The fringes of pop culture converged at the Javitz Center for the New York Comic Con last weekend, creating a fan-filled orgy of awesomeness. Mainstream celebrity appearances (for example, Stephen Colbert promoting his irreverent cartoon Tek Jansen) were less noteworthy than the sheer celebration of synthesizing imagination with entertainment.
Fame took a backseat to fandom, particularly when Kevin Smith moderated a panel featuring cast members from “Battlestar Galactica”: The characteristically frank filmmaker admitted that the show’s quality might be indirectly linked to his lack of involvement in its production.
Despite Smith’s mock humility, nothing gives comics better exposure than the movies. That point was reinforced during the panel on Frank Miller’s developing adaptation of Will Eisner’s classic series The Spirit. The original pulp noir saga, a thematic cousin of The Shadow, rebuffed comic narrative half a century ago, using subtlety that suggests the adaptation will hopefully yield a more character-driven plot than the latest mega-budgeted Hollywood productions.
Elsewhere, fans of NBC’s superpowered drama “Heroes” plunked down 25 bucks for an autograph from the show’s invincible cheerleader, Hayden Panettiere (Gary Coleman, at an adjacent booth, attracted a substantially smaller crowd). “This is a really interesting place to meet people,” said the affable Panettiere, signing her photo for a young man in a Spider-Man outfit and expressing her approval of the comics scene. “I’m becoming a fan,” she admitted.
The convention also allowed the frequently maligned horror genre to receive praise as high art. Wes Craven, an expert of the field, surfaced to promote The Hills Have Eyes 2, co-written with his son Jonathon. Later on, shock prince Eli Roth brought scenes from Hostel: Part II and news of his fake trailer in Grindhouse, a gory creation he shot in two days (with no salary) called “Thanksgiving”. Roth nimbly avoided questions about his next project, an adaptation of Cell, Stephen King’s nightmarish tale of phone demons—possibly because the big man lurked nearby. King joined a panel of artists and writers involved in the upcoming The Dark Tower series from Marvel, based on his sprawling literary masterpiece.
Even veteran indie animator Bill Plympton displayed his appreciation for screen terror, premiering his fantastically dark murder mystery short “Shut-eye Hotel,” along with unfinished scenes from his developing Lynchian feature Idiots and Angels. Plympton explained his presence as “spreading the gospel of animation,” decrying the shortage of his colleagues at the convention. “A lot of animators don’t think they can come,” he said. “But it’s the same audience.”
Nobody seemed more satisfied with the turnout than Marvel guru Stan Lee, whose presence on behalf of POW! Entertainment Inc. gave the convention its multigenerational depth. “Comic book culture keeps getting bigger,” said the sprightly 84-year-old, who was holding auditions for the second season of “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” his acclaimed reality show. The show brings a comic book twist to the familiar scenario of “The Apprentice.” Lee added, “I hear Donald Trump is worried.”
