I’m not feeling my best — “under the weather,” as the phrase goes — and that’s given me time to wonder, what if there was a town that was like downtown San Diego during Comic-Con all year long?
Would you want to live there?
Last week, I said this:
“After a few days, even I, a confirmed comics geek, was freaked out by the sheer volume of people dressed up as Superman, the Silver Surfer or Judge Dredd, among others. I actually longed to walk through a “normal” crowd, believe it or not! (I was particularly disturbed by those people who were too “jolly” to wear their costumes! Yuck!)”
What also happens is that local businesses get “bought out” during the convention. For instance, a pizza place had taken on a “Cartoon Network” theme. Eureka was still going then, and so a restaurant was rechristened Cafe Deum, like the one in that Syfy show.
You see cars and other vehicles from shows and comics, actors from many comics-related shows and other sci-fi programs, and see local trams filled with people carrying their oversized SDCC bags with them.
At first, I loved it! I was with “my people,” as a friend of mine likes to call comics fans. I loved checking out the creativity on display, from a chef Darth Vader carrying a platter with Jar Jar Binks’ head on it to amazing armor on Iron Man-alikes.
But the novelty wore off after a couple of days, and I got a little tired of it all. I knew it was almost over by then and had already begun thinking about what I had to do when I got home.
That said, I often enjoy events like Free Comic Book Day on the first weekend of May and signings by creators because that same happy feeling is back, people all sharing their joy in comics. And I also get that sensation during trips to local comics shops, especially those that enjoy chatting with customers instead of those who treat it like a “library” experience.
But living in a town like that? All year?
I mean, instead of seeing people with their faces painted in the colors of the local sports team, they would dress like Wolverine in his t-shirt and claws in anticipation of the upcoming film based on the character. Or having comics shops as abundant as Starbucks establishments.
When my brother and I went to see Man of Steel, we were intrigued by the number of people, both men and women, wearing shirts with the “S” or a drawing of Superman on them. It made the viewing just a bit more fun to know many of us were fans of the character. What if people walking on the streets had them on days or weeks before the film flew into theaters?
Now that some time has passed since my SDCC experience, I find that I’m of a different mind. I cherish all the opportunities I get to talk with and interact with other fans. I smile at the costumes, be they great or kind of cheesy. Hey, it’s those people expressing their love, and that’s never a bad thing to me.
So, would I want to live in a town like SDCC? Yeah, I would! If anyone wants to start up such a venture, be sure to let us all know! I think there might be quite an exodus going there, and it likely would include me!
