Well Marshall Fine, forgive me from paraphrasing a comic book movie but you don’t seem to understand. We’re not locked in here with you you're locked in here with us! Just like you so humorously put in your article, Comicon is the place for geeks; the place where we are mocked, laughed at and ridiculed. I have gone to Comicon continuously since 1980 and I can remember year after year of reporters doing the POP, BANG and WOW at the convention. I remember them seeking out the bad costumes, the slightly (and we’ll use that word loosely) fan just so they can get a chuckle on TV.

However, just like the geeks everyone wants to pick on in high school, the comic book geeks at Comicon just wanted respect. We wanted to matter and after a time, all the jokes and little comments built up inside us. What you and many others like you who came late to the party don’t seem to fathom is the takeover of Comicon to your precious little cloister was so subtle and ingrained that by the time you noticed we had made the shift, and this would be around 2003, we had a strong footing and there was no way you could knock us out.

You say everything that is wrong about the movie industry can be found on the cover of EW? How about everything that is wrong about the comic book industry can be found within your article and with the cover of EW? People like you still fail to cover us seriously, unless it has to do with the all mighty dollar. I wonder how many research people you had to hire just so you knew who the Green Hornet was? Oh, I know, you drew upon your memory of some cheesy 60s TV show, like every other lazy reporter.

We are the Land of Dweebs? Wow that is so rich. You quote a 24 year old skit from SNL to show how hip you are? Sounds like something my geek brethren might do. If you don’t believe me (and I sure it would strain your lit cred to step foot in a convention so I will spare you the raw experience) and catch an episode of Big Bang Theory. While you might think the geeks on that show sound so comic book convention like, understand that’s exactly how we see your kind when you are blabbering about stats on the stock market or making your picks every March for that stupid basketball tournament. In your sports geek world we have to hear every weekend about this team or that player. Wasn’t it just a week or so ago when the world stopped because LeBron James made some announcement of where he was going to play next? You have the nerve to be upset about a once a year event when people can be allowed to let loose a little bit and, here’s a novel thought, use their brain power instead of muscle, while the jocks of the world can paint themselves up, get drunk and fight over the win or loss of a team.

Oh, and to set the record straight, sure we have debates about Star Wars vs. Star Trek and Marvel vs. DC, but we aren’t going to get into a fist fight over it.

Our world used to be a safe place until your idea stripped industrial demon came into our land and started strip mining every comic book. You know why you came to us? Because we are so starved for being accepted we would watch anything even remotely looking like our world. How we suffered through Kor, Krull, The Phantom, The Spirit, The Shadow, Doc Savage and anything that could be processed through the Roger Corman machine. You want to talk funny? How about how an industry can be so devoid of talent that when a film like AVATAR makes billions of dollars, the only take away is to make movies 3D? No thought about story or production or acting, no just make it 3D and the audience will show up. There are so many 3D movies coming out, and for what?

But do you blame the movie industry for that? Do you blame the producers who don’t pay writers enough money to make great works, or who will allow directors to create with a vision? No you do what any sports bully would do and dump on the dweebs. If you really wanted to talk about what geeks have been talking about in looking at the cover of EW would be how can a studio that has a ton of money riding on Green Lantern get the costume wrong? Yea, it’s a little bit of inside baseball, yes it’s another thing you outsiders like to shove in our faces to prove what big men you are, but if you were to make a movie about the Clinton administration and you had Bill Clinton walking around most of the movie in silk pajamas and talking with a Boston accent, I would say quite a few people would think the filmmakers went a little bonkers.

So yes, we have the power to have Hollywood kiss our hands and what has that gotten us. It has given us Chris Evans in Captain America. It has given us a cloud for Galactus. For every Dark Knight and Watchmen there are a string of Punisher and The Losers. Those Hollywood types come to our land and try to convince us they are one of us. We speak a language unique and subtle and we can spot a poser a mile away. The true geek will dismiss them with a wave of the hand.

However, you are right about something. With the advent of Comicon being this place where Hollywood brings their sparkle and glow, there are those who come here searching for the mythical shimmering vampire. If you were able to climb down from your ivory literary tower and grace us with your presence you would have seen a press corps who was obsessed with the amount of Twilight people and star power that was at the event. However what was missed was the huge backlash that occurred because of it. The sparkling vampires are abominations to us and thank goodness there are legions who made sure to let anyone who would listen that the sparkling folks aren’t us.

I think some who haven’t been to Comicon for decades are a little spoiled by the Hollywood attention and we are willing to sip from their cup. Thankfully a few of us realize the two way respect that must be given.

Just as a little bit of a proof aside, while I have been writing this, thinking about the snarky humor I wanted to inject into this article, I have seen The Today Show spend almost 20 minutes talk about Chelsea Clinton’s wedding and about how ‘we’ are so obsessed with it. Note to the Washington / New York corridor elite; ‘we’ are not obsessed with the wedding. Just because you care doesn’t mean ‘we’ care.

That’s how I feel about the article by Marshall Fine. It’s a snarky piece about someone who probably wishes he could let his hair down and join in the fun, but that wouldn’t be ‘cool.’ Instead he would rather tear down what he doesn’t understand. Very sad.

(I know it’s a little tough, but this article was partially tongue in cheek.)