A Glimpse At The Fascinating And Cool COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE Book From DK/Sideshow!!

 

In the interest of full and completely honest disclosure:  this publication is a companion piece to a Morgan Spurlock documentary of the same name, on which AICN over boss Harry Knowles was a producer.   Let it be known that…as of this morning…I've yet to see one single frame of said film.  All that I know about the project I gleaned from Internet reports on both AICN and elsewhere, like most of you.  I've spoken to Harry a number of times while the production was set into motion, but our conversation never once headed towards the movie.  Not one time that I can recall.  Given the background of the folks who made the picture, I'm assuming it's a pretty cool thing…but what do I know? As such, I'm approaching this book pretty much as a book on its own merits, with little previous context beyond that. 

 

 

A while back, I'm not quite sure when exactly, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) evolved from "really big convention" status to something of a cultural phenomenon.  I strongly contend that the mainstream visibility of SDCC across local and national newscasts, G4 "live" coverage, etc. has been  instrumental in shaping Geekdom into a force that is nowhere near as fringy as it used to be.  

 

How so?  

 

In Middle School, I used to be beaten up for being a Geek.  Me and my fellow dorks would go out of our ways not to attract too much attention to ourselves in the cafeteria or public commons  - because being a Geek was simply not OK in the eyes of our classmates, and was tantamount to painting crosshairs across our very existence.  There were wedgies to be avoided, spitballs to be dodged, and the terrifying potential of brown swirlys loomed over our daily existence.  

 

But it's not like that now.  My teenage son recently showed me an image from his High School - the same High School I went to when I was his age.  The photo showed a boy and girl dressed as Matt Smith and Karen Gillan's "Doctor" and "Amy" from the current DOCTOR WHO iteration.  Those kids weren't beaten up that day.  Instead, everyone knew who they were supposed to be and talked about how much they liked their attire.  Back in the day, at that same school, watching something like STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION would result in your being (albeit creatively) clobbered.  The same school recently held LOST parties as that series was ending, and noted a higher level of absences the morning after HARRY POTTER films opened at midnight screenings.  

 

Importantly and tellingly, my son says that the kids at that school often talk about Comic-Con.  They know what itn is, they know what's happening there. And  I know for a fact that this same scenario has played out in many other parts of the U.S. No matter how one looks at it, status has changed for Geeks…and/or science fiction/fantasy fans…and/or dorks…and/or whatever you want to call, well, people like me.   People like us. It's not so weird to love the strange anymore. It's not quite so undesirable to embrace the fantastic. Geekiness is becoming less and less an alternative lifestyle, and more and more a "way of life" for millions of people across the globe.  

 

To be clear, there are many cultural and generational reasons for this epic re-alignment - an entire series of articles could (and perhaps should?) be written exploring the rise and acceptance of Geekdom in general.  For purposes of this particular piece, I'll return to where I started:  I firmly believe SDCC has played a highly significant role in this tectonic shift. The event has pointedly and clearly illustrated for the masses  - for every day Joes and Janes sitting at home watching the news, and for folks who may never have understood otherwise, that being a Geek is no longer a lonely and isolated affair.  It's a "way of things" now, a force of reality worthy of note in the mainstream press.  YES, over the past four decades or so a number of other happenings have had critical and formative impacts on the Geekscape.  But how many of those conventions end up being talked about on a national newscast?  Or with live remotes? Or have documentaries made about them?  Not many, if any.  At the very least, SDCC has impacted greatly…and it just plain matters.  

 

COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE is 219ish page book which, quite simply, celebrates SDCC in a school yearbook sorta way...

 

 

...relishing its sense of family, its sense of community, its sense of love for genres it embraces.  Beautifully photographed by Alba Tull (      ), it's essentially a collection of portraits of a number of Comic-Con denizens sporting full and often spectacular costumes, sprinkled amidst portraits of a number of celebrity Con-goers including: TRUE BLOOD's Sam Trammel, Ron Perlman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Hatch (BATTLESTARs old and recent), Kevin Smith, Felicia Day, Thomas Jane, Max Brooks (author of WORLD WAR Z), Morgan Webb (G4), Seth Green...