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Comic Books and Fans
Apr. 25th, 2006 10:40 amLast Sunday, I popped into the Toronto Comic Con (a smaller, younger cousin to the big Fan Expo run by the same outfit, Hobbystar, to be held later in the year).
Small though it was, a lot of people attended. I'm not a huge fan of crowds. So, it wasn't a pleasant experience -- but that's my own issues. I was more disappointed by the type of fan.
I'm distinctly overweight, and my shower isn't working that well at the moment, but I was still among the cleanest and most slender attendants. It's depressing how much truth there is in the Simpsons Comic Book Guy stereotype. And everyone seemed to be picking up more Marvel and DC mega-crossovers with hot artists and the like.
I believe that comics is/are (can't quite remember which verb form Scott McCloud favours) not only a valid artistic medium but one of the most exciting, rebellious and creative means of expression.
So, why does the audience look like a bunch of porn addicts? And not even rebellious porn addicts. They're all slobbering over corporate drivel. It's not like they are fighting "the man". They're subsidizing him.
Yes, I'm guilty of buying Marvel and DC too. But that day, I drew a line in the sand and said - I will not buy crap. Not that day.
So, what did I buy? The Age of Bronze: Book One A Thousand Ships - the first volume in Eric Shanower's comic book retelling of the Trojan War. It's something I've wanted to read for a while. I've been on an ancient world kick for the last year. I've read Homer, Ovid, Mitchell's "new version" of Gilgamesh and more.
Immediately, I'm struck by how much the background of Paris/Alexandros is much like other legends - particularly King Arthur's being fostered and then discovering his true identity at a tournament (Of course, elements of this can be seen in everything from Moses and Oedipus to Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. I had a similar feeling when reading Gilgamesh, and I realized how the bonding with "the other" motif runs through literature to Cooper's Leatherstocking tales and even to Kirk and Spock.)
Allen
Small though it was, a lot of people attended. I'm not a huge fan of crowds. So, it wasn't a pleasant experience -- but that's my own issues. I was more disappointed by the type of fan.
I'm distinctly overweight, and my shower isn't working that well at the moment, but I was still among the cleanest and most slender attendants. It's depressing how much truth there is in the Simpsons Comic Book Guy stereotype. And everyone seemed to be picking up more Marvel and DC mega-crossovers with hot artists and the like.
I believe that comics is/are (can't quite remember which verb form Scott McCloud favours) not only a valid artistic medium but one of the most exciting, rebellious and creative means of expression.
So, why does the audience look like a bunch of porn addicts? And not even rebellious porn addicts. They're all slobbering over corporate drivel. It's not like they are fighting "the man". They're subsidizing him.
Yes, I'm guilty of buying Marvel and DC too. But that day, I drew a line in the sand and said - I will not buy crap. Not that day.
So, what did I buy? The Age of Bronze: Book One A Thousand Ships - the first volume in Eric Shanower's comic book retelling of the Trojan War. It's something I've wanted to read for a while. I've been on an ancient world kick for the last year. I've read Homer, Ovid, Mitchell's "new version" of Gilgamesh and more.
Immediately, I'm struck by how much the background of Paris/Alexandros is much like other legends - particularly King Arthur's being fostered and then discovering his true identity at a tournament (Of course, elements of this can be seen in everything from Moses and Oedipus to Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. I had a similar feeling when reading Gilgamesh, and I realized how the bonding with "the other" motif runs through literature to Cooper's Leatherstocking tales and even to Kirk and Spock.)
Allen
