by Kimberly Learned Kane, Reporter
Remember being a kid? The days leading up to Christmas were the best; the pomp and circumstance, the tree, the lights, the Rankin/Bass and Peanuts specials. Christmas Eve was the best, the anticipation drawing to such a head that you could barely get to sleep. What’s under the tree? What will Santa leave in my stocking? Is there anything like that now that we’re adults? For me, Comic-Con is the new Christmas. The days leading up to Con are filled with that same excitation and magic. Who am I going to see this Con? What spellbinding panels will I attend? What fantastic (or not) costumes will be on display? Whose autographs will I stand in line for? It all builds to that same nearly unbearable anticipation; so much so that it’s hard to get to sleep on Wednesday night! I often go back through the hundreds of photos of Cons past on my hard drive as a way to whet my appetite for the (arguably) most prestigious pop culture convention in North America. The celebrities! The panelists! The costumes! The exhibit hall jam packed with one hundred thousand plus fellow geeks! The lines for Hall H! Giggity goo indeed!
The Lightspeed booth! This unassuming little exhibitor booth is the heart of the Comic-Con trekker meet and greet!
The Cosplayer attendees are some of the most inventive, often visually stunning creators at Con. Several cosplayers work the year round to display their talents at the annual Comic-Con masquerade.
Although the sheer length of the lines for Hall H can be daunting, the wait is always worth it! A Comic Con first, Sir Patrick Stewart!
Hallrats are treated to an evening with Comic-Con veteran, and writer/director extraordinaire, Kevin Smith
The autograph pavilion offers the chance to get autographs by some of the biggest and most respected names in a variety of industries!
You never know who you’ll run in to on the exhibit floor!
I haven’t flipped my calendar to June yet. There are still a few weeks till Comic-Con 2012, but just sorting through the numberless pictures on my hard drive is enough to choke me up and excite me for that most fantastic and magical of San Diego institutions, Comic-Con! Christmas is still a favorite holiday of mine, and I look forward to every December 1st when I feel I can technically begin decorating. But for geeks, Christmas comes in July! Are you ready?
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