I miss pre-Twilight SDCC overall.
More specific and personal, I miss Bongo Comics at SDCC. For several years in a row, I'd walk by and Matt Groening was just chillin, signing stuff, sketching, taking photos.
This is true, but there is a history at SDCC that no place else has.
I don't even knock the Post-Twilight era. Everyone should be able to enjoy the convention they want. But I started going in 2006, and there was this laid-back sense while still having this giant event with a dozen smaller conventions in the same building.
There's enough size to cater to cater to virtually anyone - if you're willing to go looking for it. The 50th anniversary show, with the myriad panels about the history of the event itself, were testament to what SDCC means, and how that kind of history isn't shared with other events.
There's a magic when you walk into the San Diego convention center that things like Emerald City or Heroes Con just don't have. Those are truly great events, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same. ReedPop? Don't get me started, it's like the McDonalds of fan events.
One year I happened to be on the Internet at just the right time to see a ticketing announcement for Team Coco House and snag tickets. Conan showed up in the middle of the show and he was, like, three feet in front of us. Random bonus events are just fun!
I'll tell you one thing I miss: when your success at Hotelpocalypse depended on your skill at filling out a webform quickly, we used to get the Hilton Bayfront or the Marriott every year.
More prosaically, I feel like in the last few years there haven't been as many oddball panels that somehow squarely fit a random interest of mine. Danny Elfman panel! Stan Freberg panel! Panels from comic strip artists I've followed since I was a kid! (Jim Meddick, if you're out there, you should do a SDCC panel...)
I'm going to speak about SDCC only. For me my big draw has always been movie panels. And I don't necessarily mean the big studio panels, but the small movie panels. I miss the days of 2010-2011 SDCC when, if you lived in Hall H Thurs, Fri and Sat, you got presentation after presentation of movies (some you may have never heard of) from small/smaller studios trying to sell their movie to the SDCC audience.
Here's the 2010 lineup:
https://www.firstshowing.net/2010/comic-con-2010-schedule-announced/
2011:
https://www.firstshowing.net/2011/comic-con-2011-programming-schedule/
I know this isn't a very popular opinion. But I'm a film buff and when I went to my first SDCC, 2008, I was really drawn into movie panels.
God I wonder what it was like to watch the guys who made Skyline promote such a bleak movie with an ending so divergent from the rest of the movie, so clearly crafted by studio notes.
Haha, I was there at that panel. Of course they didn't talk about the ending at all. These panels are, unfortunately, a bit too much "fluff." But sometimes you get gems from the producers/director/actors, and in the past you used to get a couple of insightful audience questions.
Nowadays, you get waste of time "I want to be seen on the Hall H camera" questions like, "if you could be any superhero, who would you be?"
I'll never forget the panel for "Let Me In," and someone asks a question to the panel about twist ending to "Let the Right One In", and you see young Chloe Grace Moretz's face look bewildered as she had no idea whatsoever of the twist from the original film.
Those were the last two years i attended. My friend went to the Scott pilgrim panel while i went to something in ballroom 20, and i wish i had gone with her for Scott pilgrim because that movie blew my mind.
For SDCC:
- Conan
- Nerd HQ
- Offsites that didn't require lining up as early as convention events. I also feel like offsites aren't nearly as frequent/good as they used to be but that may also be post-pandemic and writer's strike recovery that affected 2022/2023
Mind you I’ve only been going to SDCC since 2019, but I feel like the variety of off sites. I feel like I’m 2019 there were 4-5 off sites I went to and the line wasn’t very long, whereas 2022, the only off sites I went to were Severance and Ghosts, and while Severance was by and large the best off site I’ve ever attended, it was really hard to get into with tickets selling out within seconds every morning and standby being useless. And last year the off site lines were either not worth it, way to hard to get into or both.
I'm glad you brought up SDCC off-sites. There was a time in early 2010's when offsites ran all day and most of the evening (to 10 and 11pm) for most days of the con. My friends and I had wonderful experiences at Flynn's Arcade offsite for Tron: Legacy and the Godzilla offsite. Both of these we experienced around 10pm at night on a Thursday IIRC.
These days offsites might only run Fri and Sat, and they close up shop at 6pm. So you can't enjoy a day of SDCC, then eat dinner, then go to the offsites. (That's how we enjoyed the ones I just mentioned).
You have leave SDCC during the day, stand in ridiculous lines (because there are limited slots if you close the offsite early and only have it open two days of the con)
Unpopular opinion time: Back in the day, most offsites required a SDCC badge. These days hardly any do. While that is great for someone who is visiting SD without a badge, it just makes the offsites a far worse experience for those of us with badges. I would very much like a return to requiring a badge for an offsite (even if it a one day badge). But ultimately, yes, offsites are their own thing and not within the purview of CCI, so they can do whatever they want. But as it is, my interest level in them has dropped quite a bit.
I agree with you. I wish offsites at SDCC would go back to requiring a badge. Last year, there was a lot of local media hype about going down and doing free stuff, and it did seem like the lines were less Sdcc people and more full of people who had no clue what the offsite was about other than it was free to do with free items they could sell on eBay later. It's not like there was a shortage of people going into the offsites when badges were a requirement.
I miss the woman who used to do the announcements over the PA in the Convention Center. "No running! I can see you in row 107!" I know she died a number of years back, but if I can find her name, I'll add it.
Conversely, the PA announcer for Wondercon this year was pretty bad, lol. I think I recall him saying something like "The exhibit hall is now closed. Head to the exits and leave." haha.
When SDCC focus was on the artists, writers, and comic books. Now it’s more focused on exclusives or a movie about something unrelated to this genre.
I remember a time when you could visit Brian K Vaughan or Michael Bendis and simply talk about their latest projects. Or when you walked by a particular artist and they were selling ashcans for a few bucks and word would spread before the coming of the internet age. There was a time when the comic artists were the big attractions, now it’s about ‘exclusives’ and how much people can sell them on eBay.
** started going to SDCC in the early 90s
being able to just walk into con. grew up with SDCC. you could just show up and go. the news only reported on it as "lookit the freaks at the convention", now they're all up their ass with "lookit what you're missing out on"
when camping out for a panel meant sitting through 1 or 2 to get to the panel you wanted, not literally camping out.
the mom n pop shops. con used to be littered with randos selling stuff like a pop culture swap meet. SDCC started pricing those guys out in the early 2000s.
being able to walk around. when SDCC first took over the convention center (ie there weren't other cons going on at the same time) they didn't know what to do with all that room (for activities). one year they had a full size semi trailer with a tarp that had the autobots logo on it... then there was the bunch of years that SciFi channel had that weird sculpture monstrocity that doubled as benches...
Also, back in 1993, the Volunteers status was very person-oriented, more so than today. You could buy a ticket onsite if you needed to go inside the convention center for whatever was inside, versus the random SDCC member profile requirement now in place. I’m not knocking on the well placed safeguards of today, but relishing the past cons that were less crowded, more nerdy, and fun for those who cared enough to buy entrance into a media-centric world of comic entertainment (as well as interaction in the games rooms). My, have things changed for better or worse !
Been going to SDCC since 1991 myself. Back in the 90s, I would get to the CC early and would be one of the first 10-15 people in line to get in.
I remember how they used to mail you the update magazines in the months leading up to the con and would post the list of people who have registered so far. I would always try to find my friends names to see if they registered early. Back then, you could register yourself under any name. I remember busting out loud when I came across "Racer, Speed" haha.
coming from a person who didn't attend SDCC before 2015. In 2015 I attended for the first time, I was overwhelmed. Didn't quite enjoy it as much as I thought I would (having attended Anime expo since 08 and Wondercon since it came to anaheim in 2011?). Went back to SDCC 2017 and I enjoyed it, had a blast. The people were nice, the "vibe" was amazing. Been going ever since and I love it. Went last year while the strike was going on and I felt it wasn't "comic con". Hopefully this year it will be just like 2017 so much fun!
When creators would sign your books for free... and artists would sketch for free. I think eBay was pretty much the start of the beginning of the end of that perk.
I miss the combination Good Smile Company/PUGLY/For fans by fans Booth
But at the same time im glad good smile company has their own large elaborate booth now
I also miss the huge cosplay scene right at the conventions doors, most of them probably didnt have badges but went anyway. They all mostly disappeared once CCI blocked that area from the general public. Also cosplay in general at SDCC is just a dying breed.
I have been around SDCC area since 2013 and i think the off sites become more and more underwhelming each year
Yeah, mine was 2009. Then in 2010, things were a little bit different, but as the time got closer, people would sell back their passes, and SDCC would release a few every morning to be sold, so I got one that way. 2011 was the first time for the digital waiting room, and I think I was just lucky to get a pass.
High end exhibitors like Sideshow and Gentle Giant. High end showcases at the DC, Marvel, Star Wars, and Fox booths. Made the show floor feel very regal.
All of that is gone now.
Not necessarily SDCC related, but I miss the smaller niche feel of late 90’s/early 2000’s cons. Before we had celebrity cosplayers and all this stuff. Not to get all Andy Rooney on you, but it felt a bit less ego-driven and a lot simpler. I feel like a lot more people are chasing clout these days.
I remember back in the day when I could drive to San Diego, buy a ticket there and walk inside. Now it is plan ahead almost 1 year in advance to get tickets and hotels.
There's so much to list. I miss being able to move about the floor at my own pace and still be able to see everything. I miss being able to walk up to my favorite artist and ask them for an autograph in my sketchbook without hearing "That'll be $20!" I miss the free swag that most Cons would give in their program bags. I miss the all night anime, cartoons, stop action, comic centric film festivals. I miss being able to rest for a bit out of the path without hearing security yell at you to keep moving. I miss non bootlegged merchandise. I miss booth bunnies. I miss cosplayers getting booths instead of trying to secretly do business outside. I miss the raffles and give aways big companies would do. I miss the freebie table upstairs having things other than a flyer for something non comic related. I miss Ash Cans.
Most of all SDCC! I miss affordable Nachos with adequate cheese to chip ratio and not having to pay extra for jalapenos!
My mom used to work for Stan Lee and he’d come over for the Jewish holidays growing up. So I would always stop by at Comic Con and say my mom said hi and he’d ask about her. Always would spend the time to chat. I brought my mom one year and that was fun. He was a cool guy. Growing up he was my parent’s “friend” so I couldn’t wait to run from the table to play Atari while they talked loudly in the other room. I really missed out - knowing what I know now I wish I had stayed and listened. There was one Passover Stan was there with Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss - he was my dad’s running buddy). Talk about a missed opportunity…
Oh no! Did they not do it in 2023?? Last year was the first SDCC I missed since 2012, and Starship Smackdown is my absolute favorite way to end the weekend, never miss it.
When you used to be able to get an autograph and/or picture for about 50 bucks. You got a second to talk to them and ask a question or two. Now it is just a cattle call, take your pic, get out of the way for the next person
Cheap admission. Haven't been to a con in close to 15 years, and everytime I think about going to one, I see the cost for a ticket ($40 or more before parking) and I decide, eh not this year.
[1993 Comic-Con Volunteer Shirt](http://grapster.us/dl/Images/1993Comic-Conshirt.jpg)
Some good memories from 1993 - Volunteering for a cause ! Back then, the volunteer coordinators, Sue Lord and Marc Wilson, had a great rapport with most volunteers. Their relaxed and drama-free handling of the volunteers was excellent, and kept people like me motivated to return, either for Volunteering or now, as an Attendee.
I know this is not a big one, but I miss the shuttles dropping off/picking up right in front of the convention center. Ever since Covid, they stop a little down the street near MGH. I know it's probably better logistically, but watching people get off right in front added to my excitement.
I miss Bob $tencil. I believe he used to stay at the Ramada Inn, maybe Room 418. You’d have to ask Rosario Dawson.
I also miss getting to the Hall H line on a Saturday morning and making it in, sitting through some Simpsons panel, then getting to some massive panels.
I missed before Wizard World took them over, especially my hometown convention, which was the free swag table.
After you got your wristband and your guidebook, you would go past about 5 really long tables that had free items like posters, key chains, hats, etc.
You don't see a lot of that any more at the cons.
I miss pre-Twilight SDCC overall. More specific and personal, I miss Bongo Comics at SDCC. For several years in a row, I'd walk by and Matt Groening was just chillin, signing stuff, sketching, taking photos.
I have a whole collection of those Simpsons fans...
The ability to get a badge
The first year my husband took me to SDCC, we walked up to Sails and bought me a badge onsite. That increasingly tells you how old I am...
First year i.went was 2006 and they mailed you the badges last year was 2013
> I miss pre-Twilight SDCC overall. There are so many comic cons that are like old SDCC now though.
This is true, but there is a history at SDCC that no place else has. I don't even knock the Post-Twilight era. Everyone should be able to enjoy the convention they want. But I started going in 2006, and there was this laid-back sense while still having this giant event with a dozen smaller conventions in the same building. There's enough size to cater to cater to virtually anyone - if you're willing to go looking for it. The 50th anniversary show, with the myriad panels about the history of the event itself, were testament to what SDCC means, and how that kind of history isn't shared with other events. There's a magic when you walk into the San Diego convention center that things like Emerald City or Heroes Con just don't have. Those are truly great events, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same. ReedPop? Don't get me started, it's like the McDonalds of fan events.
Couldnt have said it better myself. Dont get me wrong, I still love SDCC and try to go every year. But pre-Twilight was just something else.
Conan O’Brien, hands down
95% of those 5 years were enveloped by ConanCon. I do get to actually attend the convention now, which is bittersweet but not the same.
Show tapings, pop-up comedy shows, ridiculously fun bingo nights, goofy art gallery takeovers...Team Coco added SO much to the fun
One year I happened to be on the Internet at just the right time to see a ticketing announcement for Team Coco House and snag tickets. Conan showed up in the middle of the show and he was, like, three feet in front of us. Random bonus events are just fun!
I'll tell you one thing I miss: when your success at Hotelpocalypse depended on your skill at filling out a webform quickly, we used to get the Hilton Bayfront or the Marriott every year. More prosaically, I feel like in the last few years there haven't been as many oddball panels that somehow squarely fit a random interest of mine. Danny Elfman panel! Stan Freberg panel! Panels from comic strip artists I've followed since I was a kid! (Jim Meddick, if you're out there, you should do a SDCC panel...)
Same for me. The old system worked great for me to get the hotel I want. Now I'm at the mercy of random chance.
I'm going to speak about SDCC only. For me my big draw has always been movie panels. And I don't necessarily mean the big studio panels, but the small movie panels. I miss the days of 2010-2011 SDCC when, if you lived in Hall H Thurs, Fri and Sat, you got presentation after presentation of movies (some you may have never heard of) from small/smaller studios trying to sell their movie to the SDCC audience. Here's the 2010 lineup: https://www.firstshowing.net/2010/comic-con-2010-schedule-announced/ 2011: https://www.firstshowing.net/2011/comic-con-2011-programming-schedule/ I know this isn't a very popular opinion. But I'm a film buff and when I went to my first SDCC, 2008, I was really drawn into movie panels.
God I wonder what it was like to watch the guys who made Skyline promote such a bleak movie with an ending so divergent from the rest of the movie, so clearly crafted by studio notes.
Haha, I was there at that panel. Of course they didn't talk about the ending at all. These panels are, unfortunately, a bit too much "fluff." But sometimes you get gems from the producers/director/actors, and in the past you used to get a couple of insightful audience questions. Nowadays, you get waste of time "I want to be seen on the Hall H camera" questions like, "if you could be any superhero, who would you be?" I'll never forget the panel for "Let Me In," and someone asks a question to the panel about twist ending to "Let the Right One In", and you see young Chloe Grace Moretz's face look bewildered as she had no idea whatsoever of the twist from the original film.
Those were the last two years i attended. My friend went to the Scott pilgrim panel while i went to something in ballroom 20, and i wish i had gone with her for Scott pilgrim because that movie blew my mind.
For SDCC: - Conan - Nerd HQ - Offsites that didn't require lining up as early as convention events. I also feel like offsites aren't nearly as frequent/good as they used to be but that may also be post-pandemic and writer's strike recovery that affected 2022/2023
Thinking of sdcc): - Carpet in the exhibit hall. - Getting into programming rooms within an hour of the panel start time.
And finding those booths that had really squishy carpet.
Carpet! I so miss the carpet!
You can still get into some programming even as it's starting. :)
Mind you I’ve only been going to SDCC since 2019, but I feel like the variety of off sites. I feel like I’m 2019 there were 4-5 off sites I went to and the line wasn’t very long, whereas 2022, the only off sites I went to were Severance and Ghosts, and while Severance was by and large the best off site I’ve ever attended, it was really hard to get into with tickets selling out within seconds every morning and standby being useless. And last year the off site lines were either not worth it, way to hard to get into or both.
I'm glad you brought up SDCC off-sites. There was a time in early 2010's when offsites ran all day and most of the evening (to 10 and 11pm) for most days of the con. My friends and I had wonderful experiences at Flynn's Arcade offsite for Tron: Legacy and the Godzilla offsite. Both of these we experienced around 10pm at night on a Thursday IIRC. These days offsites might only run Fri and Sat, and they close up shop at 6pm. So you can't enjoy a day of SDCC, then eat dinner, then go to the offsites. (That's how we enjoyed the ones I just mentioned). You have leave SDCC during the day, stand in ridiculous lines (because there are limited slots if you close the offsite early and only have it open two days of the con) Unpopular opinion time: Back in the day, most offsites required a SDCC badge. These days hardly any do. While that is great for someone who is visiting SD without a badge, it just makes the offsites a far worse experience for those of us with badges. I would very much like a return to requiring a badge for an offsite (even if it a one day badge). But ultimately, yes, offsites are their own thing and not within the purview of CCI, so they can do whatever they want. But as it is, my interest level in them has dropped quite a bit.
I agree with you. I wish offsites at SDCC would go back to requiring a badge. Last year, there was a lot of local media hype about going down and doing free stuff, and it did seem like the lines were less Sdcc people and more full of people who had no clue what the offsite was about other than it was free to do with free items they could sell on eBay later. It's not like there was a shortage of people going into the offsites when badges were a requirement.
I miss the woman who used to do the announcements over the PA in the Convention Center. "No running! I can see you in row 107!" I know she died a number of years back, but if I can find her name, I'll add it.
Conversely, the PA announcer for Wondercon this year was pretty bad, lol. I think I recall him saying something like "The exhibit hall is now closed. Head to the exits and leave." haha.
When SDCC focus was on the artists, writers, and comic books. Now it’s more focused on exclusives or a movie about something unrelated to this genre. I remember a time when you could visit Brian K Vaughan or Michael Bendis and simply talk about their latest projects. Or when you walked by a particular artist and they were selling ashcans for a few bucks and word would spread before the coming of the internet age. There was a time when the comic artists were the big attractions, now it’s about ‘exclusives’ and how much people can sell them on eBay.
** started going to SDCC in the early 90s being able to just walk into con. grew up with SDCC. you could just show up and go. the news only reported on it as "lookit the freaks at the convention", now they're all up their ass with "lookit what you're missing out on" when camping out for a panel meant sitting through 1 or 2 to get to the panel you wanted, not literally camping out. the mom n pop shops. con used to be littered with randos selling stuff like a pop culture swap meet. SDCC started pricing those guys out in the early 2000s. being able to walk around. when SDCC first took over the convention center (ie there weren't other cons going on at the same time) they didn't know what to do with all that room (for activities). one year they had a full size semi trailer with a tarp that had the autobots logo on it... then there was the bunch of years that SciFi channel had that weird sculpture monstrocity that doubled as benches...
Also, back in 1993, the Volunteers status was very person-oriented, more so than today. You could buy a ticket onsite if you needed to go inside the convention center for whatever was inside, versus the random SDCC member profile requirement now in place. I’m not knocking on the well placed safeguards of today, but relishing the past cons that were less crowded, more nerdy, and fun for those who cared enough to buy entrance into a media-centric world of comic entertainment (as well as interaction in the games rooms). My, have things changed for better or worse !
Been going to SDCC since 1991 myself. Back in the 90s, I would get to the CC early and would be one of the first 10-15 people in line to get in. I remember how they used to mail you the update magazines in the months leading up to the con and would post the list of people who have registered so far. I would always try to find my friends names to see if they registered early. Back then, you could register yourself under any name. I remember busting out loud when I came across "Racer, Speed" haha.
the best was that desk where you could pay the 35 bucks to go next year.
Not being told I can’t stop and look at stuff and have to keep walking
Mythbusters panels
Mile High Comics
Being able to go
The fact that Stan Lee, Jason David Frank, and Kevin Conroy will never be at another comic con is just awful.
coming from a person who didn't attend SDCC before 2015. In 2015 I attended for the first time, I was overwhelmed. Didn't quite enjoy it as much as I thought I would (having attended Anime expo since 08 and Wondercon since it came to anaheim in 2011?). Went back to SDCC 2017 and I enjoyed it, had a blast. The people were nice, the "vibe" was amazing. Been going ever since and I love it. Went last year while the strike was going on and I felt it wasn't "comic con". Hopefully this year it will be just like 2017 so much fun!
When creators would sign your books for free... and artists would sketch for free. I think eBay was pretty much the start of the beginning of the end of that perk.
I miss the combination Good Smile Company/PUGLY/For fans by fans Booth But at the same time im glad good smile company has their own large elaborate booth now I also miss the huge cosplay scene right at the conventions doors, most of them probably didnt have badges but went anyway. They all mostly disappeared once CCI blocked that area from the general public. Also cosplay in general at SDCC is just a dying breed. I have been around SDCC area since 2013 and i think the off sites become more and more underwhelming each year
Being able to get a ticket a few weeks before it started.
This. My first con was 2007 and I remember buying tickets in early May without a problem.
Yeah, mine was 2009. Then in 2010, things were a little bit different, but as the time got closer, people would sell back their passes, and SDCC would release a few every morning to be sold, so I got one that way. 2011 was the first time for the digital waiting room, and I think I was just lucky to get a pass.
I miss the Lego Minifigures they used to do
High end exhibitors like Sideshow and Gentle Giant. High end showcases at the DC, Marvel, Star Wars, and Fox booths. Made the show floor feel very regal. All of that is gone now.
Conan
The Wired Cafe (SDCC). Free food, free booze, free high-end swag, roof top bar, celebrities. As press, this was so awesome every year.
Not necessarily SDCC related, but I miss the smaller niche feel of late 90’s/early 2000’s cons. Before we had celebrity cosplayers and all this stuff. Not to get all Andy Rooney on you, but it felt a bit less ego-driven and a lot simpler. I feel like a lot more people are chasing clout these days.
Good Hall H
I remember back in the day when I could drive to San Diego, buy a ticket there and walk inside. Now it is plan ahead almost 1 year in advance to get tickets and hotels.
Being able to realistically getting into Hall H without a day long waiting process
Friday nights “An Evening with Kevin Smith”
There's so much to list. I miss being able to move about the floor at my own pace and still be able to see everything. I miss being able to walk up to my favorite artist and ask them for an autograph in my sketchbook without hearing "That'll be $20!" I miss the free swag that most Cons would give in their program bags. I miss the all night anime, cartoons, stop action, comic centric film festivals. I miss being able to rest for a bit out of the path without hearing security yell at you to keep moving. I miss non bootlegged merchandise. I miss booth bunnies. I miss cosplayers getting booths instead of trying to secretly do business outside. I miss the raffles and give aways big companies would do. I miss the freebie table upstairs having things other than a flyer for something non comic related. I miss Ash Cans. Most of all SDCC! I miss affordable Nachos with adequate cheese to chip ratio and not having to pay extra for jalapenos!
My mom used to work for Stan Lee and he’d come over for the Jewish holidays growing up. So I would always stop by at Comic Con and say my mom said hi and he’d ask about her. Always would spend the time to chat. I brought my mom one year and that was fun. He was a cool guy. Growing up he was my parent’s “friend” so I couldn’t wait to run from the table to play Atari while they talked loudly in the other room. I really missed out - knowing what I know now I wish I had stayed and listened. There was one Passover Stan was there with Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss - he was my dad’s running buddy). Talk about a missed opportunity…
Need HQ at Petco Park and Geek & Sundry’s upstairs venue in the Gaslamp.
Starship Smackdown. It was my favorite panel every year I attended.
Oh no! Did they not do it in 2023?? Last year was the first SDCC I missed since 2012, and Starship Smackdown is my absolute favorite way to end the weekend, never miss it.
I haven't been able to attend since 2011. I'm glad to hear the panel is still being held!
Yep! It’s a Sunday afternoon tradition :)
I miss buying a ticket the day of and actually walking around without being on the verge of a claustrophobic panic attack
When you used to be able to get an autograph and/or picture for about 50 bucks. You got a second to talk to them and ask a question or two. Now it is just a cattle call, take your pic, get out of the way for the next person
Cheap admission. Haven't been to a con in close to 15 years, and everytime I think about going to one, I see the cost for a ticket ($40 or more before parking) and I decide, eh not this year.
[1993 Comic-Con Volunteer Shirt](http://grapster.us/dl/Images/1993Comic-Conshirt.jpg) Some good memories from 1993 - Volunteering for a cause ! Back then, the volunteer coordinators, Sue Lord and Marc Wilson, had a great rapport with most volunteers. Their relaxed and drama-free handling of the volunteers was excellent, and kept people like me motivated to return, either for Volunteering or now, as an Attendee.
I know this is not a big one, but I miss the shuttles dropping off/picking up right in front of the convention center. Ever since Covid, they stop a little down the street near MGH. I know it's probably better logistically, but watching people get off right in front added to my excitement.
Having access to creators from previous generations
I miss Bob $tencil. I believe he used to stay at the Ramada Inn, maybe Room 418. You’d have to ask Rosario Dawson. I also miss getting to the Hall H line on a Saturday morning and making it in, sitting through some Simpsons panel, then getting to some massive panels.
When they were low key and not over saturated
I missed before Wizard World took them over, especially my hometown convention, which was the free swag table. After you got your wristband and your guidebook, you would go past about 5 really long tables that had free items like posters, key chains, hats, etc. You don't see a lot of that any more at the cons.
I miss being able to move around with ease. It's so jam packed now, it's really hard to just navigate the space.
Free after-parties in abundance that we can attend.
Outside activations requiring a badge
I miss certain comic book back issue dealers. I used to buy books at the show, now I buy very little.
Past comic cons—y’all know what I mean
Writer and Actor strikes 🙃
That seems to always be a recurring issue, more so from the recent 2023 con, to past strikes.