1. DO have patience.
Waiting is the name of the game at Comic-Con. Every year, 125,000 people flock to San Diego for the event. You'd think a convention center that stretches over a mile long could hold that many mouth breathers, but you'd be wrong. (In fact, overcrowding has led to rumors that when Comic-Con's contract with San Diego is up, in 2012, they'll relocate to Los Angeles or Las Vegas.) Comic-Con is packed. Really packed. So packed that to do anything -- even roam the exhibit hall -- requires standing in line.
For big-ticket events, like Angelina Jolie's appearance for Salt or the TRON panel, the line stretches outside the convention center and average wait times exceed two hours. The lines are in fact so gruesome that many fans will wait in line and then sit through panels they have no interest in to ensure they'll be inside for the main event. (For AMC's Walking Dead panel, three quarters of the attending crowd had endured the previous panel, for CBS's upcoming Hawaii Five-O, in order get their first look at the zombie series.) So sit back, relax, and wait. Because the only time you won't have to wait is when you leave, which, after ten hours of waiting in line, you can't wait to do.
2. DON'T get political.
One of the bigger stories to come out of Comic-Con this year was the unexpected (and unwelcome) presence of the Westboro Baptist Church, better known as the "God hates fags" people. What they didn't count on was that genre fans don't like to have their spirits dampened and were quick to engage in their own counterprotests. Some protest-poster highlights: "Odin Is God," in reference to Marvel's Thor character; "God Loves Gay Robin," as wielded by a woman wearing a classic Robin costume; "The Cylons Destroyed the 12 Colonies for Your Sins," referencing Battlestar Galactica; and "God Hates Jedi." The point here being that, if Comic-Con is a form of idol worship, as the church claims, it's harmless worship -- unless threatened by idiots.
