A friend of mine who didn't attend Comic-Con this year wrote, "I hope you're not going to fill your blog with stuff about what a great time you had." Well, yes, I am. (This same friend, who once thought George W. Bush was the greatest president ever, writes me similar notes about how it's cruel of me to remind him how that played out.) I couldn't have had a much better time in San Diego this year. The paucity of posts here was because every minute was filled with something fun to do, usually just conversing with a good chum or a great talent.
I continue to be amazed at how little goes wrong at these conventions. I've been going to cons, good and bad, for four decades now and I think I know a little about how difficult they are to organize and how many disasters can occur. Even when things go wrong at Comic-Con International, the crew knows what to do, how to do it, how to keep things running smoothly. That was one thing that was often on my mind this year. Another was a new (to me) way of looking at the attendees…
This may sound odd but I think an awful lot of folks who show up at this event do not come, at least primarily, because they're interested in comics or cartoons or in the movies and TV shows being promoted. I think their main impetus to be surrounded by all the creativity and talent. There's an energy in the building that is infectious: All those artists, all those writers, all those performers. Everywhere you look, someone has created something. It can be as basic as a guy in the Small Press Area who's self-publishing new comics of his new characters…or it can be the next (maybe) movie blockbuster that's going to take your head off in ways that your head has never been removed before.
Obviously, a lot of those who are already writing, drawing or otherwise creating walk in that door and get something out of the experience…and not just some promotion or a key business contact. I just wonder how many people who aren't already creating stories or visuals in some medium go home from Comic-Con determined to start. I'll bet a lot.
In posts to come, I'll be doing more of what my absent friend asked that I not do and I'll tell you more about my panels and adventures. Right now, I leave you with one of many favorite moments of the last few days. It occurred when I was in a men's room. Behind me by the sinks, I heard an adult male voice say, "Wash your hands." And then I heard a rather young male voice reply, "I'm Harry Potter. I don't have to wash my hands."
And by the time I turned to look, there was a twelve-year-old boy…dressed as Harry Potter and washing his hands. I don't know why that struck me so funny but it did.