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Batman. Deadpool. The Avengers. Wonder Woman.
For comic book geeks this is for you…
The Big Mama of all cons is the San Diego ComicCon, but this is a ship that has long since sailed. What had been a tight-knit get-together of comic book fans and artists has metastasized into a media mammoth more about movies, TV shows, and face-time for stars. The actual comic books are shoved to the side in the Artist’s Alley. It’s the same story for the New York ComicCon, the second-largest in the USA and biggest on the East Coast.
Maybe it was just the right time, or maybe it was because the special effects are now so good as to make superheroes believable, but it goes without saying that what was once the province of socially-inept man-children is now uber-chic. Where would Hugh Grant be without Wolverine? But where would we be if we wanted a con that is less about Wolverine and more about, well, Wolverine?
The sad news is that here are no cons out there dedicated solely to comics. For that, the best bet is to check out a local comics group or see if your local comic store has some sort of event coming up. But a few expos still manage to retain a bit of the original dedication to comics, their stories, their art, and their creators. But it does come with a bit of a price: Come what may, the smaller cons tend to be more about the art, artists, and fans than big-bash media events. The venues are modest, the crowds not quite so massive, and the glamour-factor is hardly Hollywood-caliber. As it is, there are cons on every continent except Antarctica (Algeria? Really? Who knew?), and it proves that the whole medium is one with a world-wide appeal. So what are the “big” small cons? Here are three Yankee ones worth a visit.
Bent-Con
If you are gay and into comics, the Bent-Conis made for you — literally. Far and away the biggest LGBTQ-aimed comic book convention in the country, a lot of the tropes we see at larger cons—panels, gaming rooms—are present, but this really is about comics, and happily, the gay ones. Of course, being composed of largely independent artists like Dave Davenport and Justin Hall, a lot of the characters may be entirely new to you (ever hear of the Ghost Skater?), but the storylines are as deep, touching, and rollicking at anything at the larger publishers. And with way more sex.
Still under the radar with regards those larger publishers (Marvel or DC still has yet to make a showing), Burbank-based Bent-Con’s scope and presence is sure to change. Every major comic publisher, and even a few minor ones, now has LGBTQ characters, and Marvel pulled off a major coup when it outed Iceman, one of the company’s most historic characters, earlier this year. Comics are a big deal, and only now are taken seriously as a sociological venue.
Amazing Hawaii Comic Con
A veritable baby on the con circuit, the Amazing Hawaii Comic Con just began this year, and with a bad, drawing in venerable Comic Gods like Marvel founder Stan Lee and Kevin Eastman, creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — which were amazingly anti-establishment back when they began in the 1980s. And with several examples to follow, organizers pulled off their virgin voyage off like pros, they even had pro cosplayers to keep the mojo going (and they might actually stay warm in those skimpy outfits).
Hawaii has the advantage of its youth; it hasn’t had the time to be subsumed into a media blitz that has nothing to do with comic books. Even better, this is Hawaii, a vacation destination in and off itself (Honolulu is lovely in May!). With a little judicious planning, you can get a tan and your hero-fix all in one go just as the winter tourism season is winding down. The off-season always brings prices down.
New Jersey Comic Expo
Another newbie, the New Jersey Comic Expo just finished up in late November. Edison, NJ, may not be as balmy as Hawaii, but it is arguably cheaper to reach/attend and received glowing reviews for a job well done.
Unlike Hawaii, this expo started out big, and surprisingly prestigious: organizers nabbed serious star power in the form of Jim Lee (Marvel), John Cassaday (Star Wars), Andy Kubert (Batman), and Garth Ennis (Judge Dredd) to name a few. This con started out of the gate with a focus on comics, films, toys, and games, so it is anyone’s guess which of those will become the driving force of the con. But as the largest of its kind so far in the Garden State, it is safe to assume this will be a worthy adversary to the New York Comic Con, which, like the San Diego Comic-Con, has long since sold itself down the great, glittery river of commercialism.