Comic Con International

Date: July 2009, 22nd to 26th Location: San Diego Convention Centre Attendance: Maxed out at 126,000 I went to Comic-Con for the 2nd time. I had roughly around 1pm-ish Wednesday afternoon and the place was already busy. Some people were camped out with sleeping bags, already lining up to get into Hall H. This year was a little different from last as the con merged the press and pro lines together, creating a huge line. A number of pro's were visibly stunned by the long line to get their badge. After I got my badge I remained in the inside hallway for a bit looking through the con program guide. I always like to map out which booths/people I want to see and mark them off. A guard came by and began kicking people out saying the hallway had to be cleared. With some time to kill I remained outside, took a walk around the convention centre and sat outside for a bit waiting to be let in. As with any large crowds, some colourful locals showed up looking to cash in. One guy had a cardboard sign saying "will do a back flip for a dollar or two" and he did do one. Security/Police immediately jumped in and stopped him from doing anymore as it was a crowded. Also saw a guy dragging his old cooler around selling water bottles for a dollar. Preview night began and the place was crowded, especially around the booths offering San Diego only exclusives. I wandered around the Gold & Silver area to see what was different. A lot of the same dealers where there from last year. Some of them remembered me. I also chatted with Leigh Walton at the Top Shelf booth who told me about some new books like the softcover version of Lost Girls which was much cheaper than the hardcover version. Also there was the new Jeff Lemire's Essex County Trilogy collection. I discovered the San Diego night life around the Gas Light district was colourful and entertaining in it's own way. With drunk people threatening to beat each other up, couples arguing, etc. There were plenty of "bike beggers" offering to give you rides for money. Some of them were cute women using their nice smiles to drum up business. There were plenty of people promoting stuff as well, the crew I was with were given Free Energy drinks. But back to the convention. I attended a bunch of panels throughout the event. Most of them I recorded with my MP3 player. The first was the Fan's Guide to Comic-Con panel, which was surprisingly full. I came in towards the end. There a few guys explained what they were in for and talked best habits for clothing, food, hotels, tickets, and more. They used a power point while going through this often putting up funny pictures describing what they were talking about. The audience asked questions at the end. Secret Origins of Comic-Con. (61.8mb, 67:32) Participants of the first and early San Diego Comic cons tell their stories of how it all began. Panelist include Richard Alf, Greg Bear, Dave Clark, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, Scott Shaw!, Barry Alfonso, Roger Freedman, Ken Krueger, and moderated by William R. Lund. The crew also talk about others who were involved but not in attendance, mainly Shel Dorf, who was unable to attend due to poor health. There were also stories about Forrey Ackerman. Some questions were asked at the end the nearly packed room. Indie Comics Marketing 101. (41.7mb, 45:33) How to market your comics if you are not a big publisher. Boom! Marketing director Chip Mosher, The Beat's Heidi McDonald and filling in for Shanon Wheeler is the popular blogger and creator Kevin Church. Chip goes through the mindset and some rules on marketing yourself, Heidi and Kevin goes through some do's and don'ts on the press end. The panel is moderated by the former manager of development and content at MySpace, Sam Humphries. This was a popular panel and it was standing room only. Spotlight on Jerry Robinson. (41.8mb, 45:43) Moderator Mark Waid interviews Jerry Robinson about his career in comics, particularly focusing on his early Batman days and his latest work as a guest curator for an exhibition on Superhero comic art. Robinson intended for a power point presentation but the staff were unable to get the computer working. Towards the end the CD got stuck inside the machine and an audience member came up and helped get it out minutes before the panel ended. Robinson joked with the A/V technician telling him "you're fired." I came part way into the Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés panel, which also had Mike Royer, Russ Heath, Stan Sakai and others. It was a comical panel with Sergio providing laughs, especially when asked about Evanier writing his Biography. "I'm still alive" was his response, he also mentioned there are still stories/books he wants to do and thinks his best is yet to come. Golden and Silver Age of Comics. (69.1mb, 75:31) Panelists include Murphy Anderson, Gene Colan, Ramona Fradon, Russ Heath, Jack Katz, Jerry Robinson and Leonard Starr. The group tells stories about their time in comics. The panel is moderated by Mark Evanier. The convention microphones were quite weak and some people at the back had a difficult time hearing some of the panelists. At nights I generally went to the waterfront to grab my dinners there. It was a different crowd as it's more towards those visiting the marina. They people there seemed to be oblivious to the comic-con until somebody in costume showed up, at which time they took out their cameras and took pictures. Also around the area are a few buskers either doing magic tricks or playing music. Friday's panels included: COMICSPRO: Selling More Comics and Graphic Novels: A Forum for Publishers. (54.9mb, 60:01) Joe Field (ComicsPro President and Flying Colours owner), Phil Boyle (Coliseum of Comics chain owner) and Judd D'Angelo (Earth 2 chain co-owner) give instructions to publishers and creators on how to sell more comics. There were hand outs given before and after the panel. The microphones were not working for this panel. The room was about almost full, most of the people publishers and creators. Spotlight on Dwayne McDuffie. (45.8mb, 50:02) Dwayne McDuffie receives an inkpot award and just does a straight Q&A with the audience. He answers questions about writing comics and animation. In particular about Fantastic Four, Damage Control, Static Shock and the Milestone Universe, Justice League, Teen Titans and Ben 10. There was a major Ben 10 fan asking questions, her quivering voice reacting to everything Dwayne said was fun. I grabbed some dinner and went back to my hotel to rest my feet before heading back out to the Eisner Awards. 2009 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. (154mb, 169:17) The awards were hosted by Bill Morrison and Neil Gaiman was the keynote speaker. There was some humor, the highlights was the Robert Garant & Thomas Lennon suggesting that people "loose their shit" and thank Jesus when they win an award. Jill Thompson then did just that for her award and it was laugh out loud funny. The strangest moment was when Carla Speed McNeil won an award for Finder. She wasn't there but a big "Gay Robot" guy accepted the award on her behalf and made a speech. A standing ovation occurred when Russ Heath accepted his Hall of Fame award and simply said he was happy to be alive to accept it. Saturday typically being the busy day I stayed off the con floor and did a bunch of panels. The Black Panel. (74.1mb, 81:00) Moderated by Michael Davis. This laugh out loud funny panel's participants include Ludacris, Michael Jai White, Kel Mitchell, Prdodical Sunn, Jimmy Diggs, Reggie Hudlin, Denys Cowan, a surprise guest Michelle Nichols. There was also a performance by a singer Asia Lee, Queen of Cali. Artist Ken Lashley was in the crowd and stood up to participate towards the end. There was much promoting of upcoming projects and some Q&A from the audience. Spotlight on Sheldon Moldoff. (42.4mb, 46:22) Mark Waid interviews Sheldon Moldoff about his career, in particular about his time working on Batman. Moldoff also talks about the time he sued DC and won (but still continued to work for them) and his very bad experience with Bill Gaines. I should note I missed about the first 5 minutes of the panel. Spotlight on Denis Kitchen. (94.5mb, 54:04) Kevin Dooley gave a very long introduction to Denis Kitchen and also ran a quick moving power point showing lots of Kitchen's underground art. They talked a bit about his career, what he's doing now and took questions from the audience. Comic-Con: El Cortez Memories. (45.6mb, 49:51) Moderated by David Scroggy, this panel includes many early comic con goers and they tell funny stories about the old El Cortez hotel the comic con used to be held in. On the panel was Sergio Aragonés, Mike Friedrich, George Clayton Johnston, Jack Katz, Lee Marrs, Mike Royer, William Stout and Mark Evanier. Hope Larson spotlight. Hope is interviewed by writer Cecil Castellucci. I came in about half way through. They talked about her work and took questions from the audience. Among those in the audience and asking questions was Scott McCloud. Hope mentioned there was almost no straight lines in her work because she uses a brush, not a pen. Harvey Kurtzman Tribute. (46.9mb, 51:14) Panelists include Paul Levitz, Denis Kitchen, William Stout, Charles Kochman and Harvey's daughter Nellie Kurtzman. Panel is moderated by Mark Evanier. The group talk about Harvey, his strengths and his career path in an open and honest way. Nellie reveals surprising things about her Dad. Denis Kitchen also dispels some myths about why a certain project failed. After dinner I just went straight back to the hotel room. A local TV station was airing the latest Hulk movie and I watched that and relaxed. Sunday. The Annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel. (51.9mb, 56:42) Mark Evanier is the moderator. On the panel is Bill Mumy, Mike Royer, Steve Saffel, and the inspiration for the 5 String Mob from Jimmy Olsen comics, Barry Alfonso, Roger Freedman, William R. Lund, Scott Shaw! and Mike Towry. The panel talks about Jack, point out that several of the audience members also have Jack Kirby connections as well. I spent a good chunk of Sunday getting the run around in regards to shipping some books back home. Due to the very censor happy Canadian Customs Boarder Guards I'm not able to buy anything that's even semi-undergroundish and bring it back with me. I went to the Fed Ex inside the con and they wanted to charge me $190 to mail 2 books back home. I was told there was a UPS store 7 minutes away that could do it much cheaper. I walked up to find that UPS store was closed. People there directed me to another Fed Ex place a few blocks away. They said they could ship it ground and cheap if I went on their computers and set up an account with them. I soon realized they can only set up accounts for US residences. I eventually did get the items shipped but it cost me almost $70 for 2 day shipping, which was the cheapest option. This whole process took about an hour and a half out of my day, which was frustrating. On the bright side on the shuttle ride back to the con a woman gave me her ticket for a free Iron Man t-shirt. It was interesting talking to drivers and other locals regarding the convention as it's amazing how what they say doesn't jive with what's being reported on line in terms of attendance #s, when and if the con is going to move to another city and other related topics. Towards the end of the show and between panels throughout the show I took plenty of pictures of people in costumes, also got pics of some pro's and other misc items as well. I did go around and asked people about how the con went most mentioned it was slow on Saturday but other days were up. Over all I got the impression the con was slower than last year. For me personally this year didn't live up to the experience of last year's. It was the little in the flesh conversations with people that I've been chatting with online for years is what I enjoy a lot and while I'm happy I did get to speak with the people I did (James Coppervale, Kurt Busiek, Tom Spurgeon, Greg Schigiel, and others) there just wasn't enough of them. I ended up missing a number of folks I wanted to talk to. People just seemed to be incredibly busy this year and we weren't traveling in the same circles. Pictures from the convention are online here: http://picasaweb.google.com/comichistory/2009SanDiegoComicCon The panel recordings can be found here: http://www.TheComicBooks.com/audio.html Regards, Jamie Coville http://www.TheGraphicNovels.com News and discussion on a free, Delphi like forum.

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Text Copyright © 2009 Jamie Coville About the Author E-mail: jcoville@kingston.net