July
29 Comic-Con: Wrap-up thoughts

View Fan Photo Gallery: Part One and Part Two.

Comic-Con 2007 is fading into the sunset and it’s difficult to come up with any kind of definitive take on the whole thing. There will be more to come in the next few days, but for now, here’s some random thoughts on the ups and downs of this year’s shows:

* The Hollywood machine appears to have completely and totally incorporated Comic-Con into its annual marketing agenda. Not only was every major studio there, but every studio that had a deal or announcement related to a comicbook property timed it to come out the day before the show began.

* The crowd situation on the exhibit show was not as big a problem as in previous years. The limits on tickets worked in many ways to even out the crush across all four days of the show. Unfortunately, that means they were all as busy as Saturdays in previous years, and perhaps even a little easier. Preview night actually seemed to be the most crowded, perhaps because there’s no programming that night to draw people off the floors. Another interesting though logical perspective on this comes from Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics, one of the biggest comics retailers in the country. Rozanski reports in his email reports from the floor that sales took a big, unexpected dive on Saturday, at least in part because the sales limits on tickets meant there was no “fresh blood” coming into the show on Saturday and those who’d been there a few days already were tapped out by that point. That converted Saturday from the one with the highest volume, to one that fell far short of expectations. Again, the floor was most packed in the central area of Hall D and E, where most of the big studio companies were situated. The small press, comicbook dealers and artists alley sections on the fringe of the show were always easier to navigate if not actually easy.

* The demand from people who want to get into panels appears to have actually increased over last year to a large degree. Last year, the view from the Omni showed a line for Hall H that stretched in a straight line from the door and north to the street. This year, in advance of the Marvel Studios panel, it weaved in and around the large concrete fixtures in the park next to the center. The line moved and a surprising number of people got it, but the line still was cut off with hundreds of people who were just out of luck. Even smaller panels, like the Shout! Factory presentation for “The Film Crew,” a new movie mockery project from the former crew of “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” had a line forming a least an hour in advance. People who showed up even 20 to 30 minutes before the start time had faces that fell in obvious disappointment at the prospect of not getting in. (“The Film Crew,” featuring Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett was a hysterical reminder of how great it will be to have new “MST”-style content available again.) The new traffic control became a little more tolerable once it became clear how to use it. But it does take some of the fun away from a show like this when it’s so difficult to even stick your head into a panel and see if it looks interesting and, if not, moving on to something that was.

* The other issue is one that specifically affects the large media contingent that attends the show. Namely, that for panel attendance, there is no way for media reporters to reliably gain access aside from standing in line like everyone else. Yes, there are press-only opportunities — lots of them — but there is a need to cover the actual event of the panel, to hear what is announced to fans and see what the fan reaction is. The con may need to consider setting aside a space in each panel room for the media. Make them first-come first-serve, and if by some reason all those slots aren’t taken – then give them to fans. But the job of covering the show this year became increasingly complicated by the need to plan and stand in line, often for long periods of time, in order to ensure access to these events.

* The parties are getting very impressive. Saturday’s Sci Fi Channel-Entertainment Weekly bash was easily the most impressive mix of comicbook talent, Hollywood stars and journalists that I’ve ever seen. Not only were Sci Fi programs represented by the likes of Aaron Douglas from “Battlestar Galactica,” but the Marvel Studios crew showed up, including “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr., “The Incredible Hulk’s” Ed Norton and Liv Tyler and, of course, Stan Lee. Comicbook talent including EW editor Marc Bernardin, co-writer of Wildstorm’s “The Highwaymen” and AiT-PlanetLar's “Monster Attack Network”; from Marvel Comics, publisher Dan Buckley, editor in chief Joe Quesada, writer and editor C.B. Cebulski and “Captain America” and “Criminal” writer Ed Brubaker; Virgin Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan and editor Stuart Moore; the Man of Action roster of Steven T. Seagle, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey and Duncan Rouleau; James Sime, owner of the very cool Isotope Comics shop in San Francisco and one of this year’s Eisner Awards judges; DCU exec editor Dan Didio; Comic Foundry editor Tim Leong; PW’s The Beat blogger Heidi MacDonald; and journos such as VFXWorld.com editor Bill Desowitz, Variety.com’s Anne Thompson, TV Week internet director (and former editor of Variety.com) Alex Romanelli, USA Today's Whitney Matheson (also an Eisner judge this year) and Nisha Gopalan, and Creative Screenwriting senior editor Jeff Goldsmith.