[Groop] San Diego Comic-Con

Tue Mar 6 13:52:07 PST 2012

Hi Folks!

I agree the whole SD Con situation has become ridiculous.  I didn't mind as much as many do about the comics being overwhelmed by other stuff, but the way it has made it impossible (not merely dificult, but actually impossible) for so many folks to get tickets is just terrible.  

I get in as Sergio's "Staff" so I'm covered.  But I wanted to get tickets at the 2011 con for 2012 for family members and of course it was as Chris described.  Actually, after standing in line for an hour or so I found out that "Staff" were not even eligible to buy tickets at the Con.  (So I guess what that meant was that we were not eligible to stand in line for four hours and NOT get tickets)   We had tried to get tickets for the family for 2011 online and as some surely recall, that was a big fiasco too.  In fact it was a big fiasco several times.  

So maybe its time to shift to WonderCon or BigWowCon as the place for Groopies to go to to see Sergio and Mark, and Stan and Tom and fellow Groopies.     

I hope to see somebody from the Groop this year!  Take care,

Gary G. 

From: cwmemac at msn.com
To: groop at groo.com
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012 13:21:01 -0800
Subject: [Groop] San Diego Comic-Con

I usually buy my tickets for the next years Comic-Con during the first day I attend the convention. There have never been any lines during the first few days of the con and I like to get it out of the way. It was very convenient doing it this way for the last 10 years or so.
Last year the Comic-Con committee took that option away and made that almost impossible to purchase a on site registration.
You had to wait in line for hours, at a off site hotel, to get a chance to buy one of 1500 tickets. The line was forming at 4 am or earlier, and opening the line at 8am,they sold out in less than a half hour, leaving thousands without anything to show for their 4 to 6 hour wait each day. I decided not to waste my morning like this, when I was told on line registration would come later. 
Months later, after signing up for a twitter account to get updates, I was told I needed to sign up for a member ID, which I did, and wait for the on line registration. Meanwhile, I watched their video telling how to maximize my chances of successfully purchasing a ticket, and down loaded their pdf file, giving further important instructions. 
Finally the day came to register for a ticket. At 8am on 3/3 I was at my computer and hit the link at exactly 8am. I got a "site unavailable" or "error" window. I tried again with the same result. I tried my lap top and hit the link to the site like I had been shown in their video, again the same result,site unavailable due to too much activity or site wasn't yet up. I tried my lap top again with the same results. I went back to my desk top and tried one more time, same thing. I finally wised up and disregarding the instructions they gave me, I went to the comic con web site directly, and immediately got through. My number in line was 30948. It was 8:11am. After staying on hold for a little over one hour my number came up. I entered my ID number and was informed that everything was sold out except for a one day Sunday ticket. I quickly decided that this was the best I could do, so I clicked to purchase and was quickly told that this ticket was sold as well, and there were no further tickets available. I was shut out. I've been going to this, my home town convention, for over 20 years without missing, and I was not able to purchase a ticket.
 I hate that comics have taken a supporting role to the movie and TV industry making this their showcase, taking over our convention. I mostly hate the over crowding it has created, and the back seat comic books have had to take. But I could still enjoy the show. I could still attend most of the panels that I loved, Quick Draw, Voice animators,Sergio Aragones, Scott Shaw!s oddball comics presentation, all of Mark Evanier's Golden and Silver Age tributes and of course the Groo panels. 
 I had thought about not attending for the past several years as the crowds grew, but I still came. I couldn't help myself. I attended every Groo panel with many lasting memories, but I feel an era has past. The death of the Comic-Con I once loved. I don't think that will be attendaing another. 
Chris McCollum, Garden Grove

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