I guess I should probably restate that subject line as “Reflections on Comic-Con 2010 from Someone Who Went for the Last Five Minutes of One Day,” but that’s just not as catchy, is it? I’ll be honest, my experience of this year’s SDCC International was… less than stellar. I spent most of the weekend slinging Dr. Peppers to overweight (and unsocial) 25 year olds and their mothers, but for the very enjoyable 12th of an hour I spent within the walls of the convention, I saw enough to last me a lifetime.

That being said, here are some reflections on Comic Con 2010.

1) I MET CLIFF Mother F***ing BLESZINSKI

Oh don’t act like you don’t know who he is. You don’t? Are you serious? Well. Now I feel like a nerd. Cliff Bleszinski (AKA CliffyB, Dude Huge) is the creator of the nothing-but-awesome Xbox franchise “Gears Of War,” and let me tell you what, non-nerds, that game is. The. S***. Also, the dude is loaded, and also, he’s got a BANGIN’ girlfriend. This event made my weekend.

2) THE STEAMPUNKS. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE.

Give me your Pikachus, your zombies, your (not relevant since 2006) Jack Sparrows, I’ll take them all. But this whole steampunk thing is undeniably the most annoying Comic-Con trend EVER. I’ll never understand what the appeal is to attaching copper gears and multi-faceted monocles to your face, but do what makes you happy unless that includes being a huge douche, i.e. jamming your parasol in my face when I’m just trying to check out the True Blood booth. Ugh.

3) So. Many. Lines.

I get irritated with everyday, average San Diego rush hours and lines at Chipotle during lunchtime. How these kids stood in line for half a day just to sit four and half miles away from the panel of artists is beyond me. How someone stabbed someone else in the eye for stealing their four and a half mile away seat, well, I kinda get that.

4) 72 hours in the same outfit? You got it!

Over the span of the three weekend days in the Gaslamp I must have seen a half dozen nerds in the exact same outfit the entire time. Knowing that a vast majority of the hotels downtown don’t offer affordable laundry services, and also know that vinyl doesn’t breathe well, and ALSO knowing that waiting in line amongst 7,000 other people for 6 hours makes you hot and sweaty, I am glad I shelled out the money to rent a gas mask for my time inside the building.

5) Westboro Baptist Church: Hilariously awful. Still.

Oh, WBC, when will you learn not to post your protest schedule on the internetz, especially when your protest is at a convention that is 95% people who spend ALL DAY on the internet? When you decided to picket Comic-Con because “Batman is a false idol,” did you not expect the convention-goers to but out their best witty comebacks on signs that put yours to shame?

Images provided by ComicsAlliance, VintageComputing, and Wired