Comic-Con 2012 Survival Guide: All The Events You Need To Know About

Posted July 11, 2012 - By Rob Manuel

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Even outside the halls of the San Diego convention center, you can take part in all the fun and festivities with only half the waiting. Comic-Con 2012 is turning out to be one of the biggest events around, and all the nerdry and swag can still be yours even without a ticket to the big show.

With this in mind, here’s a list of some of the bigger event happening in and around Comic-Con 2012.

The Walking Dead Escape: Live The Apocalypse

Time: July 12. 6pm-9pm, Fri. 1pm-9pm, Sat. 11am-6pm (every 20 minutes)

Place: Petco Park

You’ve been training for this moment all your life. It’s about time to see what will happen when you’re facing down a horde of zombies in front of a conveniently placed obstacle course. From the Herd Highway to the EVAC Zone, a group of brain-hungry zombies will chase you down in this event inspired by The Walking Dead.

DC Comics’ Darkness & Light Exhibition

Time: July 9-15

Location: Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts 363 5^th Ave.

There are few places were you can check out artwork from some of the biggest names in the industry while doing a little good for others. DC comics combines the two in one location with their Darkness & Light Exhibit.Check out some of the best art inspired by heroes and villains while donating a couple of bucks to their charity, the We Can Be Heroes campaign.

Comic-Con 2012 Survival Guide: All The Events You Need To Know About

Comic-Con Nerdathon

Time: July 14, 7pm

Place: The Ruby Room

If you happen to be of drinking age and like your Slave Leia with a little less clothing, then Devil’s Playground might have the event for you. We’re talking about bringing burlesque and nerds together in a beautiful way while rocking out to some of the nerdcore hits of MC Frontalot, Geezer, and others entertaining you throughout the night.

Nerd HQ

Time: July 12-15

Location: Block No. 16 & Spirits, 344 7^th Ave.

Zachary Levi and the The Nerd Machine return to Comic-Con with their own mini-con featuring panels, festivities, and lots of nerdy things abound. While most are already sold out, you can still grab a couple of tickets for Tomb Raider, Robot Chicken, Assassin’s Creed 3, and even the man himself, Stan Lee. All proceeds go to benefit Operation Smile.

Mass Effect 3 Earth DLC Revealed - New Maps, More Upgrades, and Platinum Difficulty

The BioWare Base

Time: July 12 (1pm-9pm), July 13 (1pm-9pm), July 14 (1pm-4pm and 7pm-9pm), July 15 (11am-5pm)

Place: Gaslamp Hilton

Get your hands on the next Mass Effect Multiplayer DLC without having to fight the crowds. BioWare sets up their base at the Gaslamp Hilton this year with games to play as well as talks from David Gaider, Dragon Age lead writer, and a couple of the voice actors from the Mass Effect series. Make sure to hit up the Purgatory Bar on Saturday for free food, drinks, and a cosplay contest.

Extra at Comic-Con

Time: July 12-14

Place: Bayfront Park

Warner Brothers brings out more gaming and fan goodies this year with their Extra at Comic-Con Event. Check out Guardians of Middle-Earth as well as street art inspired by the new LEGO The Lord of the Rings game. And if that wasn’t enough, they will have six Batmobiles just waiting for you there. From Adam West's wheels to the modern-day Tumbler, you’ll be able to get close (but not too close) to some of the greatest vehicles to ever have four wheels.

Geek & Sundry

Time: July 12-13

Place: Belo San Diego

Fans of Felicia Day, The Guild, and the newest YouTube phenomenon won’t have to wait in line for hours this year. You’ll be able to find your favorite redhead only walking distance from the convention center. Tabletop gamers will be able to get their cardboard fix here as well along with getting their hands on the newest Medal of Honor title and Dirt Showdown.

Defiance

SyFy Defiance Café

Time: July 12-15

Place: Maryjane’s (Hard Rock Hotel)

Gamers looking for a little grub can’t go wrong by stopping by the Hard Rock Hotel’s Maryjane’s where SyFy and Defiance will be taking it over all week long. You’ll be able to watch, play, and eat in one convenient location.

Zombie Walk

Time: July 13, 5:00pm

Place: Corner of 4^th and Broadway

See how the other half shambles around when you take on this Zombie Walk. Grab some makeup and your worst outfit. You’re about to take a short walk with a hundred or so bloody zombies just looking for a little fun...and brains. Three-hundred lucky zombies will get into FEARnet’s Con of the Dead After party. Everyone else will just get a shotgun blast to the face.

Indiana Jones Experience

Time: July 12-15

Place: Booth 2931

Sure, you might hate snakes, but you want this picture as you jump into a pit of real ones for the Blu-ray debut of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures. The whole collection, which includes all five Indy flicks, hits stores on September 18 for $99. If nothing else, this may be your only time to jump into a pit of live snakes and survive.