I’m in the middle of finishing up my packing for Comic Con International in San Diego, better known as SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) or simply Comic-Con.  This will be my 5th year attending, and it feels like my 25th.  Maybe that isn’t entirely fair to the event, but it takes an insane amount of pre planning and recovery to make my ‘professional’ time there happen.

Our friends over at Ace of Geeks posted what I thought was a great thing, a top ten list of personal favorite moments from SDCC years past.  I will totally admit to stealing their idea, with all credit and love. *big giant smile*

THINGS THAT MAKE SDCC WORTH IT:

1.) The Children Of Fandom, Living Legacy Of Geek.  Ok so I’m a parent, and because I go to conventions to work, I would never think of bringing my offspring with me, ESPECIALLY ComicCon.  I understand though that many families are able to navigate the treacherous waters of knee-high-to-a-grasshopper kidlets without much trouble.  Just do me a solid, ok?  KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CHILDREN, I’ve had my fair share of young ones grabbing for my camera equipment, my hair, my boobs, and display only items in booths.  BUT sometimes, the kids are the best part of a day spent snapping photos on the con floor.  Their joy and wonder is infectious.

2.) That Special Hero Moment.  This isn’t necessarily exclusive to SDCC (heh, see what I did there guys?) but every convention has these.  Sometimes it happens when you’re standing in line for the bathroom and Wonder Woman asks you to hold her breastplate for a minute, or the Klingon in the urinal next to you compliments your Nostromo shirt.  More often than not though, it’s the costumes in the right place at the right time.  Like this guy.

3.) That One Costume No One Else But You ‘Gets’.  Sure, I’m assuming a lot here saying ‘no one’ got it but me, but that’s what the lovely lady dressed as Bartholomew Collins told me.  I was so excited to see this costume, so happy someone else knew and loved The 5,000 Fingers Of Doctor T as much as I do.  There was a another moment of this happening at DragonCon a few years ago, a lady was dressed as Virginia Lewis from The 10th Kingdom, and I ran up to her so excited, and she returned my enthusiasm and thanked me for taking the time to let her know I KNEW who she was.   After all, finding people who like/love/live the same things we do is why (at least in my mind) conventions are as big of a thing for attendees to this day.

4.) The “They’re Looking Right At Me” Photos.  If you didn’t know, I’m a girl.  I often cosplay when working at conventions, which can sometimes result in photos of the celebrities looking right at me from across the room.  Like this example of Kevin Bacon starring at me from high atop the Fox both a few years ago, and James Purefoy also enjoying the view. I can’t remember what I was wearing, but I assume there was cleavage from his vantage point.

5.) The Interviews of Legend.  I’ve been extremely lucky with the pressroom interactions and one on one experiences I’ve had at SDCC.  Take this moment with Mr. Space himself, Neil deGrasse Tyson.  The pressroom for Cosmos was nearly empty save for one other outlet and the official FOX camera guys.  NDT, Ann Druyan (Carl Sagan’s wife) and Brannon Braga (Star Trek) were so incredibly nice, and due to the crushed velvet of my Harley Quinn suit, NDT couldn’t stop hugging me.

Or the time Mark Hamill was telling stories about set pranks and I (while again dressed as Harley) snorted because I was laughing so hard.  He stopped in mid sentence and in his AMAZING Joker voice said “That’s adorable, don’t ever stop doing that.”

Also, the cast of Vikings are amazing and hilarious.

One of my favorite interviews was with Jane Espenson and Brad Bell.  Jane used to write for Battlestar Galactica, one of my top three television series of all time.  Somehow, the subject of the final episode came up, and Jane told me HER version of what “really happened with Starbuck and Apollo”.  I laughed so hard I cried, giant mascara tears running down my Rogue (made my Bellechere) jacket.

6.) Having The Right People In Your Room.  Or, as I call it, the “wake up to two slave Leias getting ready in your room” moment.  No really, I wake up one SDCC morning (I think it was a Friday) and there are two ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS friends of mine suiting up to storm Jabba’s Palace.

7.) Making It Into A Panel/Event You Didn’t Think You’d Make It In To.  My constantly pessimistic attitude during SDCC pays off sometimes, as annoying as it may be to other people. By this I mean always assuming I won’t make it into any room I *want* to get in.  You know, like Hall H or Ballroom 20 (the ‘new’ Hall H). I’m never really disappointed if I don’t make it to “that one” panel, or interview “that one” person.  The reason why is because when something really cool DOES happen, I experience it with 100000x more unbridled joy.

MEGA BONUS MOMENT FOR 2015: World Premiere of Axanar‘s first movie scene.  No really, it’s gonna be a thing.  You can read all about the production reinventing what a fanfilm can be on their official website.  Also, check out io9’s exclusive image from the scene.  The Axanar panel is on Friday, I’ll be there taking pictures!

This year I plan on hitting the ground RUNNING on Wednesday, and not slowing down til I’m on my flight home Sunday.  You can keep up with the SDCC details as they happen with our LIVE coverage here on Aggressive Comix, and remember the tried and true rules.