Today Mike, Sarah, Wen and I went to ComicCon 2009.
Why, you ask are four people with an average age north of 30 going to a comic book convention? Easy – this is one of the greatest subcultures out there and it’s incredible to experience. Where else can you get arrested by storm troopers…
…show that you have the power…
…or pose for a picture with Darth Vader and his henchmen?
There are only two large comic conventions in America (the other’s in San Diego) so it’s a huge draw. Despite the size, it’s democratic – the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers had to stand in line to check their coats just like everyone else:
Similarly, despite his nefarious criminal history, Cobra Commander was not pestered as he went about:
Far and away the most popular costumes were the Star Wars characters. The security guards were dressed as storm troopers (this one’s making a new friend):
And we also saw a wookie or two…
There was also the more traditional cosplay. These New York-based ninjas screamed “This is cosplay! This is otaku!” as they bravely took the escalator to the main floor:
I’m sure we’ll see them at this year’s Anime Festival.
The fans are the best reason to attend the conference, but in addition, there are a lot of other things to see. There are more collectibles than you ever thought imagined. This includes loads of figurines you’ve never seen before:
Plus some familiar ones like these Emperor’s Guards. If you look closely at the photo below you’ll see that the guard’s pike is worth exactly $6. This subculture is nothing if not meticulous:
There are thousands of old classic comics to be bought:
The other well-represented category are video games. I was almost reduced to tears by how amazing graphics have gotten. The only thing that stopped me from running out and buying a television/game system/few games was the sight of GTA Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS. Wendy’s got one and I think she might be getting a gift soon…
And then there are those collectibles that you never knew you needed but are there anyways:
The conference also has workshops and previews for upcoming movies and TV shows. Sarah is a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer so we went to watch the teaser for Joss Whedon’s new show, Dollhouse (For those who aren’t in the know [I wasn’t], he created Buffy). The place was packed:
I don’t watch TV, so I don’t think I could truly appreciate the immensity of the occasion, but the people next to us sure did. They repeatedly asked us how excited we were and whether this was the best thing ever. Then, when one of the actors on stage forgot what he’d been talking about (he’s famous for his chest), they started screaming “Your character” as loud as they could. They were definitely true fans and got their money’s worth.
Besides the people, the product and the promos, the other big reason to go to the show is the sheer creativity of some of the folks there. People have created whole worlds that revolve around the tongue-in-cheek:
If you’ve every been to New Jersey you’ll know how improbable a New Jersey-based superhero truly is – and perhaps that’s why the series’ slogan is “finally South Jersey has a hero it can depend on…some of the time“.
Similarly, The Misadventures of Electrolyte and the Justice Purveyors celebrates a suite of ambivalent superheroes.
Where else will you find such characters as The Capitalist and The Sentence Finisher? Electrolyte himself has the power to sober up drunks. It sounds like a fake public service announcement, but it’s not:
Similarly, I doubt you’ve imagined Space Vixen (who is keeping Britain safe as we speak)…
…and the guy you love to hate, Tofu: the Vegan Zombie:
There are also a few things that are less comic-y and more graphic arts-based. KidRobot had a booth:
And the guys from Dumbrella had some interesting stuff (alas, I only bought a few pins):
There are only two downsides to ComicCon. The first is that some of the attendees have made some interesting, uh, life choices, that must make it quite hard to be anything but a misfit. For instance, there was one guy (I don’t have a photo) who had shaved his head and tattooed his entire head so that it looked like a viking helmet.
The other drawback was the awkward sexuality that hung over the convention. Some guys tried to convince us to check out these movies/comics (Ko-Kane: Bounty Huntress [that’s not a typo]) because they featured “Women with swords in their hands. What more could you want?”:
Somebody else was giving away these lovely book liners. Yes, that is a woman in a bikini sucking on an ice creamsicle as she enjoys her book:
And when we walked out of the Joss Whedon screening we saw this girl playing with her gun and having her friends take photos. I literally felt like I’d walked onto a movie set in the San Fernando Valley:
Despite that, it’s well worth attending. If you can make it next year, be sure to go. This year I only made it to the Sunday of the convention; next year I’ll be going to the big dance on Saturday (and I’ll blog about it again).