COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL 2009 - The 40th Anniversary Edition!

It’s true, Comic Con has finally hit the big 4-0, and are making a big deal about it. As well they should. It’s a proud day when you can come up from the ranks of being just a comic book collector’s “geek fest” run in a dingy hotel basement in the 1970s, to becoming a worldwide icon that all other conventions are judged against. That’s awesome!

From the realms of collectors, readers, and artists, Comic Con Interntaional has expanded into cover films, TV, authors, Sci-Fi, fantasy, fine arts, and Pop-culture in general.

There are those naysayers who feel that Comic Con has strayed far from it’s path, it’s “purity,” but you’ll always get those types. For me, the fact that it’s all-encompasing just servces to attract more people who are potential future comic book fans.

And what about films? The top-grossing films of the past few years have been based on comic books. That’s unheard of before. But with new digital technology, what was once strictly fantasy to be spoken or drawn of, now can be envision in a “live action” scenario with stunning graphics and sounds, just how you always imagined it would be. The film industry - especially the relatively new Marvel Studios - is now fully integrated with comic book mentality. As it is, there are over 40 years’ worth of stories to draw upon, not to mention what else can be thought up these days, with newer science. It’s all amazing.

From Archies to Star Wars to Terminator, it’s all here. From sculptures to original 1800’s poster art in the $200,000 range, to posters, it’s all here. All the friends whom you’ve met along the way and through the years, and those new friends whom you’ll be meeting soon, they’re all here.

Comic Con is for those who truly want to “get away” from the real world, and experience their guilty pleasures without mockery, without stares. It’s where people go to play dress-up and Halloween, to just hang out and share common interests - be it folk singing in Klingon (it’s true), to Magic gaming, to just sipping pints at Dick’s Last Resort bar in the Gaslamp District of town (just across the way from the convention hall). It’s all these things and more.

And that... is why I myself, and the steady gang of merry-makers, have attended for 16 years. There’s something to be said for that.

Comic Con is SOLD OUT however, so I hope that you all have your passes and tickets, as none will be available at the door, at all. (Don’t even try.)

Has Comic Con overgrown it’s britches, and splitting at the seams? The Fire Marshall would say yes. But for now, it remains a steadfast San Diego treat.

See you there!

~ Philip Anderson ~

As I did last year, I’ve included a page on what to expect when you get to Comic Con, and what do to there. As well as some common logic practices. It’s all good to know. View there here -

WHAT TO EXPECT AT COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL

& COMMON LOGIC PRACTICES

Written by Philip Anderson