San Diego Comic-Con Survival Guide

While you'll no doubt want to spend most of your time attending panels and picking up anything your inner-child could wish for, keep in mind that you'll be in San Diego -- take a break from time to time to enjoy the perfect weather and beautiful scenery right outside of the convention center. And even if you could care less about southern California sunsets, at the very least you should be impressed with the flippin' aircraft carrier (the USS Midway) parked within eye shot from the Con! It's just like the G.I. Joe USS Flagg, only, ya know, real.

This one should be a no brainer, but a common rookie mistake. While several retailers have stepped into the 20th century and will take major credit cards, a lot of them still only take cash money. And as bad as it would be to not be able to pick up that vintage, Japanese import Ghidorah action figure or that out of print Jungle Jim book because Visa actually isn't everywhere you want to be, what really adds insult to injury are the service charges at the convention center ATMs. That said, stock up on greenbacks before heading to the show.

While most of us are quite content spending a quiet evening at home with a large pizza and Red Dead Redemption, for one weekend, we all get to party like rockstars in southern California. If you're of legal drinking age, be sure to hit up the countless hotel bars and especially spend some time in San Diego's uber-hip Gaslamp Quarter (just across the street from the convention center). If you're looking to break into the industry, do some networking, or at the very least, brag to your buddies back home that you had a beer with Edgar Wright, this is the place to do it.