Countdown to @Comic_Con: 91 Days!

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @AdamReisinger

Note: This is part of an ongoing series looking ahead to San Diego Comic-Con 2011, as contributor Adam Reisinger prepares to attend the convention for the first time.

91 days.

Yep, we're close enough to Comic-Con 2011 that it's time to stop counting in weeks and start counting in days. It also means its time to start getting ready for the event itself.

As we get closer to Comic-Con, I'll start to pick out some specific guests to see or events to check out, but for now let's take a more general glance. First of all, you should probably have your badges by now (not physically of course, just all paid for and confirmed), because they're sold out.

NOTE: the show will likely put up returned badges for sale at some point between now and July, so if you don't already have one, there's still some hope.

You should also have your hotel booked -- those were made available last month and quickly sold out -- and if you're planning on having a car in San Diego that weekend you probably should have picked up the pre-paid parking that was made available last week.

NOTE 2: I'm not renting a car. I'm taking the hotel shuttle from the airport to my hotel, which is adjacent to the convention center. It didn't make sense to me to pay $300 to rent a car and another $35-50 a day to park it when I was going to be in two side-by-side buildings for approximately 85% of my trip.

If you're flying into San Diego, you also may want to go ahead and book your trip now. The way gas prices are going, flights could cost approximately $2.4 billion by July (the flight I booked has already gone up in price about $40 each way from when I booked it).

OK, so let's say you're one of the lucky ones who got all that taken care of, and now you're wondering "so what the heck should I do once I get to San Diego?" Well, I'm not the best person to ask for that. I've never been to the city, much less the convention, so I don't have any first-hand answers for you.

Fortunately, what I do have are RESOURCES. You see, there's this magical thing called "the Internet", where -- in between the piles of keyboard cats and girls with cups and Justin Biebers -- people post information that is designed to help other people. So here's just a handful the best resources out there on the 'net (not to be confused with the horrid Sandra Bullock movie "The Net") for surviving Comic-Con.

- San Diego Comic-Con Survival Guide
http://sdccsurvivalguide.com/

And we're done. OK, no, not really, but The site for the SDCC Survival Guide (a book that's probably worth picking up too), is as good a place to start as any. You can also follow them on Twitter @SDCCSurvival

- Crazy 4 Comic Con
http://crazy4comiccon.wordpress.com/

Another great blog that's got all sorts of great info for first-time SDCC attendees and con vets alike. Oh, and to no one's surprise, you can also follow them on Twitter @Crazy4ComicCon

- Comic-Con International on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/comiccon

If you're going to Comic-Con, then you probably already know about the show's official site, but if you want the real dish, check out their Facebook page. Not only will you get updates from the organizers themselves, but there are plenty of fans and attendees posting on there too, more than willing to help each other out.

- San Diego Comic Con Unofficial Blog
http://sdccblog.com/

After going official, let's change gears and go as unofficial as possible. I mean, it's right there in the title. Still, this site has lots of great info, and in June it'll post a list of the offsite events happening around the con, which is a must-see.

Been to Comic-Con before and want to drop some knowledge on me or our readers? Have another great resource that we missed? Let us know in the comments, or tweets!

#nerdsunite

Check back next Thursday for the next installment of "Countdown to Comic-Con", and be sure to follow Adam on Twitter @AdamReisinger or visit his website, www.adamreisinger.com