Group Love at Comic-Con

Sometimes you pick up snippets; little bits of conversation, strongly held opinions, observations perhaps. Really what you're doing is eavesdropping. You are listening to other peoples' business. And we all do it. I can't imagine there are many people out there who have not gone for a walk and wanted to chime in at some time with their own view of someone else's discourse. We're pack animals, after all. We like to be included.

Here are some snippets from Comic-Con:

"...but they CAN sparkle. The sparkles make them special."

"Is that Kirk from season 1 or season 2...oh, wait, season 2."

"...The Six Million Dollar Man is really where it all started. I mean, he never gets enough credit."

I like that last one a lot. Not only was The Six Million Dollar Man my favorite show, but it also strikes me that the military reportedly spent like a zillion dollars once on a toilet. They could NEVER make someone bionic for a mere six million.

This gathering, this cross between a medieval faire and a strange singularity of opinion (vampires, faeries, zombies, South Park, Star Wars, Star Trek, Werewolves, Steampunk, I-Carly and Bruce Campbell are all equally kind of cool) is without question the strangest place I've ever been. Not that I have traveled that extensively, but I talked to some of the press who have, and they tell me that this happening is definitely unique.

Listen. The Christian comics guy (graphic depictions of the Rapture) was right next to the dude who sculpts demons from stone. And they were friends, watching each other's booth while the other grabbed coffee. I have seen Cartman, Dr. Horrible, Mal from Firefly, Snow White (who somehow now wears red fishnet stockings) and countless vampires and zombies. Also, there were lots of Airbenders, and gobs and gobs of people who apparently study and live in Gryffindor.

I had a moment where I thought there might be trouble. I identified "Death" from Neil Gaiman's Sandman Series incorrectly as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

"Nope, I'm from Sandman," she said. "You should totally check it out."

(Already have. It was one booth over)

I spoke on three panels - I discussed, seriously, the "History of the Modern Zombie", "Writing the Apocalypse", and the science behind the highly anticipated video game "Dead Island." The panels took place in rooms I already knew from previous meetings - meetings like the American Psychiatric Association and the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I can tell you that no one at those meetings wore costumes.

And here's what I think:

I think its great. I think having spirited discussions about who would win in a fight between Picard and Kirk is awesome. I think lines and lines of folks waiting to buy books, to actually read, for goodness sakes, is outstanding. Some people hate this gathering, and I admit to writing this now in the quiet of a park outside the convention center. You really can't do much but exist once Comic-Con has you in its grasp. But that 200,000 people can gather and laugh and feel good about what they love, and that what they love happens to be stories - in books, comics, movies, games, and any other media you can picture - is a really good thing.

Oh yeah. I came dressed as a short guy from Boston in tweed. No one guessed my character. Maybe next year.

Steve Schlozman's first novel, The Zombie Autopsies, was published in March.