Is Comic-Con Too Mainstream?

By on July 22, 2010 in News 8

Comic_ConSome of CNN‘s iReporters are saying that Comic-Con just isn’t for the geeks anymore:

What is seen by some as the holy four-day weekend for geek culture at San Diego Comic-Con has gone mainstream in a big way for the past few years.

Starting today, there will be panels called “I Can’t Write, I Can’t Draw, But I Love Comics!” and “Indie Comics Marketing 101″ taking place alongside “USA Network’s ‘Psych’ ” and “Aloha, Earth!” a panel about CBS’ upcoming remake of “Hawaii Five-0.”

But this recent spate of panels about movie and TV properties with no sci-fi or comic book elements has some fans fuming.

“The mainstream TV and film representation at Comic-Con has outstripped the original essence of the convention,” said iReporter Brad Powers who attended Comic-Con the past two years, mainly for the panels on “Lost.” He believed that this “mainstreaming” of the convention has played a hand in it being filled to capacity.

For one panel, Powers said he arrived a full 45 minutes before it was set to begin. “Thirty minutes passed and I thought for sure I was getting closer to the front door. Finally, 10 minutes after the start, some nice Con attendee started walking back through the line to let everyone know that they were full up and no one else would be getting in.”

Powers is not attending the convention this year since “Lost” has ended.

One iReporter, Michelle Cruz, has not attended in years. “I don’t even try anymore,” she said.” “They should have a Commercialism-Con and bring back Comic-Con the way it used to be.”…

[continues at CNN]

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  • Hadrian999

    there are so many subsets of comics anymore the whole geek stereotype just isn't valid anymore.
    sure there is still the superhero genre and that is the cash cow, but there is so much else out there.
    read black summer or anything by warren ellis and you'll realize it isn't all spiderman and the xmen anymore.

  • tonyviner

    Comic-Con is definitely mainstream, but not TOO mainstream. With the Internet making more and more paper based publications obsolete I am glad for any exposure this medium is able to get. Comics have been getting a lot of exposure since the first X-Men hit it big, and though that is pretty much a good thing it has started to get out of hand. What's the point of spending $20 to see a shitty movie based on a comic book when you can spend $4 and read a good comic? I don't even remember the last really good comic based movie that I watched.

  • Honuman

    Have to agree, Comic-con is definitely mainstream. I live in San Diego. I used to be much more of a comic geek and I collected and eclectic mix. I liked Spiderman and the Dark Knight Batman stuff but I trended towards independent comics and was a big fan of stuff like Elf Quest, Dead World, Myth Adventures and The Realm. The comic book conventions I grew up going to were truly a geek boy's fantasy. I went to comic-con in 2000 and found it alot of fun and definitely for the comic book fans. I hadn't gone back til last year and was pretty shocked at the gloss and shine of it all. Fancy displays and hollywood's presence were a big part of it. It may not be everyone's baseball and apple pie but it's a big part of our media culture now. Personally I can't wait til this latest fascination with vampires passes. If anyone wants to share what they're favorite comic series is, I'll tell you my all time favorite, it's Sandman.

    • Hadrian999

      mine was either Promethia or Planetary

      • emperorreagan

        Promethia is also my favorite.

        John Constantine is my favorite character in comics, but the revolving cast of artists and writers on Hellblazer make that comic really hit or miss.

        • Hadrian999

          I also like the “Gravel” series.
          you are right about John Constantine being hit or miss, but when it's a hit it's out of the park.

  • Namelesswon

    dude, its called “comic-con”. The clue is in the name

  • Hadrian999

    I also like the “Gravel” series.
    you are right about John Constantine being hit or miss, but when it’s a hit it’s out of the park.