Is it too early to talk about San Diego Comic-Con 2005?

[PovertyRow]

Better make a hotel reservation fast before they all fill up!

 

Gots to read this thread. Know San Diego like the 17th whorl of my right ring finger's fingerprint - meaning I know nothing.

 

Will backtrack this thread but am ready and able to make hotel reservations as I type. Just need to know the cheapest hotel that is closest to the con!

 

I only plan on sleeping there. Otherwise I plan to be at the con etc until bedtime!

[sborock]

Try www.easyclicktravel.com, problem is, you need to pay in advance

[PovertyRow]

Just some general questions. I would like to attend SD but, as I said, know nothing of SD's geography.

 

So I have a few questions.

 

1) What is the date of the Forum Dinner. Definitely do not want to miss that.

 

2) How is the Taxi situation in SD? If I am in a hotel 5 or 10 miles away I don;t mind cabbing to the con.

 

3) I KNOW this con is huge. But I also know if I strategize I could probably pick up 150+ HG BA Horror and a few lesser GA horror/Crime in one day. And how could one argue with that?

 

4) So I am thinking: Maybe spent 2 days in SD. First day would be day of Forum Dinner. 2nd say would be for a final cleanup at the con and recovery from the dinner. My main concern being the noon checkout time of the hotel and me trudging around with a carry-on Wheel Bag.

 

5) Or, if I wish decide to spend 3 or so days in SD, would any Forumites be willing to help me out with the preparation? By this I mean maybe talk on the phone for a while and get me familiar with what I am seeing on the ionternet for hotel locations, their proximity (considering can fare) to the con and airport ewtc.

 

So I will be going. But just trying to work out the most economical way to do it - aka trying to work out the max money I can actually spend on books.

 

BTW - the $75-100 fee for the dinner is fine by me. I always ended up spending more at the last two Wondercon dinners and believe me, they were worth it at twice the price!

 

So if any San Diego familiars can help me figure this out please PM me.

 

My thanks.

 

Pov

[PovertyRow]

Also - a general question - have folks noticed much in the way of movie paper (posters and lobby cards) at SD??

[Forbush-Man]

Also - a general question - have folks noticed much in the way of movie paper (posters and lobby cards) at SD??

 

Good question. I've been at the last three, but I don't go looking for movie posters or lobby cards. I have seen them though. As far as selection goes,....

[PovertyRow]

I have seen them though. As far as selection goes,....

 

You had me at " I have seen them though."!!! Sometimes it only takes one lobby to make everything all right again!

 

I remember seeing one of the folks at Wondercon with large selection of lobby cards and also a selection of repro lobbies form the classic films. I told him I was actually looking for originals/Realart re-relases of the kind of stuff he had in the repro section - mainly Universal 30's and 40's horror. He said if there were any of that stuff he would have consigned them to Sotheby's. I tried to convince him that I was able to get a number of these original (let alone the Realart re-relases) for around $200 for House of Frankenstien, House Of Dracula, Ghjost of Frankenstein etc. lobbies and he was totally unconvinced. Made me feel kind of bad. I could see him paying too much just for the title. Ah well - and the guy was even older than ME!

 

Also saw Bob - man I can NEVER spell his name right - Birbahm? Burhbam? You know. And he had some original lobbies I was interested in but the prices were insane. $300-400 for pieces that should have been less than half that (mainly early 50's sci-fi). Very nice pieces but yeesh! I have to wonder sometimes.

 

Anyway - thanks for the tip. The prospect of movie paper AND comics may well make me extend my stay by a day or two!

[PedigreeMan]

Also saw Bob - man I can NEVER spell his name right - Birbahm? Burhbam?

 

Beerbohm. "Beer" as in the nectar of the gods, and "Bohm" as in, um ... bomb, I guess, but spelled differently.

 

Or something.

[PovertyRow]

Also saw Bob - man I can NEVER spell his name right - Birbahm? Burhbam?

 

Beerbohm. "Beer" as in the nectar of the gods, and "Bohm" as in, um ... bomb, I guess, but spelled differently.

 

Or something.

 

That be it. I know he has been praised and respected on the boards here. My experiences have been a bit different. He will greet you and ask what you are looking for. When I told him a couple of Wondercons ago I was looking for Fine or better pre-code horror he guided me to a stack of Fair-Good. Last Wondercon told him HG Bronze Age and again a trip to Fine at best.

 

Now he may well be a gentleman and I have observed gentlemanly traits in him, but as a seller, he never seemed to listed to what you wanted and just took you to a place you did not want to go.

 

I appreciate his stance, especially in the pre-GA realm. But as a seller, basically, I think he should just try to point the customer to what they want or just say he cannot help in that department.

 

What to say. Not a negative experience really. I mean he didn't try to sell me a VG as a VF. But he also did't seem to attend to what I was looking for.

[PovertyRow]

Well it looks like I may be there all three days if all goes well. So must now curb all movie poster buying and comic book buying. Will probably be selling some paper on ebay to further the funds. Looking forward to a total weekend immersion!

[greggy]

Well it looks like I may be there all three days if all goes well. So must now curb all movie poster buying and comic book buying. Will probably be selling some paper on ebay to further the funds. Looking forward to a total weekend immersion!

[BassGMan]

Great POV, I'll see ya' there. But it is not three days, it is 4 1/2 days including preview night. Ya' gotta be there starting Wednesday night and plow through closing on Sunday.

[Rob]

I've started my SD fundraising. It's so difficult not to buy anything from now till then! Tomorrow is the (uneventful) Phoenix Comicon. I'm going, but mainly to find flipping material. My hopes aren't high, as items are usually overpriced at these things. I'll be at SD Preview Night, Thursday, and most of Friday, then drive back to Phoenix Friday night. I'd like to stay all 4 1/2 nights, but it gets expensive at $200/night for the hotel. Then there's the whole wife thing. I'm lucky to be granted 3 days away.

[BassGMan]

I've started my SD fundraising. It's so difficult not to buy anything from now till then! Tomorrow is the (uneventful) Phoenix Comicon. I'm going, but mainly to find flipping material. My hopes aren't high, as items are usually overpriced at these things. I'll be at SD Preview Night, Thursday, and most of Friday, then drive back to Phoenix Friday night. I'd like to stay all 4 1/2 nights, but it gets expensive at $200/night for the hotel. Then there's the whole wife thing. I'm lucky to be granted 3 days away.

 

$200 a night?? Since you have your car can't you find a cheapo place for $60 maybe ten miles away and drive in? Ya' gotta be there for the Saturday night Forum dinner at least.

[Rob]

$200 a night?? Since you have your car can't you find a cheapo place for $60 maybe ten miles away and drive in? Ya' gotta be there for the Saturday night Forum dinner at least.

 

No way, we decided to get the Hilton Gaslamp across the street from the convention center. Gonna be nice to go back to the hotel more often. I reserved the hotel 1 minute after they opened reservations, and could only get Wed & Thurs night. The wife's going with me and my brother, so we may sight-see SD on Saturday. Don't think I can get the two of them to spring $100 each for a dinner with people they've never met.

[deathlok]

Greggy will be doing a strip tease show after the dinner if that makes a difference to your firends. Not to mention that Lamont Larson will attend,. and how many times in your life will you get a chance to be around a pedigree originator?

[PovertyRow]

Great POV, I'll see ya' there. But it is not three days, it is 4 1/2 days including preview night. Ya' gotta be there starting Wednesday night and plow through closing on Sunday.

 

That's what I get for being ignorant! Well, I will be there for three full days anyway, Friday thru Sunday! That should be enough for my first SD.

[Apotheosis]

For those of you that have gone before... what price range are we generally looking at for Sketch's in artists alley?

[Jagull]

how does Preview Night differ from the other days/nights? Missed out on PN last year >_

[BassGMan]

how does Preview Night differ from the other days/nights? Missed out on PN last year >_<

 

Not much different really. Only thing is that it is Wednesday usually from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 and only for people who pre-registered for a full membership. It's not very crowded which is cool, but nothing inside is any different than the days that follow.

[Rob]

how does Preview Night differ from the other days/nights? Missed out on PN last year >_<

 

You get a shot at all the great deals before the rest of the crowd does. Put it this way, when you enter Thursday morning, you're looking at the leftovers that people passed over the night before.