Comic-Con International San Diego, the BookExpo of comics and graphic novel publishing, just keeps growing, and this year's edition promises to be the biggest, most eclectic show ever.
Scheduled for July 22—25 at the San Diego Convention Center, Comic-Con is far more than just a comics trade show. Comic-Con is now also a pop culture media fan fest that draws top creators in comics, animation, film, television, video games and, increasingly, book publishing. Last year's show boasted more than 75,000 attendees and 6,000 exhibitors; this year's preregistration is already running 20% ahead of last year's. "Traditionally, we don't forecast attendance," said David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations. "There's just no way to know realistically."
The fest will literally be bigger this year, taking up all 460,000 square feet of the Convention Center and expanding to take up Hall H, which will be used for media presentations. "Hall H seats 6,000 people," Glanzer told PW. "Last year, the ballroom upstairs wasn't quite big enough, and it seats 4,500 people."
As always, San Diego's guest list is wide-ranging; this year it includes everyone from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola to veteran classic comics master Will Eisner (whose next book will published by W.W. Norton) to Jean Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Special tributes and spotlights for 2004 include the 90th birthday of legendary animator Bob Clampett; the 75th anniversaries of both Popeye and Tintin; and the 20th anniversary of comics creator Stan Sakai's acclaimed funny animal samurai tale, Usagi Yojimbo.
While guests from the world of literary science fiction and fantasy have always attended, this year's line-up is, yet again, bigger than ever. Whiz kid Christopher Paolini (Eragon) will be appearing, and Del Rey Books is sponsoring a sizable contingent that includes authors Stephen Barnes, China Mieville, Terry Brooks and Timothy Zahn. Bestselling book author Brad Meltzer will be appearing at the DC booth to tout his new comics miniseries, Identity Crisis, a tense superhero murder mystery.
Last year's show maxed out on Hollywood star power. One of this year's biggest stars promises to be Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar, appearing to promote her upcoming film The Grudge. Glanzer pointed to several other fan-friendly projects that will be spotlighted: "We will have a behind-the-scenes panel on the upcoming Fantastic Four film, as well as a big look at the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which seems like the perfect fan movie." Director Robert Rodriguez's film adaptation of Frank Miller's popular noir comics series Sin City, due next spring, and a new Batman film are expected to have a presence as well.
Representatives of Lucasfilms will be there to promote next year's still-untitled final Star Wars film. This year's Star Wars Pavilion will allow licensers to show off the latest in book publishing, toys and video games to illuminate the theme Star Wars Is Forever.
Manga, DC, Disney, Indies
The phenomenal growth of manga and anime in America will be reflected with large displays by all the major players, including Del Rey, Dark Horse, CPM and ADV Manga, as well as small but growing houses like Antarctic Press, which is looking to promote Rod Espinosa's charming full-color fantasy/adventure series, Neotopia.
Tokyopop continues its drive to turn manga into a mass market category and will highlight the release of Princess Ai, a new romance/fantasy manga by notorious rocker Courtney Love and her mysterious coauthor, DJ Milky. And the house will be touting the release of a new and exclusive cine-manga about the hot band Linkin Park that will be included in the band's new DVD Breaking the Habit in July. The 48-page book will only be available in the Linkin Park DVD and features images from the band's new video, comics illustrations, song lyrics, notes and much more.
Tokyopop will also sponsor a very rare appearance by four manga creators: Santa Inoue, creator of the extremely popular new manga series, Tokyo Tribes; Monkeypunch (Lupin 3, currently airing on the Cartoon Network); and Korea's Park Sang Sun (Les Bijoux and Tarot Café) and You Hyun (Fairies Landing). "Manga creators are reclusive and don't want to come out here too often," said Toykopop's Kristen Brad-Thompson. "It will be our biggest Comic-Con ever," she added, with games, portfolio reviews and a reading area at the booth.
Viz will feature the North American premiere of Inuyasha: Affections Touching Across Time, the first feature film based on Rumiko Takahashi's popular fantasy series. Viz will also sponsor a special sound booth where fans can audition to be a voiceover extra on the DVD of Inuyasha: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.
After a year that saw the wildly successful launch of W.I.T.C.H. (15 million copies sold worldwide), a magazine and a nine-book series aimed at teen girls in which each prose novel begins and ends with a comics section, Disney is looking to make a splash at Comic-Con. "We've always attended," said Ellen Morgenstern of Disney Publishing Worldwide, "but we haven't had a booth and a real presence. This year will be a first." Disney plans to promote the release of Kylion, a new science-fiction comics magazine for teen boys as well as the bimonthly release of a new set of Mickey Mouse graphic novels (from its Gemstone licensee) that will begin in September 2005. Disney will also be promoting licensees such as Tokyopop and Dark Horse, said Morgenstern, as well as participating in a variety of comics panels.
"We're still focused on kids and young adult comics," said Morgenstern, "but we want people to think about Disney comics in a new way."
DC Comics teased an announcement of their upcoming CMX manga line at the BEA, and may be teasing even more in San Diego, although the imprint lies under a cloak of secrecy. In addition to Meltzer, DC's guests include Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), promoting his eagerly awaited graphic novel The Originals ; Judd Winick (The Outsiders); and the enormously popular superhero artist Jim Lee (Batman: Hush). And in July Halle Berry prowls the screen as the femme fatale Catwoman. DC will release a movie adaptation, and two trade book collections of the bad girl's finest tales, one contemporary and one going back to the Golden Age.
And look for hype about Pixar's animated film The Incredibles. Although not based on a comic, it takes a humorous look at some over-the-hill superheroes. It is expected to be a another huge hit for the studio and will likely generate more than a few book ventures.
With all the huge goings-on it may be a bit harder to find the smaller creators, and even harder for self-publishers to make an impact. Artist's Alley, a bare bones area where individual artists can set up, will be a bit smaller this year. If the indie comics scene will grab less of the spotlight, it won't be forgotten completely, as several important books will be on display, including Locas, the massive collection of Jaime Hernandez's work from Fantagraphics, Lauren Weinstein's fanciful The Goddess of War from Alternative, and the collected American Elf, by James Kochalka, due from Top Shelf.
Comic-Con clearly remains a key stop for even the smallest players in the comics industry. According to Cryptic Press's Dave Roman, writer of the critically lauded Quicken Forbidden, it's still one of the most profitable shows of the year. Roman said that last year his booth sold over $1,000 worth of photocopied mini-comics by himself and Raina Telgemeier. "You can still do well regardless of not having a strong 'presence,' " he said. "If you have a good product, you can make a sale."
While some lament that comics, the original inspiration for the San Diego spectacular, now seem to be lost in the media hoopla, it's still the place for comics creators, publishers and fans from around the world to mingle. Although acknowledging that it's easy to get swallowed up in the vastness of the exhibitors, cartoonist Dean Haspiel (Opposable Thumbs, The Escapist) still finds San Diego an invaluable place to show his work and get more. "Even though all the editors live in New York, where I'm based, it's the place to meet and greet. You go drink a beer with someone in San Diego, you get a job."
Although comics won't be forgotten, it's clear that Comic-Con has definitely outgrown the label of "just" a comic book event, having become one-stop shopping for the latest in pop culture.
"I like the idea of looking at it as 10 different events under one roof," said Jackie Estrada, coordinator of the Eisner Awards, the industry's premier awards, which are presented during the convention.
"Whatever your area of interest, you can spend all four days involved in it and never do anything else, whether it's Lord of the Rings or anime or Golden Age comics. But if you just want to take it all in all at once, you're going to go insane," she warned with a laugh.
