As I prep for my 49th Comic-Con International — even though they weren't called that until 1995 — I'm being asked, "Why do you go to these things?" Good question and here's a really good answer: I have a great time at them.
I do not go to make money. A lot of my friends do and there's not a thing wrong with that but I just choose not to even try. I do meet with publishers and producers, and writing work sometimes results but that's like a nice, unintended bonus. It's definitely not the reason I go. I also do not run around buying things to add to my collection.
Someone asked me the other day, "Do you go to be a celebrity?" and my reaction was, "If I do, I'm not doing a very good job of it." I suppose that when I first started attending conventions, I got a certain sense of faux importance out of being asked to sign something but I outgrew that long ago. As you get older, you realize that once you divest yourself of certain childish motives, you simply make healthier life choices.
No, I just go because from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave, I enjoy what I'm doing. I enjoy hosting the panels. I enjoy seeing friends. I enjoy talking endlessly about comics and related topics. I even enjoy the sheer energy in the building and yes, that includes how crowded it is. A friend of mine who spent a large part of his life visiting Disneyland would say, "I have a great time being among so many people who are having a great time." That's a lot of why I go to Comic-Con. Your mileage, as we used to say back when people cared about the cost of operating a motor vehicle, may vary.
I'm not sure if I told this story here before but about ten years ago — maybe a bit more — my lovely friend Carolyn invited two longtime friends of hers to "do" Comic-Con with us. These were friends who had only the most microscopic interest in comic books, comic strips, cosplayers, anime, etc. She said, "I want them to experience this" and my reaction was, "Okay but why?" She assured me they'd love it and she was right.
The last day of their trip, I asked them why and her friend Sue said, "It was so exciting to be among so many people who'd made something."
That comment made me look at Comic-Con in a slightly different way…and when I looked, what I saw was creativity everywhere. No matter where you turned, someone had drawn a picture, written a book, designed a costume, made a display, painted a painting. Carolyn and her friends had sat through a panel which consisted of my pal Steve Rude doing a painting and explaining as he did, how he approached his work and why he was doing each little thing he was doing on his canvas. I don't think Carolyn or her pals were about to race out and try to do what Steve does but they were mesmerized to be invited to be so up close and personal with his creative process.
I'm sure there are those reading this who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about and have their own reasons for attending Comic-Con, some as simple as "I want to complete my run of Deadpool" or "I want to see all the women dressed as Red Sonja." Nothing wrong with any of that. If at a given moment there are 100,000 people in the building, there might be 100,000 different reasons for being there…which is why we all have to seek out our own conventions, tailored specifically for us, within that big one staged for everyone.
Four days from now, I'm going to go there and start having the con I want to have. If you're there, I hope you have the one you want to have…and I love the fact that it won't be anything like mine.