Comic-Con is the pop-culture convention for the unpopular.
I don't mean to ridicule or look down on the attendees of the annual convention in San Diego that was held last weekend. While the convention may have been the domain of the stereotypical geek at one time, it is now a safe place for everyone to unleash their inner fanboy or girl.
There are lessons to be learned by the people who frequent Comic-Con year after superhero-costumed year. Namely, it's OK to be a nerd. A giant nerd. One who dresses up like their favourite movie/video game/comic book character and thinks the d3o material feels great against the thigh.
I am a nerd. I don't dress up like characters, and I'm pretty socially together, but I have read all The Amory Wars comics, and eagerly awaited the release of the next volume, which happens to have just come out. So I understand nerd.
Comic-Con is to nerds what the Gay Pride Parade is to homosexuals. It's a chance to be as open about your passions as you can and be surrounded by those who accept you for who you are. Many nerds may feel they need to cover up their nerdity, but when Comic-Con rolls around, you can be immersed in a wave of 130,000 other people who take Star Wars way too seriously. It doesn't matter what your day job is or that you live in the "respectable" neighbourhood in town.
What the people at Comic-Con are celebrating is pop culture. Everyone is devoted to some pop culture niche, but not everybody wishes to make public how much they enjoy brandishing Indiana Jones's whip. They might not feel comfortable showing off their grasp of the Klingon language at a dinner party.
I would love to go to down to San Diego sometime for this event, and because I wouldn't dress up, I would be in the minority. I would be the weirdo outcast who ventures from booth to booth, sidestepping the legion of Stormtroopers, escorting a prisoner Wookie to the food court. The convention, with its modest roots, now has hundreds of exhibits and has become a major launching ground for some of the biggest franchises.
This year, two of Hollywood's big summer blockbusters premiered at the convention: Cowboys & Aliens and Captain America.
The $60-billion a year video-game industry considers this one of the best launching sites for some of its biggest franchises, second only to the Electronics Entertainment Expo.
So Comic-Con isn't just for fanboys anymore. It's a legitimate industry trade show, with women dressed up as blue aliens and men dressed like Spiderman. And nobody will bat an eye. These people dressed to the nines in these perfect costumes are greeted warmly and enthusiastically by everyone there, from the equally extravagant dressers to the vendors in their T-shirts.
This sub-culture of comic-book readers and video-game players is no longer so sub. Comic-Con makes nerd cool, and that's awesome.
