One of my more “just for fun” New Years Resolutions for 2014 was to attend San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest multi-genre fan convention in the United States. I hadn’t invested too much hope into successfully completing the resolution, however- since I knew well in advance how difficult it was to get tickets- which typically sell out within minutes for the general public. Even still, I created an account at SDCC’s official website and patiently waited for an opportunity to participate in what I had only assumed was a “Hunger Games”-style bloodbath the day badges/passes were made available to the masses.

That day was today, and the bloodbath in question actually turned out to be a carefully coordinated lottery-style system. Hopeful attendees entered a virtual “waiting room” during a specific time bracket this morning, and then were randomly given a position in a queue before tickets went on sale. If and when they reached the front of the queue, they could purchase badges/passes for any or all days available.

By pure, dumb luck- my wait in the queue wasn’t long- and I was able to obtain badges for each day of San Diego Comic-Con, including the preview night on Wednesday, July 23rd. Needless to say, I’m beyond giddy and grateful. This will be my first year attending SDCC, and I don’t think I could possibly be anymore excited to experience as much as possible.

Before it was announced that tickets were going to be made available today, I had briefly thought about whether or not I would make my own costumes to wear should I be fortunate enough to attend. Now that I am, I’ve decided to go through with crafting and creating three costumes on my own. I’ve never done it before, and I’m always up for trying new things:

Artwork by Brian Bolland.

My first, and possibly most intricate attempt at a costume, will be of Poison Ivy- my favorite (redheaded!) villain from the Batman-verse. I’ve got an idea of how I want the costume to look, which is more along the lines of the comic book version of Poison Ivy and less Uma Thurman-“Batman & Robin”-ish- and may or may not include something robotic attached to it- assuming I can get it to work properly!

Betty and Veronica #320

My second costume attempt will be of my other favorite redheaded villain- this one from Riverdale instead of Gotham- Cheryl Blossom. I was a big fan of the Archie Comics series when I was a kid, and while my friends were choosing between Betty and Veronica, I always liked Cheryl the best. She was devious for sure- but she had the best wardrobe for a cartoon high school student.

Courtesy of AMC & Entertainment Magazine

And lastly, I can’t go to my very first San Diego Comic-Con without repping one of my favorite characters on one of my favorite shows. My third and final costume attempt will be none other than everyone’s favorite crossbow wielding, lovable redneck- Daryl Dixon. While I’d love to rock an ear necklace and a belt of dead squirrels à la season 2 Daryl- season 4 Daryl has a pretty kickass ensemble going on (including the hideous-but-beloved poncho from season 3,) so I think I’ll be working around that.

I’ll probably be posting updates leading up to SDCC about how my costume designs are going, both here and on my Instagram. I’m just really, really excited and stunned that I was able to get badges for such an iconic event. I hope to meet some new, wonderful people at SDCC- and catch up with some old friends while I’m in town, too!