San Diego Comic-Con is more than just Hall H

Do you remember when you could buy a San Diego Comic-Con ticket, get starstruck in Artist Alley for a few hours, buy a Dragonball Z wall scroll (or two), chow down a pizza (or two) and then have time to get in line for Hall H…all in the same day!

I kind of do.

Yes, gone are the good old days – but just because it’s grown into a “A MANY HEADED BEAST” (wink – Nerdist) and it’s almost next to impossible to get into Hall H, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world as far as your SDCC experience goes.

If you’re like me, and don’t want to brave the lines of Hall H (what can I say, there’s so much to do…so little time), here are a few panels and outside events that caught my eye (actually, both them) for SDCC 2015 (full disclosure – I’m interested in writing and creating my own stories, hence the emphasis on those type of panels):

Thursday – July 9

• Donate blood – seriously, help save a life.
• From Fan to Creator: Making the Dream a Reality
• Wrath of Con Bloggers
• The Autobiography of James T. Kirk
• Street Fighter V
• Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Comics
• Marvel: Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way
• The Last Ship: Panel and Exclusive Sneak Preview
• What Do Women Want? Female Gaze in Manga
• Writing 101: What to Think About Before You Start Writing
• Comics Journalism: It’s About Ethics in Comics Journalism
• Comics Marketing & PR 101
• Artists as Brand: Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur
• Nerdist Comics Panel: SDCC Edition

Friday – July 10

• Nickelodeon and Dark Horse Comics: Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
• Writing for TV: From First Draft to Getting Staffed
• Workshop with Chip Kidd and Michael Cho
• Star Trek: Renegades
• From Novel to Comic to Film: Turning Books into Other Forms of Pop Culture
• [adult swim]: Robot Chicken
• Creative Storytelling: Choose Your Own Adventure
• Bob’s Burgers
• Sense8
• The Writer’s Journey: Breaking into Comics and Hollywood Script Writing
• Firefly Online: Return of the Browncoats
• World Premiere of Justice League: Gods & Monsters
• Showcasing the Best in Korean Comics

Saturday – July 11

• Spotlight on Carlos Ezquerra
• Jonathan Maberry on Writing
• Working Together: Writers and Artists
• Quick Draw! (I go to this one every year – fun!)
• Cartoon Voices 1 (After Quick Draw, just chill and stay for this one too!)
• Nerdist Industries with Chris Hardwick
• Spotlight on Stan Lee
• Outcast TV Series: A First Look with Robert Kirkman
• Comic-Con How-To: Draw Your Imagination with Kim Jung Gi
• Comic-Con How-To: Proper Pitching and Promoting Yourself 1.5 (Bryan Tillman’s panel last year was very informative – looking forward to this updated version.)
• Storytelling in Comics
• Best and Worst Manga of 2015
• Fight Club 2
• TeeFury: Shirts in the Pop-Culture Bubble (as a graphic designer – I’m interested to hear this panel’s perspective on the pop-culture shirt industry.)
• The Psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars: Episode V
• Closing the Deal: Everything you Need to Know About Publishing Deals and Contracts

Sunday – July 12

• Get some pancakes at Richard Walkers Pancake House.
• Donate blood – This is just a reminder 🙂
• Little Fish Comic Book Studio: Building The Artistic Tomorrow
• End Bullying! Responding to Cruelty in Our Culture
• Comic-Con How-To: Plot Structure: Creating the Foundation to a Page-Turning Story
• Comics Arts Conference #13: Great Power, Responsibility, Disability: Analyzing Disabilities in Superhero Comics
• Dr. Zhivago’s Innovation in Education: Basic Cartoon and Animation Combine Drawing and Vector Graphic Tools in the Schools
• Normalizing Publishing
• Comics Arts Conference #15: Comics at the Crossroads: Culture, Identity, and Narrative Technologies in the EthnoSurreal
• Image Comics: Where Creators Own Imagination
• Super Asian America

Outside Events
Additionally, here are a few things outside of Comic-Con that you should probably go check out too:

The Art of Comic-Con Exhibit
Located at the San Diego Central Library Downtown. Runs from June 20 to August 30, 2015 and is open to the public and admission is free. Check out some of the opening day photos we took on our Facebook page – Sergio Aragonés was there!

Chicano-Con: Latin American Inspired Super Heroes
This event takes place July 10–11 at Border X Brewing in Barrio Logan. Activities include an art exhibit, a comic themed movie each night, a lucha libre meet and greet, kids activities, and more. There will be beer! Though a brewery tasting room, Border X is a family friendly, community oriented space for all. Read more about it here.

WOC in Comics: Race, Gender & The Comic Book Medium
Taking place on Sunday, July 12, 2015 from 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM at the Barrio Logan Library, this event will have thoughtful conversation on diversity and how it impacts the multimedia industry. Admission is free and open to the general public. Check out the event details here:

I hope you have an awesome SDCC 2015!

– Aaron