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January 25, 2008
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If you haven't been to a sci-fi convention before, you are really missing out on a large area of fandom. Conventions are where the geek elite gather to show off their costumes, purchase exclusive merchandise, and mingle with their fellow sci-fi addicts. Like Star Wars in 1977, many well known movies, books, products, and games have made their debut on the world convention circuit.
So here is a brief summary of the more well known events, followed by a few tips for surviving you first con experience:
 Comic-Con
When: July 24-27, 2008
Locations: San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California. (Various other comi-cons can be found around the world, each varying in size and content, but this is the Big One).
Category: Comic Book & Comic Related Sc-Fi/Fantasy.
Events: Vendors, celebrity autograph sessions & photo ops, fan films, sneak previews, celebrity panels, live shows, costume competitions, exclusive event merchandise.
Overview: This is one of the biggest and best-known yearly conventions. You can generally find a lot of rare and unique merchandise, toys, and collectables--as well as bootlegs. This is one of the conventions that attract high profile celebrities and “B” list stars. Many sci-fi movies, TV shows, games, and comics make their debut appearance at this convention. The con is very costumer intensive, probably ranking within the top three in the costume category. If you get the chance to go…do it! You won’t be sorry.
Historical Note: This is one of the places Star Wars was first previewed to help boost interest in the movie in 1977. Originally, the intent was to create enough buzz to entice theater owners to play it at their theaters.
Cost: 4-day pass PRE-registration ONLY ($75-reg, $65-JR/SR), at-the-door price not yet listed.
Website: ComicCon.org
 Dragon-Con
When: August 29 - Sept. 1, 2008
Location: The Hyatt Regency, the Marriott Marquis, AND the Atlanta Hilton in Atlanta, GA.
Category: Costumer insanity, Sci-fi, Fantasy, and pop-culture of all types.
Events: Vendors, celebrity autograph/photo sessions, fan films, sneak previews, celebrity panels, live shows, and costume competitions.
Overview: This event is known for being the BIG party convention of the year. It is one of the most heavily costumed conventions in the world, and the costumes tend to be more outrageous than what you might find at any other convention. This is where the costumers go to share ideas, let loose, and get crazy!
Guests: Science Fiction film and television actors, “B” Movie stars, and comic book authors & artists.
Cost: $60 until 2/29/2008 - $65 until 5/15/2008 - $75 until 7/15/2008 - $90 after 7/15/2008 and at the door.
Website: DragonCon.org
Gen-Con.
When: August 14-17, 2008
Location: 100 South Capitol Ave Indianapolis, Indiana. (also Paris: April 25-27, Australia: July 3-6 & in the UK: Aug 28-31).
Overview: The theme is primarily about gaming and the event is usually very large, bringing in big names (considering these are the same people who host the Star Wars Celebration.) There is usually a significant Star Wars presence in the form of merchandise, costumers, and themed events, as well as panels and previews. Many of the Star Wars game teams make this a stop on their promotional tour.
Category: Gaming convention, video games, card games, RPG.
Cost: 4-Day pre-registration pass: $65, $75 at the door.
1-Day pre-registration pass: $35, $45 at the door.
Website: GenCon.com
 Wizard World(s)
Locations: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Texas, and Chicago)
Overview: A general convention, skewed primarily towards anime, comics, and gaming. It’s a lot like most of the smaller conventions you find throughout the country but with a better budget. If you live somewhere close to one of the main convention centers it could be worth going, but it’s not something I would spend a lot of money on for hotels and travel expense.
Category: Comics, anime, and gaming.
Guests: B-C level celebrities, comic book authors & artists.
Cost (L.A.): The 3-Day badge is $45 and 1-Day badges will cost $25. (prices may vary by location).
Website: WizardWorld.com
 Atlanta Comics Expo.
When: February 8-10, 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA.
Category: Comics & comic-related costuming.
Guests: Comic book authors & artists.
Overview: Think mini-DragonCon, with smaller crowds and less waiting in lines. The attractions are similar to DragonCon as well, but not quite as high profile; there are fewer vendors and lower level celebrities. The DragonCon team does host the event, so it’s usually worth the price of admission. Don’t be surprised if this event grows a lot over the next few years.
Cost: 3-day pass $25, Friday or Sunday ONLY pass $10, Saturday ONLY $15.
Website: AlantaComicsExpo.com
 Celebration V (& Celebration Europe)
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center
in L.A., CA.(subject to possible change).
Convention Center Website: LaccLink.com
When: TBA, possibly May 2010, but there have been rumors indicating it could be 2009. Events generally run for 5-7days.
Category: Straight up Star Wars with no chaser.
Overview: If you never go to another convention in your life, this is THE convention to attend. The vendors are incredible, encompassing all things Star Wars: vintage, rare, and event exclusives. All of the big name vendors, including Gentle Giant, Sideshow, Lego, etc, have booths and many of them carry exclusives or premiere new items. Big name Star Wars artists and authors make this a must-attend event. You’ll see artists like Dave Dorman and Joey Corroney and authors such as Karen Travis, Aaron Allston and J.W. Rinzler. The panels and events are unlike any other: Charlie Ross’s “One Man Show,” “The Star Wars Trilogy In 30 Minutes,” and Robot Chicken creators Matt Sunriech and Seth Green’s panel are among the highlights. Additionally, the 501st Legion did a number of costuming panels to give con-goers a view into the process involved in making some of the unique costumes.
Guests: You will probably never see a more impressive collection of Star Wars cast and crew; guests include Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Carrie Fisher (Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke), as well as bit players including the storm trooper who said “Move along, move along,” (Anthony Forrest) and the Imperial officer (Barrie Holland) who said “You rebel scum.” This is but a small sampling of the guest lists, as previous Celebrations have included many other Star Wars veterans.
Cost: (Celebration-IV Costs) 5-Day badge pre-registration price: $115, at the door price: $125. Individual days sold at rates proportional to the expected traffic for that day, but why you would want to go for anything less than the whole five days is beyond me.
Warning: Expect a sense of mourning and loss to overtake you for the weeks following the event.
Website: There is no official site established yet for Celebration V, but you can find official information about the individual Celebrations here.
 Never attended a Convention before? Well, here are some survival tips to help you make the most of your time and money:
Tip 1: Do Your Homework
Get an event program ASAP to find out what celebrities or guests are going to be attending, as well as what special programming is taking place, and use it to plan your itinerary. Otherwise, you’ll end up going into stimulation overload and miss half of the really impressive stuff, while you’re looking at vendor booths that are going to be there for the duration of the con.
Tip 2: Make Plans Early
Book your room and your flight as early as you can; you will usually get a better price and are more likely to get the hotel you want. Also get your event pass early, as most conventions have discounted tickets for pre-registrations.
Tip 3: Get the Closest Hotel
Share a room in order to reduce costs, and make sure to book the nearest hotel to the event. You will spend at least the difference in price on taxis, car rentals, or valets if you go to a hotel a few miles away to try to save money. Plus it’s worth the money to not have far to go each day to get back to the action.
Tip 4: Shop Strategically
Find out what items are exclusives and rare and pass on items you can get online or elsewhere. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending twice as much, and you’ll have to pay to ship the stuff that won’t fit in your luggage back home.
Tip 5: Volunteering
This is a double-edged blade. Some conventions and vendors (like Official Pix) will offer reimbursement deals for volunteers wherein the volunteer can earn back the price of admission, and in some cases even part of hotel costs, by putting in a certain number of hours working as a gopher or badge checker. If you can’t afford it otherwise, or have been to many conventions already, this isn’t so bad and it can allow you to have some fun and save money. The down side is you’ll work your butt off and you will miss out on a lot. Most volunteer deals have a low-tier of twenty hours over a period of 2-7 days, all the way up to 40 or more hours in the same number of days. The deals vary with the events, more hours generally equals more benefits, and some companies may give their volunteers perks such as autographed pictures from that event’s celebrities. So there are pros & cons (no pun intended).
 So now you know what to expect. Get out there and be ready to take your fandom to a new plane of existence, because once you step foot into your first major convention hall... "Forever will it dominate your destiny!"
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