San Diego Comic Con Report #5

Howdy! It's 4:55, and the 2000 San Diego Comic-Con International is about to shut down. I spent more time today wandering the floor than I have at any convention in history. My purpose was not to simply walk the huge hall, but to also get a sense of what we've become. For the past five years the convention has been in a state of flux, with the old comics collecting world gradually disintegrating, and a strange hybrid world of comics, toys, videos, and Internet all merging together into a new synthesis. Watching this change develop has been very interesting, and sometimes frightening. As a middle-aged man, who has spent his entire life in one world, watching that world disappear has been a source of not only fear, but also sometimes of despair. After today, however, I am as renewed as I can possibly be. Today I discovered what this new creature is that has been born in this huge hall, and it is called freedom. The comics convention has become a gathering point of individuals from a very wide spectrum of interests gathering together to share ideas, and to act out their passions together in a massive public theatre of free expression. What was once a hall exclusively of collectors, publishers, and artists, has become a massive street threatre that just happens to be indoors. I saw thousands of people here today that had only a passing interest in any one genre of popular culture, but they came to see everything our world has to offer, and also to be seen themselves. Once upon a time just a very few people came to the convention in costume, but now it has become so much a part of the norm that no one even turns their heads any more. I estimate that 35,000 people attended the convention today, and that at least 6,000 - 8,000 of them engaged in some measure of costuming. It was wonderful! To some extent, I felt that the hall personified the American dream. In my wanderings through the publisher booths and artists alley I saw such an unbelievable number of different styles of graphic design that I became somewhat overwhelmed. There were folks who worked in traditional pen-and-ink format, but also airbrush, plastic resin, bronze, stone, pixels, and many other medium. The ideas they were expressing were also remarkably diverse, ranging from the most innoculous of childrens comics, to traditional super-heroes, to erotica, to grossly violent, and back to fine art. Whatever your taste, you could find it at the convenetion. Now I'm sure that some of you would object to one form, or another, of what was presented. But just think how wonderful it is that people can gather from all over America to publicly express themselves without fear of persecution. This may not always be the case, so we shouldn't take our current freedom for granted. What has happened here in San Diego over the past four days was very, very special, and that is exactly why I think that so many people came. Freedom has a wonderful sensation and feel, and the ability of everyone to attend and enjoy themselves in any matter they wished, is what made this all so special. After 28 years of coming here I feel totally renewed. I now know I will be back for my 29th year. I certainly hope you will join us next year! Attending this convention is a reward you truly deserve. Happy Collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc.