Congratulations to Erin Hanna on the publication of Only at Comic-Con: Hollywood, Fans, and the Limits of Exclusivity
In her latest book, Only at Comic-Con: Hollywood, Fans, and the Limits of Exclusivity, Erin Hanna discusses the San Diego Comic-Con and how it became a Hollywood destination, how the industry’s presence at Comic-Con shapes our ideas about what it means to be a fan, and what this event tells us about the relationship between media industries and their fans, past and present. Only at Comic-Con examines the connection between exclusivity and the proliferation of media industry promotion at the longest-running comic convention in North America.
During summer 2020, Hanna was also interviewed in a podcast by Imaginary Worlds about the history of Comic Con and what it might look like in a COVID-19 world. Hanna also co-published an article, “Comic-Con@Home: Virtual Comics Event Declared a Failure by Industry Critics, but Fans Loved It” for The Conversation as part of a new research collective, Swarming SDCC.
Hanna’s research focuses on the relationship between media industries and audiences and teaches courses on television, the film industry, fan culture, and gender media and diversity.
When the San Diego Comic-Con was founded in 1970, it provided an exclusive space where fans, dealers, collectors, and industry professionals could come together to celebrate their love of comics and popular culture. In the decades since, Comic-Con has grown in size and scope, attracting hundreds of thousands of fans each summer and increased attention from the media industries, especially Hollywood, which uses the convention’s exclusivity to spread promotional hype far and wide. What made the San Diego Comic-Con a Hollywood destination? How does the industry’s presence at Comic-Con shape our ideas about what it means to be a fan? And what can this single event tell us about the relationship between media industries and their fans, past and present? Only at Comic-Con answers these questions and more as it examines the connection between exclusivity and the proliferation of media industry promotion at the longest-running comic convention in North America.
Books in Print Talk
Paul Peppas, Director of the Oregon Humanities Center, welcomes Erin Hanna to the first online edition of the “Books in Print” talks to discuss her book, Only at Comic-Con: Hollywood Fans and the Limits of Exclusivity, published by Rutgers University Press in 2019.
Books in print talks are presented by faculty authors whose recently published books were supported by an Oregon Humanities Center research fellowship and/or an Oregon Humanities Center subvention grant to help cover publication costs.
Imaginary Worlds Podcast
San Diego Comic Con is the high holiday of geekiness where fans converge to cosplay, buy collectables, show their appreciation to creators, and be the first to hear big announcements and see upcoming trailers. But the road from obscurity to cultural domination hasn’t always been smooth. In a year where the future of fan conventions is in doubt, we look back at the history of Comic Con and what it might look like in a COVID-19 world. Featuring filmmaker Eric Brammer, journalist Rob Salkowitz, and University of Oregon professor and author Erin Hanna.