Not the City of Brotherly Love

I offer an exerpt from my recent tirade at Loose Pages, "Why I Hate Conventions" --

My girlfriend says I radiate negativity at comic book conventions. That I make it clear, despite all my smiling and idle chatter with truly bizarre beings, that I do not want to be there. She asks if I ever attended them simply as a fan. Can't I relate?

No. No, I'm sorry, I can't. I've been to shows done right -- MoCCA, SPX, even SPACE. Where the lowest common denominator was not so damn low. Why hadn't I attended as even a fan? Because I expected more, frankly. Misfits, social deviants, wallflowers, and otherwise awkward people have their place in the world -- Their population just shouldn't all be concentrated in one place.

Am I being unfair? Absolutely. Totally. Terribly. There are many polite, well-adjusted, and passably groomed individuals who attend these shows -- Just not enough of them!

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