Cons! Cons Everywhere!
This article was written by staff writer, Michael Worthan.
Photo credit: Mark Patton/GeekNerdNet.com
One of the largest comic and pop culture conventions in the world is rearing to go in just a few short weeks, and once again it looks to be a very, very big show. With new movies from the major studios and Marvel, DC/Warner has opted out this year, more than likely going to announce some new flicks and make a big splash once again. So it is time to plan for your panels, pack some food, games, and extra batteries for your electronics. Will you be sleeping in line to try and reach Hall H? Will you be trying to get all the SDCC exclusives you could possibly get your hands on? If so plan accordingly, but also note that the longer you wait in line for stuff the more you will miss of the actual Con itself.
My first foray into Comic Con International, or SDCC as it has come to be known, was in 2002. It was a graduation gift from my dad and as much as I loved comics I had never imagined anything of that magnitude. There were movies and some pop culture stuff there, but the real draw was the comic books, the creators, the artists. I was able to walk in and sit in the front row of an Alex Ross panel where he spoke about drawing, and was doing a sketch live on screen. We met Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith as they were doing 30 Days of Night. It was amazing, I returned year after year and in around 2005 a few of my friends and I went on a spur of the moment trip where we got a hotel room that day, and bought tickets at the convention center box office.
If that sounds like a faraway world where dreams happen it’s because it was. As Hollywood has almost fully taken over San Diego Comic Con comics have become less of a part of it. I have been off of going to SDCC for 4 or 5 years now after attending every year from 2002 on, and a number of those as press for a few different websites. Now every time I have been to SDCC it was a great, interesting, exciting experience that exhausted me and got me sick every year, but I would not change those experiences for anything. I was able to sit with stars from TV and movies and discuss their newest shows or ongoing features. I was able to meet some of my favorite actors and people I have admired for a long while, but what I did miss, especially thinking about it now, is the comic book aspect.
If you are going to Comic Con enjoy, have fun, but maybe take a moment and look at the books that inspired the world you are walking in, maybe buy something from one of the numerous vendors that are out there. Comics created the world, and that world can only be sustained if comic books keep on, keep moving, and growing with us. DC and Marvel are great and have been doing a huge job at keeping comics at the forefront, but also look at the creator owned, the studios that aren’t the big two like Boom!, Image, Dark Horse, Image etc.
Also enjoy your different Conventions, out here in California there are hundreds of them, and literally a Con for every niche. My wife and myself have gone to a number of Horror and Halloween conventions, my photographer Mark and I went to Power Morphicon not too long ago, and will go again to the next one in 2020, and there are a few larger ones like LA Comic Con as well as Long Beach Comic Con. After SDCC Take some time and explore your area, what conventions are around you? What conventions and even comic book stores would you suggest?