I was ripped off! I spent $150 for the Jim Lee package that included meeting him, an autograph, a picture, and a free gift from DC Comics. 1) We were not updated on changes in the schedule and he left really early and we never met him or got a picture. 2) The guys at his booth felt bad for us so they took the books I wanted signed but the only way I could get them mails back is if they were graded. Between authentication and grading I spent an additional $300. 3) DC Comics said that they had no idea of what we were talking about when we mentioned the free gift and said that nothing had been coordinated with them. I emailed the guy that runs the event, a guy named Apple, and I explained what had happened. No response. I emailed again. Again no response. As I talked to multiple people in comic book stores in San Antonio and the surrounding areas it was very clear that I was not alone in feeling ripped off. The biggest complaint besides a disorganized event was the Jim Lee pass. It really tainted the whole experience. read more

Well all the security is rude. The initial line was a disorganized mess. The sign in to scan my barcode took 10 minutes because of the sign in person's tablet. You cain bypass the line if you go outside and want to come back in. I won't attend this again. read more

Honestly it's too the point of don't bother. The owner of the convention has his friends run it and they have no clue, and quite often rookie volunteers are stuck with no idea of what to do and no support. They really need to at least consult with a company that knows how to run a convention. Panels are disorganized and never on time meaning the big draw panels might get 15 minutes. If they aren't all scheduled at the same time in different rooms. They have yet to be able to put out a sound schedule of events so pre planning is impossible. If your local it might be a good opportunity to essentially pay to go to a geek flea market because you can't expect to actually get to see the celebrity guests, I wouldn't bother traveling for it. read more

Alamocity Comic Con SUNDAY (2017 ) I give 2017 the lowest rate. We decided to go Sunday and it was really dull. Maybe Sunday just isn't all that... I actually think it had to do alot with the vendors and guests there. ACCC can provide more entertaining things, but they have to be able to find enthusiastic people. -Lack of pamphlets or maps. I would have liked if all the vendors at least had one pamphlet on their table. -I hope some entertainers arrive to play some songs from the movies or shows we love. -Special FX people should come more often. read more

Finally, San Antonio gets a proper Con filled with celebrities, exclusive merch and most importantly, comics! I just knew San Antonio nerds existed outside of Heroes & Fantasies! Not only did Alamo City Comic Con score big name celebs like Adam West, Sean Astin (who will forever be Mikey from the Goonies to me) and Walking Dead stars but they made sure to include several comic book artists which is really what the con is all about. I've heard for years that SDCC has become more of a pop culture convention and less of a celebration of comic books and to see that creator Alfredo De La Fuente dedicated a huge portion of the ACCC convention space to comic book artists was such a welcome sight. And how can I review ACCC without mentioning my fellow cosplayers? Wow, San Antonio, y'all made me SO proud. From classic costumes like Batman and Thor to newer ones from Borderlands and Silent Hill, these guys brought their A game with my personal favorite being Wreck-It Ralph, that guy KILLED. Oh, you guys, Alamo City Comic Con felt like home and although the growing pains were obvious (what are these, aisles for ants?!) I still had a stellar time and can't wait for ACCC 2014! read more

Even though I attended this con back in October I'd like to let anyone interested in attending in 2014 that it is totally worth it. They actually had worthwhile celebrities, artists, and vendors. Having it in down town San Antonio was nice because of other attractions and restaurants nearby but parking is the worst and if mom/dad/grandparents can drop you off let them. I heard some places were charging $20+ for parking. There were also lots of great cosplayers to take photos with and everyone was very friendly and generally a good mood filled the place. I'd recommend getting there early though, because the place was at capacity around 1pm. They wouldn't let anyone else in until others left. I can't wait for ACCC 2014. I'm dressing as Lady Punisher for any of you yelp friends attending, let's take pictures! read more

Meh. I guess I got spoiled BY EVERY CON I'VE BEEN TO IN MY LIFE before this one. Zero organization was apparent as there were no schedules printed of the times of panels. So you can basically trudge around like cattle ass to nose on the vendor floor seeing big screens display the panels you figured would happen but never found out when. They really need to hold this in a hotel so that there are actual restaurants and comfortable seating and lounge areas for anyone to sit down. Perhaps VIP service at Alamo Comic Con is equivalent to regular service at any other Con in the world? read more

2019 event at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio. This is a complete rip-off. I should've known when you get the notification "we've moved the event to the Grand Hyatt" that this thing isn't what you thought you were paying for. You pay for a day pass so you can wait for an hour in line while they try to figure out how to get people through the security check faster. Then you go into a medium size ballroom and hallway stuffed with booths to buy overpriced stuff, pay for signatures and pay for photo ops. $250 for a pic with Michael Keaton? Really?!? It opened at 10 am and people were exiting by 11am which should've given us a big clue that up the escalators didn't hold anything worth the price of admission. Buyer beware, you've been warned. read more

I was afraid there wouldn't be much here since slot of the events I've seen in SA have been on the smaller side, but it seems like the scenes here in many areas are growing! Comic Con had a lot to see and a lot of stars there for autographs and pictures as well. We had a great time and there was something for everyone in the family, from a giant Minion for the baby to Star Wars for mom and superheroes for dad! Took lots of pictures!! There weren't as many good costumes as I've seen in other big cities, but we still saw a few like a very good Jack Sparrow look alike and some great couples costumes. We will be back next year. My Yelp rating system: 5 stars= Driving across town just for this! 4 stars= I would recommend visiting. 3 stars= Average, acceptable, positive. 2 stars= You might be able to drag me in. 1 star= I will definitely not be returning. read more

So, what happens when you get Tetris, Mario, Danny Trejo, The Walking Dead, Ghostbusters, and the Joker all in one building? San Antonio's first Comic Con! Hoards of excited kids, adults in their finest costumes, and the cool people trying to hide their sheer excitement at seeing the original De Lorean can congregate at the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center for the 3 day extravaganza. The organizers are walking zombies, but have done an amazing job bringing in vendors, Cosplay, actors, and sights. This is an awesome adventure, only to get better in the future years. The managed to take this secret nerd back to her childhood and have serious discussions about the difference between a nerd, a geek, and a dweeb. read more

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This was my first ever Comic Con! I had an amazing time. Was a ton of fun to get dressed up and run around the city as a super hero for the day. Even at my age it was awesome to reach into the imagination and have a little fun. It was quite awesome seeing my generation and older with today's generation there. It's becoming unheard of for children to have an imagination. Of course the video games are today's thing but seeing the younger folk getting a lesson on where a lot of it started was awesome. Can't wait till next year! read more

Alamo City Comic Con - Whoop whoop at 29 I finally got to be Mighty Mouse!! - Comic Books Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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ALAMO COMIC CON 2018 Attended all 3 days Fri-Sun. Where do I start, the horrible walk from parking lot which felt very unsafe leaving at nite. The fact that there was nothing in their advertisement that no outside food was allowed... we only took water and snacks cuz I was looking forward to the food trucks. That was a laugh only 1 food truck and it was a pretzel truck! That was on Fri, sat there was 2 more and again 1 on sun. Food inside was highly overpriced but I expected that. THERE WAS AN ESCALATOR THAT WAS FOR VIP ONLY!!! Like others pointed out no programs but I went to their web site and the had event times there but I like the guide book cuz you can schedule the events you want to see. THE ONLY POSITIVE I have is the star power they had was great!!! Arnold was pushed back so I got tired of waiting as they never announce til what time. BASICALLY the venue was what sucked the most. read more

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Don't expect to be able to pickup your passes early at this comic con. We stopped by Saturday evening to get our Sunday passes and they said they don't have them. They only bring the current day passes to give out. Also, they ran out of lanyards because the staff said that they only bought one box. Seriously? Parking is nonexistent at the convention center. We arrived 1 hour before the con started on Sunday and the garage was already marked "lot full". Fortunately, we got a space at the mall garage instead. You can't bring in backpacks or portfolios with your stuff to be signed. They make you check in your bags for $2 per bag and then you can carry all of your loose items in your arms. The stupid part is that there was a booth this year giving away free string tied backpack inside the con. So those bags are allowed but not our own, even though there are people searching the bags as you enter the building? Why do a bag search if we can't bring in bags? There weren't as many celebrities at this one as there have been at other cons we have attended. Lots of names I never heard of from things that nobody cares about anymore, such as people from the Walking Dead that were killed off in the series ages ago. lol I was only interested in 2 people and if one of those had cancelled, we wouldn't have bothered coming at all. Lots of vendors selling the same junk you can get at any local comic book store, Amazon, or your local Hot Topic..except sold here with a markup because it's a Con. Nowhere near as many vendors as the cons we've seen in Houston or Austin. The gaming area upstairs was a joke, the panels listed were a joke, and I doubt we will ever come to this again. The only saving grace this past weekend was the 501st Legion making things fun for the kids. read more

What a disappointment. This year it's a disaster. The organizers this year did a lousy job. We bought tickets nearly a year in advance, but this year they were so disorganized that prepaid ticket holders actually had to wait in line for an hour+ to get in. What's the point of buying ahead if you still have to wait in line? They made everyone enter through an entrance with stairs, tough shit if you have a stroller or God forbid a wheelchair. The staff had no idea what to do, as if they had no more than a few minutes training. Then once you finally get to the counter, you find out they cheaped out again and didn't do lanyards and just have a paper wristband. Lame. Most con nerds have a collection of awesome lanyard/passes from all the cons, well not this time. What a joke. I may never return to this con again. Last year was smooth as can be. It was well organized. We have 3 day passes and left early the first day and won't be returning. That's unusual for us. We can go all day, everyday, and spend a small fortune. Sorry artists and vendors not this year. read more

Alamo City Comic Con - BS paper wristband. What a joke. - Comic Books Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Do not waste your money. Issues: Lack of information on parking Lack of Panels Lack of AC Lack of Activities Big one. I went to Doctor Who panel on Saturday. No show David Tennant & John Barrowman. Over sold VIP there was no room for average people in the panel. I will never go again. If you are not going to buy photo op, autograph or VIP do not go. Greatest: Comic artist and writers are very interesting. However the price is too high. Lot of food outlets inside and close by. read more

Lame. Been every year. Every year we expect them to step it up & impress us. It seems to get worse every year. Never again. Waste of time & money read more

My husband drove around for two hours to get a parking spot. Never got to come in. Couldn't do anything or see anything. Too crowded. One line for credit and one for cash. Volunteers didn't know anything. Been here before and it was great. This time epic fail. When you know Dr Who peeps will be there. Organize appropriately. Won't be back. Will stay at my home Austin comicon . Lines so long ...hours to wait for a autograph. Couldn't even find out how or where to get in line. read more

I have watched this initially small convention grow into a beautiful and large COMICON worthy of national attention. I've attended each year and have not been disappointed. I am not too into meeting people but I did have a good talk with Jonathan Joss a.k.a. JOHN REDCORN. Always a good crowd with great costumes. I HOPE it grows and grows so I won't have to travel to other cons for serious exclusive stuff. I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU SDCC! read more

Hands down this is the biggest and best comic con in Texas! Year after year they have an amazing guest list, and they really know how to keep the comics part of Comic Con. There are tons of activities for the entire family, and let's not forget how much they do for theor community and military personnel. I highly recommend this event! read more

I will be totally honest here. The size of the show was great. The diversity of celebrities was excellent. My gripes are as follows. First off the parking in San Antonio is usually always bad, but for this show it was absolutely terrible. Every parking lot I passed had a sign that said "Full"... I eventually found a hotel that was charging to allow you to park on their property. The price $30 plus tax. So before I even walked into the Convention Center, I spend $32.00 Next you had to pay $40 to enter for the one day. I go to a lot of Comicons and usually it's about $30 to enter. My biggest complaint about this show and may have nothing to do with the promoters is the amount of money almost every celebrity was charging for their autograph or their picture. Example: George Takei wanted $50 for his autograph or just a picture with him.I'm sorry, I like George but $50 just to take a picture with him is nuts. Most other shows I go to, the celebrities charge $30 to $40 for their autograph and then they take a pic with you for free. Or if you just want a picture it's $10 to $20 bucks. I found that almost all the celebs at this show wanted $40 to take a pic with them. Oh and Stan Lee was charging $85 for his autograph. I mean really I got Michael Madsen, Danny Glover, Martin Landau's autograph for $30 and they took a pic with you for free at other shows.. So some shows like this show and Austin's Wizard World are very expensive to get celebs autographs or pictures. It just doesn't make sense to me that most of these celebs are worth millions of dollars so they obviously don't need the money and do the shows because they like to interact with their fans. So why overcharge for your autograph or pic. I'm mean Linda Hamilton is worth about 70 million dollars and she only charges $40 for an autograph and then gives you a free pic. So sorry George, your not worth $50.00!!! Anyway I won't be returning to this show.... This is why our nations economy is so bad. Greed..... This is my opinion..... Oh yes and God forbid if you try to take a pic of a celeb from 20 feet away or so. A volunteer will come up to you and tell you to stop because they want you to pay for the pic. So you spend $40 to get in but sorry no pics of celebs on your own.... read more

Worked security for ACCC this year(2017) and have been ignored after multiple attempts to reach out to administration for the convention as to why I have not been paid as of yet (more than two weeks after the convention). Very unprofessional, guess they'd rather all their employees volunteer free time as opposed to paying the ones they actually hired. read more

This was a decent event for a first time con. There were some logistical issues that needed to be worked out around attendance numbers and building capacity but I think the folks who are in charge understand the issues and will be making changes to improve things for 2014. The celebrity guests were decent. I really enjoyed the panel with Danny Trejo. read more

Let me start off by saying I'm a total comic con noob, I've never been and this would have been my first. I asked a few questions on their fb page and got a super fast and friendly response and was encouraged to ask anything if I had more questions being it would be my first experience. Before deciding to drop $200+ on tickets alone I had some more follow up questions. Days passed and no responses, so I messaged them on their IG account and days pass and still nothing. Finally tagged them on fb and got a response that was half helpful and didn't answer all of my questions. Now having tried to see what days to go and how scheduling worked so I could buy my photo ops because I could only go one day I asked them how that works and nada again from them. It's ridiculous that their media team can post updates almost daily and not respond to questions and I wasn't the only one. You can go through and see that they hardly respond to any inquiries whatsoever. It all seems very disorganized from past reviews and things I've read up on and I'm not about to spend over 1k(tickets, photo ops that are $100 and more, autographs that I don't know how much will run, and merchandise on top of that for getting signed and buying at the comic con) def not for this poor lack of a comic con. I'd rather use that money to fly to another state and go to a real one! They may have started this with the right intentions but are lacking in the delivery. read more

I had not attended a comic con in a while and heard about Alamo City Comic Con. I knew I had to go since this was a new convention. I enjoyed everything about the con and would definitely attend again read more

Overall worst than last year's for VIP's. BAD THINGS: 1. Only Lila Cockrell panel volunteers and employees were doing VIP reserved seating. Other area panel volunteers and employees were letting people with 1 day passes sit in front and blew you off if you told them. Panels I went to were delayed by 20 min and I heard some were canceled. 2. At the main autograph area volunteers did not know answers to questions or who to refer you to and neither did employees if you found one. At lines for panels the volunteers and employees were giving bad info about what line to stand in. You had to ask like 3 times to find the correct line if there was one. 3. The volunteers were letting NON-VIP people get autographs before VIP and they knew they were wrong as I overheard them talking about it. 4. The Showclix company that handles the tickets are very rude and unprofessional on the phone. 5. There were no raffles at most panels like last year's. 6. This one was more disorganized than last years and that is really bad. 7. The VIP room nachos were old and hard and there was no streaming panels in the VIP room which was told was going to happen this year. 8. The security and police were pretty rude, I saw them stop exhibitors and VIP's from entering and made them walk around the whole convention center. They also treated handicap people pretty bad. I saw that they made one person that was already in go around the whole area to get in and then overheard them laughing and joking about how they made a handicap person do it. 9. They gave better exclusives to VIP's last year then this year. Some other VIP's I talked to said they did not receive a comic or funko or poster with their VIP package so they did not get their exclusive. 10. Need to provide some reduced priced food and drinks in VIP lounge for those who do not want nachos. 11. Need to let VIPs in an hour early. 12. Need to actually make a VIP experience as it was almost non-existent this year. I bought two VIP packages but got treated like I did not get any VIP packages. I did not get my moneys worth. 13. Some people did not get photo ops with celebrities because some canceled at last minute. I saw some children crying because of this. I heard from many people the photo ops were a disaster. 14. Need a special VIP Concierge booth separate from ticket booths that can fix anything. GOOD THINGS: 1. The actors were more friendly this year. 2. Having a VIP room was good. 3. The event was bigger and had more celebrities. 4. Had a VIP lounge. 5. Had food and drinks around the areas. read more

The above rating 2/5 is for 2017 Sunday....Been to every con except Halloween Edition. But I also want to greatly thank Alamocity for what you do and for bringing this to our city. I'm still proud! My ratings: [2013]: 4/5 Friday-Saturday. Was a volunteer. So exciting! It's way better to be a patron though in my opinion. [2014]: 4.5/5 SAT [2015]: 5/5 SAT (BEST! ) [2016]: 4.8/5 SAT (Awesome space, spaced out too much) [2017]: 2/5 SUN I'll review the last 3 (2017, 2016, 2017) since these were during the changes/expansion. But I really don't want to miss a Comic Con. But next time, put some arrows and signs or more of them. Need more artists; their area and layout was kind of lackluster. Have some musical guests! Have more animated show specials. Vendors you need to come! 2017: Went May on Sunday and was so stoked it came back so soon since October 2016! First time trying Sunday with cheaper tickets also due to schedule. But it seemed pretty dull and quiet. Heck parking wasn't even an issue this time like in fall 2016; parked right at the con. Is Sunday always quieter? The place is bigger but spaced out like in 2016. Didn't go to the halloween con though I actually did want to it just seemed this year was not the year. Perhaps due to personal things too so I kinda missed my first one ever. Back to Alamocity 2017: The room for the panels was an impressive space located where the artist alley used to be in 2013-14 I think. It was on the first level, concrete floor. I wanna say it was room "2B" and the other panel rooms looked fine when we passed by, comparable to others I've seen in San Diego. But the artist panel on Sunday was, empty. They needed a smaller room. We went briefly, decided to leave and felt bad getting up and opening the door in the back, which I think shined a beam of outside light on the panelist guests....Awkward. Maybe they needed a curtain in front of the exit so its wasn't so obvious when someone entered/left (haha...). The artist/vendor alley was in the same spot as 2016 and it was just okay. Same stuff. Felt like we got bored. I think less vendors and fan clubs came which I missed though they likely were there on Friday/Saturday. 2016: Biggest turnout. Ooh AHHHH!... Where is ANYTHING? Huge!! Ticket booth was waaaay over there. Artist Alley shrank? Where's the other half? Where's a map? Fun anyway. Wished the panels had a live footage for fans to still watch from another room. Might sound like a silly idea but I think fans would have liked it, especially if they did a Q&A with some of them via a live camera. If I were a guest I'd run out and high five all of the fans. We were cut from the Doctor Who literally just 10 people away. It was sad to see so many diehard fans get cut. Biggest panel turnout I've seen. 2015: Best year! I loved that huge hallway full of vendors when they opened the second half. The artist alley seemed to outshine the guests tables actually. That hallway is now gone though but it was cool. read more

I went on Friday, October 26th hoping to avoid big crowds and the majority of the guests I wanted to see were attending that day. Day by day I saw guests I was hoping to meet cancelled or dropped days. That was disappointing, but there were still so cool people going. However the doors didn't open until 20 minutes after they were supposed to. Once we were inside, there was no direction as to where I should go or hand held maps. Escalates were reserved for VIPs. No exceptions for the handicapped on that. The line for Kevin Conroy was long. I found this normal but was immediately upset when I saw them selling autographs at the table when they specifically stated that you needed to preorder to get his autograph. Then after being in line for 10 minutes we were told that they couldn't scan the QR code that ShowClix provides off of your phone and even turned away people with their recipes printed out. We asked the volunteers where to get the small card that they insisted we needed. The volunteers tried to send us to the photography booth. I advised them that the photo ops are done by a different company not ShowClix. I decided to go to the enterance to see if anyone up there would know. Found the ShowClix table directly at the entrance hidden behind a line of people who just enetered the event with no signs stating to redeem your showclix preorders there. They guy working the booth didn't know what to do and did not know how to operate the scanner. Eventually another person came over and took care of it. We got back down in line and waited. Then I saw people cut the line. Afterward I found out they were allowed since they preordered and didnt know to get the card. The volunteer never told us to go to the front. He was also arguing with someone over the VIP line and preventing the VIPs from using their faster lane. I heard the horror stories of several of the sandlot guests did not show and that the people who bought that specific VIP weren't getting reimbursed. The layout was terrible. There were several cars on the main floor when there was plenty of room outside. They also put all the local artists and smaller vendors on the fourth floor! There is nothing happening on those floors. The three biggest stars were going to all be on the main floor next to each other. VIP customers who ordered their specific packages when they first opened were shocked to find out that autographs were being sold separately not like first advertised. Overall a complete disappointment. Not pleased and would not recommend. I do not want to witness the mess that is happening on Saturday. read more

I'm a professional artist who does about 20 conventions a year. I've been all over the country at conventions of every size and genre. I can say, without a doubt, that this is the WORST convention I have ever seen. Terrible venue, terrible communication, poor layout, no signs, maps, or programs. This is not a convention. It's an overpriced three day celebrity signing. There is nothing to do other than stand in line and give these people money. No fan panels, activities, anything. I've never seen so many bored, miserable people at a con and can't believe how many people (myself included) fell for this. The best thing for this con to do would be to sell it to someone who knows what they're doing. Don't bother buying a booth or artist alley table, you will not make your expenses and will waste so much time and energy. Load out was horribly disorganized and we were constantly shouted at by staff for the dumbest reasons. It's like they just took our money and dumped us wherever and left us to fend for ourselves. I'm guessing the five star reviews are from people who have never been to a real con before. I would not come back to this one even if they paid me, which they did not, considering how much time and money I lost on this farce of a show. read more

Not sure how a convention only in it's second year managed to become so popular with such a large volume of awesome guests, but there you have it. ACCC manages to have a crapload of old school American horror guests, AAA video game voice actors (Troy Baker, David Hayter), Stan freaking Lee, Star Trek actors (hello, Uhara and Sulu!), and tons more--even people you wouldn't expect to see there like Lou Diamond Phillips. Sure, purists will grumble that the con is not just about comics, but I'm glad that this brings a lot more different type of people to the convention scene who would not have gotten to experience it otherwise. Also, the cosplay scene here is big and talented, so bring plenty of space on your camera and of course, remember that these are people, too! So try not to touch us without asking or say rude/creepy things to us just because we are in costume. Please. I encourage everyone to cosplay if they can, it makes the con a lot funner! You don't have to be decked out like Master Chief with LEDs and a gun with a speaker inside or Bayonetta with seven inch heels and a six foot long wig, but you should know that this is another time to dress up as whatever the heck you want and have it be pretty socially acceptable (check cosplay policies before you bring something like an actual gun or sword though). Having gone to several other conventions before, ACCC runs pretty smoothly (events start and stop in time, lines are orderly, layout makes sense and doesn't have ridiculous bottlenecks). I do wish they had more volunteers to help out on questions, as I've encountered none. For instance, I only learned from hearsay that the Takei panel was cancelled! Sadness. There was also an illogically long pre-registration line. This line is meant for people who have already bought their ticket and need to pick it up, by the way. It was over an hour and a half long, and half of the line was outside. Luckily, con weekend in 2014 was cooler, or I'd be very unhappy in my cosplay. On the bright side, you can strike up a conversation with just about anyone or people watch, and everyone is just so darn friendly and non-judgmental. But of course, this tends to be the case for any line at conventions. Speaking of the con culture, each con tends to have its own "ambiance," if you will. ACCC's catering to such a large crowd loses some of that cozy, shared experience of being nerdy (hard to explain), and feels more like you're going to the shopping mall, so you might want to dial back on the obscene meme shouting, if you've a tendency for that. This is also a very family friendly convention, so you shouldn't do that anyways. I have never seen so many children and families at a convention before, so don't be afraid to bring your little (or not-so-little) ones. Buying a badge was easy online. It's not cheaper if you buy it earlier than later, by the way, like with other cons, but you do have to worry whether the tickets will sell out or not. They also sell autograph and photograph spots with the guests, so budget accordingly. As far as for parking, anybody who has gone downtown for anything know how terrible it is to find a lot, so I suggest carpooling if you can, because you'll be paying around $15 for a day's worth of parking. If you go all three days, that can really eat into your comic book buying money! There are also a great deal of good eating options in the area, but the closest ones are of course, tend to be overpriced with lackluster offerings (I'm looking at you, Rivercenter Food Court), so look around a bit unless you're really, really hungry or pinched for time and need to catch that one panel. There are really a ton of vendors (bring cash), artists, panels, signings, along with a table top gaming area where I like to go to relax, recharge, and be human again. It's okay, no one will yell at you. I recommend going the entire day, if you can, to get your money's worth. The convention mostly only uses the first (massive) floor, but there are like...four odd rooms used on the second floor, two being the "Cosplay Changing Area," which are essentially empty rooms with doors that do not lock. I could see straight into the men's changing area, but there was only one guy in it with half of his armor on, playing on his phone. I do not recommend changing in this place unless you have someone to guard the door, or do not mind changing in front of others. There are no mirrors or anything else to make cosplayers' lives easier, so while I appreciate the sentiment, they could do more work in this. They also have a large area full of photography sets, one in particular being a Star Wars 501st Legion-ran set! I highly recommend stopping by to see these gals and guys' costumes, because they are darn impressive, even if you don't like Star Wars (boo). Despite my gripes, I look forward to going to Comic Con again next year, and hope to see that they expand into the second floor of the convention center! read more

This was my first Comicon (ever) so just keep that in mind as you read my review. I took the Primo downtown (epic win as far as saving $ on parking) but I was also not in costume. Next year I'm planning something that will probably not be bus-friendly, so will have to make alternate travel plans. I heard people who didn't buy tix ahead of time were waiting in epic lines, so I bought my ticket before 9/4 (When prices went up) for Saturday and paid $37 with the discount. I got to the Convention Center around 1230p, and the line for non-ticket holders was hundreds of people long. I heard later it was an hour + wait for those folks. I was in the center immediately, waited maybe 10 minutes to get my wristband and was set loose. From my perspective as a newcomer, I appreciated all the maps as to where things were. There was an area for kids activities, lots of great artists (I'm an illustrator by trade so it was great to speak with them about their work), and it was great to see so many artists in attendance. TONS of vendors... and such a variety of things for sale.. toys, costume elements, everywhere I turned was something different. The celebrity area was fun.. I didn't pay for any pics or autographs, but everything that I saw priced out seemed quite high.. Some wanted $20+ for a selfie, $30+ for an autograph, and $40+ for the formal photo ops (Stan Lee of course being on the very high end of everything). If one wanted a few selfies and autographs, you'd go well over $100 FAST. A few of the celebs had almost no line for the entirety of the day, most of the SOA and TWD guys had huge lines.. and I don't think security really knew what to do with the lines once they spilled out into the main area. And no photo taking with your phone of a celeb if you didn't pay for that picture.. yet they let people take pics of Stan Lee from outside the main waiting area. And speaking of lines: they had (understandably so) TONS of people waiting for some of the panels.. they let those line spill into the artist row area.. making a huge mess and allowing no space for people walking. So for that, they needed a much better plan. Aside from that I was able to move around fairly well until around 230, after the UTSA game let out at the Alamodome and all those folks came over. For as large as the center is, by that time it was packed and hard to move, everywhere. (I will say tho, when I bumped into someone, or they bumped into me, both of us immediately apologized and smiled.. other giant conventions I've been too people just kept on going). I appreciated the few seating areas they had to rest a bit. A paper wristband is fine for 1 day, but the people who paid for 2/3 day passes should be given something else.. who wants to keep that on for multiple days? I think for the cost of getting in they should give people something like a lanyard (I hear other CC's give them when you go in) I would have loved that to take home. I didn't buy any food but there were people walking around selling waters for $2. (Bags were not checked at entry, but I could only imagine the issues that would have caused with the already tremendous amount of people they had waiting). I heard from several folks that the VIP passes were not worth it one bit... they didn't get priority seating for panels (Which they should have) and overall just not worth the expense. I was seriously impressed with some of the costumes. I definitely will dress up next year. I was told ahead of time by friends to just ask someone in costume if you could take their picture.. and most if not all agreed immediately. Would have loved to have stayed for the contest but with the amount of people there it became hard to really enjoy anything when you can't move. But all in all, it was a fun day. They need much improvement as far as crowd control (ticketing, lines, etc), but I was impressed with the artists/vendors/amount of celebs, and I'll go back again.. hopefully as this event grows they'll improve each time. read more

Too bad Yelp doesn't do 1/2 star increments, because I debated between 3 and 4 stars. The Pros: Good guest list. ACCC certainly doesn't hold back, as there were a ton of guests that met practically every genre: Comics, horror, pop culture, etc. A solid five star rating for that. Lots to see and do. They didn't just carve out tiny sections for artists, authors, gaming, etc., they had huge areas devoted to each. Major props for that, as there's something for everyone. The most important pro, because I don't want to be misunderstood after reading the cons, is the effort. It's extremely clear these guys want to put on a quality con, and save for some kinks, they manage to do it. So thanks to everyone involved for their time and effort. We gripe about kinks because we want to make it even better, not because we're mean and spiteful and hate them. :-) Cons: Cohesive volunteers. Though every volunteer I spoke with was friendly (huge bonus, thanks, guys!), there was a lack of cohesiveness. Asking 3 people where to go garnered 3 different responses, and a couple of those responses started out with, "Um, I think it's..." So that could use some work. Use of space and logistics. The Convention Center is HUGE, but it felt like they could've utilized the space better. Mostly in the vendors area. I wish conventions would allow one or two avenues JUST for walking (i.e. no vendors), so that people can come and go to the different areas a bit quicker. Especially when the celebrity area is directly behind the vendors. I also wish they had more signs. Yes, they had signage, but I thought it could've been placed better. I heard SO MANY people saying, "I don't know how to get here," and "Where is XYZ?" or "I thought this was supposed to be the entrance, but...?" There were also a lot of doors and a couple areas that were not allowed to be used, but no signs stating such. Just guards who told people they had to find another route or could not access that area. Organization of VIP vs. "Regular". This area could really use some work. VIPs are supposed to get the first 5 rows of a panel, but during the Horror panel, they had to block off more because, as one volunteer explained, "we keep having more and more VIPs show up and we aren't sure what we need." However, once the panel started there were a good handful of empty spots in those rows. My advice would be to sell a certain amount of VIP passes and use that number to help determine things like how many seats might need to be cordoned off. I say 'might' because who knows how many VIPs will show up to any given panel? But it might help give a better idea. The other issue I had with VIP vs. Regular was there was again a lack of cohesiveness. VIPs get to stand in X line for X guest or X panel. OK, I get that. But there's no signs stating this, and there was often a mixture of VIPs and Regulars in many of the lines. I also saw instances where they had multiple VIP lines for panels, because the volunteers were giving people different answers (i.e. "VIPs can immediately go down that hall and turn left." vs. "VIPs stand here until X time and then go through that door and turn right."). Finally, one thing I don't get is the convenience of buying your ticket ahead of time to avoid lines. When I arrived Saturday at about 10:50AM (thinking since it opened almost an hour ago, the line would be way down or gone entirely), the line was wrapped around the entire building. Meanwhile, for those who hadn't purchased tickets yet, there was no line, no waiting, just walk in, buy, and Welcome! I think that's actually great for those who buy a ticket the day of, but it's kind of a blow to those who paid ahead of time. They have their tickets, their passes, and I'm not understanding why there's such a long line nearly an hour after Opening. read more

the 2015 was better. this one in a smaller area of the terrible convention center. they only have 2 credit card check outs to buy tickets, at an event that will draw 60K people. the wait was an hour after spending 1 1/2 hours looking for a fk parking space. concessions were overpriced for luke warm crap. too crowded for a small space. read more

Overall, each year this event seems to be getting better and better. Able to attract a decent number and variety of celebrity guests for photo/autograph opportunities. Went this morning (Fri 11SEP15) and overall it was great, however did have to take off one star for poor planning on the check in process. I fully understand that I just did the regular pre-pay online and didn't shell out for the extra VIP express entrance, so that part was on me. But for those who arrived this morning and had done the pre-pay we sat in line for about 45 mins to an hour whereas people coming in off the street who did not prepay and were doing cash or credit card were in line for 15 minutes or less (more often much less, I watched one come in and go thru the set up plastic white chain link maze, pay and go in in about 5 minutes, meanwhile I moved up one whole row). Its frustrating to try to speed up the process by doing this only to watch others zip on thru. Should have had more check in stations dedicated to the prepay check in, or after you saw how long the line was and had other stalls just sitting there with no customers (again the cash and credit card stations more often than not had one or two at a time with no one to assist) they could have helped speed up the process by taking one or two from our line. If I remember to post pictures later I will. After that everything was fine, will still continue to come back however don't pus for advanced online ticket sales if we are going to be punished for it. The longer I sit in line the less money I am out there spending with the vendors, concessions, ect. read more