Your First Comic Con: A Survival Guide

Before you go

Buy your ticket online, in advance. Almost every convention sells tickets cheaper online than at the door, and bigger shows sell out entirely, especially Saturday passes. If you only have one day, Saturday has the most programming but the biggest crowds. Sunday is calmer, often has vendor discounts in the final hours, and is great for a first visit.

Study the schedule the week before. Conventions publish panel and guest schedules on their official site or app. Pick two or three must-see items and treat everything else as bonus. A common first-timer mistake is over-scheduling and spending the day sprinting between rooms.

What to bring

Pack light but pack smart. A small backpack beats a tote bag once it fills up with purchases.

• Cash. Many small vendors and artists prefer it, and ATM lines at cons are legendary
• A refillable water bottle and portable phone charger
• Snacks: convention center food is expensive and lines are long
• A poster tube or stiff folder if you plan to buy prints
• Comfortable shoes, because you will walk several miles on concrete
• Hand sanitizer, and deodorant (con crud and con funk are both real)

On the floor

Do a full lap of the vendor hall before buying anything. Prices for the same item can vary a lot between booths, and you'll want to know what's there before your budget disappears at the first table.

Ask before photographing cosplayers. Nearly everyone says yes, and it's the single most important piece of con etiquette. Cosplay is not consent: treat people in costume with the same respect as anyone else.

Artists in Artist Alley love to talk about their work, and buying directly from them supports them far more than any merch booth. Even a small print purchase makes an artist's show.

Budgeting your day

Set a spending limit before you walk in, and physically separate your "must-spend" (parking, food) from your "fun-spend". A realistic single-day budget for a mid-size con is $40 to $80 for a ticket, $20 to $40 for food and parking, and whatever you allow yourself for merch.

If a big-name guest is doing autographs or photo ops, check those prices online first. They're usually separate from admission and can run anywhere from $40 to $200 or more.