But not that comic convention in San Diego…this comic convention in San Diego.
We all know what a wonderful, monstrous event the Comic-Con International has become. We have also heard some folks complaining — and I am not among them — about its length and breadth. I love Comic-Con for what it is.
But I'm also aware, as you probably are, that there's something to be said for smaller, more intimate conventions. I like a lot of those, too. Next weekend, October 19-21, there's one of those in San Diego — the San Diego Comic Fest, which is being run by a couple of the folks who helped establish the entity now known as Comic-Con and ran things in its earlier days.
This is not an attempt to compete with Comic-Con (as if anything could) or to offer anything comparable. If anything, it's the opposite: An attempt to resurrect some of the aspects of Comic-Con as it got larger…and also to reminisce about The Old Days. Most of the guest speakers are folks who were there for The Old Days and I am one of them.
It would be grand if they could hold this bit of time-travelling at the El Cortez Hotel, scene of many a great early con down there. Alas, the El Cortez has gone all condo on us and we'll instead be at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. All the pertinent data is over at that website I just linked to but here's that link again for the benefit of you people who are too lazy to move your mouse up four paragraphs. Among other things you'll find there, along with where it is and how to attend, is the Programming Schedule. Read it over and you'll get a good idea of the kind of convention this will be. I'm on six panels, I believe.
I want to emphasize this is not Comic-Con off-season. There's a dealers room but it will not be vast and huge. The programming rooms do not seat thousands. Very few movie and TV stars will be in attendance. And this will probably disappoint many of you: You probably won't have to wait in line for anything except maybe the autograph of Murphy Anderson, the Guest of Honor in the Professional category. I am the Guest of Honor in the Fan category and that designation pleases me more than you might imagine.
If this all sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, you might want to sign up quickly. I believe they're capping attendance at a level that will keep the event uncrowded and manageable. If you ever wanted to walk easily down an aisle of a comic book convention in San Diego, this could be your chance.