It’s San Diego Comic-Con week! While the annual in-person geek pilgrimage is on hold again this year due to COVID protocols, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate. HUNDREDS of Comic-Con@Home panels devoted to movies, television, comics, books, video games, science, and all things geek will drop on Comic-Con International’s YouTube page this weekend. Many of the vendors that sell exclusives all weekend in the San Diego Convention Center’s massive exhibit hall will have their exclusives online this year. Artists from Artist’s Alley will be selling commissions for artwork online.
Best of all, there is also a brand-new six-hour SiriusXM original audio documentary podcast available on all of the podcast platforms entitled “Comic-Con Begins: Origin Stories of the San Diego Comic-Con and the Rise of Modern Fandom.” It’s an oral history that weaves together personal stories and outrageous anecdotes from the people who were there at the beginning, and not only chronicles the rise of the San Diego Comic-Con as a convention, but also the rise of fandom itself (Star Trek, kung fu movies, Star Wars, Batman 89, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Twilight). It also features stories from Comic-Con staples like Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman, The Russo Brothers, Kevin Eastman, Frank Miller, and more.
Cherry the Geek TV sat down with Christopher Tyler, one of the writers, producers, and editors of the podcast (created by Mathew Klickstein) to talk about how the podcast came to be, as well as Barry Alfonso, one of the original co-founders of the very first San Diego Comic-Con (at the age of TWELVE!) about those early days.
“Comic-Con Begins:Origin Stories of the San Diego Comic-Con and the Rise of Modern Fandom” can be found on SiriusXM, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and Stitcher. You can visit the podcast’s home page here:https://comic-con-begins.simplecast.com/