The business world, the SyFy Channel, California, ComicsPRO, Hollywood, pop culture and everyone on planet earth who loves entertainment has spent the last week been focusing on Comic-Con International. And as you may know, it’s still often referred to as San Diego Comic-Con. It’s a gloriously bloated beast of a show, overcrowded and overwhelming. And I just love it.
For change of pace, let’s pause to celebrate the front line of Geek Culture on a smaller scale. Specifically, let’s look at the hard-working folks who create, build and manage one of the nation’s many small comic conventions.
Last week I had the honor of attending Camillus Con, the Finger Lakes New York nerd and geek culture celebration. You may not be familiar with this one, but they’ve been doing it for a while. In fact, this convention was celebrating its fourth birthday.
Camillus is one of those gorgeous little upstate towns with an undercurrent of creativity and fan passion. And both were on display for this show.
Camillus Con President Anissa Croft (“Like Tomb Raider,” she said with a mischievous grin as she spelled her name for me) is charming and infectiously energetic. And she’s quite a cosplayer. She explained how the show has grown and figuratively pitches a tent big enough to include cosplayers, anime fans, comic nerds, artists, artisans, quidditch players and even the local library.
Cosplay was in full force at this show. Oh, there were the standards, like Power Girl and Spider-Man, but as a less frenetic, less crowded show it allowed all the cosplayers to have a little more fun acting out as they posed for snapshots. And beyond the standards, there were so many cosplayers with both strong costuming skills and big smiles.
A few highlights from the people who made it happen:
Modern Mythos Comics & Collectibles is run by a longtime collector. He was selling comic book back issues in the dealer’s room. He explained that his collection had grown too large and the time has come to start selling it. (I certainly know how that goes.) His loss was my gain – especially in picking up three gorgeous comics with wonderful Dave Stevens covers.
Ling Tang is an artist with a delicate flair and a myriad of images to sell via her studio, Illusions of Grandeur. She was warm and friendly, and like so many convention exhibitors, just as eager to chat about the topics du jour (Pokémon Go and Dungeons & Dragons), as she was to shift into selling mode.
James P. McCampbell lets everyone know he is a Syracuse Nerd and proud of it with his shirt. His artwork displayed his passion and his salesmanship reinforced his own boundless enthusiasm.
While some of the mid-tier comic conventions try to position themselves as the cure for everything that’s “wrong” with San Diego Comic-Con, it seems to me that if you don’t like big shows then smaller conventions with heart, like Camillus Con, are the way to go.
San Diego Comic Con is practically right around the corner now; and with it comes one of my other favorite events, Nerd HQ. The brainchild of actor Zachary Levi and his friend Dave Coleman, Nerd HQ has only gotten better each year I’ve attended. Nerd HQ, which raises funds for the worthy charity Operation Smile, provides a smorgasbord of cool experiences in a chill setting (currently The New Children’s Museum)– a nice place to get away from the madness of the con for awhile while still getting your nerd on. Nerd HQ generally offers a selection of smaller-sized “Conversations for a Cause” panels with celebrities; “Smiles for Smiles” and “Signings for Smiles,” where you can get your photo with celebrities, or get celebrity autographs; places to play video games and see some really cool new or upcoming games; other cool exhibits from sponsors, some of which may be interactive; and two rockin’ parties for nerdy fans.
I’m looking forward to this year’s Nerd HQ, and in preparation for attending, I got to chat with co-founder Dave Coleman about his involvement and what we’ll be seeing. Read on for details!
Dave, what is your background with Nerd HQ and Zac Levi?
Well, I started the company with Zac in 2010. We’ve been partners in The Nerd Machine, and I have been producing every HQ since they started. Zac and I have been very, very close friends for the last 10 years or so. We’ve had The Nerd Machine for the last 6 years, almost 7. So I’ve been a part of this since the beginning.
Are you also an actor, or do you work in television? How did you end up meeting Zac?
I was on the crew side. I used to be a prop master for television; but Zac and I actually met playing basketball back in 2004, in the neighborhood that we all lived in. It’s funny, we met a lot of our friends that way. That’s where I met Joel David Moore, who was a really good friend of Zac’s at the time, and who’s now one of my other best friends. So it’s really interesting how we all met playing basketball, and then relationships grew out of that.
Eventually, I also started working on Chuck. I had done a movie with another prop master, Scott Bauer, who was on Chuck from the pilot. And he had interviewed me to do Chuck when they thought some of the guys who had done the pilot weren’t going to come back. It didn’t work out because of scheduling, so I ended up doing a couple of other shows while they were doing the first 2 seasons of Chuck. During season 2 of Chuck, I started working on the show 2 to 3 days a week, and then for seasons 3, 4, and 5, I was the on-set prop master for Chuck the rest of the time.
Can you tell me your experience with starting Nerd HQ and how it came together?
My experience is probably much different than Zac’s experience – just because, when we first started doing this, we really had no idea how to do it. We had never produced an event of any size, really, before. I had a design background; I have a Master of Fine Arts degree in set design. So I’d done that kind of thing, but never produced a full-on event for 20,000 people. So there was a lot of trial and error in figuring things out. You know – what do we think would be cool, and let’s just do that. That’s kind of how it started.
The whole thing was really an accident. When we started it; we made some t-shirts to throw out during a Chuck panel in 2010. I had a design background, and I had printed some shirts in the past; so when we started talking about doing stuff, Zac said, “Hey, what if I wanted to just print some shirts and give them out to fans during our panel?” I was like, “Alright, I can make that happen.” So it just kind of all started happening. And we made some shirts, and we took them, and we passed them out; and some of the guys on stage started throwing them; which was a giant problem, because everybody freaked out. Like, lawyers were pissed off and like, “You can’t do that!” because people were jumping over each other to try to get the shirts, and they were worried about liability and that kind of thing. So it got really kind of hairy there; but everybody loved the shirts.
It was the classic Nerd shirt that we ended up calling the NES, with the original Nintendo font. And so people were asking, “How do I get one? How do I get one?” And we looked around and were like, there’s no real “nerd culture” brand. You can buy stuff at ThinkGeek and Hot Topic, and hell, even at Target now, or Walmart; but there was no brand. So we thought about how to start something that people could identify with. So we turned Zac’s fan website, zacharylevi.com, into thenerdmachine.com, and just started taking email addresses; like, “Hey guys, if we made this shirt, would you be interested in buying one?” And we had thousands of people sign up. So we’re like, “Great! Here we go!” and a company got started. And my wife, Courtney, was shipping t-shirts out of Zac’s garage when we first started; and it was crazy. It was a real home-grown family business.
So after that we started trying to figure out a way to have a party; like in 2010 when we gave out the t-shirts, Zac had a party at a bar in the Gaslamp on Friday or Saturday night of the con. And people came, and we gave out the rest of the shirts that were there, and he was like, “Hey man – what if we just did another party to promote the brand?” But we couldn’t really work out a convention space, because, you know, they had been full for years and it takes a long time to get into the convention. So we said, “Hey, we’ll just do something outside.” We’ll find a little place to have a party, and go from there.” And then it turned into, “Well, if we have a party someplace, we’re still going to have to rent it for a few extra days to get it ready. What if we brought in some games or whatever. Maybe we can get some of our friends to come and do some panels. Maybe we could sell some tickets, and give the money to charity. Let’s see what we can do.” That’s how it all started!
What’s your experience been with the chosen charity, Operation Smile?
Fantastic. They’re one of the greatest organizations that I’ve ever been a part of. We are blessed to be able to help them out each year, and to do everything we can to raise money. We’ve been able to do some really great stuff with them in the last five to six years, that has really affected all of our lives in a positive way. You know, we all worry about jobs, and money, and that kind of stuff; but at the end of the day you go, “Man, no matter what we do, when we’re all done with our lives, we’re gonna go, ‘We did something to really help a lot of kids and a lot of people.’”
So of course people will want to know what’s coming to Nerd HQ this year. What can you tell us?
It will be at The New Children’s Museum again, and here’s a quick breakdown: AMD is coming back as one of our headline sponsors, and they are bringing in Battlefield 1 with EA and DICE; so we’re going to have a 64-station multiplayer of Battlefield 1 on PC – which is all Alienware, super-cool tech, and a really fun game experience. We played it during E3, and it’s unbelievable. Xbox is bringing their whole lineup of games that they’re going to have during the con to HQ. So we’ll probably have between 150 to 200 gaming units on site, where you’ll be able to set times, and that will be with Gears of War 4, Titanfall 2, and a bunch of other really great titles, all through Xbox, which we’re really excited about.
Johnson & Johnson is a partner of ours this year, and we’re integrating the “Donate a Photo” app that they do, in support of Operation Smile, into our app and into our photo booth. So if you take a picture at our photo booth, that photo gets sent to our Nerd HQ account to Donate a Photo. We can upload that, and for every upload, Johnson & Johnson donates a dollar to Operation Smile. What we are hoping is that we can raise another 10 to 15 thousand dollars just from photos at the photo booths. Hallmark is going to be on site with some awesome specials and exclusives for HQ which we’re really excited about. Kellogg’s is doing an indie gaming area with the Square Enix Collective, with a bunch of cool indie games that most people have never seen before, that people will get to play.
We’re going to have a brand-new app that’s been completely renovated and redesigned for this year, with enhanced RFID capabilities; really cool photo filters inside; and connections to all your social media; so that’s very exciting. We’re pulling out all the stops. We’ve added extra air conditioning to the panel rooms, and we’re doing tiered seating in the panel rooms, so it will feel more like the seating at Petco Park. We’re adding a 360-degree camera to the panels, so you’ll be able to watch the panels at home on your VR system. You’ll be able to feel like you’re in the audience, which is what I think people want. And again, we’re lining up some amazing panels – new stuff, returning stuff; things people love, and some new stuff they wouldn’t expect. I don’t have the full panel list yet, but we’ll probably be releasing some of the panel schedule this week, and then we’ll have the full list out by next week.
We’ll be adding brand-new merch that we’ll be selling exclusively at Nerd HQ. We’re going to have this bad-ass 1960’s Nerd HQ-branded van driving around the city to promote HQ and for photo ops – it looks kind of like a big red version of the Mystery Machine. It’s going to be awesome. We’re doing more signings this year than before; and will hopefully bring in some really big names for the signings. And of course we’ll be doing Smiles for Smiles, which is one of our biggest ways to engage the fans with celebrities. We definitely want people to help us in our philanthropy by being a part of it themselves; so we will encourage everyone who comes or watches from home to download the Donate a Photo app from Johnson & Johnson. Because every day of the year, you can post a photo, and each one is a dollar for Operation Smile. Every person, by doing something that they already do by posting a picture, can change one kid’s life in 245 days. We’ll also have the fan parties on Thursday and Saturday, which will be super fun. We’re excited about those. We have a great time those nights.
So what are you most excited about for Nerd HQ 2016?
I think I’m most excited about the greater amount of offerings we’re going to be able to give this year. And I think we’re going to be able to raise a lot more money for charity, and to create a much more pleasurable fan experience through the upgrades to the panel rooms and the rest of the building, which I think are going to make a huge difference. Just being able to offer cool stuff that we haven’t been able to offer before is great.
And it’s HQ, it’s fun! We want people to feel like there’s a place where they belong, a place where they can feel comfortable, and like everyone there is their friend; and that it’s just a good time, and a good place to hang out.
Thank you, Dave Coleman, for your time and for this exciting Nerd HQ information! I can’t wait!
Over the past 47 years the SDCC has grown to become a pop culture behemoth. More than just a grand celebration of fan passion, it’s a driver of serious commerce. SDCC’s impact now makes waves on a national and international economic scale, far beyond the initial fan-centric puddles of the early days.
Bob “Chappy” Chapman is a fan and business owner who was part of the early days and is still actively involved today. He’s an energetic entrepreneur who’s built his business Graphitti Designs, catering to Geek Culture. Graphitti Designs has been creates fan focused merchandise like T-shirts, statues, action figures, prints, books and more. And Bob has found a way to survive – and thrive – throughout the many iterations of SDCC over the years.
Bob is likeable, charming, infectiously enthusiastic, and effortlessly employs an extensive vocabulary. You just know he’s a big reader! He’s nostalgic, but always looking forward. As we prepare for the annual nerd prom that world calls SDCC, I was eager to learn how the convention got his business started and how it’s changed over the years.
The Secret Origin
All great superheroes have a great origin story, and Bob Chapman is no exception.
Bob and his brother were rabid Silver Age comic fans and had accumulated an impressive comic collection. By the late 70s they had become disillusioned with collecting and decided to sell their comics. They dutifully trotted their overflowing comic boxes to a myriad of dealers, but were shocked at how little money was offered.
In what would become a life changing decision, they decided that they could do better selling the comics directly to fans directly. They signed up for dealer’s table at SDCC.
Hard to believe it was once that easy to secure exhibition space at SDCC.
“We didn’t know what we were doing,” confessed Bob. But despite that, the brothers managed to walk away with several thousand dollars. And they made this profit by selling off only 10% of their collection.
More important, they loved the comic convention culture. And they were in the thick of it with all their peers and favorite creators. For example, their dealer’s table was situated right next to comics legend Wally Wood.
This would be the initial catalyst that led to the creation Graphitti Designs.
“In the early days, there was a lot of camaraderie,” said Bob. He explained that they were all on a learning curve and there were no official guidelines. “We all helped each other, learned from each other. It wasn’t contrived and was never articulated.”
When he started in 1982, there was no merchandise or specialty marketing. There wasn’t even a place for distributors. The direct sales market was evolving, but the marketplace was, at that time, still focused on the monthly sales cycle of periodicals. Evergreen products and licensed merchandised was rare and usually dismissed.
But in 1981, Bob developed a straightforward idea. He knew the screen-printing process and he knew comics. He approached SDCC’s management team with an idea that was radical at the time, although it has become startlingly commonplace now: to make and sell official comic convention T-Shirts!
On the Frontier
In planning for this first T-shirt project, Bob told me how he was hopeful to work with one of his favorite artists, like Jack Kirby, or to use an iconic hero, like Batman or Spider-Man, in order to design a powerful shirt and logo.
Instead, he was disappointed when the convention management team asked him to work with an up-coming-artist he hadn’t heard of an old comics character that hadn’t been published in years.
Crestfallen, he was determined to make it work.
The character was Sheena, an iconic super heroine (pre-dating Wonder Woman) and the artist was Dave Stevens.
Bob soon met Dave and they hit it off. And Bob, like the rest of world, would soon find out that Dave Stevens was a phenomenal artist. Together, they would create many gorgeous items for Bob’s fledgling company.
In fact many of Graphitti’s “firsts” involved Dave Stevens. The first book Graphitti published was a Dave Stevens Book. The first cloisonné pin featured Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer character. The first statue Graphitti created was based on Dave Stevens’ artwork.
“He was our unofficial art director for all those years,” said Bob.
The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
As Bob talked about the business, he reiterated that he owes much of his success to all the kind people who wanted to see him succeed.
One particularly influential person was Will Eisner. The legendary storyteller and creator of The Spirit approached Graphitti to make Spirit T-shirts. “He allowed us to make Spirit T-shirts,” recalls Bob. “It had never been done before.”
Looking back, this was especially important, as Eisner was also known as a very focused businessman.
Business Grows as Comic Cons Grow
Graphitti was, in many ways, the first specialty company to create statues and comics-focused hard cover books for the collector’s market. The entire collectible statue market can easily trace its parentage back to Bob Chapman’s efforts at Graphitti.
As a merchandising company, Graphitti blazed new trails and usually enjoyed first mover advantages.
“Now there’s a plethora of merchandise. I spawned some of that,” said Bob.
He’s practically a founding father of merchandising in the comic book industry.
“Not so sure how proud I am of that…it’s so saturated <now>,’ he muses.
Bob explains that they were “…a product of the times. On one hand… the timing was extremely fortunate. But at the same time, the timing was bad – as there was no guideline or framework. In hindsight, ignorance persevered.”
Graphitti was focused on being a champion for artists and comic artwork. “Being a facilitator to the vision is other is part of what gave us this look,” reasoned Bob.
“And now, we’re fortunate to be evolving back into creating books,” said Bob. He’s very pleased about that.
And Graphitti was purposefully small and was able to be malleable. They weren’t shackled to preconceived ideas.
In the beginning, Graphitti was the only game in the geek merchandise town. But things changed quickly. Bob had to learn how to juggle his money and still produce items.
“I had numerous opportunities to go out of business, and had to learn how to juggle air financially,” said Bob.
The Romantic Entrepreneur
Bob is a unique mix of the classic nuts-and-bolts businessman and the idealist romantic entrepreneur.
That’s evident in his love for the medium, and comics in general. But’s also evident in his staffing.
You see, Bob’s lovely wife Gina often works with him at the Graphitti Convention Booth. So much so, in fact, that she too has become a staple of the SDCC.
“I work more than I should,” lamented Bob. And to that end, he’s grateful that his wife often joins him on the convention circuit and at SDCC in particular.
“Sometimes it’s an asset to have such fresh eyes,” said Bob. “She’s not star struck and she’s a good sounding board. She makes the shows more enjoyable. It’s nice that she’s there with me.”
Standing Tall at San Diego Comic Con 2016
Bob makes it very clear about his relationship with SDCC. “I wouldn’t be here without it,” he said.
And he’s contemplative about the state of the industry. “We got what we wanted,” concludes Chappy. “The stink of comics from the fifties has dissipated.” But with the growth comes issues, and it’s a “double-edged sword.”
“I built Graphitti, but I didn’t do it property,” Bob admitted. “I don’t want to be the poster child for doing it properly.”
As an entrepreneur myself, I just scratch my head and think that Graphitti’s amazing success, innovation and longevity all seem pretty proper to me!
You don’t have to explain what a comic convention is to most people anymore. They know that these conventions are a celebration of geek culture, that they are places to sell comics and collectibles, and that a lot of people attend these things. Some people might know that the San Diego Comic-Con is the grand-daddy of them all, and generally considered to be biggest and the best.
But that standing is rapidly changing. Recently, New York Comic Con published some astonishing attendance numbers. As it has been each year, this was another record-breaking year as they counted 167,000 attendees. That’s a lot of people.
Geek Culture business analyst and author Rob Salkowitz sees different strengths for each. “NYCC strikes me as a great way for brands to reach influential audiences in the New York area (including a lot of media and publishing elites), whereas SDCC is still the only truly global fan event in North America.”
So while every major convention might have a distinct flavor or purpose, I feel the strong attendee and revenue growth across the board seems to speak to both the rise of Geek Culture and changing consumer habits.
Remember just a few years ago when Target was a “cool” place to shop? Everyone even pronounced the name as “Tar-jay” with a half-jokey attitude. Since then, big box retailers like Target and Wal-Mart (for the first time in ages) find themselves struggling and falling short of expectations. So many Americans feel that if you just have to “buy something,” it’s easier to just order it online and have it delivered.
But if there’s an experience involved, it’s a different story. If you need an expert to help you plan your bridal registry, for example, you definitely want to go to visit a retailer. Or if you want to meet a favorite author, you’ll visit a bookstore for an autographing event. And if you want to celebrate your fan passion, you probably want to visit your comic shop every Wednesday or attend one of the country’s many comic conventions.
That’s where you can see you’re part of something big and exciting. There’s so much to see and learn about – it’s not only about acquiring stuff. Now it’s about acquiring stuff and experiences.
And with the rising tide of Geek Culture and comic cons, everyone seems to have a vision of how they should all work.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to read Alisha Grauso make her case in The Wrap (a news portal that covers entertainment news with a generous dollop of Hollywood insider insights) that movie studios should focus their efforts on promoting at New York Comic Con. For the industry, it’s been “understood” that Hollywood likes to participate in San Diego Comic-Con because it’s fun and it’s an easy economical trip. In her article, Ms. Grauso pointes to several important economic reasons to consider shifting Hollywood’s marketing focus away from thw San Diego Comic-Con and to the New York Comic Con.
I’ll admit it, in my role as a marketing guy we were recently suggesting to a client that they focus their efforts on other conventions rather than San Diego. And this choice makes sense for that particular client, and it also makes sense for more and more brands.
“Fan events… are big business,” said Lance Fensterman, senior global VP of ReedPOP. “It is where brands and media companies can connect directly with fans… passionate, passionate fans. These guys are rabid consumers of content, they have heavy social media presence, and they’re savvy. These are people that marketers want to reach. With that in mind, an important part of our job is to ensure this is done the right way and isn’t too overwhelming or distracting to the fan experience.”
The reality of the situation is that there are now so many venues for marketers to choose from. And that’s great for fans and great for brands.
I wasn’t at the San Diego Comic Con last week, but I kind of feel like I was. I watched Conan O’Brien every day. I read updates on line. I watched movie trailers from panels I probably couldn’t have got into. It was just like being there, except I didn’t have to wear underwear, I could knit, and I had a cat on my lap.
Still, I missed seeing my friends, and people who aren’t exactly my friends, but we know each other well enough for them to hug me.
And I missed seeing a comic culture that, finally, accepted women as true fans. Instead of raging about Twilight fans (which is my last memory of SDCC), or bitching about cosplayers, the reports I read from SDCC 2015 were remarkably cheerful and inclusive and accepting. Crowded, and with long lines for the bathrooms, but full of good will.
And then I read this. Two veteran Hollywood reporters lamenting the “fact” that movies today are all about women heroes, and that the “real” men can’t catch a break. Never mind that nothing they say is even remotely factual.
Look, I get it. They’re old, and the movies they grew up with are no longer fashionable. In some ways, I share their feelings. I love John Ford westerns. I adore the free-wheeling movies from the 1960s and 1970s, before movies cost so much that the marketing departments took over the studios. But my nostalgia for my lost youth doesn’t blind me to the fact that those movies, for all their brilliance, for all their art, ignored the existence of most of their potential audience, and denied the experiences of people who weren’t white and straight and conventionally beautiful.
At the same time, the United States women’s soccer team won the World Cup and Serena Williams conquered Wimbledon. Now, I generally couldn’t care less about sports, but even a curmudgeon like me was excited to see talented, motivated women win.
In parallel to the ridiculous old men who wrote the piece in Deadline linked above, there were men who used the occasion to bewail Selena Williams lack of “femininity.” These ranged from the Newspaper of Record to the ungovernable Twitterverse.
To me, Serena Williams looks the way Wonder Woman is supposed to look. She’s a big girl, with solid muscles because she needs her strength. She dresses for competition the way I imagine a super heroine would dress, in clothes that allow her a full range of movement and provide support where she needs it.
Serena Williams is not the only woman with a body that’s heroic. There are body-builders and gymnasts and runners and swimmers and soccer players, too. There isn’t just one kind of strong body for women, just as there is no one kind of strong body for men. None of them look like the tits-and-ass fantasies of too many artists, but I think that style of art is losing popularity.
In times of change (by which I mean, forever), some people will always get upset. They will be threatened by the change and worry that they will lose something, whether that something is power or privilege or just stories that they like.
(I’m like that, sometimes. Move a favorite television show to a different time-slot, and my world falls apart. Even knowing how to use the DVR doesn’t make me feel any better.)
People who are not powerful know there are no guarantees in this world, that there is no stability, no permanent comfort. It’s those who are complacent in their wealth and power and privilege who are surprised. At best, if we find ourselves uncomfortable in these positions, we can hope to have empathy. At worst, we can dig in and be jerks.
(Last week, I was kind of a jerk. I’m sorry about it, and I appreciate those who cared enough to educate me.)
Relax, uptight men. Most movies still focus on heroes who are white and male and straight. So do most comics. No one makes you pay for any stories about women or people of color or queer folks.
But some of us want those stories. We’re going to tell them and watch them and read them.
Big sigh of relief, right? It’s history. Again. I wasn’t there, but you were, and your sigh of relief may be mixed with fondness, disappointment, frustration, triumph… maybe plain old-fashioned jet lag. Depends on the kind of con you had. Expectations fulfilled? Thwarted? A little of both?
I refer, of course, to the just concluded San Diego Comic Con. I didn’t attend the 2015 edition, but I’ve gone to the show often in the past, so hey, I know a little of whereof I speak. That guy over in the corner is saying that, matter of fact, he hasn’t attended the con, ever. Okay, try to make it next year. It’s an experience everyone should have –once. Twice? Well, depends on your tolerance for huge crowds, noise, and a vast arena filed with manic energy. For some, this is tonic. For others, maybe not so much. You decide after that first visit.
The con has become, among other things, a gathering of the tribes. You can expect to run into colleagues and fellow enthusiasts from all over and maybe some deals get made, and maybe a romance is kindled, or maybe you’ll just enjoy meeting people you’d forgotten existed, but are glad they do, and surely that’s pleasure enough.
You’ll also have the opportunity to share oxygen with celebrities, if you’ve a mind to, and stand in line to pay them real money in exchange for their autographs. Or you can just attend their events and learn of their latest projects and for some, that is pleasure enough.
Am I forgetting anything?
Oh yeah. Comics. It is a comic con, after all, and there is plenty of comic book action. Old issues for sale, and plenty of comics-related merchandize. (I own a hoodie with a bat symbol emblazoned across the front and another that kind of looks like Dr. Who’s Tardis. Didn’t get ‘em in San Diego, but I did buy them at comic conventions.) And there is a generous number of panels and talks devoted to comics, so if funny books are your joy, buy a ticket and find a seat in the ballroom.
The complaint here might be that the comics activities are eclipsed by the celebrity stuff, and while that’s true, I don’t think it’s worth getting fussy about. As noted in the paragraph perched atop this one, there’s no shortage of comic book material, at San Diego or any of the other cons I’ve attended. That could change, I guess, but for now, the needs of us print lovers – call us fossils if you must – are being met.
When I first became aware of the San Diego show, I had doubts. The city was stuck way at the western end of the country, just a few miles from the Mexican border that has Mr. Trump so fretful, and who’s going to make that trek just for a convention if they live in the east or midwest? This year, the answer… according to published estimates, is 130,000 attendees. A lot. And the success of the affair has helped haul that step-child of publishing, the comic book, up into respectability.
Reunions remind me that I am definitely in the “Lucky Guy” category. Celebrating recent wins and remembering the good times invigorate me – and I’ve done both at my recent reunions. I may need my time alone to recharge – it drives my creative process and keeps me sane – but deep down, I’m truly a social creature blessed with an abundance of family and friends.
But I’m not the only one who’s been focused on reunions this summer. Choice Hotels’ recent advertising campaign targets all those folks who are undecided about attending an upcoming reunion. The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go? reinforces our natural indecision as a wide variety of people anxiously prepare for their reunions. “It won’t be the same without you, bro”, taunts one bearded man who undoubtedly represents a friend we all have. Take a look here if you haven’t seen it yet.
I’ve always enjoyed my college reunions. I haven’t missed many. I love being on campus without those ‘pesky’ students running off to interesting classes I’d like to follow them to or flaunting their seemingly endless time to relax in the Quad. Reunion is like a private party at Disneyworld without the other customers. Or the Bottled City of Kandor without the Kryptonians.
And my family reunion was a fantastic time to reconnect with 25 family members, get some family business done (we’re struggling with the inevitable elder-care issues) and have fun together. It was another opportunity to hand-deliver Archie, Boom! and IDW comics to the upcoming Catto generation. I also played with my young nephew, explaining the story of Thor (via a Captain Action toy) and blaming the thunderstorm later that night on his mighty hammer. Fans of Greg Rucka’s Lazarus comic will understand when I say that my internal mantra for the weekend was “Family First,” a phrase I borrowed from that outstanding Image series.
I believe that “Comic-Con International,” the event that the rest of the world calls San Diego Comic-Con or #SDCC, is an event with the same kind of reunion magic – generating energy and creativity, support and hope.
I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with Geek Culture for some time now. Business acquaintances have become friends. Favorite artists, writers and publishers, at the core of Pop Culture, have likewise evolved into business acquaintances and friends.
Oh sure, for me SDCC is a time filled with business meetings, panels and interviews. It’s also an opportunity to discover new ideas, new creations and new ways of doing business. But so many of us connect with old and new friends, celebrate shared passions and just hang out.
When I was a Vice President of Strategic Marketing at Reed Elsevier’s Exhibition division, I traveled to conventions across the US and around the world. In most cases, these tradeshows share a congenial element of friends gathering together. Some conventions are more business-like than others. But I don’t think any other industry’s trade show has the unique vibe of Comic-Con. Those other conventions simply don’t have that overwhelming passion baked into the DNA of the exhibitors and attendees at Comic-Con and the connections that come from that passion.
For so many of us, last week’s San Diego Comic-Con was a place to spend time with people that feel like family. Over 130,000 of them. And it was a time to learn news about shared interests and then share it – both within the tribe and beyond to the world at large. But like the mystical cities of Brigadoon or K’un Lun, this magical reunion in San Diego appeared all-too-briefly and then shimmered away. It was a the ideal spot to gather together and I never thought, “Should I stay or should I go?”
The San Diego Comic Con starts today, and I couldn’t be happier that it will all be over soon. For the past month all I’ve been getting are emails inviting me to events, panels or to get exclusives at the world’s big geek event. And guess what? I’ll be stuck at home, not attending any of them.
It’s a bummer to see all the amazing things happening without me. Yes, the entire event is covered completely on the web. Any big announcement or reveal is up for the world to see in a matter of seconds. Even so, being there in the center of things is a much different story.
I’ve been to SDCC a few times, and each time has been a remarkable experience. While, yes, I do get to go to NYCC (now the largest comic con in the US) each year, it just isn’t the same. San Diego literally becomes the convention hall. Outside the con, you are still completely surrounded by geeks day and night. Going to this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to being one of the cool kids at spring break. The experience of attending SDCC is unlike anything else.
It’s not just about the 24/7 party. As I have written before, I see people at cons that I never see at any other time. Friends who that I might only see at cons or chat with online on occasion. And every year, I always seem to meet someone new. I could spend the whole con just booth hopping from one to another, chatting it up with the staff and fans and have a grand time.
Starting today, throughout the country (or maybe even the world) Not At Comic Con events will be happening. I am not the only bummed out fan. These events are just a shadow of the craziness that ensues at SDCC but still a great way to get some quality geek time.
So here I’ll be, bummed out and stuck in humid NYC. At least I will have plenty of time to clear out my inbox. And, just maybe, next year I’ll be back in San Diego.
The San Diego Comic Con starts tomorrow, and OMG I am all in a tizzy getting prepped for it. Which kiiiiind of means I didn’t have time to write a long, thoughtful, in-depth column about anything this week. Not only because I’m busy, but also because when I get excited, it’s like Fireworks! Going! Off! In! My! Brain! And then long, thoughtful columns are overtaken by things like Rorschach answering dating questions, or incoherent babbling about imaginary stuff. So you can imagine what my brain looks like right now.
However, for those of us heading off to SDCC and looking for some tips, I can refer everyone back to my Comic-Con Prep 101 guide from last year. Check it out for a list or a reminder of all the basics you should think about when packing for and prepping for a con.
I can also share a few tips specifically for San Diego. Of course, a good place to start when planning for SDCC (which you totally should be completely ready for by now, right? Right??) is the official app, where you can put your own personal wish-list schedule of panels together (while recognizing you’ll only actually make it to maybe 1 in 10 panels you want to attend, if you’re anything like me and over-commit). You can also see what guests might be out there that you want to track down for autographs, commissions, and more. You can also head over to the official site for the list of San Diego Comic-Con exclusives exclusives to see what you absolutely must snag on the con floor.
Then you should consider your after-hours plans. While a lot of the parties are “invite only,” there are still a ton of good things going on at night. For a couple of good round-ups of the parties and get-togethers, check out the Hollywood Reporter’s list or Variety’s list. I’m planning on SherlockeDCC and the Geek Nation/Epic Pictures parties. Another good place to poke around is Facebook. A lot of the free parties have event listings on Facebook, which will also link you up to “related content” so you can find even more parties. The two I’m eyeing that have Facebook pages are the J!NX PRESENTS: Gabe Eltaeb’s Second Annual Comic Kickoff Fundraiser and the Fashionably Nerdy Cocktail Hour and Mixer.
And of course, there are other peripheral events to be aware of; one of the biggest of which is Zac Levi’s awesome Nerd HQ. Even though the Conversations (200-seat panels featuring awesome celebrities, sold for $22 each and with proceeds going to Operation Smile) sell out in a hot second, there are also other things going on, like free gaming, and usually Thursday and Saturday night parties. And then there’s also SlamCon, the mysterious moving party that you need to hunt down via Twitter to attend. And then there’s the occasional thing that makes you go, “Bwuh?” but in a good way; like Elijah Wood DJ’ing at Bang Bangtomorrow night (come on, I’m so there; I hear he has a kickin’ vinyl collection). All in all, there’s more than enough to see and do while in San Diego for the con.
So there you go! Some on-the-fly tips off the top of my head (which is about to fly off in excitement) about how to experience the San Diego Comic-Con, at least the way I like to do it.
So get out there, have a blast, and until next time, Servo Lectio!
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. • I Timothy 6:10
Vast marketplaces, comic conventions these days, and that has its upside, certainly. You get to complete your collections by visiting the used comics dealers and maybe see something you didn’t know exists but would enjoy owning and out comes the wallet or, increasingly, the credit card and the deal is done.
I don’t want to get all new-agey on you, but I think it’s good for us to interact with the universe of which we’re a part and money is a way to do that; you’re exchanging whatever effort got you the money for food, clothing, shelter, comic books…you know –life’s necessities All good.
The problem comes when money ceases too be a medium of exchange and becomes an end in itself.
But don’t you dare take my word for it!
Whose word should you take? Well, there’s some research I first saw mentioned in a book by Nobel prizer Daniel Kahneman titled Thinking, Fast and Slow. The claim is that money can have a negative on a person’s personality without that person being aware of it. Here’s a Googled quote from a website called neuromarketing that pretty much explains what we’re discussing:
In each experiment, the researchers subtly prompted half the volunteers to think of money – by having them read an essay that mentioned money, for example, or seating them facing a poster depicting different types of currency – before putting them in a social situation. In one experiment, the researchers gave volunteers a difficult puzzle and told them to ask for help at any time. People who had been reminded of money waited nearly 70% longer to seek help than those who hadn’t. People cued to think of money also spent only half as much time, on average, assisting another person who asked for their help with a word problem and picked up fewer pencils for someone who’d dropped them.
(For the record: the researchers referred to were Kathleen Vohs and colleagues.)
Are we ready for some connection to comics yet? Okay: it seems to me that a lot – but by no means all – comics conventions are big, big business. What seems most important at them are the commercial aspects and the presence of celebrities, which is part of the commerce, since the celebs charge for autographs and, in at least some instances, are paid for appearing.
What I’m afraid may be lost is the innocent enthusiasm for the comic book hobby, in whatever form, and the camaraderie like like-minded souls getting together and sharing. The whole scene seems to have coarsened. And that’s too bad.
And in the interest of fairness and balance, a brief anecdote: About four years ago Marifran lost her purse while we were attending the mother of all cons, the annual San Diego shindig, I thought, there are 140,000-plus strangers in that building and bye bye purse and money therein. The next day, the purse was returned, anonymously, with absolutely nothing missing.
The business world, the SyFy Channel, California, ComicsPRO, Hollywood, pop culture and everyone on planet earth who loves entertainment has spent the last week been focusing on Comic-Con International. And as you may know, it’s still often referred to as San Diego Comic-Con. It’s a gloriously bloated beast of a show, overcrowded and overwhelming. And I just love it.
Last week I had the honor of attending Camillus Con, the Finger Lakes New York nerd and geek culture celebration. You may not be familiar with this one, but they’ve been doing it for a while. In fact, this convention was celebrating its fourth birthday.
Cosplay was in full force at this show. Oh, there were the standards, like Power Girl and Spider-Man, but as a less frenetic, less crowded show it allowed all the cosplayers to have a little more fun acting out as they posed for snapshots. And beyond the standards, there were so many cosplayers with both strong costuming skills and big smiles.
Ling Tang is an artist with a delicate flair and a myriad of images to sell via her studio, Illusions of Grandeur. She was warm and friendly, and like so many convention exhibitors, just as eager to chat about the topics du jour (Pokémon Go and Dungeons & Dragons), as she was to shift into selling mode.
James P. McCampbell lets everyone know he is a Syracuse Nerd and proud of it with his shirt. His artwork displayed his passion and his salesmanship reinforced his own boundless enthusiasm.
