Comic Con: Yes, Paris Has Geeks Too
Comic Con in Paris has pretty much everything you would expect from an American comic book convention -- from kids dressed like superheroes to adults cosplaying as Hogwarts students. Yes, Paris has geeks too.
At Comic Con here, you can find the average blend of geeky merchandise for sale; posters, drawings, swords -- and of course, comics. There are also fun activities like face-paint for grown-ups, children taking pictures with Spongebob Squarepants, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You also have adults taking pictures of other adults dressed as storm troopers, Avengers, or other Sci-Fi characters. You have teenagers, young adults, and not-so-young adults waiting in line to get autographs from X-Men heartthrob Shawn Ashmore.
Different degrees of childhood, geekdom, weirdos and celebrities are all things you can expect to find at any Comic Con. But like any tradition, each culture adds something different. In Paris, it's food. Amidst the weird geekiness was mini fruit market selling dried papaya and kiwi, banana, and raisins. Intrigued, I asked a vendor -- a middle-aged Asian man -- why he decided to come to Comic Con. He informed me that he likes to sell dried fruit packets to gamers so that they would have something healthy to snack on while playing video games at home.
I have been to at least three different American Comic Cons and Anime Cons over the last five years in the US, and I have never seen or heard of grocers using geek conventions to pitch their produce or promote a mini “eat healthy” campaign. You know the expression “French Women Don’t Get Fat?” Well I guess French geeks don’t get fat either. At least, that’s what I thought before I noticed the large candy booth across the room selling Haribo gummies, Chupa Chups lollipops, and other sugary Willy Wonka type snacks. Food distribution seems to be a bigger thing at Paris Comic Con than at American conventions.
But the convention is not without its American influence. Towards the back of the hall, near the Hello Kitty Beauty Bar (and yes, more face-paint for grownups ) was an actual Brooklyn Brewery Bar featuring pints and half pints of Brooklyn Brewed Beer from New York, New York. Being a New Yorker in Paris, I was interested to know why a French event would have its’ beer catered by an American company. The men running the booth told me that Paris Comic Con was organized by New York Comic Con, which in turn is partnered with Brooklyn Brewery.
I loved it. I hadn’t been to Comic Con for awhile, and I enjoyed all the shameless appreciation for comic book art, science fiction and other “geeky” things. I was actually a bit surprised at how much this reminded me of a convention I once attended in New York. The vibe was the same, there was a lot of cosplay, people talking about their favorite shows or characters, except it was all in French. It was great. It didn’t have all the Hollywood glamour you find in San Diego conventions, no exclusive interviews with Joss Whedon, or Peter Dinklage. But there were comic artists, and other guests. There was even an entire booth full of custom-made cartoon t-shirts created by an independent artist based in Toronto. The artist was not there, but his “seller” was there, a young American man who made his living going to various comic cons around the world and selling T-shirts for his “boss” based in Canada. International independent fandom.
This was also the first New York-sponsored Comic Con in Paris. I spoke with a woman who worked with Warner Bros and traveled to different Comic Cons to "observe". She told me that the Paris Comic Con is a bit more “low-key” than the others in San Diego and New York. It may have been low-key, but this is just the beginning. The Comic Con staff told me that the event had been a hit, and that they are already planning another Paris Comic Con for next year. So get ready Paris, geekdom is coming.
