@ Comic-Con 2010
It used to be a place for the nerds to go to discuss the subtle shadings of superheroes and damaged characters that grace the pages of comic books and graphic novels. A place for the relentlessly geeky to dress up as their favorite sci-fi character and traipse around the halls of a convention center taking pictures with other geeks and reveling in their "popularity" for one day. It was a place for the unpopular to feel popular. For the Super Nerdy to feel Super Cool as they bonded with like-minded creatures of the comic-book reading underground.
But with Hollywood churning out (and re-churning out) superhero movie after superhero movie, graphic novel adaptation after graphic novel adaptation, soon what was geeky was now cool, and once again the nerds felt crowded out by the "popular" kids.
World famous event
Ten years ago when I attended my first Comic-Con, it was an event for sure, but certainly not the behemoth it is today. It was a curiosity where you could peruse not only comic books, but also artwork by popular graphic artists and collectibles based on your favorite superhero or sci-fi movie. It was the sort of convention that people heard about, but was relegated to those that understood the culture only, and not something so obviously commercial.
Well, over the last few years Comic-Con has become a world famous event. Yet when you really look at it, it’s really nothing more than a promotional machine, pushing everything from new toys and games, to every new blockbuster film that has yet to open (or sometimes even be filmed.) What was a place for kids to go and bond with their fellow comic-book loving peers, is now a place where Industry folk go to mingle, network, and peruse each others upcoming projects. Sprinkle in a little desperation ("Look at me! My booth is the best!") and you have an event that has morphed into something so crazy and tonally imbalanced, it’s hard to encapsulate.
Merchandise mart
Comic-Con is basically two things: an Exhibit Hall where studios, artists, toy-makers, and networks go to either sell their wares (artists and comic-book sellers) or push their upcoming product (movies, TV shows, collectibles, and video-games.) It’s a crowded mess of local dealers and big-shot industry leaders (Lucasfilm, Lego, Nickolodeon, Showtime) that mingle together begging for your attention.
The other half of Comic-Con consist of panels that are set up in room after room where Hollywood heavyweights promote their upcoming projects. What used to be discussions about breaking into comic-book art, or the legacy of the Star Trek franchise, has now become a place where movie stars descend upon Comic-Con like crows upon roadkill. "You love me! I’m awesome! I’m going to play your favorite comic-book superhero! Worship me!" Studios screen exclusive clips of upcoming releases like Tron and Harry Potter, while others announce their casts before any filming as begun. The Joss Whedon helmed The Avengers film brought onstage not only the iconic director, but Robert Downey, Jr. (who plays the Iron Man and is awkwardly starting to become his Tony Stark alter-ego), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johannson (Black Widow), Chris Evans (Captain America), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and the newly cast Mark Ruffalo (as the latest incarnation of The Hulk). They came out on stage to huge, raucous applause as if they had just found a cure for cancer.
It’s all very self-congratulatory and ultimately meaningless, but hell, it’s still fun in a surreal way. Other panels discuss topics important to those that love comic-books and fantasy from Gays in Comics to singular panels focusing on writers or artists of popular graphic novels.
Bizarro Pride Fest
And speaking of, who knew there was such a contingent of comic-book/sci-fi/fantasy gays out there? At times it seemed like a bizarro Pride Festival where gays who love Star Wars more than Lady Gaga cruised the display tables... and each other. Clearly, I was one of them, as was my companion. How much did I gasp in glee to find a collectible display figure of Meg Mucklebones from the movie Legend, while my partner in crime was obsessed with finding everything Catwoman?
But that’s what’s so interesting about Comic-Con. It really brings together different groups and types of people. So while it might seem like the Nerd Herd is getting crowded out by Hollywood Heavyhitters, Comic-Con is still a place where people feel they can go crazy and geek out while their daily lives might be a bit more mundane. There is a camaraderie between the attendees because everyone has a little bit of a fan-boy/girl inside them. And if you don’t believe me, think about this: If that weren’t true, movies like Spiderman and Iron Man wouldn’t do as well as they do.
We all love the fantasy about having superpowers or using crazy gadgets that can make us fly or trap the bad guy. We all want to escape into a world where there is still some mystery about life, and in that mystery, some hope. Hope that evil will be vanquished... that the world will become more peaceful... that there is something more to life than what we see.
So in many ways, Comic-Con is a brilliant combination of advertising and group therapy. A place where people from all walks of life can come together to celebrate types of entertainment they love without feeling like the kid in gym class who’s about to get a dodgeball jettisoned at his head.
