Occasional Superheroine

San Diego Comic Con: It's All About The Rock Star


Thursday morning we find ourselves stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the convention center.

"How many cars you think are convention attendees?"

"All of them."

Directly ahead of us is a SUV with a Stormtrooper/crossbones decal on the back. We pay for our taxi fare and decide to walk it the rest of the way.

Watching the masses pour into the convention center, I wonder how many are out-of-state & how many are local. How many sacrificed all their savings and vacation days for the love of fandom and how many were merely saw the event as something comparable to the circus blowing into town.

Or maybe the heavy Hollywood influence on the convention, evidenced by the star-studded panels and omni-present "Iron Man" movie banners hanging overhead, has garnered the Con "crossover" success.

Is Hollywood, so close by, paying attention to the tens of thousands of fans crowding the San Diego convention center? Such a development can only help the comic book industry -- right?

The fact is, it's a lot about movies, it's a lot about animation, it's a lot about toys and video games and mobile phone apps. If you are a fan you already know this, at least unconsciously as you watch your "Heroes" and play your "World of Warcraft."

But if you're an aspiring creator or publisher, it is something to always keep in mind. Because without that eye to multimedia, I don't believe you can really make any mad money in this industry anymore. You can make enough to get by. But you'll never be a "rock star."

And the San Diego Comic Con, at night, after the show, when the hotel bars are swollen with comic professionals and the hugging and high-fives start, is, to a degree, all about the Rock Star.

And you know what, it really beats being 13 years old with the buck teeth and the lovingly preserved collection of Grell "Legions" wrapped in Saran Wrap because comic bags were hard to come by. So screw it, it's cool.