Comments on Wizard World Los Angeles--Comics vs. Soft Porn???

[mlovest]

Gripe time…

 

OK, I spent several hours at the con today with my son. He's a bit young, so it was hard to really dig into back-issue comics, but we had a good time. My boy really loved having his picture taken in front of the huge Hulk statue at the Marvel exhibit!

 

However, I was a bit disappointed by the number of scantily clad women. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing pretty women, but I didn’t expect to see half-naked women hanging around as I walked the floor with my son. In fact, I was somewhat shocked to see half nude or mostly nude sketches and pictures at table level in clear view of my son. I was hoping to see lots of superheroes and neat stuff my kid would appreciate, but I was very disappointed to see so much soft porn at an event attended by so many kids.

 

Does anyone else share my concern and disappointment? Again, I just feel this sort of thing doesn’t need to be such a prominent part of a comic book convention. Am I out of touch with where comics have gone?

 

Thanks for letting me vent a bit…

 

V/R,

Mike

[Ze-man]

Seems to be a growing comment about todays Cons.

 

Comics?.. you guys get in the back...

THIS Comic Convention is all about NUDIES.... Hey..you wanna buy a DVD with a Special Promo Limited Edition Toy ?

 

 

Sad....to bad it is the norm now. They pay for booth space.. they get it.

 

Sorry your son had to wade through all of that.

( Except for Cindy Morgan of course.. she is ok.. and had all her clothes on.)

 

 

Ze-

[mlovest]

Thanks, Ze-man! I'm glad I'm not alone on this issue...

 

V/R,

Mike

[DiceX]

Thanks, Ze-man! I'm glad I'm not alone on this issue...

 

V/R,

Mike

 

You're not alone. I made the same comments about Wizard World Texas last year.

My children did not go to the con, but I felt sorry for those that did bring their kids.

I wouldn't have a problem if they would put them in a seperate room, or just put them in an area curtained off.

Although *I* didn't mind seeing them, the parental mind kicked in when I saw kids walking through the area.

They picked the worst possible place to put them, which was right next to the celeb guests.

 

With very little effort, they could make it better for everyone.

[Hobgoblin]

Yeah. I really don't see the point. I mean, I understand that there are a lot of comic collectors and dealers out there who can't get dates, but there's no need to bring porn stars to the conventions. Save that for your own time.

[Larryw7]

I agree that the porn isn't necessary. Most of us were kids when we were bitten by the comic collecting bug, the conventions should respect this, and make the whole experience a little more family friendly.

[Stronguy]

This is getting worse and worse. There are plenty of places I can go and see naked women who look a lot better than some of those skanks. They're open every day. However, there are only a handful of cons.

 

Everyone needs to write Wizard and the major exhibitors. Give them some feedback. Wizard won't give a rat's asss if you don't come but if some of the big boys start putting on the heat maybe they'll listen.

[BassGMan]

I guess I have a different point of view than you guys, but that is probably because I don't have kids. I like these chicks at the cons. It's not the reason I go, but it is a nice little excursion when I walk by, but I surely don't ever buy anything from them. I'll take a free promo card though. As a matter of fact, I've told some friends about these girls that were just marginally into comics, this has been the clincher to get them to attend the cons.

 

One thing I don't understand about concerned parents is how this is any different to all the girls in tiny bikinis at the beach. Surely most bikinis these days show more skin and cleavage (and rears) than the porno chicks at the cons. Do you keep the youngens away from the beaches too? No disrespect, just asking.

 

Comic conventions these days are more catered to adults than kids, and I believe catering to this crowd is just. However, I do agree with some that have suggested that keeping the "models" to a specific section is probably a good idea, and notating this in the program so that the parents can avoid this area.

[Hobgoblin]

I guess I have a different point of view than you guys, but that is probably because I don't have kids. I like these chicks at the cons. It's not the reason I go, but it is a nice little excursion when I walk by, but I surely don't ever buy anything from them. I'll take a free promo card though. As a matter of fact, I've told some friends about these girls that were just marginally into comics, this has been the clincher to get them to attend the cons.

 

One thing I don't understand about concerned parents is how this is any different to all the girls in tiny bikinis at the beach. Surely most bikinis these days show more skin and cleavage (and rears) than the porno chicks at the cons. Do you keep the youngens away from the beaches too? No disrespect, just asking.

 

Comic conventions these days are more catered to adults than kids, and I believe catering to this crowd is just. However, I do agree with some that have suggested that keeping the "models" to a specific section is probably a good idea, and notating this in the program so that the parents can avoid this area.

 

Yeah, unfortunately the skanks are there to lure in more dirty old men.

[BassGMan]

 

Yeah, unfortunately the skanks are there to lure in more dirty old men.

 

Of course, and dirty old men are some of the biggest collectors of comics. NOT that there is anything wrong with dirty old men, everybody likes a hot lookin' chick.

[DiceX]

One thing I don't understand about concerned parents is how this is any different to all the girls in tiny bikinis at the beach. Surely most bikinis these days show more skin and cleavage (and rears) than the porno chicks at the cons. Do you keep the youngens away from the beaches too? No disrespect, just asking.

 

It's not so much what they're wearing as the pictures they have on display with only a little orange dot covering up the penetration. BAD taste in front of kids.

Most of them were wearing enough clothing, IMO. But there were a few that were wearing (or *not* wearing) something that would get them arrested on ANY public beach.

[Hobgoblin]

 

Yeah, unfortunately the skanks are there to lure in more dirty old men.

 

Of course, and dirty old men are some of the biggest collectors of comics. NOT that there is anything wrong with dirty old men, everybody likes a hot lookin' chick.

 

Yeah, you're right on both parts Bass. Everybody but parents. I'm not one yet, I'm only 26, but someday I will have a son (knock on wood) and will want to get him into comic collecting and take him to convensions. But at the rate the cons are going, he won't be attending one until he's 16.

[Tango 'n Cash]

I agree with this, and it appears that the major Cons would rather cater to the dirty old men/dateless wonder crowd than regular human beings. That's their choice, and I guess with comic collectors makin gup the vast majority of the above groups, it must work for them.

 

And for the guy who compared soft-porn at Cons to bikinis on beaches, please point me to the beach with all the scantily-clad armored wenches wearing chainmail thongs & spiked pasties, and carrying swords.

 

And post directions for all.

[Ze-man]

Everyone needs to write Wizard and the major exhibitors. Give them some feedback. Wizard won't give a rat's asss if you don't come but if some of the big boys start putting on the heat maybe they'll listen.

 

 

What exactly are the politics when dealing with a Con promoter? Is he the unappoachable king? And everyone just has to deal with the rules the kings sets forth? Is it just a matter of the promoter wanting as much money as possible.. so the more the merrier?

I assume each Con has a different person who organizes the thing, so is it just a matter of reserving a table, paying your booth space fees.. and basically anything goes?

Nothing is juried?

Are you even asked what you will be selling ...?

 

Because I agree with ya Strong.. the Heavy Hitters gotta start making a stink about the way Comic Cons have become something else altogether different.

Or do the promoters, and Major Players who frequently set up at Comic Cons just look at it this as more foot traffic that might pass by their booth on the way to buy a DVD, Toy, or get an autograph from their fav porn star?

Bottom line.. more tickets sold.. the more people to buy all the crahp.

 

Even so.. I see no reason why the floor plan could not be laid out in such a manner to make it family friendly..promote kids and their familys. After all.. these are the almost extinct future collectors in the making right?

 

And at the same time.. make it easy for those folks who do want to seek out that OTHER stuff, have it located in a certain area that you have to specifically GO there to see it.

 

Would love to hear from the dealers here who set up at Conventions all the time .. what they think about all of this. And how it has changed over the years to become what it is today.

Or for that matter.. how our LCS's have changed to cater to this also.

 

Ze-

[Tango 'n Cash]

What exactly are the politics when dealing with a Con promoter?

 

Seriously? Call some right-wing religious groups, supply juicy photos of these skanks from the last convention and they may start some definite fires. Maybe even get the cops involved, depending on the state and its laws regarding this sort of public display. The current atmosphere (see Janet Jackson's boob) is very against anyting that can sully the minds of our youth, and you can probably play that.

 

I am not advocating this route, but if I were really ticked off at the soft-porn atmosphere...

[BassGMan]

Similar subjects have come up before and I continue to be amazed at the people against scantily clad women that don't seem to be MUCH more offended by all the violent depictions all over the place at comic conventions. Why is it that violence is so much more accepted in entertainment these days? If I was a parent I'd do my best to keep my kids away from violent video games, comics, TV shows, Stormtroopers with realistic looking plastic guns and swords, etc. Kids think THIS stuff is really cool. Personally I don't see much wrong with a kid seeing a few pics of a naked woman. I imagine that outside of a little curiosity, young boys are more interested in the violence anyway. Sex is different, I don't want any kid seeing sex or simulated sex, but just a naked picture or half naked model, to me, is no big deal. And that is most of what we have at cons. Outside of a few DVD boxes, it's just photos of naked chicks with dots over their nipples and down under.

 

How do you guys feel about that? You want to make a stink about the porn models, fine. But how do you feel about your kids being bombarded MUCH more heavily at these shows (from practically every table) by violence? To me, there is no comparison at all. But I understand the backwards thinking of this country on this subject and I can see the majority of us here are going right along with it.

[supapimp]

not directed to any one particular but this is what's exactly wrong with america. why is it such a big deal? in europe there are topless women in their TV commercials, topless beaches are not a big deal. but here in america, all the conservativenss and shielding is bad for kids. kids are natrually curious, if they have a "?" they'll ask it. the best thing to do with kids is to be honest. most of the bad kids or kids that got ito trouble when i was growing up was kids of pastors and polics officers. do you actually think it was a coincidence?

[Illiterati-migration]

not directed to any one particular but this is what's exactly wrong with america. why is it such a big deal? in europe there are topless women in their TV commercials, topless beaches are not a big deal. but here in america, all the conservativenss and shielding is bad for kids. kids are natrually curious, if they have a "?" they'll ask it. the best thing to do with kids is to be honest. most of the bad kids or kids that got ito trouble when i was growing up was kids of pastors and polics officers. do you actually think it was a coincidence?

 

Says the cross-dresser.

[LastStarfighter]

Amen, brother BassG!

 

But one thing that was talked about in an earlier post is just what you are against. In the artist's alley, there are artists drawing cute chicks/ schoolgirls, or superhero babes engaged in different explicit acts...toys, etc...And the drawings are basically porn. They are well done and hot, but they shouldn't be on the table on display on a stand (which they were (this was Philly WizWorld last year- so I'm sure it's x100 more in porn capitol U.S.A. L.A.).

 

And there is a line between actresses, models, and porn stars. One, as a promoter, can have all three; but it would be in the best interests to have the adult stars in an adult area, where 8 year olds aren't walking around or playing Yu-Gi-Oh My God look at her!?!

 

With that said -- I extremely enjoyed meeting Aria Giovanni last year and getting her autograph on my Heavy Metal

[mlovest]

Dice-X... Very good point. The organizers could simply separate the adult-themed exhibitionists, er, exhibitioners to a separate area. That would allow parents to keep their kids away from the smut and yet still enjoy the con.