Comic-Con 2006

Last week San Diego held the 2006 Comic-Con International which is the most attended comic book convention in North America. I planned on meeting my friends from Virginia there on Saturday (I actually had a Saturday off!). Like the bonehead I can be I did not get tickets or anything in advance. MISTAKE! I also did not meet them at the location at 8:30am as originally planned (I worked until 1 o’clock am and didn’t get home until just before 2. So, of course, I didn’t even go to bed until 3:30. Yikes! I’d never wake up in time. I didn’t.). MIS – you know! So when I arrived at 11:30 and made the twenty minute walk to the end of the line I knew I was in for a WAIT. “No problem,” I told myself. They have a whole crew of workers getting people in there. The line will move pretty quickly. Maybe an hour or two (I prayed quietly to myself again and again, “One Hour, please God, one hour.”) tops, then I’ll be in and can spend time with my friends and hunt for comic books.
This summer it has been uncommonly humid in San Diego. What the? I left Virginia and Florida to escape wet heat. Don’t follow me! The sun cooked my face and exposed arms. Sweat moistened my forehead. Sweat then moistened my baking arms. Sun. Line. Heat. Humidity. Sun. Humidity. Line. Line – not moving. Repeat from beginning of one word sentences. After two and one half hours in the outdoor sauna my friend Ikoi came to my rescue with a pass to get in. At that point in line there were THREE MORE HOURS estimated until I would get in. Praying quietly is not to be recommended. Shout it out. Scream to the heavens. These gods are hard of hearing. My dehydrated, fatigued body accepted Ikoi’s small miracle and bowed to the goddess she had become as she also allowed me to sip from her plastic chalice of much needed water. Oh glorious H2O. We praise you!
Once inside the convention facility, Ikoi, typical of most saviors quickly disappeared into the crowd. Maybe she snuck off to do battle with the Emperor; there were definitely more than enough Storm Troopers present to man a newer, bigger Death Star. (George Lucas take note: This is NOT a license to rehash the same plot AGAIN! We’ve had enough. You still owe us for wasting our time with Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Please continue your seclusion at the Skywalker Ranch.) What makes comic conventions better than Star Trek conventions is that ALL fanatics a re welcome. I knew I was safe from the overwhelming presence of Storm Troopers because so many Wonder Women, Captain Americas, Bat Men and cute, oh so cute, Japanese Manga heroines were there to protect me. Bliss. Oh, heavenly bliss!
After an hour of wondering alone and doing my own battle against the evil forces of bad cell phone reception I was re-united with my friends. Together we wandered the convention center floor taking in the sights and hunting for treasures. I had my trusty list of wishes tucked in my pocket. Too bad there wasn’t a treasure map included. It is not easy finding the comics you want… even at a comic convention. For those who’ve never been to a comic convention – GO! But there are some things you must first know. It is not all comics. In fact it is not mostly comics?! The floor space at the SD Convention Center is divided into address blocks ranging from 100 up to approximately 5600. From 100 to 1500 there are plenty of comic book dealers! Woo-hoo! From 1600 to 5600 there is EVERYTHING else. Toys. Movies. Video games. Card games (but not poker, thank the gods – there is one place I can still escape the madness that has become poker) of every sort of fantasy scenario. Book games of same. Etc, etc. …and Storm Troopers. Always Storm Troopers!
As I was saying, I had my trusty list of “to finds.” I was seeking the English translations of Osamu Tezuka’s “Buddha” (What’s with the recurring religious theme?), and “Phoenix.” I am still ever so slowly making my way through Cerebus (Hey, Dave Sim took 25 years to write the dang thing, even at my snails pace I’ll finish it in half that time!), so I wanted a few more of the “phone books.” Volumes 3 and up of “Usagi Yojimbo” did not escape my list. Anyone who has spoken with me for more than ten minutes knows that a rabbit samurai is straight up this guy’s alley. Besides these little missions of mine, I am always on the look-out for something new and exciting. Well, Comic-Con is the place to find it. No success with both Buddha and Phoenix. Sorry Tezuka. (Dealers: Hear me now! I am not quietly praying; we both know that approach doesn’t work. I scream till my throat becomes raw, “Carry Tezuka books other than Astro Boy! We will buy them! You will make money! They are crack to us! Please, please… help us.) With both Cerebus and Usagi I had better luck and now my book shelf strains under the weight of several new volumes of each.
With the obvious purchases in hand it was time for new found treasures to be hunted. And yes, I did find some. But that is a story for another day. Until then…
May fanatics dressed as superheroes protect you too from large armies of Storm Troopers. And as for the Deus ex machina, Ikoi will be found again there, too.