Comic Con International Through the Years

It’s hard for me to believe that the San Diego Comic Con International is now close to 40 years old. I’ve been going to them since 1975. Since 1981 I have only missed 2 Cons. Over the years I’ve seen it grow from a small local convention for comic book collectors and fans of geek culture, into a vast industry unto itself. Something that rivals Cannes for cultural significance.

In many respects, Comic Con International (aka the San Diego Comic Con to us attendees), is America’s Cannes Film Festival. But it’s much, much more.

Cannes is basically for film industry people only and the press. Comic Con is for everyone, and it’s becoming more relevant to the entertainment business as the years go by.

When I went to my first convention, I was in high school. I lived in San Diego at the time. I attended Point Loma High, so it was local for me. Only a couple thousand people attended. It was held at the El Cortez hotel which once dominated the San Diego skyline downtown. Now the El Cortez is a converted condo complex, dwarfed by the surrounding super condos.

When I was a teenager, I used to wonder what a futuristic San Diego would look like. Now I know.

At the ’75 Con, I remember seeing Chuck Norris and his brother Aaron at the start of their careers. I got to meet Jack Kirby for the first time (co-creator of half the Marvel Comics line) and Jim Steranko, whose pop art style was very influential on late 60s, early 70s comics. It was a small, but very exciting show for a teen-aged fan like me.

Up until sometime in the late 80s, the Con was very affordable. The hotels were rarely over $150 and you could take your pick. Now the reservations sell out in an hour after the Con opens the bookings window, thanks to the legions of Hollywood and Game company fiends who suck up all the rooms for their people. The fans often have to schlep from hotels far and wide. The “Con Hotels” used to lower their rates for the Con, now they raise them.

The city of San Diego used to look down on the convention, too. The Con used to rent the old convention center a block north of Broadway, and when they outgrew it in the mid 80s, they started using the newly built convention center by the bay. But they only took up a third of the space. Back then, the massive convention center was half the size it is today. The following year they took up half. But the city wouldn’t give them their usual date in August. They would let a boat show take the dates and often the con would have to share the hall with another convention, like an auto show.

This in spite of the fact that the Con brought in lots of visitors and filled the hotels downtown, the city didn’t give it the respect it deserved until the early 90s when comic sales briefly exploded and the media started to give the industry a lot of attention. The convention building was filled to capacity by then. The city had to double its size. The Con is outgrowing it again, so they are planning to expand it even further. They don’t want to lose the con. It’s a huge cash cow for the city. Now they take it seriously.

Comic Con isn’t just about comics anymore. The film and gaming industries descend on the town to hawk their latest products and promote their future videos, games and films. Movie stars attend in packs. Some of the biggest in the business have been there. TV stars attend, too. So do veterans of classic shows, to sign autographs. But this is nothing new. Back in the day the likes of Mark Hamill, a comic book fan, would wander the Con, often unrecognized. Other celebs who loved comics would attend as fans. They still do. But it’s becoming crazy now.

The attendance has exploded over the years. Every year they boast a new record. Now they sell out months before the show. You used to be able to buy tickets at the door. Not anymore. They get over 160,000 attendees.

The crowds are insane. I don’t write that many comics anymore, except for personal projects. So my main focus is seeing old friends. But the press of humanity in those halls makes it hard to find anyone, let alone walk across the room in a reasonable amount of time. I have to find people by their booths, if they have one, or their friend’s booths, because people tend to hang out. If you want to find me I often like to hang around Daniel Brereton’s Nocturnals Booth or David Mack’s table or Greg Horn’s, when he comes to the Con. These are all fine artists I’ve worked with over the years who have since gone on to great success in the field.

And yes, there are plenty of people running around in costumes. The term for that is “cosplay.” Many fans like to show up as something they like. But they have contests for it. The press loves to shoot those people so they can tell Middle America what a bunch of freaks Con attendees are. But the truth is, cosplay is a colorful minority.

SDCCI is likely to become a national institution at the rate it’s growing. And one of the reasons for its success is the wonderful location. San Diego is a beautiful town with a fantastic climate and an exciting downtown. The gas lamp quarter, which is next to the convention, is a swinging hot spot with a wide array of restaurants, clubs, bars and shops to cater to the attendees when they’re not chasing their geek obsessions. I recommend checking it out sometime even if you miss the con. Lots of wonderful places to eat and have a good time.

The whole thing starts this Wednesday. I’ll try to posts some updates from the Con all week.