Quick Tips to Being the Coolest Nerd at Comic Con

Comic Con is a place for nerds of all kinds to gather and immerse themselves in the culture of their favorite characters, places and stories. Here are 6 tips to make sure you are the coolest nerd in all of Comic Con.

Tip #1: Arrive Early
Parking spots will fill quickly, and the line outside can grow in a hurry. You can arrive early, grab a coffee and breakfast and schedule your day out. This will let you make the most of your day at Comic Con and not squander your precious time.

Tip #2: Know the Lingo
It’s impossible to know about each and every show, movie, game and comic represented at the Con, but you should be familiar enough with most of them so you aren't left looking clueless. Take the time to especially bone up on any panels or meet and greets you plan on attending since you will be waiting with their truest fans.

Tip #3: Bring Your Own Refreshments
New attendees make the mistake of having to wait in line for snacks and drinks. Prices are artificially high and lines can get quite long during peak hours. Consider bringing a refillable water bottle along with crackers, nuts, popcorn or any other filling snack that can be carried around with no hassle.

Tip #4: Know Your Celebrities
You shouldn't only familiarize yourself with the celebrities who’re going to be attending the panels, but also the celebrities that tend to hang around Comic Con. You may end up knocking elbows with somebody like Patton Oswalt or Kevin Smith. Not recognizing them immediately would be decidedly uncool.

Tip #5: Carry Cash
One thing Comic Con is known for is having a great variety of vendors with memorabilia from all sorts of genres. A good deal of these vendors do accept credit or debit cards, but many of them are cash only. The ATM machines throughout the convention often have long lines and heavy fees. It would be a great shame to miss the perfect piece to your collection because you had to stand in line for an ATM.

Tip #6: Dress to Impress
Dressing up in costume is not a requirement for attendance, but a great costume goes a long way in earning the respect of all other nerds at Comic Con. Pick your favorite character, whether it be somebody from a TV show, movie, comic book, novel, or any other character you can imagine. Try to pick somebody somewhat uncommon but not so obscure that they won't be recognized. You want your fellow nerds to recognize your awesome costume immediately!

Comic Book Geeks vs. Comic Book Nerds

‘Geek’ and ‘Nerd’ are often used synonymously, especially when referencing such a wonderful group as comic book fans. Though now, simply liking comic books, or at least characters in comic books, isn't enough to quantify someone as either because after all, have you actually met someone who didn't like Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, or The Dark Knight? Probably not, and if they don’t genuinely like any of those, I can only assume it’s due to some undiagnosed personality disorder because each of those movies is magic. Though geek and nerd may seem interchangeable at least on the surface, there are differences between the two.

Outwardly, both groups will seem similar. Once they start talking, the differences start to show. Geeks overall, tend to be the more social of the two. They’ll both make really obscure references to very obscure topics, but the geek will generally have more interest in the actual socializing than the nerd will. They are both generally brilliant, and will obsess over topics they’re passionate about (like comics, yay!), but the geek will be more willing to break away from the obsession than the nerd. Example: you could talk to a comic book geek about how you got underpaid at work, and made a fool out of yourself in front of a girl you went on a date with, and the geek may make a reference to how Peter Parker ran into the same problem in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ several issues back. If you tell the same story to the comic book nerd, though he may be just as interested in Peter Parker’s adventures, he isn't nearly as interested in the conversation at hand and will probably be fairly dismissive, or shy away completely. 

So really, one of the biggest differences, though they have almost identical interests and obsessions,  is the comic book nerd is genuinely introverted and more interested in solitude than being with others, and the comic book geek is simply made unique by his passions.

Another Hail Mary play to decipher whether or not that guy you see hanging around Newbury Comics in the mall is a geek or a nerd, look at who he dates. A geek can and will fall for anybody. Nerds on the other hand, will generally only fall for other nerds. Maybe it’s because they need to share their passions with a partner, or maybe it’s just survival instinct. We may never know, but whether geek or nerd, you’ll probably call him or her boss one day.