I'm lucky enough to be able to go to San Diego Comic Con this year. It's the biggest pop culture event of the west coast and is rivaled in the country by New York's Comic Con.
Conventions are meeting grounds for nerds, at the intersection of comic books, video games, television and science fiction.
Arizona's own Phoenix Comic Con has seen several big-name guests, such as Leonard Nimoy, John Barrowman and George Takei in recent years, while San Diego Comic Con has been host to several movie premiere screenings.
Why are these conventions so popular?
They provide a safe space. Those who read comic books, play video games and find their minds occupying fictional spaces rather than our reality have been teased and harassed.
Conventions are ways of bringing people together, of telling them that their interests are not only acceptable but are welcomed.
Conventions are a place for not only sharing a love of media, but also for discussion, costumes and at larger conventions, behind-the-scenes information on how media is created.
Some conventions narrow their scope. I recall going to conventions exclusively for "Star Trek" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" with my father when I was a kid, and an LGBT-focused gaming convention, GaymerX, is being held later this year. There are conventions dedicated to single TV shows, romantic pairings from particular franchises and even conventions specifically for local young people.
All of this can be attributed to a single idea: a safe space for people to interact with each other and avoid judgment.
I can recall seeing a comic online in which someone going home to drink a beer and watch sports is portrayed as "normal," whereas a person going home to drink a soda and play a few rounds of a video game is seen as a "nerd." It is this kind of reasoning — where one form of entertainment is valued much more highly than another — that causes a need for places like Comic Con. Comic Con is a place for nerds to be themselves. As events such as Comic Con have become more popular, we've come to consider the role of these types of conventions.
There are plenty of horror stories coming out of fan conventions. Tickets for San Diego Comic Con were gone within minutes of going on sale, and Phoenix Comic Con had to switch to a bigger space three years in a row to accommodate its rapid growth.
On one hand, it's fantastic that they've gotten bigger. More space means more exhibitors, more panels and more notoriety, which also leads to bigger, more prominent guests.
On the other, the commercialization of these events brings in a wider clientele and therefore erases some of the safer aspects of these gatherings.
No matter what, there is always a risk in a large gathering. We all have our differences, and unfortunately, this leads people often treat others differently.
Overall, it's a good thing that conventions are growing and that nerd culture itself is growing. Bringing the media we love into a more mainstream sphere can help to curb some of the teasing that we experience. It makes it easier to make friends and to find people with a wider range of interests, even if we only have one thing in common. It makes it easier to be accepted in wider society.
So next time you watch "The Avengers," crack open a comic book or play "Bioshock Infinite," think about Comic Con. Think about the gatherings of all these fans. Be glad to be a part of something.
Reach the columnist at baorteg1@asu.edu or follow him at @BrandoBoySP
