Comic-Con's Coming - the future of Entertainment
On July 22nd, the 40th anniversary of Comic-Con will grace San Diego with its assortments of Wizards, Warlocks, Elves, Demons, Vampires, Warriors, along artists, writers, software programmers, and filmmakers. A funny thing happened to the costumed prom for geeks and freaks - the event has grown into the cultural touchstone of new media.
The film program feature over sixty films - not counting the special screenings and other film events outside of the competition. (Self-interest disclosure: My client, Derrick Comedy will be presenting a panel and more regarding their upcoming release of Mystery Team.)
The striking aspect of Comic-Con's breadth is the way in which Internet culture has shifted towards Comic-Con's agenda. Comic books are not necessarily a larger industry than at other times in history. Comics have waxed and waned in different eras. But comics do not lend themselves to e-book readers and may have some resilience to avoid digitization. At the same time, comics have come to dominate epic film making. Comic books are inherently visual and easy to conceptualize on the big screen. Filmmakers should never give screenplays to prospective investors. They are simply too difficult to translate into the finished product and tend to read very flat. Comic books, on the other hand, translate the power and pacing of film on the page.
In addition to film, comic books translate elegantly into video games and virtual worlds, an increasingly critical aspect of modern culture. Comic book characters have come alive on game consoles and computer screens for years. With better avatar software and increasingly interoperable software platforms, the superheros, villains, monsters and myths are freeing themselves from their creators' formats to populate computers and devices of the audience's choosing.
So look to Comic-Con as a the new harbinger of taste. And remember to sharpen your broadsword.
