Full of Hot Air
By
Michael C. Riedlinger
Editor-In-Chief
If you pay too much attention to the mass media, you might think that the San Diego Comic Con is the only show in the country. You’d be wrong, of course, as my family and I can attest. We checked out this year’s Chicago Comic Con, also called Wizard World Chicago in some circles, and it left us with mixed feelings.
Right in the door, we were greeted by cos-players. Now, let’s face it, dressing up as your favorite character goes too far sometimes. Folks dressing in outfits they cobbled together from some string and papier-mâché are often too confident in their ability to pull off a Japanese school-girl. It’s worse when they happen to be a 300 pound man, and anyone that hasn’t met “Sailor Bubba” should count themselves as lucky. This year wasn’t so bad though. Like I was saying, we came across some Ghostbusters right off the bat. While the costume is an easy one to pull off, what impressed me were the proton packs these folks had.
Daniel Shannon, Zachary LaVoy, Aaron Trade, & Amy Johnson. Click image to visit their site
There were also an abundance of Star Wars dorks running around, and as it turned out, there was a good reason. We found out that the 501st and Rebel Alliance, two of the costuming groups that Lucas Film calls in when they need REAL Stormtroopers to walk a parade or some such, were in attendance to raise money for charity. As part of their gig, they had the kids running around “smuggling droids”. What they meant by this was really “wearing a lanyard with a picture of droids on it so that costumed persons can come harass you with quotes from
Star Wars”. It really was a little like telling a friend who has lost himself to a new game that it’s okay for him to tell you all about his character. Kind of a mistake, really, but charity means it was for a good cause, so we played along. That isn’t to say we didn’t run into a horror show or three. Let’s just say, grown men who lack the physique of a Persian Emperor should not wear gold panties in public. It’s just a bad idea.
Dear god, why?
On the con floor, we were met with an alarming amount of D-List stars. Pro wrestlers, 80’s sitcom stars like Tod Bridges (didn’t they just name a tower after him?) and tertiary players from
Star Wars were all intermingled with the cast of the latest
Battelstar Galactica and guys you never heard of from the
Twilight movies. Now hold your flipping horses, Martha, I thought this was a comic book convention? Little bit of false advertising I guess, but Lou Ferrigno was on stand-by to charge fans for breathing the same air, so I guess it makes at least a little sense.
What were missing, noticeably I might add, were the heavy hitters. Marvel, DC/Vertigo, Image, IDW, Dark Horse… Not a one was in attendance with the usual flair. Typically, when you walk onto the floor of a con, you’re assaulted by large displays of 4-color goodness. Testosterone filled images of green dudes in short-shorts and delicious eye-candy as far as the eye can see. Booth babes standing around in slinky latex and spandex, announcements about the latest and greatest superhero books in existence, and names so big you might think you died and went to a career fair from comic book heaven. Dreams can come true at a comic con, just ask the guys and gals over the years who have landed that dream job by showing off their work at such events. The biggest companies in this years con were Devil’s Due, Dabel Brothers, and Aspen comics. That smell? That’s all Denmark, baby.
The 501st and Rebel Alliance. Click image to visit their site
The rumors were thick, and I still have no idea what the truth is. Some said that Wizard finally pissed off the big boys, while others thought it was a sign that they were in the tank and bound for a similar fate to Comics Foundry. There were some who postulated that C2E2 was the heir apparent and no one wanted to show at the lame duck’s party, and more than a few who cited a conspiracy out of Hollywood about stealing so much thunder in San Diego that no one saw much point in attending a con in the Midwest. My favorite theory is the one about Alien cloaking devices being smuggled into the city via shipments of Girl Scout Cookies just as the RSVPs were due, but I kind of doubt that aliens care as much about Thin Mints as I do. No, I think in the end it comes down to pure economics. I mean, why blow the cash on Wizard’s snooze fest when everyone is coming back in less than a year for the big show at C2E2?
For the record, I don’t know anyone working over at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo, but I hear they are the same folks putting together New York Comic Con, so I imagine they know what they are doing. There’s where the real issue was for the cats at this year’s Wizard World: no one knew what they were doing. Don’t get me wrong, I still love George Perez, but he’s no Jim Lee, and as cool as Mark Millar is, he still isn’t on the same level as Brian “make my family go away so I can play video games” Bendis, is he?
My child being attacked by either Pedo-bear, or Bendis in costume... can't decide
Yeah, this year’s show was a bummer. I don’t think the best part of any con should be the 501st Legion unless it happens to be a
Star Wars con. This was even re-dubbed “Chicago Comic Con” this year, but they should have called “great leaping piles of crap in mall format Con”. See, maybe I’m crazy, but if it is supposed to be a comic con, shouldn’t everything kinda revolve around comics? Not the hottest event of it’s kind, not by a long shot, but then it isn’t polite to stare at the dying and destitute, is it? Keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the wall, because I get the feeling someone is going to correct the mistakes that Wizard made this year, and that the results, though requiring a trip to the Hancock, will be worth while.
