Comic-Con tribute has old-school spirit

Test subject: San Diego Comic Fest 2012

The big picture: A San Diego-based comic-book, sci-fi and fantasy convention with no lines, tons of personal space and $4 parking? Had I died and gone to pop-culture heaven? Nope. It was just Saturday at San Diego Comic Fest 2012, an intimate mini Comic-Con organized by the conventions first chairman to celebrate the Cons 40th anniversary.

In residence through Sunday at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center, the fest offers panel sessions, art exhibits, comic-book and toy sales, and appearances by such luminaries as sci-fi author Tim Powers and filmmaker Paul M. Sammon .

It also buzzes with the off-the-grid spirit of the original Con, before it became the entertainment Hulk it is today. Here are some notes from the underground.

House of cult worship: With its grab-bag look (New Orleans-style courtyards! Gazebos! Tiki pavilions!) and damply funky atmosphere, the Town and Country turned out to be the perfect gathering place for the many kinds of people who follow their passions to fan conventions like this.

In the Crescent room, an intense panel discussion about comics and Hollywood had room for Batman morality (Batman will not use a gun. Thats the Number 1 rule of Batman.) and creative minutia (Were you involved in the decision to scrap the Human Torch?). Then it was on to some spirited bashing of Hollywood, where one panelist summed up the studio mentality thusly: What do you have thats just like The Avengers?

Meanwhile, down the hall in the Garden Salon 1, old-school fans sat in awed silence while comic-book expert Gary Carter interviewed famed DC Comics illustrator Murphy Anderson about his craft.

I brought samples for everyone, Carter joked, holding up one of his many vintage Murphy Anderson covers. And it only cost me $140,000.

Clothes make the (time traveling) man: Unlike the Con, the Fest was not a sea of costumed humanity, so a man in a wool frock coat, plaid suit and top hat actually stood out. The goggles perched on the top hat were particularly eye-catching. Which was precisely the point.

Maybe there is no reason for anyone to be wearing goggles, said Randy Burks, who was here to talk up the Gaslight Gathering, a convention celebrating the steampunk sci-fi movement. Except to say, Hey, they look cool!

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Comic-Con tribute has old-school spirit