Let's give thanks for a nerdy November - Special Edition is on

 1 SEPTEMBER 2021

After our long Con inertia, signs of life are stirring in the earth - especially for we SDCC widows who technically possess a badge we never saw to a Comic-Con that never was. Today CCI gave us 3 options for our SDCC future:

• Request a refund by May 1, 2022.
• Transfer our badge to SDCC 2022 - which will happen automatically if we do nothing.
• Transfer our badge to Special Edition by September 20, 2021.

Probably some of you have aged out of Comic-Con life at this point (it happens) and some attendees may have passed away (not morbid, just true) but I'm guessing the rest of us are locked in for 2022. And - despite current COVID rates and predictions, and the holiday timing - I bet a lot of us are just itching for that Special Edition badge sale. 

SDCC 2022, Special Edition, or Both?

If you're trying to decide between a potentially infectious 3-day Con that's only 2.5 months away, as opposed to waiting for the whole (and probably safer) shebang next summer, a few things to remember:

- The sale is tomorrow for NYCC in October if you can't wait. If you're not in their Fan Verification system, someone else who is can buy you a badge with your email address - and you'll be prompted to create a profile after that.

- Special Edition is requiring vaccine cards or negative test results. It doesn't mean we'll all be clean as a whistle - think of how revolting the Exhibit Hall is when there isn't a pandemic raging across the world - but it helps. 

- While many cynical predictions have been made regarding the paucity of Special Edition guests and panels, I think it'll be fine.  How much starpower do you need? It's the Comic Con experience that I think many of us are so nostalgic for - and it'll be fun to eat a Friendsgiving feast with our nerdy comrades. Besides, plenty of exhibitors are anxious to get out there and sell their wares, and the kind of panelists and guests who make a lifestyle of the Con circuit will be more than ready to show up. 

But don't let me persuade you. Competition for the badge sale will be fierce, plague be damned. If you want to stay home eating leftover turkey and watching football, I applaud your choice.

Just anticipating a frustrating badge sale and hotel sale feels luxurious, doesn't it? Special Edition won't be an exact time machine back to our halcyon SDCC past - but it'll be pretty close.