Why I'm not going to Comic-con this year.

So...

The San Diego... er, I'm sorry, International Comic-con is coming up in less than a month now. This is actually the first year in quite some time I won't be attending. Though it's always been a blast, over the years it has gotten a little too chaotic. The convention floor is usually a fun place to roam and check out all the merchandise for sale, or in some cases, simply being given away by studios desperate for geek buzz and free promotion. There's also a ton of freaky and/or hot denizens dressed up in super cool costumes to be on the watch for. One year I saw an entire army of Slave Princess Leia's, a man dressed as Spiderman villain Electro using a machine he built that could zap people if they got too close, and a girl with a missing leg who went as Rose MacGowen from the movie Grindhouse: Planet Zombie (the chick with the machine gun leg). But in recent years it's gotten so crowded you can barely walk the floor and see this stuff. I guess I needed a break this year.

Or maybe it was the 2010 offering of panels that failed to entice me into going. In years past, the con has offered up some pretty cool TV shows coming into town to hock their goodies via cast and creators showcasing clips, sneak peeks and Q and A sessions. Shows like Lost, Heroes, X-Files, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. This year we have... White Collar, Glee, Bones, Castle, and Community?? Huh? Maybe it's just me but I fail to see how any of those shows relate to the pop culture, comic book, scifi/fantasy theme of comic-con. Are they just letting anyone into this thing these days?

To be fair, there are a few shows coming that are more in the vein of traditional comic-con programming. There's V, Spartacus, Vampire Diaries and Eureka. But, with the exception of maybe Eureka, those shows just aren't any good. Nowhere near the draws that Lost and Battlestar Galactica were, to be certain.

On one hand it's cool that the con has gotten so mainstream and studios have finally caught on to this marketing bonanza, but on the other hand there is the fine line of what is acceptable for promotion at an event called Comic-Con. We all know the studios have no discretion, so the con organizers should take some responsibility over what they allow into their halls for promotion, especially since the event isn't exactly free. In fact, many people travel from all over the world to go to this event, booking hotel and airfare to do so. Does anyone really think they come all this way to see Glee or White Collar or Spartacus?

In any case, I plan to be back next year. Hopefully the programming will have improved. If not, there's always plenty of free loot to pick up.