How to choose an Airbnb

This summer, I’ll be making my fourth pilgrimage to Comic-Con International: San Diego (commonly known as San Diego Comic-Con).

The three previous years I went:

• 2011—to film for the second of three attempts to make a Bill Finger documentary
• 2012—to promote the newly-released Bill the Boy Wonder
• 2014—to honor Bill Finger on the 100th anniversary of his birth and 40th anniversary of his death (not to mention the 75th anniversary of Batman)

This year I’m returning to SDCC to take part in at least one special event for Batman’s 80th, and as usual, SDCC attendees need to book a place to sleep 18-20 months in advance.

To avoid paying approximately $400 a night for a Hampton Inn that will cost a quarter of that a week later, I booked an Airbnb for the first time. (I was also a late adopter of iPods, blogging, and Lyft.) Though I was a bit hesitant (being a clean freak), I was reassured by an omen. One of the options indicated that the owners have two cats—which is two strikes for me. But the property is a separate guest house where the cats don’t go. 

Funnily, the cats ended up being the deciding factor: their names are Bruce Wayne and Bane. (And you thought “B&B” stood for “bed and breakfast.”)

I’m not a cat man but am, of course, a Bat man.

Speaking of animals named for the Dark Knight’s secret identity, this is reminiscent of how I found Athena Finger.

Again, a good omen!