Owing to insane traffic, Sergio was an hour late yesterday picking me up for the drive down here to San Diego — which for the next four days, might be better referred to as Comic-Con Nation. The con doesn't occur only in that huge (but not nearly huge enough) building by the bay but all over the town. It was bumper-to-bumper much of the way down the 5, the result (I imagine) of Opening Day at Del Mar Racetrack. Starting this morning, it'll be bumper-to-bumper due to us.
Preview Night, which for some reason is not just called Opening Night of Comic-Con International, was a nice preview of crowded aisles. I hereby make my annual observation that the hall would not be nearly as crowded if (a) people with cellphone cameras and elaborate or scanty costuming did not stage photo-ops anywhere they wanted regardless of where others are trying to walk, and (b) half the attendees weren't shouldering a free goodie bag the size of a Toyota Corolla. Limit the bags to the size of your average trick-or-treater's and you could get another 3000 people in that place.
Speaking of crowds: The best thing I can say in their defense is that they seem to be keeping people like my old pal Mike Gold away. Mike, sounding very much like Charles Lane screaming at you damn kids to stay off his lawn even though it isn't his lawn, complains there isn't very much here about comics. When folks make that complaint, I have two responses…
- I somehow seem to be able to spend 4.5 days at each one of these things talking mainly about comic books. Last night, I dined with a nice gathering of folks from TwoMorrows and we talked comics. Later today, I'll be moderating panels about the Superman comics edited by Julie Schwartz and another about my work on Groo the Wanderer and other comics with Sergio Aragonés. Tomorrow in one, I'll be interviewing my old pal Tony Isabella about his time writing for DC and Marvel, then later I host a panel about the work of Walt Kelly, creator of (I say) the best comic strip ever, Pogo. I've been doing panels like these at this convention for 20+ years and the rooms always seem to be full…though never with anyone who I later hear bitching that there's nothing there about comics.
- Hey, you don't think there's much here about comic books? Go visit the DC and Marvel booths. There isn't much there about comic books, either. It's hard to have a convention that focuses mainly on comics when the two largest publishers have long since decided they don't focus mainly on comics.
Still, I think Mike has the right idea: You don't like what the con's become, stay away. It's not like you'll be missed and the place will seem empty without you. There are cons with a different ratio of comics-to-other media and a lot of them could use your business.
And also drop by Comicmix, the fine website that Mike and other folks I know operate. They have some great articles about comics past and present, and also about things like Star Trek and the Lone Ranger movie. It's like a good comic book convention: You just have to look and see what interests you. I always find plenty there, just as I'll find more than enough as I embark on Day One of Comic-Con International 2013. (Day One? My God, I feel like I've been here a month already. A year if you count freeway time…)