In 1977, when I was 10 years old, I was an avid reader of The Spirit Magazine, a collection of reprints of Will Eisner’s classic 1940s stories published by Kitchen Sink Press. For some reason, I felt moved to dash off a letter of comment regarding the casting of a Spirit movie that was then under discussion (“James Garner as the Spirit, please”). I sent it to the publisher, a fellow named Denis Kitchen, who ran it in the next issue. It was the first time I saw my name in print, and I kind of liked it.
More than 30 years later, when I had some more to say about transmedia adaptations of comic book properties, I felt moved to dash off a 70,000-word manuscript. I sent it to my agent, a fellow named Denis Kitchen, and he saw it into print, this time through the good offices of Mary Glenn and her team at McGraw-Hill. You can’t make this stuff up.
So thank you, Denis Kitchen (and partner John Lind), for encouraging me in this project and securing a place for it at warp speed. Thanks to everyone at McGraw-Hill for jumping on it so fast and being so supportive of such a weird, quixotic project. Thanks also to the late Will Eisner for inspiring a lifelong love and appreciation of comics, and for exemplifying the rare combination of creative talent and entrepreneurship that offers us hope for the future even in dark times. In this way as in so many others, Eisner was ahead of his time.
In navigating the treacherous complexities of the art, business, and universe of comics, I was fortunate to have the guidance of a few experts. Thanks to Batton Lash, Jackie Estrada, Dr. Robyn Hill, Chip Mosher, Chuck Rozanski, David Steinberger, Joe Ferrara, Micah Baldwin, Eddie Campbell, and Steve Lieber for your time, comments, guidance, and anecdotes. Special thanks to Chris Casos, G. Scott Tomlin, and the gang at Seattle’s Comics Dungeon. I also want to thank Mic Messersmith and Emily Wydeven for allowing me to share their views and experiences at the Con.
On the business and futurism side, I am fortunate to be able to depend on Mike Dover, Daniel W. Rasmus, and Lawrence Wilkinson for thoughtful input and constructive criticism. I also got great feedback from Max Miller, Ivan Weiss, Guy Roadruck, and Thomas Kamber. Thanks for letting me bounce this stuff off you.
Henrik Andreasen, Jackie Estrada, Batton Lash, Kristi Long, Chip Mosher, Eunice Verstegen, and BOOM! Studios’ Ivan Salazar were kind enough to give permission to use their photos. A special shout-out to Doug Kline, the mastermind behind PopCultureGeek.com and author of the essential Unofficial San Diego Comic-Con Survival Guide, for responding to my frenzied entreaties for decent pictures and coming through big-time. All photos are copyright by their respective owners.
In my research, I was helped immeasurably by being able to attend the ICv2 Future of Comics conference in July 2011, organized by Milton Griepp and his team, and the White Space conference at New York Comic Con in October 2011, run by Lance Fensterman and the good people at ReedPOP. Thanks to all the organizers, presenters, and attendees at those events.
Then there’s the event at the center of this book, Comic-Con International: San Diego, which owes its success to the tireless efforts of executive director Fae Desmond, director of marketing David Glanzer, organization president John Rogers, and a cast of thousands. I hope this book provides ample evidence of the esteem in which Eunice and I hold your work, both personally and professionally. Comic-Con is an incomparable spectacle and an amazing example of entrepreneurial success.
One of the big challenges in writing this book was trying to stay on top of the fast-moving developments across the comics and pop culture industries. For the best news and commentary, I rely on Heidi MacDonald and her colleagues at The Beat; Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter; the ICv2 Daily Insider email; the team at Comic Book Resources; and the “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” feed from The Nerdy Bird, Jill Pantozzi. I also tip my cap to groundbreaking comics futurist Scott McCloud and critic extraordinaire Douglas Wolk, who have both written articulate and essential books on the technological and aesthetic evolution of comics in the twenty-first century.
Thanks to my partners Guy Roadruck and Tracey Peyton, and to all of our team at our digital communications firm, MediaPlant, LLC, for once again indulging me in my “extracurricular” activities as an author in the midst of a busy season for the agency and our clients. I am also grateful to my students and colleagues at the University of Washington Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) Program, where the future of storytelling, entrepreneurship, digital distribution, and media mashups is being written in real time.
Finally, my deepest and most profound thanks, with love and admiration, to my wife, Eunice. Her unfailing encouragement, critical eye, and insight helped make the manuscript stronger, but her companionship and enthusiasm have made Comic-Con—and everything else—a delight for all these years.
Rob Salkowitz
Seattle, WA
January 2, 2012