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Jim McDermottFebruary 06, 2009

I attended three comic book panels today, two Marvel and one DC.  Panels=public relations; they bring together writers, artists and editors connected by some sort of umbrella project, like a big event, or a product line (such as the X-Men line, which contains about 10 distinct titles within it), who tease developments in upcoming issues and field questions.

Today’s panels were sprawling affairs of 10-12 staff members each and a standing room only audience of three or four hundred people. Some are dressed in every stereotype we have of comic back conventions;  I saw 2 Princess Leias in sultry Tatooine love slave outfit, one Flash, about 6 Wonder Women – apparently she’s making her comeback -- a girl with flight goggles and a guy wearing his underwear on the outside – who then asked a very serious question.  (One of the panelists said, “Dude, how can I even hear your question when you’re dressed like that.)  On top of this, there are a million guys wearing T-shirts bearing the insignia of their favorite character, a few girls and, believe it or not, a whole bunch of others who are well-dressed 20somethings, 30somethings, 40somethings…I even saw some older married couples.  

No matter who’s asking, though, the same basic questions recur:  1) Is “X” going to happen?  2) When are you bringing back “X”? 3) What’s up with “X”?  And the answes are all the same, too:  Wait and see and/or read the book.  It’s a bit of a paradox really, everyone’s here to ask questions, but virtually none of those questions can get answered.   At times I could just feel waves of boredom wash over the crowd.  And yet, everyone stays. 

I want to know, what are they waiting for? 

Jim McDermott, SJ

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16 years 4 months ago
That whole asking questions whose answers would spoil furtue issues is the thing I hate most about comic conventions. I don't understand the thinking behind it. Is the creator or publisher really going to spoil the end result of their work? Very rarely do pannel questioners ask any type of questions about how creators came up with a particluar plot twist, or why they made certain decisions about a characters development. These are questions that would really give readers insight in to the book.

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