San Diego Comic Con is around the corner, and most people have already gotten everything they need for it, so is this going to be your first time going to the event? Well, this is our first time going, but we have gotten everything we need; since we want to help make your experience as fun as possible we’ll be listing what we’re planning to bring.

• Business cards – Even if you’re not someone that wants to get into the comic book business, business cards are good for giving your information to booths that are doing giveaways, so having them is recommended. This will save you writer’s cramp by the end of Day 1!

• Business card holders – We’ve also gotten three business card holders for each of us, but why did we get three specifically? Well one is for our business cards, one is for business cards we think we will actually use to get in touch with people we meet, and one is for business cards that we don’t necessarily think we will use to get in touch with people.

• Food & Water – Since outside food and water are allowed we have gotten some snacks as well as some water bottles so that we can avoid those long convention lines, and so we can save some money. You don’t want to come across something you really want to get, but you can’t because you got that bag of cheese puffs or that bottle of soda. Mints would be good to have on hand as well, so that your breath doesn’t smell like that garlic and anchovy pizza that you may or may not have eaten before you went to that autograph session.

• A messenger bag – We’ve gotten a messenger bag for all of those free goodies and souvenirs that we may or may not get, as well as snacks and water that we’re bringing with us.

• Comfortable sneakers – It’s a big convention that will involve a lot walking, so flip-flops or ill-fitting shoes are not recommended what-so-ever.

• Lanyards – Not only is it fun to have your own lanyard to put your badge on, it’ll also save you time at the entrance, time that you could spend walking around the convention hall.

• Shirts – While it isn’t exactly a necessity to get new comic book related shirts we HAVE gotten some new comic book related shirts as well as some shirts with our logo on them.

• Hand Sanitizer – Let’s face it, you’re walking through a large convention hall filled with people that you don’t know, so germs are going to be in the area, germs that could get you sick after the convention, plus you may be shaking some hands and their hands or even your hands may not be clean, so not only is it good for YOUR health it’s also courteous to others when you put on hand sanitizer. Don’t be patient zero!

So that’s all of the things that we actually have for the convention, but what did we have to do to get prepared?

• Exercise – We’re going to a convention where we will be doing a lot of walking as well as standing, and since we’re not in the best shape we had to prepare our bodies for said walking and waiting in lines. How did we prepare our bodies? Well, we walked on a treadmill, A LOT.

• Planning – San Diego Comic Con has plenty of panels, autograph sessions, and booths that you may want to visit, plus you may also have things outside of the convention that you’ve either agreed to do or want to do, with that said, you do have to plan ahead so that you’re prepared.

So everything I listed were things that we’ll be taking with us, and things that we have done to prepare. While we may not need all of these things it is better to have too much instead of too little. Your first time going to an event should be used to decide what you needed, or didn’t need to have so you can have even more fun next time.