One thought on “How Jillian came to love Comic-Con”

1. I find this interesting because (a) it’s cute and (b) because many creators dubbed as “indie” or alternative are frequently told by people that they must somehow hate or strongly dislike comic book conventions as “not being their scene”, or that they don’t fit in and that their only home is at small indie/alternative arts festivals.

   I’ve been told by these handlers that big conventions make the creators (and their publishers) feel small, unwanted, and unloved. That they are outcasts. The San Diego Comic-Con experience in particular dispels that myth.

   I’m sorry, but in this day and age of mass communication, I think if you make an appearance your fans will come out, and that if you are in a place with other comics creators there’s lots of opportunity to network, get feedback and perspective and community-build. Comics readers tend not to be the zombies they once were and are just as excited about webcomics creators as they are about the artist of Spider-Man.

   Back in the Paradise con days, although the shows never got big crowds, Dave Sim told me he wouldn’t attend because he expected no one to come and see him. He was constantly told by his fellow indie/alt creator pals that there was no place for them at comic book conventions. He did decide to attend in 2005-2007 and was always met with long lines and a great deal of attendee interest.

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