Blog # 6 Comic Con Artist Statement

Comic Con

Erica Snider

I walk out of the summer heat to the frigid gush of the overly air conditioned convention center air. I close my eyes as to absorb the atmosphereand steel myself and I am attacked, mind you, with love, but attacked nonetheless. My eyes open to see a swarm loving faces hovering over me covered in painted masks and makeup but I know who’s underneath. I know they are people who are happy to see me.

This Convention is a place where nobody is pushed away or shunned. Everyone there has a place or a niche where they belong and connect with people who like doing the same things such as memorizing all the lines to the fourth episode in Star Trek season 2 or making a costume from an anime. Comic Con’s fan base is made up of; artists, gamers, writers, actors, fans and people watchers. At Conventions I have met people who have become close friends, and that I stay in contact with throughout the year. So this is really what Comic Con is: a place where no one feels out of place.

I am both an attendee and a volunteer. As an attendee I go to panels and support the starving artists in “Artist Ally”. Outside of Ballroom 20 is where my kind of people spend most of their Comic Con time. We run around, network, take pictures and have pictures taken of us. The majority of us are in costumes, so we are quite a spectacle. Conventions survive off of volunteer labor, so I do the most I can to keep it alive.

On the day of Preveiw Night my mother and I go in from 9am to 7pm to help set up the Art Show. It’s is a place where amateur artists and put their work out for display and sale. I take an artists, mark down each piece of art they have and help them hang it.

My mother and my friends dragged me into the convetion scene. Through Comic Con, I’ve gotten to meet some of my favorite artists, I’ve made friends, changed the way I express myself, my style, the way I judge people and learned how to make friends. My mom receives free passes through being staff and I pass them on to people who have never attended but I know will enjoy it. The people I invited have returned the year after because I brought them in. This is another way I can continue the Comic Con saga.

I asked my mom about some of her Comic Con experiences from before I was born she told me that she met Shel Dorf. She explained that Shel Dorf represents the spirit of a fan boy, the heart and soul of all that is Comic Con because he is the founded it. Dorf took charge of the “Detroit Triple Fan Fair” and when he moved to San Diego he founded a one day convention that eventually evolved into the event that we all know and love. Shel Dorf makes me want to take the things I do to the next level and show the world what there is to love about this community that I have found.

I want to find ways to improve Comic Con. I attend other Conventions and take notes to about what things are better than Comic Con and worse. I want to play a bigger part and I want to improve Comic Con for the people who have watched it grow and flourish into the wonderful gathering it is today.

If a San Diego native asks you "have you ever been to Comic Con?" and you reply with "what's that?" You will receive a horrified stare. This beloved convention is known nationwide. It’s a place to meet new people and experience a different culture than anywhere else. No other place is more accepting or overflowing with creative energy.