It’s also apparently about getting in a few more test screenings before the release. Why go to this show and bring one film when you can bring 3 films and spread out the cost between 3 different marketing budgets. That’s why Hollywood needs to reduce its presence at Comic-Con. They’re treating it like it’s ShoWest lite, and they’re bullying all of the comics stuff around with their large trucks full of advertising money.

That said, I know it would make my girlfriend’s Comic-Con adventure so much better if Hugh Laurie was there to promote House.

Speaking of having nothing to do with anything… Why are images of Gerard Butler littering this post? Well, aside from that he’s dreamy. Er.. um.. I mean..

True. But I think my overall dislike of the convention is the lack of any real convening there. There’s a communal aspect to other shows that reinvigorates the tired, beaten, jaded comics fan/comics creator within. NYCC has it even with the Batmobile flying around your head. And the MoCCA Art Festival does it better than anyone (though admittedly, with fewer capes).

But like I said, if your tastes generally run more broad and more towards huge spectacle, then SDCC is the place to be.

It could also be that everyone involved was going to be at SDCC anyway, so might as well make it something business-related, yeah?

And if you can’t find anything in the panels. or on the floor, then go to the beach.

-Steve!

And if I can learn something from a non-fiction comicbook, I will. (Jim O is working with Zander Cannon on a science book.)

SDCC is a fanfair. They do offer other conventions as well (one of which is advertised above). True, SDCC is a nice nexus of realities, allowing fans and creators and producers from all different tribes to comingle and discover cool stuff. It’s just too much for me.

This is all exactly why I forego SDCC for NYCC nowadays. It’s a “big” comics show much more suited to my tastes. In fact, at NYCC comic book pros get the exact star treatment you’re talking about, Heidi. There, Grant Morrison and Stan Lee and George Perez are the heavyweight attractions. I’ve never been to Heroes Con but from everything I read it’s more like what SDCC used to be.

I don’t think SDCC needs to change to suit my tastes, mind you — it’s evolved to what it is with remarkable success so it might as well remain a general pop culture show as long as that keeps bringing in more audience each year.

I love comics. I *love* the medium. I read mostly Image, manga, and indie stuff. I just love laughing at the nerds who think Batman is a real person or who think 200,000 sales of a comic matters in the real world.

And SDCC has gotten *way* better since it’s deemphasis on nerd shit. The more panels on movies and TV shows people actually want to see and the less on the nerd shit, the better! Because, nobody cares about Batman comics, except that 200,000 or 300,000 that read them. 0.1% of the world’s population…..yeah, the less nerd shit, the better!

I guess what baffles me is why a guy with no apparent interest in comics is reading and posting on a blog about comics.

Damn … that would be the GREATEST panel of all time!

MANNIX — my favorite tv show as a kid, and now as an adult. I purchased season one of MANNIX last month. Mike Connors and Joseph Campanella provide commentary, and they both look terrific for being in their 80s. And they live in California. It’s still possible to meet Mannix, Heidi …

SDCC offers a variety of programming for a variety of interests. The last Comic-Con I attended, I sat in on the movie panels for Warner Brothers (Harry Potter, T3, Dreamcatcher) as well as the Disney Treasure Planet sneak. I would sit in on an Arrested Development panel.

Yes, I would love to see a European style comics salon here in the U.S. (Can’t believe how little internet press Erlangen got last May.) BUT… if you hold a massive con that attracts 125,000 people, then the publicity sharks are going to notice the blood in the water.

For you pop-culture junketeers, I recommend “John Henry Days” by Colson Whitehead.