek Outlaw. Thanks you two for turning my frown…upside down!

#TeamCoco time…on my way to Spreckles Theater!

Oh, I also ran into one of the #SDCCfit fam, Kevin Walwyn (Editor of Friends of CC).

Thursday, 2:19pm

Almost time for Conan-Con at 2:30pm!

Wish I had time to get a proper lunch. Wasn’t too hungry this morning after barely surviving #GameOfBloggers. Plus those freelance design projects had me focused on something else besides eating.

Luckily…I brought these:

But I wish I was eating this:

The line is getting long…any minute now!

Friday, 2:43 pm

Whew. What a day so far. Waiting for the “So You Want to Be a Comics Retailer?” Panel to start.

Yesterday, Day 1 of SDCC for me ended with our inaugural #ArtistAssembleSDCC which took place at Ocean Pacific Grill.

We had such a good turn out that we are already looking forward to doing it again next year (maybe multiple days) and even at other conventions.

Thank you to the artists (Bobby Rubio, Keithan Jones, Patrick Ballesteros, Geoff Pascual, Ethan Castillo, and Eric Ninaltowski), fans who came by, and Ocean Pacific Grill for providing tasty eats and an awesome venue!

The #ArtistsAssembleSDCC 2016 artists (left to right): Eric Ninaltowski, Ethan Castillo, Keithan Jones, Geoff Pascual, Bobby Rubio and Patrick Ballesteros.

Alex Benedicto (my Hall H blog partner in crime) and Eric Ninaltowski.

Artwork by Eric Ninaltowski.

Artwork by Patrick Ballesteros.

Artwork by Bobby Rubio.

Artwork by Keithan Jones.

Artwork by Geoff Pascual.

The beginning of Day 2, started off with a 1.5 hour wait in the line for a chance to win some Funko Conan Pops. The team went 3 for 3!

We next went to Tony B. Kim’s (Crazy4Comiccon) “How to Build a Geek Brand” panel where he brought some samples of his Hero Within clothing line (looks amazing!).

I also got to meet Jamie Broadnax from Black Girl Nerds who was also part of the panel!

For those of you who follow the #SDCCfit hashtag on Twitter, this was something special. I was eating lunch in the crowded eating area at the Marriott and somebody called my name. Turned out to be @MWorel who had already gone down the escalator but went back up after she saw me.

What made this even more special, is that all the walking she has done leading up to Comic-Con has made her experience this year so much better!

Saturday, 8:25 pm

Wow. The last few days have been a roller coaster.

The last panel I attended yesterday was a really interesting one. I learned that it is indeed possible to create a movie (even a feature film) on a smart phone at the “Mobile Filmmaking: How to Make a Movie Using a Smartphone” panel.

It’s incredible how the movement is growing! This panel made me think about some ideas I had for a pop culture documentary. If you would like more info, go to International Mobile Film Festival.

Sunday, 7:25 pm

Today was my day to roam the exhibit floor but I did go check out a panel that I like to go to every year, Artist Bryan Tillman’s panel about how to pitch and promote yourself.

Also did a couple of interviews with Kid Comics creator Keithan Jones, where he talked about his kickstarter campaign for his new comic book, The Power Knights. I also talked to the man behind the Black Heroes Matter movement, Uraeus (creator of Jayson Wise and Indigo).

For my #SDCCfit fam, I just wanted to let you know that I have walked 32 miles for this year’s Comic-Con…and I feel great (so all the pre-SDCC walking definitely paid off)! Though…after 4 days of apples, bananas, protein bars, almonds and cashews…it’s time for some Korean BBQ (a team Hall H tradition). See you next year SDCC!