The Artimus Gives His Lowdown on NYCC vs SDCC

East side vs West side... Well, you know how that usually goes!

Red Dot Diva has had the opportunity to experience both San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) and New York Comic Con (NYCC) more than once, and because she has such a wide range of interests, she still has difficulty deciding which one she likes more! 

Both have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. It really depends what kind of fan you are, what your budget is and what you are really looking for.

Diva's geek pal, The Artimus made his way to NYCC for the first time this year. He has attended SDCC several times so here is his lowdown on what he thinks about the different aspects of the two biggest comic conventions in the USA.

SDCC 2014: Diva Offers Useful Tips For Newbie Accredited Press Bloggers

The epic weekend in Nerdvana - that massive, sweaty, busy San Diego Comic-Con - is creeping up faster than you think!

For several months leading up to the mega-con, there have been many blogs and websites providing SDCC first-timers with various practical tips on what to expect, what to pack, how to dress and even, how to get fit for the convention! 

Other than just newbie convention attendees, there are also newbie accredited press members who will be working during that weekend.

Since 2011, Red Dot Diva has been accredited as press for many events held locally as well as overseas. These include SDCC (this year will be her third year as press), New York Comic Con, the Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention, and various local red carpets premieres and screenings.

There seems to be a few first-time press accredited bloggers at this year's SDCC, so Red Dot Diva thought an article on how to prepare to navigate the misty fields of the media landscape may be useful, especially for those who are managing their own blogs or websites.

NYCC 2013: Diva Goes "Twisted Dark" With Indie Writer Neil Gibson

Those who already know Red Dot Diva pretty well, are quite familiar with her warped and dark thoughts - all which belies her petite, usually benign and sometimes chirpy demeanor.

It is probably why she was not too surprised when she first met indie graphic novel writer and TPub's founder Neil Gibson at the recent New York Comic Con. In person, Neil was jovial, articulate and funny. Other than his devious charms, one might not know that he is the mastermind behind a series of sinister and scary stories.

Well, on second thought, Red Dot Diva thinks it actually makes it even more shuddersome and creepy.

Armed with an incisive and wry sense of humour, Neil sat down with Red Dot Diva for half an hour to reveal more about the machinations behind the chilling "Twisted Dark" series. And .... well.... you might be surprised by what was revealed that day.

NYCC 2013 - Where Da Parties At?

Wondering where to hang out with your mob and your new found geek pals during NYCC?

Here are some places where you can get your groove on!


[AS]CENTRAL-TOONAMI FAITHFUL NYCC MEETUP PARTY
An "Adult Swim"/ "Toonami" meetup specially for fans on Thursday to kick off the geek-festive weekend!

Date: Oct 10, Thursday
Time: 7 PM
Venue: Junior's in Midtown

Red Dot Diva doesn't have many details about the event, but do check their FB event page, if you are interested in going!

Don't Wait! Get Your NYCC 2013 Tickets Now!

Blame it on the insanely popular but sold-out San Diego Comic-Con, some say.

But if you have missed out on those SDCC passes and really need your geek fix this year, Red Dot Diva advises you to hurry and get your NYCC 2013 tickets now!

3-Day tickets for NYCC 2013, priced at USD 65, went on sale yesterday May 15th, and the official word out from organizer Reed Exhibitions is that over 50% of these tickets have ready been sold! While it is not selling in a geek-frenzy like SDCC, it is still moving out steadily and fast. In fact, Special Access VIP (4-Day) tickets, which were released for sale in March, have already been sold out.


Red Dot Diva's convention roomie-pal @eserei27 was online yesterday morning to buy the 3-Day tickets and said that there was a virtual waiting room like SDCC's booking portal, but there did not appear to be any server issues. She managed to finish her transaction in 10 minutes with no problems at all!

NYCC: Diva Shares Her Convention Tips (Part 2)

Just less than a week, and the second largest comic convention Stateside will be happening!

NYCC 2012 kicks off at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center next Thursday on 11 October, with tons of cool comic, anime and pop-culture guests. This year's event is a sold-out show with expected attendance of over 100,000, so do be safe and get prepared for a human crush.

And if you are new to New York City or any comic convention, Red Dot Diva hopes some of these tips might prove to be useful.

(For Red Dot Islanders heading to NYCC, she hopes you have checked out her pre-convention, travel planning tips in this blog article!)

NYCC 2011: Diva Shares Her Trip Planning Tips (Part 1)

If you're a Red Dot Island native who happens to be a hardcore fan of "Western" pop-culture and comics, there is very little choice but to save up and head to USA conventions for your desired geek-gasms.

In her many years of active fan-girling, Red Dot Diva has attended a few smaller and niche-market conventions in the UK and Germany before. But she has always craved for that full geek-out experience which seems to happen mainly at SDCC. Finally in 2009, she managed to truly immerse herself in a large-scale comic convention at the hallowed grounds of the San Diego Convention Centre.

The Hollywood factor in SDCC that year was unavoidable and quite overpowering. And with that, came the good and bad - much of which have already been documented and ranted about on several blogs and websites.

Compared to SDCC, NYCC (held at the Javits Convention Centre) is a much younger, less glamourous and less frenzied East Coast cousin. That does not mean that the convention isn't big though. In fact, the crowd attending NYCC has grown exponentially in the last few years, and this year's NYCC saw its largest number at an estimate of over 105,000 people! That's 3.5x more than STGCC, local peeps.