Like college, Comic-Con was something I’d heard about but never planned on attending. My interest in the “graphic novel” faded sometime in the 70’s when Superman comics hit thirty cents and God created an endless supply of old movies on cable television. Besides, in my mind’s eye the picture wasn’t pretty.  I saw Comic-Con taking place in one of those dreary, sterile hotel banquet halls with off-white walls, harvest gold carpeting and long tables filled with dusty action figures surrounded by excited, pot-bellied fanboys speaking Klingon in homemade Spock costumes.

Which might have been how it was, and even how some purists wish it had stayed, but no more…

Uhm, I mean, No More! (more…)

For many years, the press would come down to San Diego Comic-Con International to take pictures and interview attendees. The results were always the same. They would look for those with the most outlandish costumes and the report would be: “San Diego Comic Con International has arrived again. Look at all the freaks that showed up. Aren’t these people crazy? Back you you, Dan.”

Ah, the press. They just never get it right. Most people at the con dress like anyone else. It’ a small percent that wear costumes, but they stick out. Most of those people are there to have fun. They’re letting their hair down for the weekend. It’s like Halloween for geeks.

Imagine if the press were actually fair minded (ROFL!), then you might see something like this: (more…)

I just got home from Comic-Con. In a couple hours I have to take a shower and head back downtown for a big party my Hollywood management company invited me to. Every year they team with a bunch of other companies and throw a huge industry mixer. They’re usually really crowded and noisy, but there’s free food and drinks and I usually met interesting people.

This year they also teamed up with Wired magazine and set up a private green room called the “Wired Cafe,” where select people from the press and the industry are invited during the day. They have a bunch of laptops set up for people to blog and tweet and a cafe with an open bar and great food. I decided to go there for lunch instead of my usual haunts. I had a Smoked Turkey Panini and considered a Dim Sum sampler, which the person at my table ordered with his Burger. Maybe tomorrow. (more…)

It’s hard for me to believe that the San Diego Comic Con International is now close to 40 years old. I’ve been going to them since 1975. Since 1981 I have only missed 2 Cons. Over the years I’ve seen it grow from a small local convention for comic book collectors and fans of geek culture, into a vast industry unto itself. Something that rivals Cannes for cultural significance.

In many respects, Comic Con International (aka the San Diego Comic Con to us attendees), is America’s Cannes Film Festival. But it’s much, much more.

Cannes is basically for film industry people only and the press. Comic Con is for everyone, and it’s becoming more relevant to the entertainment business as the years go by.

When I went to my first convention, I was in high school. I lived in San Diego at the time. I attended Point Loma High, so it was local for me. Only a couple thousand people attended. It was held at the El Cortez hotel which once dominated the San Diego skyline downtown. Now the El Cortez is a converted condo complex, dwarfed by the surrounding super condos. (more…)