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 Apparently, many of Comic-Con's patrons have a lot of free time on their hands: witness the life-size R2D2 and C3PO made entirely out of Legos. 
Back in the days of Clinton’s first term as President and before, nobody thought about superhero movies that much. Sure there were sci-fi films like "Star Trek" and “Star Wars" and stuff like that, but the people at the early comic-cons really started geeking out on such films as "Superman" and "Fritz the Cat," not to mention imported stuff from Japan. It was a convention; people would come to hang out, dress up in silly costumes, and, oh yeah, buy stuff. It was still driven by the stuff on paper and all the extras—like toys and such.
Then the big movie companies discovered that San Diego had the biggest con, and was the one closest to Hollywood—that meant it didn’t cost much to promote their stuff as it might at cons in Chicago or Atlanta.
And, despite the fact that San Diego is generally run by conservative Republicans, they like comic book fans. A few years ago, The Big Apple Anime Festival was murdered by the GOP so they could have their 2004 Convention in New York, something the Republicans tried to do to the San Diego con eight years before. The Mayor refused to go along, and Comic-con, now officially called Comic-con International, has become one of the biggest events of the year.That has all changed on certain levels, but at its heart, it really hasn’t.
The evolution of sequential arts since its nadir in the early 1960s (when Superman and Batman were really written just for kids) has gone from a medium primarily for children—or the partially illiterate—to a major form of self-expression and storytelling. The rise of the “graphic novel,” i.e. a square-backed book suitable for chic bookstores and the New York Times Book Review, is a major trend in popular culture; U.S. publishers have lagged behind in embracing this trend when compared with publishers throughout the world.
Be that as it may, Comic-con was in the news because of big-budget movies and TV. Paramount, Warner Bros., and the other major Hollywood studios except Fox, gave presentations showcasing the latest in expensive and fantastic entertainment. This stuff was either based on comic books or fantasy novels; it included stuff like a preview of the new "Indiana Jones" film and the long-awaited adaptation of “Watchmen"—a great graphic novel that came out in the mid ‘80s. (Yeah, I know that Indie wasn’t a comic book character until after the first movie came out, but so what?)
Comic-con International is now the place to be, so when they sent a letter offering a press comp, I went. There was a problem however. Most of the available rooms in town were filled, and had been for the entire year. I had to book two youth hostels and a hotel, and that was even before Saturday, the big day for the con, took place. But just as well. The place was busting at the seams, and they literally didn’t have enough room to fit any more people in San Diego’s convention center that day.
As with most conventions, San Diego’s is divided into three parts: The parties, the panels, and the huckster room. I’m not sure I went to the first, but I’m completely sure that I went to the last two.
The reason why I’m not sure about the parties is that the one big party I attended wasn’t exactly part of the con. In fact, it was held over 3000 miles away in the Hamptons before the con started.
A rich dude named Ivan Wilzig was having a party to celebrate his being chosen to be in the second season of the game show, “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” The guy is the son of a big-time banker and lives in a genuine faux-castle, so he hired a fleet of buses to ferry a bunch of us nonplussed writers and others to come see the first episode on a giant screen he had set up in his back yard.
There was booze and nubile young ladies wandering aimlessly around the backyard adding to the absolutely beautiful scenery that one can only see in Eastern Long Island. “Come! We must save the Sun!” our host said as he led us to the roof. That was a hell of a sunset, which was just about over when we got to the top. Then we went back downstairs where we feasted on hors d'oeuvres, until the sky was dark enough to see the TV show. The thing went on until midnight, when we went on the bus for home. There was a panel for the show at Comic-con.
I heard that most of the major movie studios had receptions. I wasn’t invited to any on this trip, though if I had been invited I wouldn't have had the time to go because of the other two parts of the Con.
The main hall, or “huckster room,” is the grandest in the world. Everyone who’s anyone is going to be there, from some of the more venerable comic shops to a number of historically important illustrators. The freebies, which are given out with wild abandon in order publicize films coming out in the next year or two, are the main attraction there.
Then there are the panels, and while most are arcane, a few make real news, like the announcement that Michael will return to the cast of “Lost,” or that the guy playing Skyler from “Heroes” was getting cast as the young Spock in the next “Star Trek” movie. The main hall can seat 5000 or more, and the place was generally filled. You have to be careful with a crowd that big. The guy moderating the New Line panel was justly booed when he insulted the audience. They also had a whole bunch of screenings, mostly of small science fiction flicks but a few major films that have since come out like “Stardust” and “Shoot ’Em Up” (one of the most gratuitous films of the year) were shown.
With the exception of the hotel hopping, which ended up in a lawsuit (it was settled out of court in my favor), the whole thing was a rather decent experience. Truth, justice, and the American way were definitely served.
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