I don't get it..

[Riffster]

Why at the SDCC do they have booths for shows that have nothing to do with comics? I like some of the shows like Shameless but a comic convention? honestly?

[Mikey]

I'm guessing the same reason I used to see Nascar and Beanie Babies at Star Trek conventions

[kingdom warrior]

Because nerds have money and they think we like everything.....SDCC is not exactly a comic book convention anymore it's a spectacle for Hollywood

[toys2cool]

I remember seeing a booth selling electronics at a toy convention once

[Blue Meanie]

Because nerds have money and they think we like everything.....SDCC is not exactly a comic book convention anymore it's a spectacle for Hollywood

Hit the nail right on the head. It's been like that for probably the last 10+ years. They treat it like it's an event and NOT a comic show. Wanted to go to one for the longest time...but seeing all the HYPE and no substance I say thank God I never went. Javits show here in NY is the same BS...All style and NO SUBSTANCE. Can't wait for Baltimore Comic Con in August.

[Tothiro]

I dunno, I mean I met Neil Gaiman and Moebius at the Javits, and that was a good time... but it was years and years ago.

My last SDCC was '07, and even then the comic guys were complaining about the media guys... Even the toy guys (Hasbro, Sideshow, Art Asylum, Mattel, Gentle Giant) only talked to me about jobs because I came with references, and it all had to be negotiated for times because they'd all mostly stopped doing portfolio review due to the show being a hassle.
I think Hasbro was the only one actually doing a port review...
McFarlane claimed to be - but several artist friends told me that it was just some people from their HR department who had no idea what to do with a portfolio - didn't even look at them, just asked if you'd be willing to move to Arizona, and if you'd ever done accounting, etc, once you actually got in to sit with them. Complete waste of their time.

I got to see the unveiling of the colorized 20 Million Miles to Earth, narrated by Ray Harryhausen himself. Got to meet up with Mike Mignola again and swap toys (Hellboy Legos). Stan Lee almost stepped on me.

The magic of SDCC is not so much being "a comic convention" anymore as having the kind of pull to get a large number of headliners in. But mileage varies depending on your interests. I agree it is largely an overcrowded trade show now, and the exclusives are ridiculous. But if you're an artist, it was an invaluable opportunity to have all of those people in one room and have access.

[MicromanZone]

It’s because it’s all about marketing now and not about fans getting together to share a common interest. Whenever I see reports from MegoMeet I look at that and see what a real fandom is. SDCC and the other major conventions are nothing special and pure marketing nonsense.

And in the case of TV shows getting mixed in, I think it has something to do with the way the Cartoon Network managed to mix in classic cartoons with new hipster/ironic stuff. Which then leads to other tangental stuff going to the convention to tap the same audience.

Anyone have fond memories of true old school conventions? For me it was the stuff that happened in NYC in the 1970s where it was truly magical to go to a show and see stuff and buy stuff you knew you would never get anywhere else.

Also, this is a pic I dug up this week of folks protesting the cancelation of Star Trek; real fans with a real passion and no sponsored nonsense:
protest - Framework - Photos and Video - Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times

[johnnystorm]

At the Steel City-Con in Pittsburgh last April there was a table setup selling rain gutter installation, sandwiched between the toy & comic book booths.

I guess even nerds & geeks aren't immune to the ravages of cellar flooding from improper water runoff. In fact, probably more so as we tend to have our stuff stored down there.