Images of ComicCon

0 CommentsMonday • July 25, 2011 • by Imei

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While it’s dreary out back in Seattle, I have plenty of cool pix to keep my spirits up while the liquid sunshine pours outside my window. ComicCon 2011 wrapped up Sunday evening July 24, and my iPhone4 is full of images of the convention that will be rattling around in my brain for months to come.

Manga and Moe

When I think of comics, I often think about the manga, toys, and anime from Japan. My first toy of that kind was a small plush toy Hello Kitty. Born in 1967, Hello Kitty and the Twin Stars were as much a part of my childhood as Looney Tunes. ComicCon had a small section dedicated to the world of manga and anime, but itc also had a smattering of Asian-oriented arts, crafts, clothing, and accessories that were Asian inspired.

I found the above- pictured moe in the Kinokuniya Bookstore (incidentally, there’s one in Seattle in the I.D.). Moe is a slang word referring to “a rarefied pseudo-love for certain fictional characters (in anime, manga, and the like) and their related embodiments.” The characters are cute pre-pubescent girls, with huge eyes and over-exaggerated expressions. The vendor also carried well-photographed books of Asian models in hyper angle [photos were shot through a glass floor] to teach the viewer about drawing figures, the first steps towards learning how to draw manga.

BTW, the only English included on a band around the guide was a’ link to an all-Japanese site about moe. You can purchase such books on Amazon, but they are pricey in the U.S. because they are imports.

Best Swag

This might sound a bit strange, but I think the best swag bags were actually the bags themselves. Upon registration, each attendee was given an oversized bag with comics or movie art, and groups of bags had different art. The bags had various clips that allowed you to manipulate the bag into half-sized, backpack, and full-sized carriers for the many items vendors hoped you’d buy. I’m more of a gawker, so I didn’t think I’d be buying much. Still, the bags are great reusable souvenirs. I give organizers the thumbs up.

There were definitely other things to do and see for free, but these were not traditional swag objects. The poker chips with comics never surfaced, being photographed against a green screen superimposed with superheroes was cool, and dancing with Kinect on a raised stage has its charm, but the actual swag was a little on the wimpy side. Instead, I saw more people cleaning up on Sunday, with swollen bags and shipping boxes of purchased loot. If you shopped well, you’d have Christmas in a bag for young and old.

[Note: the poker chips swag from DC Comics showed up. Already on sale on Ebay, go figure. Perhaps people helped themselves to it in order to make money?]

CosPlay the ComicCon Way
When I’m not bellydancing, I really don’t like to take a lot of time getting in costume, hair, and makeup. ComicCon lets me be one of the gawkers AND one of the cosplay folks in a sea of humanity that makes this convention such an incredible experience. There were at least nine Princess Leia’s, a number of Darth Vaders, plenty of storm troopers. Green Lanterns and a few Green Arrows abounded. My favorites were the homemade costumes on kids, as well as some of the more innovative and labor intensive costumes strutting about on the exhibition floor.

I even heard that a man dressed in a Captain America costume proposed to his girlfriend on the floor of ComicCon [she said yes]. Whew!

Unfortunately, to view the costume ball contest Saturday night, you had to line up early for one of 4,000+ seats in the main ballroom. Overflow seating was available in other rooms to view the contest from a screen. Since I’m a gawker and I like to take pictures, it didn’t sound appealing to me to fight with the big camera guys for a few seconds after each contestant had a moment outside the ballroom area. Instead, I did what almost everyone else was doing: I roamed the exhibit foor with my camera ready for action.

Incidentally, I got more than a few questions about my iPhone4 mounted on an Xshot attached to a Glif (holder for the iPhone4). Why use the Glif? Because it allows you to shoot in landscape instead of portrait, and other phone camera users were impressed at the easy, portable, and inexpensive set up. The telescoping nature of the Xshot allowed me to film over the heads, shoulders, and up close, all without disturbing others. One father tracked me across the exhibit floor to show his son what I used, and how stable the film appears.

I’m back in Seattle, and compared to the overstimulation of lights and sound at ComicCon, my home seems a little… quiet. But popping out for a bite to eat at Cafe Press, I saw a woman with laptop cover art, lovingly applied and presented with an X-acto knife for a more crisp appearance on an older white plastic MacBook. No matter. What is old is new. What is new, well… it too will pass. It is our own minds that make things pop, stand out, and be remembered. It’s not just the comic book paint colors that make us smile. It’s our artful minds.

Posted in: Apple, Art, costumes

Tagged with: anime, best costumes, comiccon, comiccon2011, cosplay, costumes, green arrow, manga, moe