Comic-Con holds its 50th convention this week and there will be a number of panels focusing on that five-decade history of celebrating pop culture.
For half a century the non-profit organization Comic-Con International has been on a mission to celebrate the popular arts, emphasizing the artistry of a diverse array of genre entertainment that has often been overlooked or dismissed by the mainstream. From comics and movies to TV and video gaming, Comic-Con has put the spotlight on the creators and fans of the best pop culture has to offer.
To kick off Comic-Con week, and look back on its past 50 years, I’ll be speaking with some of the people who know Comic-Con best. David Glanzer has been attending Comic-Con since 1978 and then started volunteering before eventually becoming its official spokesperson in 1984.
I have known Glanzer professionally since the early 1990s when I was working for XETV Fox Channel 6 and would shoot commercials that would run on Fox. That was back in the day when Comic-Con had to promote itself to get people to come and Glanzer would hand out stacks of passes when he spoke at schools about the pop culture convention. But what I discovered over all these years is that Glanzer is absolutely sincere when he says that the organizers just want to put on a show that they would like to attend.
Glanzer's has a giant Han Solo decal on the glass window next to his office door and a Han in carbonite rug. One of his prized possessions is a silver and black "Star Wars" teaser poster that he proudly points out has a different font for the "W" than in the final artwork. Yes. That's how geeky a fan he is.
Glanzer, like me, came to Comic-Con mainly because of a love for movies rather than comics.
"I remember walking through the doors and not really knowing what to expect but I had heard these great things about Comic-Con having movie posters and stuff," Glanzer recalled.
Here's his memory on the eve of the convention's 50th show.
Comic-Con kicks off Wednesday with preview night and continues through Sunday with its main base at the San Diego Convention Center. The Comic-Con Museum, which is not yet officially open, will be hosting panels and have "pop up" exhibits for people without badges to enjoy.
