The Maddening Crowds: SDCC

With over 100,000 attendees, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) ranks as the largest comic book convention in the country—although, it may be more accurate to say that it's actually the largest pop culture convention in the country. Because of T-shirt-clad people and cosplayers, not to mention the TV and film celebrity signings and raucous giveaway events at the huge movie booths, some exhibit floor aisles were impassable. Dozens waited in line for the chance to play the latest video-game offering, and collectors lingered over displays of exquisitely crafted figurines. The actual comic book half of the show floor was calm in comparison.

Everything Watchmen-related was the highlight for comic aficionados (for more on this, see "Fall Editors' Picks," LJ 9/1/08), as well as Will Eisner's The Spirit (the movie is due out this Christmas). The biggest nonmovie-related debut was actually a music tie-in—Image Comics' Comic Book Tattoo is a 480-page LP-sized anthology of comics inspired by the music of Tori Amos, who was present at the panel.

The Eisner Awards—which had another librarian on its judging panel for the second year in a row, Eva Volin of the Alameda (CA) Free Library—had a light turnout, attracting few journalists and convention-goers. No doubt, conflicting panels, parties, and screenings were the culprit. Ironically, Sin City creator Frank Miller, the keynote speaker, emphasized that, first and foremost, comics are about good stories, not about the potential for media tie-ins.

Two notable award winners were Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly) for Best New Graphic Album and James Sturm and Rich Tomasso's Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Hyperion) for Best Reality-Based Work. To see the complete list of 2008 winners, go to eisners2008.notlong.com.

Although there were several librarian-oriented panels, just how many librarians attended was diffult to gauge. Unlike New York Comic-Con, librarians at the San Diego show are not distingushed differently from others with professional badges and are not marketed to in any way.

But graphic novels continue to build momentum in libraries, and NPR picked up on this by interviewing Eva Volin and David Serchay of the Broward County (FL) Library System and author of The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens (see review, p. 42) during SDCC (read the article and listen to the report at NPRreport.notlong.com).