See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture

SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO: AN ORAL HISTORY OF COMIC-CON, FANDOM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF GEEK CULTURE is the full story of pop culture nostalgia and modern fandom through the lens of the prehistory, history, and expansion of the largest pop culture gathering worldwide: Comic-Con. As told through countless intimate, hilarious, at times heartbreaking and often thought-provoking stories by nearly fifty of today’s most integral members of the pop culture community. “An essential and defining resource of the forces that have transformed popular culture over the course of the past century.” — Fangoria Why did Neil Gaiman need a horde of armed (“Well, not exactly armed ,” he assiduously corrects) Klingons to help him through a particularly aggressive crowd of fans at Comic-Con one year? What was it like for the Russo Bros to first greet the overwhelmingly massive audience in Hall H and announce their debut Marvel film? Why are edible costumes no longer allowed at conventions of any kind? And what does all of this have to do with Dr. Timothy Leary, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hunter S. Thompson, David Bowie, and Frank Capra? No roads needed on this fantastic voyage where you’ll boldly go into the heart of fandom as we know it and love it today, courtesy countless intimate, hilarious, at times heartbreaking and even occasionally thought-provoking stories told by nearly fifty of the most integral members of today’s modern scene along with super-special celebrity guests who together make it clear how and why the geeks have at long last inherited the Earth. Bursting with reflections, observations, and plenty of raw hot takes on everything from Ray Bradbury to Stan Lee, from The Twilight Zone to Twilight, from Star Trek to Star Wars , and MAD Magazine to Watchmen , SEE YOU AT SAN DIEGO’s special guests include: Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Scott Aukerman, Stan Sakai, Sergio Aragonés, Trina Robbins, The Russo Bros., Lloyd Kaufman, Tim Seeley, Kevin Eastman, Maggie Thompson, and many others, along with 400+ pics and art, plus an afterword by Wu-Tang Clan’s own uber-nerd mastermind RZA. Learn how, in this historical and sociological tour de force, the geek at last inherited the earth … with a little help from a half-century of the planet’s largest pop culture gathering (clocked twice by Guinness!): the San Diego Comic-Con. “A fantastic, exhaustive look at the rise of geek fandom and culture over the past century through the lens of San Diego Comic-Con.” — Boing Boing