I HATE IT HERE – CON EDITION

So here we are again, Glasgow has finished and San Diego is underway. While the two hold very important places in my heart, San Diego being like Mecca, it’s where every self respecting comic book fan has to go at some point in their life and I get the impression it had better be sooner rather than later (more on that later though) and Glasgow, my first Con and my first experience being in a room with so many people I admire and respect.
For the purpose of this piece I’ll just be focusing on this year at the con. First off, I have to say that the choice of venue was perfect, with it’s open atrium when you first enter to the rooms that shot off it really gave a feeling that *this* was what a con should feel like. More than that though, there was a level of intimacy I’d never experienced at an event before and I strongly doubt you would feel it at SDCC. It may have been the good weather, but everyone was so happy, and wanting to chat, it was such a strange experience to just stand and have a wee chat with John Wagner, or sitting outside having a beer with Monty Nero (keep an eye on the page for that one) while Alan Grant is sitting two tables down. It was much more than just a con, it was a gathering of people that were truly passionate about comics, and the art form of drawing them. Getting to watch Mike Ploog, Carlos Ezquerra and Alan Davis sketch was worth the entry fee in itself, but getting to sit in a panel with them as well was just the icing on the cake! Anyway, i’m not here to tell you about how good the weekend was and how much I enjoyed it over all you poor folk that couldn’t make it.
What bothered me, is the niggling thought in the back of my head that while it was COMIC con, Glasgow and Thoughtbubble seem to be the only larger cons now that are just about the comics! The vast majority of news coming out of SDCC is about the Marvel movies that are coming out, new DVD releases, and TV series such as the walking dead and SHIELD. It’s not just about the comics anymore, New York and Emerald City are both the same, the focus every year is more on everything but comics, the now infamous Twilight incident coming to mind and I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing as such.

I think what bothers me the most is the name. COMIC Con, should be about just that, COMICS, at the very least they should be the most important thing there. If they’re not going the be, then why not do what happened with London, where it was called London Film and Comic Con, that way, no-one can say you’re not doing what’s been advertised?

While,I have to go to SDCC one day, I fear I may have missed the boat, the Golden Age has passed. To all of you who didn’t make it to Glasgow this year, I can’t say this enough, you NEED to go next year, you won’t regret it. I know I’ll be there, and I know it can only get better.

Rant over,
Love and Bullets,
Chris

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The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennet Article: I Hate It Here You can also find Chris on Facebook