Review: Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope

As many of you may have noticed we geeks sometimes get a bad stereotype as sloppy losers who shun social settings (though we all know that’s not the case). But there is one social setting that we all revere to some extent, Comic Con and with his new film, Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, Morgan Spurlock the man who taught us all that fast food is not really all that healthy seeks to show everyone the type of people who attend this event as well as what being a geek is all about. It helped that when seeing this film I was not in a standard theater surrounded by teenagers texting each other, but was instead at a screening put on by my friend Spence at Lights, Cameras, Lists; a screening where the people in attendance were fans there to watch a movie about fans like them.

In this film, Spurlock follows a group of different attendees each of them from seemingly humble origins as they venture through the conventions from the dealer rooms to the famous Hall H each of them on their own quest. One of them is Chuck Rozanski, owner of the world famous Mile High Comics who is trying to turn a profit in a down economy struggling to not only keep his spirits high but teach his employee to one day take over the reigns of the store. It also follows two aspiring comic artists looking to one day be the guy on the other side of the table signing autographs for fans. You also meet a young man who is hoping to propose to his girlfriend with the help of Kevin Smith; and a costume maker who puts everything on the line to hit it big at the masquerade. Each one of these people presented is incredibly likable to the audience who see themselves in them, they may not have to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but sometimes showing your favorite comic artist your portfolio can be just as challenging.

Mixed in the tales of these seemingly ordinary people are clips of some of the movers and shakers who are idolized by fans like; Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith,Harry Knowles, Grant Morrison, Eli Roth, and Robert Kirkman to name a few. Each of them gives an insightful and often comedic look at what makes the fans tick, and in the process showing that they are just as big of fans as the people seeking their autographs. In that same style, average fans are given a chance to talk about what they love whether it be; comics, movies, cosplaying, or anything else that others may see as out of the ordinary. Comic Con Episode IV delves into geekdom and the fan community like no other movie before, it does not patronize or exalt it shows fans for who they really are; average people who are passionate about what they love.