Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Cons
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3203: Today's post is guest blogged by my wife, Tina LoSasso: A Woman’s View of 10 Years of Comic Con!
Yes, in 2001 (and for several years thereafter) I was considered a Comic Con Goddess. How did I earn that status? Well, it was easy – I showed up. There weren’t too many of us and most of the fan boys were a tad nervous. They stared a lot but wouldn’t meet my eye. Michael had to do the talking for both of us. (It reminded me of when I traveled to Italy and my one friend who was fluent in Italian spoke for all of us!) Each morning as I glanced up and down the line waiting to get into the Convention Center, I’d see maybe one woman for every 20 or so guys. Ah, those were the days. We had our pick of bathroom stalls that hadn’t been used by another soul all day. For a germaphobe like me it was marvelous. Today it’s more like the modern style of comics that Michael tells me is known as “grim and gritty.” (For the uninitiated, think “The Dark Knight” or “Sin City” or anything by Frank Miller.)
As it was way back in the day, when it previewed Star Wars footage, Comic Con is not just about comics. Sci-fi, fantasy, and various pop culture programming have always been strongly represented at Comic Con. Some old-time comics fans think the mix has gone too far toward the “Hollywood” side. With panels for “Glee” and “Castle” I can’t help but agree. I suspect the “Glee” panel was invited because there was no “Twilight.” C’mon, the fan boys need something to complain about! Speaking of “Castle,” the line was predominantly female and extremely long. They didn’t look like “Firefly” fans to me. Security closed the line over an hour and a half before letting people into the room. As a more mainstream, pop culture fan, I tend toward the movie and TV panels which I’ll be guest blogging about in the coming weeks. I hang out in Hall H or Ballroom 20 while Michael attends what I affectionately call “old-fart” programs in the smaller meeting rooms. After the first few years of attending Comic-Con, I bailed on sticking with Michael – I couldn’t stay awake in the panels! These guys remind me of my NY relatives sitting around after Thanksgiving dinner telling story after story about people I don’t know. Hey, I nod off on them too – but I think it was the turkey and the heat in Grandma’s apartment! For me, the biggest difference in 10 years of Comic Con is summed up by my experience that first day. After I snoozed through a few panels, on a whim, Michael walked me over to see what was happening in Ballroom 20 – the Hall H of its day. We walked right in and found seats just as James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger took the stage to talk about T-3. Unfortunately, this could never happen today. Today, you’d have to camp out in the wee hours, or plan on being in line several panels ahead.
Safety notice to Comic Con organizers: Try selling fewer tickets! (To be continued...!) --------------------------- Thus ends Part 1 of Tina's guest blog today. Stay 'tooned' for Part 2 tomorrow! My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,200 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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In 2001, just weeks after Michael and I got engaged, I figured I’d better check out what this Comic-Con thing was since it was so important to him. I joined him for a Saturday. I’ve attended every SDCC since then, and boy, have things changed for us goddesses, uhm, girls.
Today, women are all over Comic Con – and not just at annoying “Twilight” programs. There’s programming for women, about women and by women. You’ll find female artists and writers featured in Artists’ Alley and Small Press section of the Convention Floor. Women and girls dress up as their favorite characters, screen Anime films, pore over long boxes of back issues, and stock up on Comic Con exclusive collectibles. 
The crowds, the crowds, the crowds. For the last several years the crowds have been insufferable, but this year, they turned ugly. The Hall H incident didn’t surprise me. Civility has become a casualty of the crowds. In one of the bigger panel rooms, I witnessed people crawling over a woman in a wheelchair to get to some just-vacated seats. People moving in and out of the lines push, walk into and step on people with no regard. 
Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below. 
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