Are you excited? I am. It’s the year of the Spider, Man. After last year, spending 6 hours refreshing my 3 windows in hopes of retaining a couple of tickets for Comic Con 2011, the service they used just plain sucked. It took forever, and when you finally go to the registration page, entered your name and info, it redirected you to a “ we’re sorry but (insert crummy ticket company name here)’s page is at capacity, please try again later.” UGH! Nightmare. But after 6 hours , I got my tickets. That was the horrible beginning.

This year, however I am pleased to announce that the ticket process was a breeze. In early February I received an email telling me I needed to register for a “member ID” before February 29th in order to register for tickets when the time became available. I was apprehensive because they said they’d email us to let people know when their window time frame was to buy tickets. It claimed you would be able to buy as many as 6 tickets. Yeah right, I wont get in and I’ll have to take a day off , I thought. I was hesitant to even register but since we’ve been going since the late 90’s I figured I could try it once again. After all, I do love me some comics, inside scoop on new movies and shows, and of course the swag ain’t bad either. What the heck.

So last Tuesday I didn’t get an email but my better half did. I, in fact got an apology email that they were still working on providing enough logins for people to all register. Whatever, I was getting a ticket somehow. Saturday was the day , 8:00am. Cool! I thought, at least they didn’t make us do it on a weekday as I had dreaded. They also sent a PDF of how to purchase tickets and what to do and not to do. For example, you’d have to wait a turn to purchase and it would refresh on its own every 160 seconds to show your place in line.

8:01am #9211 – I hoped we’d get tickets. While he waited I saw online that many people had trouble with the link from their email but when they went to the website, no issues.

8:34am – Our turn. After processing our wait time, it directed to a page to purchase our tickets. By 8:36 we were done and had two tickets for Saturday.

Thank goodness they reformed their ticket purchasing practices. This was a lot less of a headache than last year. Saturday is the best day to go. I cant wait to blog about what new things are in store for the geek world! Here’s to a great Comic Con 2012!

If you didn’t register early or get a chance to do so , word is they will be opening up the remaining tickets to the public after this round of sales. Good Luck!

Sept 30th – SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con International: San Diego (Comic-Con), the largest comics convention of its kind in the world, today announced it will be staying in San Diego for the foreseeable future.

Comic-Con reached a self-imposed attendance limit at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) in 2007 and has had to cap attendance at approximately 125,000 people each year since. In looking at ways to better accommodate the growing demand from attendees and exhibitors, the nonprofit organization considered proposals for a move to larger facilities in Los Angeles or Anaheim after the expiration of its SDCC lease in 2012. This decision keeps Comic-Con in San Diego through 2015.

“We are grateful for the tireless efforts all three cities put into to their proposals,” said David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s director of marketing and public relations. “In the end, we feel this decision is the best for all those who attend Comic-Con and for the organization itself. We are happy that the community has worked with us to ensure that we remain here.”

Comic-Con was first held in 1970 at the U.S. Grant Hotel, where it attracted 300 people. As the event grew, subsequent homes included the downtown El Cortez Hotel in the 1970s and the San Diego Convention and Performing Arts Center in the 1980s. Comic-Con moved to the then newly built SDCC in 1991. Comic-Con celebrated its 41st year in 2010.

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation has scheduled a press conference for Friday, October 1 at 11:45 a.m. at Lobby E of the convention center.

About Comic-Con International:

Comic-Con International: San Diego (Comic-Con), the largest convention of its kind in the world, is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. In addition to its San Diego convention each summer, Comic-Con organizes the San Francisco–based WonderCon each spring and Alternative Press Expo each fall. On the web: Comic-Con.org, Facebook.com/comiccon, Twitter.com/comic_con.