It does feel like, now that the comic book movies are now some of the biggest moneymakers out there, cons in general seem less focused on the stuff I really used to like. It seems like there's a greater emphasis on getting 'the stars' to show up and doing big panels, while the area I liked best, the indy artists and their little booths, seem more shoved to the side. I think the turning point in the Motor City Comic Con (located several miles outside of Detroit in Novi, natch) was when Stan Lee was slated to appear. They used to offer one-day and three-day passes, but the one-days were good for any one of the three days. Let's just say, the year Stan came to town, they were not expecting everyone to use their one day pass to show up on the Saturday he was there. They now, wisely, offer Friday, Saturday, or Sunday-specific passes. They also now know they can get bigger celebrities, and the place is a zoo.
Of course, it also stinks now that one of the artists that used to show up, that was a big reason we went to con in the first place, now has health issues and cannot work, so con has lost a lot of the luster that made it extra special. Now, granted, there's nothing wrong with con being popular (helps keep it open, certainly), but it has a different feel than it used to. It has become less of a comic con than a 'media' con, sort of, since so many more wrestlers and movie stars show up, and cosplayers have expanded well beyond comic book characters. I see way more video game characters and movie versions of the heroes than I do the stuff I used to see. And the combos...I've seen a Master Chief with Rainbow Dash colors along with steampunk/furry Ghostbusters (amazingly, not at the same time...yet), so it's really less about the comics and just general nerd-dom these days.
Topic: Comic Book Thread (Read 174836 times)
