Official flyer handed out at my local comic shop. No idea what the QR code does.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover, back in June 2013:
This week the Indianapolis Star reported that someone out there wants to make my pipe dream a reality. A young Florida-based company called Action3 Events and Promotions has scheduled a comics convention for March 14-16, 2014, in our very own Indiana Convention Center. It’s as yet unnamed and not yet listed on their official site, but official enough that they’re proclaiming its proposed existence in public interviews. That much alone is a positive sign.
A name was assigned shortly after I wrote that. Nine months later, its time is nigh. March 14-16 sees the world premiere of the Indiana Comic Con, a three-day meeting-of-the-minds for connoisseurs of the graphic storytelling medium, and/or a temporary point of interest for autograph hounds. For once, local comics collectors will have someplace massive to converge that’s not Chicago, Ohio, Louisville, or some faraway land reachable only by air travel.
For those who like meeting actors, ICC will have four on site signing autographs, allowing photo ops, and appearing at Q&As. Those names are:
* Daniel Cudmore, who played Colossus in the second and third X-Men films. I’m trying to remember if he had any lines, and I’m drawing a blank. Apparently he also had a role in the Twilight series.
* Maisie Williams, a.k.a. Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, which we don’t watch. She’s 16, but it’s my understanding from an online cohort that in person “she’s awesome and hilarious.”
* Caity Lotz, who plays Black Canary on TV’s Arrow, which we don’t watch. I vaguely recall her from a few episodes of Mad Men, where she played the late Anna Draper’s niece Stephanie and had to deflect Don’s skeevy come-on.
* Evan Peters, who’ll be Fox’s version of Quicksilver in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. He’s also been on American Horror Story and One Tree Hill, neither of which we watch.
…so my wife and I will be saving money in this area, but we hope other fans take advantage of the opportunity. With only four actors for attendees to choose from, I’m thinking autograph lines might be a tad long. Arrive early; plan accordingly.
Comic book fans can meet a variety of creators both famous and otherwise. Major names include but aren’t limited to:
* George Perez, a legend in the field. Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman, The Avengers, Superman, and more more more. I’ve met him twice and can’t praise him highly enough.
* Arthur Suydam, a painter who specializes in zombification. He’s a regular at the two Chicago cons we attend every year.
* Tony Bedard, who’s written at both DC and Marvel (I enjoyed his run on Exiles); currently working on Supergirl and the upcoming Secret Origins.
* Bob Camp, longtime animator and driving force behind The Ren & Stimpy Show.
* Steve Englehart, Marvel/DC writer whose credits include Avengers, Defenders, Detective Comics, and Vision & Scarlet Witch.
* Joe Eisma, artist/co-creator of Image Comics’ popular Morning Glories. (It’s still popular, right? I gave up on it, but I expect I’m alone in that.)
* Bob Layton, writer/artist whose work on Iron Man was integral to the character and a favorite from my childhood. He also wrote and drew the very first Marvel limited series, 1982′s Hercules: Prince of Power.
…and more, more more! The official site lists several more well-known names, but these, I imagine, will draw the longest lines from readers looking for autographs, sketches, or impromptu portfolio reviews.
Unfortunately, the con’s too new and untested for any of the major publishers to deign to appear for us. Numerous small-press publishers, dealers, local comic shops, and other relevant companies will be in the house anyway. In addition to actor Q&As (largely on Friday and Saturday), several panels are scheduled to offer a chance for the like-minded to hear or participate in discussions of various topics and fandoms. In this area ICC has already caught up to Wizard World Chicago, whose offerings in this area can be pretty sparse some years.
Most important of all: yes, there will be a costume contest on Saturday. My wife and I will be there and plan to return with a full report and gallery for MCC readers and random passersby. (Incidentally, if you’re one of those: welcome!)
I have a few reservations about the weekend, all of which I hope will be for naught:
* The con is fairly priced, but we’re attending Saturday only because the totality of it seems a little lighter than we’re accustomed to having at our disposal. Admittedly, those Chicago cons may have spoiled us. If I’m wrong and we leave Saturday with a long list of unchecked to-do items, I’ m willing to stand corrected and regretful.
* This weekend will be following in the wake of recent unpleasant stories about other conventions that drew more than a little ire from a disappointed public. I won’t rehash details here, but this one story and this other story made me hang my head, roll my eyes, and regret my hobby a little. I don’t want to see an Indianapolis event making these same kinds of headlines. The showrunners experienced a bump in the road several weeks ago during the planning process that could’ve spiraled out of control, but they basically eliminated the issue.
* I’m a bit concerned that the website doesn’t indicate a harassment policy in place. Larger cons have been adopting those in recent times in order to encourage and in some cases mandate a safe atmosphere for all participants, not just for obnoxious privileged dudes. (Googling “convention harassment” will bring you several months’ worth of reading matter that’ll catch you up to speed and depress you for days.) You’d think “Don’t do anything stupid” would be common-sense enough for the average citizen and obviate the need for codified rules, but one man’s stupid is another man’s brilliant. I wouldn’t be encountering a plethora of ongoing discussions on this topic if there weren’t a problem. Can we really count on Indianapolis to be small enough and/or polite enough for this to be a non-issue?
* Similar but slightly different note: the Indianapolis Star recently ran an interview with Christina Blanch, a Muncie comic shop owner who also teaches free online courses about comics. The interview is a delightful read, but I winced at the title of the article: “Indy’s Comic Con: Not Just for Boys”. Is Indianapolis so distanced from the comics scene that we’re meant to see this statement as bold and revelatory? We’ve been hosting Gen Con every year since 2003, so we should know by now that gamers come in all stripes and patterns. Is it too much of a stretch to assume the same of us comics geeks? (That’s not a rhetorical question.) I should hope that anyone who’ll call the Indiana Comic Con their very first convention won’t walk in and be flabbergasted just because the place is half-filled with *gasp* womenfolk. If I see geek gatekeeping afoot, I’m throwing a fit. And you don’t want to see a guy my size throwing a fit.
* Totally unrelated to anything the showrunners can control: I’m currently collecting fewer monthly comics than ever. In fact, I’ve procrastinated writing a “Favorite Comics of 2013″ entry here because I was struggling to recall ten comics I’d truly hold above all others for last year. I’m feeling a bit disconnected from the field nowadays, but I’m hoping there’ll be cool new things to acquire this Saturday, not just the must-haves on my back-issue want list.
* Indy’s fabulous food trucks better show up and congregate on Georgia Street exactly as they did last year for Gen Con. They just better. The food at the Indiana Convention Center is streets ahead of the harmful matter they slap on the plates at the Stephens Center in Rosemont, but if y’all haven’t sampled our city’s dozens of food trucks, this should be a great time to give ‘em a try. I know they’ll be there for Friday lunchtime at the very least.
Regardless of this old man’s process-improvement pontificating, here’s hoping all goes above and beyond expectations, that the weekend turns out memorable in a good way, and that in hindsight we’ll later be able to refer to this cheerfully as “the first annual Indiana Comic Con”. See you there!
