Perhaps there are those who are so used to large crowds that what I navigated for four full days last weekend may not seem that impressive.  Several college stadiums in the area boast anywhere from 30,000-60,000 plus, but the crowd at the San Diego Comic Con International (SDCCI) was something different.  Something alive and pulsating.  The energy is palpable and the options range in the thousands.

This isn’t your tiny comic shop with two guys inside arguing about whether Captain Kirk is better than Captain Picard. (Well, that did happen too)  This is the grand daddy of the comic circuit that draws people from all over the world.  Some of the top artists and writers in the business come in from all over the world.  Fans came from all over the world.  I had bus shuttle friends from the UK and Australia.

For this Wyoming boy who hails from the smallest population in the United States, 137,000 people roaming around within a five block radius is enough to make one’s mouth gape open just a bit.  That’s just about one-fourth of the Cowboy State’s entire population in one area for four days of revelry.

There are hundreds of panels, groups of people, who speak to people on the subject given.  Some range from what is going to happen on their favorite sit-com and costume questions, to others where a particular person dressed as Batwoman will incessantly badger the panel for Detective Comics (DC) for perceived lack of diversity in characters.

Then there’s the spectacle of the crowd itself.

Known both seriously and casually as “Cosplay” or costume play, there are no limits as to what you might see dressed up in a crowd this size.

No limits.

My particular favorite happened right as I arrived early on Thursday morning after getting up at 3:30 a.m.   A large man (I assume) dressed in full Darth Vader costume, except then covered by a chef’s smock and hat.  This was funny enough, but carrying with him on his right hand was an enormous silver platter with the head of Jar Jar Binks’ displayed for a cuisine.

Given the typical Star Wars fan’s feelings on the character, you might guess that he was very popular.That’s just one of thousands of images that I brought home either with my camera or my mind.

Some of them I cannot un-see.

But the entire con is a celebration of an art form that is unique among all of its brethren.  Story lines can be as silly and playful as they can be. Or, they can be just as dire, dark and brooding as writers delve into the psychology of characters.

It’s a medium that can inspire, educate, scold, offend, endear and flabbergast.

And it is evolving.

Like any print media, the online presence and digital technology is a constant catalyst and reminder of just what can, might or will happen to stagnant ideas or business models.

I started collecting in the early 90’s and print runs are dramatically smaller now then they were then.  I find this extremely ironic considered the characters themselves have probably never been more popular.
The camaraderie was phenomenal.  At any given time while I was sitting on the floor, a conversation could be  started with little more than a coherent sentence.

Well, coherent to my fellow geeks and nerds anyway.

So while I may not need a 20-foot model of Optimus Prime, an actual version of the Delorean from Back to the Future or be a member of The Avengers, I was welcomed and accepted for what I am  and that might be one of the big underground reasons the event is so successful.

That, and Jar Jar’s head on a silver platter.