COMICS PORTAL: Decompressing from SDCC

Wow! This was some kind of amazing San Diego Comic-Con this year! And with the growing power of social media, more than ever it felt like we were actually there even if we weren’t!  It’s still better to physically be there, but it was great to tune in to so many of the panels and events!

Stephen Schleicher and the folks working with him were just too fast for me – every time I’d find a story to post, they’d have it up on the site already! I’ll try again next year!

If you thought all the news has been reported from this year’s SDCC, don’t you believe it! Expect more news items and reactions to come in the weeks ahead!

HIGHLIGHTS FOR ME

There were so many things that caught my attention this year that I was really going from one video or news story to another to find out the latest. I’m sure there’ll be a list of the best from Stephen and others as well, but I thought I’d point out what I liked as well.

My favorite thing was the introduction in new Green Arrow gear by Stephen Amell. If anyone knows how to get us fans in the game, it’s him! He did a super job of giving what may be the “new” introduction for Arrow while showing us his new outfit. I was stoked after watching it! Just terrific!

Then, too, I loved the news about a Green Lantern Corps movie. If ever there was a time to do this, it’s now with all the advanced SFX available. I also enjoyed watching the Vixen trailer! I’m fascinated to see an animated series take place in the same universe as several live-action shows. I was also hoping that Hawkman would appear in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, so I was thrilled to read the story about that actually happening!

In comics news, I was intrigued by the return of the Milestone Universe to DC, Batman ’66 meeting the Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel Avengers, JMS writing Flash: Year One, the All-New Avengers debuting in Avengers #0, DC celebrating Robin’s 75^th anniversary, Star War’s Chewie getting his own series from Marvel, and Oni Press announcing three new titles.

However, I have to agree with folks that the most offbeat product announced this year was Batman teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From the business side of things, it works because you have two long-lived franchises crossing over. But the Dark Knight and the pizza-eating turtles? That’s going to take some getting used to!

CRASHING BACK TO EARTH

So, nearly all of us have had some sort of SDCC experience. We’d left the world of paying power bills and rent behind to enter the multiple universes that we’d LOVE to actually live in. But even that has to come to an end, so how do we do that?

I’ve had a lot of experience with this since I’ve attended and participated in a number of Star Trek/sci-fi conventions in the Washington, D.C., area, such as Farpoint and Shore Leave. You are surrounded with people who share many of your passions, you talk, you laugh together, you have fun … and then it’s over! How do you re-integrate into the “real” world?

What a lot of people do is, take an extra day off before having to return to your home town or your job. You can slowly sort through all your purchases, continue to talk with people you share passions with, say goodbye on a casual basis and take your time returning to the “real” world of paying bills and working your regular shift.

Unfortunately, not many of us can afford to do that. After all, we’ve already taken time off for SDCC, how much more time off can we take? The boss wants his or her due, after all!

If you’ve got to get back into the work-a-day world, I’ve found it helpful to take some of the cool stuff I acquired during a recent con to work with me the next day. You can show them to your co-workers and even read some of the books you’ve bought during break or lunch time. People who can’t attend often like to hear about a convention they’d like to get to at some point. Or you could wear a genre-related T-shirt you bought that will create conversation as well!

If these are not possible, then I’d say to go over great moments you experienced in your head when you get a few minutes between projects. They can bring a smile back to your face when you have a deadline to meet. Did you get to shake hands with William Shatner? Relive that in your mind. Did you get Jim Gordon’s autograph from Gotham? Think about how much fun it was when you had a few moments to tell the actor how much you appreciate the character he portrays. I can tell you from experience that most actors LOVE it when fans tell them what a great job they do. After all, they film shows on a private set, so they don’t get feedback as often as they’d like.

Also, as soon as you can, start making plans for your next con experience. You enjoyed the latest one, so start working on attending your next convention. You may have gotten many of your goals accomplished this time, but there are likely plenty more for you to get done next time. And you’ll be able to get back to business while doing it! Granted, SDCC is a unique experience, but other cons have their own cool happenings as well!

DON’T WORRY IF YOU EXPERIENCE CON EXHAUSTION

When I went to SDCC a few years back, I actually began to tire of seeing people walking about downtown San Diego in costume before I headed back to the East Coast. I never thought that would happen! I thought I’d want to live in SDCC forever!

It also took me several weeks to completely recover from the miles of real estate I’d walked over in San Diego. I finally sifted through everything and caught up with the interviews I’d recorded in, oh, about two weeks. Don’t expect to “feel” normal in the next month or so. You’ll flash back to SDCC or another con when situations arise that remind you of them, something that will help keep those memories in your head for a long time to come.

This is also a good thing since you’ll need to work on next year’s SDCC if you want to be back in 2016. Room reservations, flight tickets, working out dates to meet with friends … these all take planning, and the sooner you get to them, the more options you’ll have.

It seems difficult to say this, but before you know it, SDCC will be coming around again. It’s like Christmas for many of us. When the season ends, it doesn’t seem very long before the next one is staring us in the face. And that’s a good thing to remember when you’re back on the job!