After leaving Comic Con upon the end of the second day I noticed a theme among the creators of the panels I’ve been going to. A theme of
passion, talent and most of all, dedication.
These people I’m writing about excrete creativity as they walk down the halls but before they could be invited to speak at Comic Con they have to realize what they’re good at, like doing what they’re good at and persevere until they get their project to the public, whether they are animators, writers, or musicians.
That same night I went to my friend’s house to celebrate his birthday. When he asked if I wanted to hold all 200 pages of the third draft of his novel I knew this was the topic of my second day at SDCC. I realized that everyone has something deep down inside as their creative outlet and you’ll never achieve your dreams if you never attempt them while your awake.
More than one of the panels I saw today began with an idea in some guy’s basement. Now those guys are seeing their passion in its physical
form and so is the public and more than I realized there was an impressively local representation of this at Comic Con. A young Southwestern College alumni Ashley Hulson understood fashion and had a desire to make it her career and graduated with a bachelor’s in fashion marketing. Today she was found at Comic Con selling zombie-themed clothing for Iron Fist clothing in the exhibit hall. Southwestern Sun’s own web designer Christopher Soto had his work displayed in an unavoidable way- as a 30-foot inflatable smurf. With no former training Soto’s passion for sculpting has landed him job’s for the upcoming smurf movie and as well as many others including Pixar’s “Up,” sculpting the models for the
giant inflatables used for promotion.
Last but not least are Southern California band, The Aquabats. My last panel of the night was for their new show for the HUB network “The Aquabats Supershow.” Aside from creating extremely catchy and silly music, these men have been working since the early 90’s to be picked by a network for their own show. They even helped create Nickelodeon’s successful children’s program, “Yo Gabba Gabba,” but after being picked up as well as dropped several times by different networks, I personally believe a lot of people would have given up. But they didn’t and next week they begin filming one of the 12 episodes that HUB has asked from them. Another thing I would like to mention is how packed the room for this panel was. No matter how much you think no one may like what you do, there is most likely several people who will.
What seems like a bunch of ideas for cult classics in the makings, the large crowds Comic Con brings in give the appearance that they are more mainstream. But perhaps the cults are just getting bigger. If you have a creative or off-the-wall idea, you will find your place among the most loyal and grateful fans, but you can’t just expect it to fall on your lap. Get up and go, Comic Con is calling.
