A Time of Transition: San Diego Comic-Con 2011

And suddenly, next week is San Diego Comic-Con.  All jokes of hobbled livers, ragged feet and convention-related sicknesses aside, I think that this could be one of the more important SDCC's in recent memory. 

Whaddaya mean, "important?"  Isn't this about comics and movies and TV? 

 

Well, it just seems to me that this show is taking place in a world that we all daydreamed about: when you had a summer full of superhero movies that didn't feature Batman or Superman.  This was, in a way, the summer to test just how far the movie studios could go to monetize their comic book character lineup.  Judging by the many "superhero overload" articles that seem to pop up each week, we've definitely seen movie audiences suspicious of another movie featuring a tights-wearing, powered hero (or heroes) battling forces that normal mortals could never overcome.  

 

Indeed, it will be during the very week of this year's show that Marvel's most iconic superhero hits the big screen. Captain America comes not as a capper to a summer of superhero blockbusters—it feels more like a latecomer to a party that the hosts are already trying to clean up.  Personally, I think the trailers for the movie look good, but after the assault that was Transformers: Dark of the Moon, even I find myself wary, not to mention that I feel the most recent trailer just gives too much away.  Add to the mix that the final Harry Potter film comes out this week…well, suffice to say, Cap has some competition this year.

 

As long time attendees know, SDCC has been criticized for many years as being far too focused on big budget genre movies (remember the whole Twilight: The Gathering con a few years back?) that was sucking the comic book soul out of the show.  Studios thought that if they spent enough money to wow the thousands who waited in line for their presentations in Hall H, that these genre tastemakers would spread the word far and wide, heralding their products, and providing them with fortune. Turns out that the studios are realizing that the denizens of Hall H are just a bunch of geeks who are more than happy to go out to see the films with a few other geeks, but don't know seem to have that many friends as to make for a glittering opening weekend — and, as a result, some of the studios (including Marvel) are telling their actors to stay at home.  I have heard rumors that Chris Evans will appear, possibly as Captain America, complete with military escort, at the show, but that's about it (and I am already feeling embarrassed by the news). I think back on last year's show, with the enormous push that the Scott Pilgrim folks were making, with the parties, screenings, building sized posters all building up to a very disappointing box office haul.  Of course, I think the movie will do great in the home video market—I think the marketing for Scott Pilgrim had a real difficult time reaching audiences who had no experience with the book, with a (domestic) poster that gave you zero idea of what the movie was about, or even who was actually in the flick and a tagline that was just downright unhelpful.

 

Though the studios may not be making as big a splash in San Diego as we're used to, you can bet that the press will still be covering the event anyway, complete with stories discussing how SDCC's best days are behind it, now that the movie studios are keeping their distance.  Of course, from the looks of the schedule, Comic-Con's promise to connect fans with the actors and producers of shows they love (or hope to love) is still very much alive: there are a lot of really great looking panels for television projects peppered throughout the four days (you not be surprised to find me at the Game of Thrones panel at 4pm on Thursday, with the actors having a discussion with George R. R. Martin).  

 

From the Hollywood side of things, I get these sense of "it's that time of year again?" and "do I have to go?" from the studios and producers. It's just an exhausting, expensive and insane affair, going down to San Diego to market your work, and I can see everyone just wanting to take this year off, especially when the return on investment is just not there.  I see this happening and I wonder…has Hollywood's interest in the Geek Prom finally waned? (See? I already sound like one of those kind of press outlets.)  Well, we'll see next week.

 

This year's event is also notable because it comes right before — and during — some pretty major comic book events and industry transformation. I have no doubt that the DC panels will be remembered for years to come as some of the most lively and entertaining in recent memory, as some fans celebrate and others blast the changes coming this fall. The comic book industry has a very interactive relationship with their readers. I don't know of many other industries where the intended consumer can have such open access to the business an editorial management, which makes for a sense of ownership and trust that you don't find that often with large media conglomerates. It is partly because of this give and take, this ability to build the stories and businesses together, that I find being a comic book fan so rewarding (and, I bet, rewarding to the creators as well).  

That being said, DC is going to have a hell of a time this year. This year's convention comes right before their reboot/reset/remaginating/re-almost everything hits the stands. This is the year that DC has to prove to their audience that the moves they are making will mean profit, both in terms of financial success and in terms of positive experiences for their readership. Make not mistake: they have to prove to the attendees that what they are doing is not only the right thing to do, but also the best way to do it, that their decision to restart so many of their titles and full embrace digital distribution is way to ensuring they remain a relevant voice in mainstream comics.  I can only imagine the folks at Marvel, who will no doubt get some questions regarding the overall impact/worthiness/quality of Fear Itself, listening into the DC panels to see how the water is regarding digital distribution, shaking their heads, relieved they didn't open this can of worms first.

 

If anything, this year's Comic-Con will be notable because, for the first time that I can remember at least, the comic book industry itself is making some real news at the event — or, at least, feeling the ramifications of the announcement of some legitimate news.  If you are into comics, you are probably going to be kind of interested to hear Dan Didio, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and everyone else in DC's editorial brigade discussing what they are doing with everyone's favorite heroes and what kinds of stories are going to be happening in this brave new world.  The only time I can remember Marvel really making some interesting news during a convention was when they got the rights to Marvelman, which, aside from releasing a few reprints, they have not done squat with.  (I fully admit Marvel might have made some announcements over the past few years that were important…but I can't remember them, and I was there, so they obviously did not make much of an impact, to me at least.)

 

I look forward to this year's convention in a different way than years past, where the con itself was a relatively small part of the equation, especially when compared to hanging out with all the great friends I only get to see once a year. This con just feels different, somehow, like we're returning to some kind of equilibrium. Maybe, just maybe, the convention may be returning to its roots, mellowing out after being the subject of so much attention and frenzy over the past several years.  

 

Maybe the premiere Captain America happening during the show marks the end of a chapter in the con's history. I think it's safe to say that San Diego Comic-Con helped the modern comic book movie happen. I think it is also safe to say that this rush of superhero movies and resulting audience fatigue suggests that this summer is an end of an era–a short era to be sure, but it will be awhile before we see so many superhero comic book movies releasing so closely to each other in the span of a year. Now that studios realize that audiences are looking for the next thing, there won't be so much pressure on SDCC to predict the next hit. Maybe the con can relax a bit and get down to doing what it was born to do: celebrate comics. And what better way to celebrate the madness that is comics than to debate and explore the most radical change to modern day comics in history?

 

Sounds like a blast.  I can't wait.  Hope to see you there.

 

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Mike Romo is an actor in LA.  He's going to bring headshots and leave them in the trunk because that's apparently what is "done."  He'll be tweeting about SDCC, so follow him, check him out on facebook, or just send him an email.