Thursday, Oct. 01, 2009
x-con 2.0 set for the beach
Comic book conventions - comic cons for short - have become pop cultural phenomenon in various cities, with heavyweight events in San Diego and Atlanta drawing thousands of true believers and more and more celebrities each year.
For the last two years, San Diego Comic-Con International, the largest of its kind, has sold-out in advance, especially impressive considering the national economy's nosedive and folks tightening their wallets on leisure-time expenditures.
Last year, organizers sought to bring the magic to the beach by hosting X-Con World, the Grand Strand's own comic book/fantasy/horror/sci-fi gathering held at the Springmaid Beach Resort. (Perhaps you read about it in Weekly Surge, published Oct. 30, 2008).
X-Con is back for a second helping Friday through Sunday, once again at the Springmaid Beach Resort on the South end of Myrtle Beach, so we queried event organizers Steve Haines of Corsair Comics in downtown Myrtle Beach, Robin Roberts of The Palmetto Group, and convention coordinator Renee Marie to find out what's on the docket for this year's shindig.
Here are excerpts from that question-and-answer session conducted via MIND CONTROL - no just kidding, it was done via e-mail.
QUESTION | What is going to be different about this year's X-Con - and what's going to be the same?
HAINES | This year we've had a lot more time to plan, so you'll be seeing a lot more guests, but a lot of familiar faces as well. Lots of new vendors, and artists. Lots more programming and activities.
ROBERTS | Well the obvious answer is bigger and better - we have more film companies doing open casting calls for upcoming horror films, we have added video gaming tournaments and our guest list has nearly tripled. The same things are vendors ... but more; guests ... but more; prizes ... but more; parties ... but more, music ... but more.
Q. | Did you snag any big-name talent to appear during the convention?
ROBERTS | We have a good portion of the Marvel line up, both old school and current writers and artists. Many of the guests are responsible for pop culture greats such as Ren and Stimpy, Scooby Doo, Conan the Barbarian, Spider-Man, The X-Men, etc.
Q. | Do you think the Disney buyout of Marvel is going to be a topic buzzing about at the convention?
HAINES | Yep, the mouse is in the house! We are all waiting to see if anything is going to change within the company.
Q. | Did you ever get a final attendance tally on last year's event?
RENEE MARIE | The first few years of any event are more about getting all the ducks in a row than counting each person who attends, so we are content with the estimated attendance of the 2008 convention, which totaled at least 750 people.
Q. | Putting together a comic con from scratch had to be a learning experience - what's the most valuable lesson you guys learned last year that will help you out this year?
HAINES | That you can't do it all by yourself.
ROBERTS | You need three times as many volunteers as you think.
RENEE MARIE | Personally, I've attended anime and comic cons in the past, and absolutely loved them, so when I began immersing myself in this aspect of nerdy culture, I decided I wanted to help bring something like this to the East Coast. It certainly is different to make the convention happen and run it, as opposed to just going to one. Running an event of this nature requires a lot more skill, networking, and organization than you'd expect.
Q. | I heard ya'll contacted Marvel Comics godfather Stan Lee - is this true - and is he coming?
ROBERTS | I had a pleasant, short e-mail conversation with Stan and his agent and although he would love to come our convention is not big enough to afford him at this time.
Q. | What's the most exciting comic book movie news - "Iron Man 2" in May; "Spiderman 4" in 2011, "The Avengers" in 2012 - what about "Captain America'' or "Thor" - what about D.C. rumors, such as another Christian Bale-starring "Batman'' flick, as well as "The Flash'' "The Green Lantern'' and "Justice League of America"?
HAINES | We are still really excited about the "Hack/Slash" movie based on (X-Con attendee) Tim Seeley's comic series.
ROBERTS | Scarlett Johansson is going to be the Black Widow in "Iron Man II."
Q.| How would you describe the comic culture in Myrtle Beach area?
HAINES | I really think it is still growing, week-after-week there are new people coming into the shop. Some of them are comics fans from the past who are getting back into the hobby; some are totally new to the scene, getting into it because of a movie or a friend loaning them a comic or graphic novel to read.
ROBERTS | Every month Steve and I see new faces coming into the shop. Friends tell friends and the whole "check-out-this-cool-little-shop-of-horrors" thing seems to make the scene a growing scene.
Q.| Is "Twilight'' comic con worthy - or get-the-F-outta-here material?
ROBERTS | There is no denying the mass appeal of "Twilight," - all are welcome.
Q. | What's on tap for the non-comic book stuff at X-Con - can you give us an idea of what else is going to be there in terms of fantasy stuff and video games?
HAINES | We are going to have several local and regional film companies showing their new films and doing casting calls at the con. There will be vendors selling everything from chocolate to kimonos. We are having video game tournaments this year as well and "Warhammer 40,000," "Magic the Gathering" and Hero Clix. Plus, this year we will have zombie makeovers all day Saturday in preparation for the big Zombie Walk on Saturday evening.
There is an X-Con World VIP Party from 3-7 p.m. Friday (VIP tickets are $100 in advance, $125 at the door, which will get you into the party as well as the entire convention). Convention hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. One-day passes are $15 in advance, $20 at the door; 2-day passes are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Springmaid Beach Resort is at 3200 S. Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach. For more information, call 839-4820 or visit www.xconworld.com.