The time it was about SDCC 2022

If you’ve been following me or this blog for any amount of time, you know that sdcc is something we always go to. After covid happened, sdcc was cancelled for a couple of years (with a small offering happening for “special edition” in 2021), so it was equal parts exciting and lowkey terrifying to get back in the mix.

Wednesday

We started out getting to the convention center a bit earlier than opening time for preview night.  I had been invited to a press event for the new Netflix movie The Gray Man.  The email invite was pretty stingy on the explanation, so I was eager to get to it.

On our way to the off site installation, we stopped at the covid check to get our wristbands.  Just like SDCC SE and Star Wars Celebration, you had to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test.  This year, sdcc was using the Clear app, which was a lot faster and easier, so we were able to get right through the line.

We got to The Gray Man event about halfway into the open time frame.  After checking in, the people working the door told us that the wait time for the activation was over an hour, but if we didn’t want to wait, there were snacks and drinks around the corner.  Needless to say, we headed that way.

There were a couple of video screens set up playing scenes from the movie with one section being part of the activation. I overheard someone stating that you had to do three activities to see if you “had what it takes” to be a gray man. (I assume this will make sense to me once I watch the movie.)  The snacks had been sitting out too long, the drinks were unattainable, and the wait was something we didn’t want to do with it being so close to the floor opening, so after briefly chatting with some of the netflix staff, we headed out.

We got into the convention center right after it opened and started to shop.  I went to the 100% Soft booth to stock up on all things Loki (alligator and president) and then we just wandered around. We met up with Michelle and Jess and saw a few other friends before calling it a night.

Thursday

Thursday had us setting up at the Hilton press area and catching the views.  We could see the line up for Hall H, as well as the different outdoor installations they had around the area.

We were directly across from the E! News set up and watched a lot of the interviews that took place.  One of the crew members even let us stand in their holding room to hear better and take photos.  We ended up seeing and/or meeting the casts of Severance, Vampire Academy, and Paper Girls.

Friday

We started out on the floor Friday morning. I had wanted to see the Marvel booth and the network-y booths to see what they had going on, but we were mostly wandering around without any sort of agenda.

Mid afternoon rolled around and I left Hubs at the press area to get back to the autograph area for one of two romance panel signings.  I was there a bit early and talked with security about lining up.  He said it was fine, so I thought I would be first.  I was surprised to see that there were two people sitting down, but third is a good place to be.  The line quickly filled up as the panel was off site and several people said they left early to have the time to get to the signing.  Jess met me in line and right on time the authors appeared.

I got up to Christina and Lauren first.  It’s been so long since I’ve seen these ladies, so we did a quick quick quick catch up, complete with pretend hugs.

Next was Adriana Herrera.  I straight up flailed on her, telling her that I am obsessed with her book and how I can’t wait for the next in the series.  We talked about the cover and how she had to fight for the woman to be on the published version.  She also told me that she was working on the next story, that it was sapphic, and that the couple was “a lot”.

Ali Hazelwood was the last person at the signing table and while I handed her my arc to sign, the three of us were still talking about Adriana’s book, so I didn’t get to say much to her. *face palm*

From there, I headed back to the Hilton for a bit.  We were trying to catch the cast of Teen Wolf, but only saw Sarah Michelle Gellar walk by.  The main person we were waiting for was Keanu Reeves. And even though our security friends informed us of when he was supposed to be coming through, we missed him by 45 minutes.

Saturday

Again, we started at the Hilton, but this time we settled on a different floor.  We did get cleared from the room because The Rock was supposed to be walking through, but never actually found out if he did.  Throughout the day, we saw and/or met the cast from Mayans, House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, Star Trek (Sir Patrick Stewart nodded at me and I almost died), and Shazam!  Zachary Levi and Lucy Liu were both amazingly nice (I kept an eye peeled for Helen Mirren, but didn’t see her) and Kevin Smith is always a delight.

Midway through the day, I headed to the Tor booth because I had an interview scheduled with Susan Dennard. The booth had advertised that they only had 50 arcs of The Luminaries, so I wasn’t expecting to get one.  I showed up close to our interview time (and close to the end of her signing time) and there was a good sized line wrapped around the booth.  I walked to the end and there was someone from Tor holding a sign with the arc and he asked if I wanted a copy… so I got in line!

When it was my turn to see Sooz, we flailed a bit.  See, Sooz and I have a bit of history.  Her first appearance at SDCC was for Something Strange and Deadly (which is one of my favorites) and I was one of the first people in line to see her.  Seeing her at this SDCC was ten years later.  It was pretty cool to be a part of that.

After I got my copy signed, her publicist told me that I could come into the booth and sit at their table to wait.  I felt so fancy. After a few minutes, Sooz joined me at the table and we had a quick interview (which I’ll be sharing in a separate post soon).  We had a real hug, I flailed a lot, and then thanked her and her publicist for the opportunity.

From there, I quickly walked back to the autograph area for the second romance panel signing.  I had been messaging with Jess who had the chance to be the one to line up first and thankfully she did because that line was already so packed, they had put everyone in a corral before letting them go to the actual line up area.  After a few minutes of my getting there, we were walked over 10 at a time and had to raise our hands so no one would cut the line.

Jess and I bought books and jumped into the fray.

First up was Scarlett St. Clair and I know I probably made a fool of myself.  She looked amazingly gothic in black lace and a snake necklace.  I flailed all over her about her book and told her how excited I was for the next one in the series. She had some swag and you know I grabbed that.

Katee Robert was next and I also flailed all over her. We chatted about the cover for Radiant Sin and how gorgeous it was.  She had arcs of her upcoming release Court of the Vampire Queen and I eagerly took one. Annnnnnd, I know I said other things to her, but I have no idea what they were.

After the flailing was over, the end of the day and con had approached.  We had already decided that we were going to be skipping Sunday, so Jess and I broke off and I met Hubs back at the hotel.  We did briefly talk about staying for a bit longer (and we even kept our vaccination wristbands on until Sunday morning), but decided to call it a day.

Even though this trip was a bit muted compared to other years, we still had a good time.  And yes, I may or may not be counting down the days until next year.