7/12/15 RMB
Comic-Con Effect
Dear Rita Mae
Brown,
Forty-five years
after a handful of friends first gathered to celebrate the art of comics, the
San Diego International Comic Convention draws to a close on this final day of
events and panels for 2015.
In the late 80’s, I
remember attending the con and the feeling of walking into another world. Adults
dressed in costumes, conversations covered everything from superpowers to populating
other worlds and story lines were discussed passionately.
It was a gathering
were everyone had a place and everything was possible. Words flowed between
strangers. New friendships formed. Artistic collaborations were born.
What if we had a
world where ideas were traded and visions were shared, where everyone was
welcome into the conversation? The Comic-Con enabled that world to exist, if
only for a few days.
Now with comics still
at the core, film, literature, and a variety of art forms are celebrated. I
believe it has grown more for the magic of what it represents than for the
power of the latest blockbuster featured.
I remember being a
teen and sitting among the remnants of the con, after the last doors were
locked, just to relish the atmosphere a few moments longer.
This year, the
youngest of my nephew trio walked “the floor” with me. We inched our way along
the crowded aisles in the middle of the massive dealer room, surrounded by
comics and more: art, figurines, t-shirts, pins, buttons, cards, games, toys, autographed
photos, posters, any and everything related to the trade. Movie clips played
overhead.
He looked at the
products offered, glancing here and there, only interested in traveling down
the next row and the next one after that. I asked the ten-year old, “If you aren’t
looking for anything in particular, why did you want to come?”
He spread out his
arms as much as our confined space would allow, looked upwards towards the high
ceiling and said, “To see this. I like being here.”
Ah, yes. The
magic. It lives.
Loraine
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