Film Review: Geekdom Celebrated in ‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope’

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CHICAGO – Say the words “San Diego Comic-Con” to a certain comic geek subculture and suddenly heart rates are up and anticipation is in the air. The documentary maker Morgan Spurlock (“Supersize Me”) seeks to capture that feeling in “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope,” with help from Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, Thomas Jane, Josh Whedon, Seth Green and Matt Groening.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Get out the comic fan geek meter, because the way that you react to the film will be based on how close you are to the red zone. If you love the annual event, the pop culture and the comics, then Morgan Spurlock has delivered a valentine, because the feeling of the fun and the mutual admiration society is apparent in every frame. If you’re not such a fan, the film will give you an understanding of the passion, even as you roll your eyes at the familiar “dudes talking about pop culture.”

The documentary focuses on five distinct but related-to-the-Con-stories, with all the joy, heartache and profit intact from a convention that started in 1970 with 150 participants, and now boasts 100,000 visitors. Two participants, Skip and Eric, are aspiring comic book artists. Their passion is relevant to everything the festival is about. Holly is a costume designer, and she is entering the big costume contest. Her unique energy pays off in ways she couldn’t have imagined. James wants to propose to his girlfriend, who he met at Comic-Con the year before, and Chuck is a long-time comic books dealer, who is morally conflicted between the profit he needs for his business and his love for the soul of the comic book universe.

Between these stories are a series of interview soundbites given by the famous, the comic book purveyors and the lovers of the medium. In many ways, they are trying to explain the unexplainable, but it is effective how the documentary weaves from the individual stories of cause-and-effect in San Diego with Kevin Smith talking about how comic books made a difference in his life, to the extent that he is glad he was born in this time in history.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”

Worlds Collide in ‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope‘ Photo credit: Wreckin Hill Entertainment

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”