Saturday, July 31, 2004

Conventional Wisdom

Several folks have written to tell me their complaints about this year's Comic-Con International. Almost all of them spin off the premise that the convention is just too big, and many lament that a certain something is absent that was there in 1977 or 1986 or whenever. The best thing I can say to the latter is that time moves in but one direction and that the con is not going back to the El Cortez Hotel and a 3000 turnout. There are a number of conventions around the country that still have that "small" (or at least, "smaller") convention feeling. Last evening, I dined with a group of friends that included Roger Price, who runs the Mid-Ohio Con every Thanksgiving weekend in Columbus, Ohio. This is not a small con — attendance is in the 4000-5000 range, I believe — but the ones I've attended have had that friendly, unfrazzled ambiance. And the next Wondercon will be February 18-20 in San Francisco. Though operated by the same crew that runs Comic-Con International, it also lacks the overwhelming quality that disturbs some about its big brother. There are others...you just have to look.

As for the Comic-Con International being too big...yes, of course it is. As complaints go, I think that's a lot like buying front row seats for a Gallagher performance and complaining that you got splattered with watermelon juice. The convention has become what the convention has become. What I find so appealing about it is the diversity. Again, you can find the convention you want to attend in there somewhere...you just have to look. A smaller con now would only be less diverse.

In any case, telling me your complaints about the Comic-Con will not do a bit of good. I'm not on the committee. I just run thousands of panels there. You may get a response or some action if you direct your suggestions to the folks who actually run the thing. The address is Comic-Con International, P.O. Box 128458, San Diego, CA 92112-8458, and it's been my experience that the committee members take input seriously. I wouldn't waste time writing to ask that they downsize the convention to what it was twenty years ago...but if you have some idea how they can make this con more enjoyable, I'm sure they'd love to hear it.

• Posted at 1:19 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Want to hear your vice-president speak? Well, you'll need to sign a loyalty oath. (Thanks to Alan Light for the pointer.)

• Posted at 10:05 AM · LINK

Eugene Roche, R.I.P.

Sad to hear of the passing of a darn good actor named Eugene Roche, who died last Wednesday at age 75. Frequently recognized but never enough of a star that everyone knew him by name, he still managed to work constantly and to be widely respected by his peers. He was a regular or semi-regular on a wide list of TV shows including All in the Family, Webster, Soap, Dave's World and Magnum, P.I., and turned up in an awful lot of movies, too. People often recalled him from his role in Slaughterhouse Five but I always think of how good he was in the Art Carney starrer, The Late Show. I can't recall ever seeing him in anything where he wasn't good.

I had the honor of meeting him a few times and almost working with him once. He impressed me as one of those actors who loved acting and gave it just as much seriousness as it deserves. I was looking forward to seeing him again at the Hollywood Collectors Show in October and am sorry than none of us will have that pleasure.

• Posted at 9:57 AM · LINK