Cover Feature
As San Diego Comic Con celebrates
half a century, chief communication
and strategy officer David Glazner
looks back on its humble origins, the
evolution of fan engagement and his
encounter with Captain Kirk
Words: Nicola Macdonald
When San Diego Comic Con launched
in 1970, the 300 comic book fans in
attendance couldn’t have begun to
dream what it would become 50 years
later. In 1978, when a young David
Glazner first attended the event as a
passionate film fan, little did he know
that it would be a defining feature of
his life. Now the chief communication
and strategy officer, he describes the
aspiration behind its launch.
“When the show started it really was an
effort to highlight areas of entertainment
that we thought were also art,” he tells
EN. “People who read science fiction and
fantasy were usually considered a fringe
element, not the mainstream, but we
thought that these were really expressive
forms of art and we wanted to shine a
light on them.
“In 1970, once you saw a movie it was
done, and once you read a comic book
you threw it away. It’s amazing that in
2019 some of the biggest blockbuster
books are fantasy and science fiction and
some of the biggest movies are based on
comic book properties.”
An early win for the ‘fringe’ event
was the attendance of Frank Capra,
director of It’s A Wonderful Life, in 1972,
followed by an appearance in 1976 from a
talented young man called George Lucas
previewing a film called Star Wars...and
nowadays who’s heard of that?
A draw of the event in the 70s was the
ability to watch 24-hour screenings of
films which otherwise would’ve been
confined to late night television.
“The icing on the cake, or a nice side
note, was the fact that I met other
people who had those same passions,”
says Glazner. “While film drew me in,
I learned so much about costuming
and about comics. I love history and
found out there was this whole other
movement and a group of fans who really
loved World War Two comics.
In 1984 Glazner began working as a
volunteer at the show and was offered a
staff position in 1994. One of the most
obvious changes to the show across
his tenure have been the technological
aspects.
“What we’ve noticed is social media
and the internet has certainly made
things a lot more instantaneous,” he
tells EN. “But there still is a desire for
people to come and have that face-
to-face, one-on-one moment. They’re
having an experience. People may put
the information on social media and
it may break in general news, but the
actual experience of being at the event
is still something that drives a lot of
people’s attendance, and part of that is
community.”
San Diego Comic Con is a not-for-profit
event and organised by a big committee.
“We’re all fans, and so we try to
produce the type of show we want to
attend,” continues Glazner. “Back in the
day we would we would decide what kind
of programs we wanted to have and we’d
all agree upon that. We now have the
luxury of having people submit programs
to us, so we can pick the best.
“We’re governed by a mission
statement, which is to promote comics
and popular art. We all have budgets,
but we don’t look at what we can do to
increase the bottom line. That’s for the
accounting department and the board to
worry about. In all the years I’ve worked
here I’ve never had an instance of, ‘you
need to sell more tickets’. So long as we
meet our mission and people want to
come to the show then we’re fine.
“I sat on a panel once with a gentleman
who ran a competing convention and he
had said, ‘the difference between David
and I is that we’re for profit and I have
to worry about the bottom line, so the
decisions I make have a real monetary
factor’. I have free will to invite someone
who might not be a hugely popular guest
but who has a rich history in whatever
industry it is that they’re coming from.
“I’m never going to tell anyone
how to run their business, but my
concern is always that it never comes
to a tipping point where the people
who are attending feel that they are a
commodity.”
By the fans, for the fans
“We’ve always had an open-door
policy,” says Glazner. “Yes, we are geeks
and nerds, but we always felt we had
a very cool event that everybody was
welcome to. There was trepidation at
September — 19