Word: conning
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...second day of the Con was spent weaving through the booths and unsuccessfully trying to see Angelina Jolie present scenes from the up-coming "Tomb Raider" sequel. Frankly, I didn't mind the non-comics aspect of the show. Anyone with an interest in pop-culture sub-genres, like myself, will find a blissful smile uplift their face in the presence of so much "junk." G.I. Joe dolls in action poses, Simpsons dioramas and full-scale sculptures of creatures from the Lord of Rings movies get museum-like attention. And why shouldn't they? Andy Warhol, who you can easily...
...start with just the comix, which remain the heart of the show, even if they must share equal time and space with booths like the one selling swords and weaponry. San Diego Con is the only place where nearly all the American comic publishers gather under one roof. Consequently it becomes like a dense star that pulls creators of every genre into its orbit. Fans can go crazy trying to find them all, from the venerable Will Eisner (who was previewing his latest book "Fagin the Jew") to Harvey Pekar (stumping for the "American Splendor" movie) to Alex Ross (previewing...
Although smaller presses sometimes complain about being overshadowed, the convergence of genres and fans allows for generous spillage. Of the publishers I spoke with, all were having successful sales. Several were debuting new books at the con. Drawn and Quarterly premiered the new "Acme Novelty Datebook," a hardcover collection of pages from Chris Ware's sketchbook ($39.95). Ware is one of the medium's outright geniuses and the chance to peer into his unpolished doodles should not be missed. Another great find was a little hardcover called "War Time and Play Time" ($15) by Luc Leplae. Born in Belgium...
...freak show. Friday was a particularly good day for costumes, a number of which seemed more appropriate to an S&M convention. At one point a black angel was seen in discussion with two white angels on the proper construction of a truss to support the wings. The Con has a weirdly sublimated sexual atmosphere. Tight and/or revealing outfits were not uncommon for both women and men. Actually the ratio of women seemed higher than one would expect. I would guess the number at around one third. It's easy to be contemptuous of the dorky characters that show...
...Though the Comic-Con International may be inaccurately named, being only 50% comics-related and not very international, it shouldn't be missed by comix enthusiasts. Its giant tent has enough going on under it for anybody to find something of interest. The very thing that aesthetes complain about, the wild mash-up of comic books with other products, becomes one of the strengths of the show. Comix become instantly re-contextualized as the pop-culture medium they always were. It's nice to climb down from the upper atmosphere once in a while and wallow around...