I'm not even going to pretend to be an expert on Comic Con. All of the facts that I will throw out come directly from the most reliable of resources though, Wikipedia naturally.
Back in 1970, a bunch of comic book nerds got together and gave birth to an annual meeting where the pale and anemic would gather to swap comic books and tales of chance meetings with their favorite tracers in the bastion of sun and hard bodies of all places. Flash forward almost 40 years and the once meager meeting of the geeks has become a full-fledged flocking of both the hip and the tragically unhip.
This year approximately 126,000 people will brave the confines of the San Diego Convention Center to get a glimpse of their favorite teen vampire or Mr Scissorhands himself. With numbers like that, you knew that Hollywood would be curious.
The upswing of movies based on comic books (and ultimately their success on the big screen) in the 2000s provided Hollywood with the perfect excuse to co-opt the Comic Con and make it their own. Now, it's become more a pop cultural destination spot than a place to trade Superman #1.
Personally, I've never been to Comic Con and usually large crowds of the unwashed and weirdly dressed would totally freak me out, but I have to admit that I'm curious and if I had a pop culture bucket list, attending Comic Con would be on it.
What do you think of Comic Con? And more specifically, what do you think of the increasing presence of movie studios and TV networks at the Con? Also, what other pop culture events or locations would you put on your "pop culture bucket list"?
Update #1
Hi! Personally I live a long way from US and A ( :p ) and have not ever been near such a (eehhmm..)gathering. All the geekeeness and stuff that's going on around that place is just too weird for me (all the Jar Jar Binks walking around - creepy) but it is a great place to meet movie stars and maybe get a few answers out of them - come on, if you can get mr. Mad Hatter Himself to appear on such a festival then I'm sold.
--Uldis from Latvia
Well, I guess all of our geeks are over in San Diego and I'm the one left to tend the house. Thanks Uldris from letting it be a complete shutout.
I'm with you man, I don't know about hanging around with people in costume all day, but it might be fun to hang out and rub shoulders, even tangentially with some of Hollywood's heaviest of hitters.
That pretty much does it for this week, but keep that Pop Culture Bucket List idea in the back of your heads for next week. I'm thinking of a nice feature and a return of our live Social Friday.
