PROLOGUE
TUESDAY; JULY 22; 10:30 PM.
As you might recall, last year our family took a road trip to South Dakota and back again. The reason you might recall is because I shared all the details with you. Well, that journal was such a hit and violated so few FCC statutes, that it’s been suggested by those of you still speaking to me that I send back reports from other places I’m allowed to visit. I think the theory is that, although these reports are longer than a postcard, they have less of a carbon footprint and don’t include pictures of jackalopes.
Well, I’m agreeable. Vacations are too short, but telling people about your vacation… that’s forever.
This trip isn’t really a vacation --- that will be in September, when the tracking bracelet comes off and I can leave the state again--- rather, it’s an annual outing I take to San Diego to attend (drum roll) Comicon International!
You probably all know about the San Diego Comicon; it’s garnered quite a bit of media attention over the past few years and now it actually gets annual write-ups in magazines like TV Guide, Westways, Entertainment Weekly, and Psychology Today (love that swimsuit issue!). But for those of you who already have a life, let me give you a brief rundown.
About 40 years ago, back before every box office hit starred a superhero, anybody past puberty who read comic books didn’t have much a venue beyond the high school AV department to share his hobby. (Notice I didn’t say “his or her hobby”… girls not only didn’t read comic books, their attitude toward the guys that did soon gave rise to the pepper-spray industry). Also, back then, comic books weren’t sold in the now-familiar dungeon-lit specialty stores; they were mostly on spinner racks at the local drug stores, mini-marts, or newsstands; and not all the comics were carried at any one location. In short, many main-stream concepts hadn’t yet taken hold in the comic-book industry; concepts like direct-market distribution, one-stop shopping, and personal hygiene.
So comic book fans organized gatherings where they could meet with other fans, buy and trade back issues, and discuss the important issues that faced the field, like who would win in a fight between Superman and the Hulk. They also invited industry professionals, who frankly had no previous idea that anyone was capable of treating them with respect.
In 1970, the first San Diego Comic Convention was convened in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel. It was attended by 300 people and was the inspiration for the film 300, which was a pretty accurate depiction of that initial gathering of sweaty men. Since then it’s grown exponentially and changed venues as size demanded, until it now takes up the entire San Diego Convention Center, and has broadened its scope to include movies, TV, toys, games, Klingons, and Imperial Storm Troopers. Major previews and announcements occur there; celebrities and movie studio spokespeople appear to promote upcoming projects; and there’s an exhibition hall for selling merchandise that requires a pack mule to completely traverse. It’s now San Diego’s biggest annual tourist event.
All material copyright 2009 Chuck Thornton