Selling seats is gross, prioritizing wealth over enthusiasm. They put the work and the passion into it. Those who currently marinate in the Hall H line are the ones who love Marvel Studios (or The Rock or Neil Gaiman’s Sandman) above everything else. With lotteries and portals, anyone with a flight of fancy will click their way in, clogging out the maniacs who sacrifice time, sleep, and everything else. However, Hall H should remain a purely democratic event. You’re certainly missing out on countless other events worth your attention because you’ve prioritized Marvel Studios over everything else. Sleeping outside is not traditionally fun, and if you don’t operate on the buddy system, probably not possible. Every year there are tweaks, and those tweaks cause confusion and frustration. These debates have occurred every year I’ve attended. A few would prefer a price tier system, those with the money could buy their way in. Several suggested a lottery similar to the portal Comic-Con uses to administer exclusives.
We debated movies, comics, games, books, and how to fix the Hall H line.Ĭael and Jake would love Hall H transported to the baseball stadium, Petco Park. We spent the next several hours talking, just as we had spent the many hours before. A few of my friends were rousing as well. I slipped through and raced to the third floor, where I hoped they would have plenty of toilet paper. Thankfully, someone was coming out as I was going in. The doors were locked – hotel guests only. Those porta-potties were not going to do it. I slept for maybe an hour until my body propelled me to my feet. We ultimately settled on the sidewalks directly behind the convention center, on the curve across from Hall H. So, it was worth spending a few hours slowly pushing down the line away from them. At one point, it appeared we were going to get plopped next to the porta-potties. The moving really didn’t bother me so much. Those heading back to their hotels fled quickly, the line shrunk, and we got cozy on the bayfront sidewalk near the IMDb boat.
We received our wristbands well after midnight, B block. People can get pretty snippy as they catastrophize. They know what they’ll lose if they’re denied entrance. Are there six thousand ahead of us? Will we make it in? The people who’ve been inside before are the most stressed. What letter will we get? There are thousands in line ahead of us. Comic-Con Line TerrorĪs the wristbands slowly, slowly, slowly made their way toward us, a panic settled. They want to be as close to the front of their block as possible and keep their position. Once you got them, you could elect to leave your spot, guaranteed readmittance with your block letter. Hall H wristbands designating groups were distributed around 9:15 PM. I did some time in the line on Thursday, but my main shift was the Friday 7:oo PM block, meaning I “slept” under the stars with my buddies Jake, Cael, Peter, Chris, and my wife, Lisa. Throughout the next few days, our group of thirteen traded in and out, always keeping at least half in line. There were already thousands of folks in front of them. Our pals, Chris and Peter, first entered the queue on Friday morning, after CCI dropped the green flag.
This was my tenth time hunkered down in a Saturday Hall H and my sixth year sleeping outside to assure a spot alongside my friends. It’s a valid question, but one I can answer with confidence. Generally, when all is said and done, people walk away high on the surprises and the sneak peeks, but some in the crowd always wonder if their long wait was worth the pain of sleeping on sidewalks and cold grass. While the world outside watched new trailers for She– Hulk and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the lucky inside were also treated to snippets from Ant– Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Secret Invasion, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. It concluded with Marvel Studios unveiling their MCU plans for Phase Five and Phase Six, climaxing with two Avengers movies, The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
This past Saturday, the morning began with Dwayne Johnson in full Black Adam regalia sending shockwaves through the crowd, literally lighting up their lanyards.
The panels hosted within receive the most attention from outsiders and stir the most conversation online. It’s the six-thousand seater-a room that requires not hours of waiting to enter but days. Whether you’ve gone to the San Diego Comic– Con International or not, you probably know about its most famous hall, H. In this entry, we contemplate the many hours spent waiting in line to witness one of Comic-Con’s most emotional outpourings: the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever presentation.
Welcome to Comic-Con Returns, our column celebrating San Diego’s mightiest comic convention and its revival after three long desolate years.