My Comic-Con 2011: From Toilet Car to Puddle and Other Things In Between

With Comic-Con business offices being located in La Mesa, I thought it would be appropriate to share my own experience with it for La Mesa’s Patch. Perhaps there are some bitter local feelings over the fact that .

After all, the Patch’s only mention of Comic-Con so far this week has been an events listing titled, It’s not just the Patch, though, that is quick to deride the event. I attended a work meeting on Friday before heading down to the Convention Center and several co-workers had to poke fun at two people who were out on vacation to attend the convention: “I like to say they’re out for Comic PROM!”

I can hardly blame people for their conceptions about Comic-Con. Yes, there are many people dressed up in all kinds of wacky costumes, and the news coverage that non Comic-Con attendees see on television makes it seem like everyone who goes must be dressing up as some sort of superhero or cartoon character.

But no, not everyone dresses up and not everyone stands in line for days to meet their favorite movie star. I don't do either. People’s experiences at Comic-Con are as varied as the everyday lives that we all lead. Whatever people’s interests are in regular life shape the way they experience the convention.

Having attended Comic-Con with my husband for about a decade, this annual event has become a way for us to mark the passage of time in our lives.

We remember the Comic-Con of our early years together, when we would rush through the doors to buy hundreds of dollars worth of graphic novels and manga. Each night, we would leave the Convention Center with our backs weighed down from purchases that we would excitedly unpack at home and stay up late reading through the night.

Then, there was the pivotal Comic-Con 2006, which was when I found out I was pregnant with our first child. My husband and I decided to tell our parents the good news by sending them a picture of our dog (our trial baby) with the caption, “I am going to be a big brother!” I can still remember standing on the floor of the exhibit hall when my mom called my cell phone, excited because she had received the photo in the mail.

Fast forward five years, and we now have two kids--and are still attending Comic-Con. Our backs now ache from taking turns holding either the 40 pound kid or the 22 pound version, but we are happy and proud to be there as a family.

Each year, as we have come to Comic-Con with different life circumstances, Comic-Con’s offerings have also changed. When we first attended the convention, the crowds were considerably smaller. We were able to attend many panels by just walking right up to the doors at the start time, not having to worry about standing in long lines. These days, there are so many attendees that even the smallest events seem to fill up.

With the variables different each year, one's experience is always unique. This year, my husband and I attended alone for a couple of days while our children were at daycare, and we took our children with us on the other days. While going without our kids made us feel literally light on our feet, the parts I will cherish most are the ones they shared with us.

In closing, here are some of my favorite memories from this year’s Comic-Con:

• This is the first year that my son truly anticipated attending Comic-Con. As a four-year-old, he has developed strong interests in toys and popular culture. He surprised me by remembering going last year, and it tickled me to hear him excitedly announce to his friends at school, “I’m going to Comic-Con!” As we walked toward the Convention Center on Preview Night, our first encounter was with a giant inflatable Smurf. Our son had stars in his eyes and announced, “This is awesome!”
• My son’s number one request was to look at the toys, and so the first thing we managed to do was find a deal to get twelve Hot Wheels cars for $10. The cars were unlike ones currently being sold in stores since they included older stock from previous years. We were very excited to find a cool robot car, a stegosaurus car, a shopping cart car, and our favorite: a toilet car! The car is really in the shape of a toilet and when you lift up the seat, you can move the steering wheel, which is a plunger.
• Until the last month or so, our now 17-month-old daughter’s biggest interest has been in trying to steal her big brother’s toys. She did not show an affinity for anything solely her own until recently, when she fell in love with the children’s television program Yo Gabba Gabba!, or as she calls it, “Babba!” Unfortunately, she never managed to have a chance to see the dressed up character Muno from the show (who always seemed to be at Comic-Con when she wasn't there), but even just seeing a postcard with the Babba characters made her light up with excitement. She proudly gripped the postcard and waved it around with excitement. On a return visit to Comic-Con, we got her a Muno plush doll, and she bounced around in my arms as she carried Muno in hers.
• I was standing holding my daughter when all of a sudden I felt something dripping down my leg. She had leaked through her diaper, soaking the whole side of my shirt and shorts, and also leaving a biohazardous puddle on the exhibition hall flooring. To top it off, the diaper bag was with my husband, who had gone in a separate way and had yet to discover he’d left his cell phone in his car. Luckily, it all worked out. We found each other, my daughter got a clean diaper, and I eventually air-dryed. This will be something we look back at and laugh about, especially since we most likely horrified my husband’s friend who does not yet have any children.
• We spent a long amount of time at the LEGO booth as our kids stared transfixed by the scenic displays themed as Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and more. A couple of times our son asked us, “Why are those people running away?” when studying the alien display. We explained that they must be scared of the aliens and so they’re running away. We didn’t think much about it until we got home and he asked us to come see his very own “LEGO display.” Inspired by the displays from Comic-Con, he had set up his own LEGO guys, creating a scene of “good guys” running away from the “bad guys.” All of the time he had spent in front of the display cases was truly him absorping every detail. I can't wait to see what he creates next.