Comic-Con v. Comic Con: The SDCC Death Grip

By: Ryan Weiss

In a world riddled with tragedy, drama and offensiveness, the last thing I would expect in this country is a legal case as petty as SDCC v SLCC. From my experience, comics, cosplay and the convention scene have the potential to be (and mostly are) very positive experiences for all involved, and should continue to be so. Cos-positivity/Cos-positive are absolute necessary mind sets that need to be fostered and encouraged. So why, in this positive environment, is there such bad blood between legal entities?   

From a ten-thousand-foot view, I see this legal battle as obtuse as trademarking “You’re Fired.” Culturally, “comic con” is all encompassing and descriptive. There are countless corporate and independent “comic cons” across the country and the world. Going forward, are these conventions names in jeopardy? How is this trademark issue going to be enforced? These are questions that now hang in the balance after this ridiculous legal outcome. As a collective, we should continue to support our local, independent comic conventions (comic cons). We should not let one prideful organization dictate what we say or how we say it. The beauty of attending conventions is the allowance of self-expression through art, media and cosplay.

“Comic Con” belongs to the people, the fans, the cosplayers, the artists, the writers, the organizers, the promoters, etc. This is ours.