See You at San Diego, Mathew Klickstein
See You at San Diego, Mathew Klickstein
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See You at San Diego
An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture

Author: Mathew Klickstein, Stan Sakai, Jeff Smith

Narrator: Jim Meskimen, James Anderson Foster, Dion Graham, Joe Hempel, Eric Jason Martin, Liam DiCosimo, Hillary Huber, P. J. Ochlan, Scott Shaw, various narrators, Tim Paige, Simon Vance, Lisa Flanagan, Feodor Chin, Curt Bonnem, Grover Gardner, Eunice Wong

Unabridged: 19 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/20/2022


Synopsis

A comprehensive chronicle of Comic-Con International and modern geekdom itself as told through countless intimate, hilarious, and often thought-provoking stories by nearly fifty of the most integral members of today’s convention and fandom community.See You At San Diego is the comprehensive chronicle of Comic-Con International and modern geekdom itself as told through countless stories by nearly fifty of the most integral members of the Comic-Con and fandom scene. This full-fledged oral history—bursting with intimate reflections, hilarious observations, and at times, heartbreaking stories—is about how the geek at last inherited the earth and the story of the transformation of mainstream American pop culture into comic book culture over the past century.Join some of the biggest names in fandom as they launch off at ludicrous speed into the spiraling galaxy of geek culture through the kaleidoscopic lens of the planet’s biggest pop culture gathering worldwide (clocked twice by Guinness!): the San Diego Comic-Con. With such special guests as: Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Scott Aukerman, Stan Sakai, Sergio Aragonés, Trina Robbins, the Russo Bros., Lloyd Kaufman, Tim Seeley, Kevin Eastman, and many others.The audiobook also features forewords by Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo) and Jeff Smith (Bone), plus an afterword by Wu-Tang Clan’s own uber-nerd mastermind RZA.

About Mathew Klickstein

Mathew Klickstein has worked closely with the Kids of Widney High for more than two decades, including as manager of the Kids’ West Coast tour and director of their rockumentary Act Your Age: The Kids of Widney High Story. Mathew has also worked and volunteered for specialty educational and arts programs, including Phamaly Theatre Company and Sprout Film Festival.

About Jim Meskimen

Jim Meskimen is an audiobook narrator and a stage, film, and television actor who has appeared in many well-known movies and television shows.

About James Anderson Foster

James Anderson Foster, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has narrated audiobooks for a variety of publishers, across nearly all genres, both fiction and nonfiction. In 2015, he was a finalist in three categories for the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences Voice Arts Awards—mystery, science fiction, and fantasy.

About Stan Sakai

Stan Sakai is a Japanese-born American artist and comic book creator. He is a multiple Eisner Award–winning cartoonist and the recipient of numerous national awards including an American Library Association Award and a Cultural Ambassador Award from the Japanese American National Museum. In 2020, Sakai was inducted into the Eisner Award Hall of Fame. He lives in Pasadena, CA.

About Dion Graham

Dion Graham, from HBO’s The Wire, also narrates The First 48 on A&E. A multiple Audie Award–winning and critically acclaimed actor and narrator, he has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series.

About Joe Hempel

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joe Hempel, a total eighties' kid, had a fascination with an eclectic array of shows that would later shape his performances in the audiobook world-shows like Alf, Night Court, Tales from the Crypt, and WWF Superstars. For over a decade Joe honed his acting skills as a referee in professional wrestling and inspired people as a NASM certified personal trainer and endurance coach. Combined with his animated personality and a love for reading, becoming an audiobook narrator was a natural step. Best known for his captivating, rich narrations and uncanny ability for pulling listeners into an immersive experience, Joe has entertained listeners with over 100 audiobooks ranging from horror and mystery to science fiction, romance, and personal development. Joe still lives in Cincinnati with his son Zach, and enjoys running marathons and bringing words on a page to life. Joe is also the winner of the 2018 ABR Listeners Choice Award for Horror.

About Eric Jason Martin

Eric is an Earphones Award-winner for his narration of Detroit: An American Autopsy. He has narrated over a dozen audiobooks in both fiction and nonfiction. Eric is also the host and producer of the award-winning This American Wife, a popular podcast and now webseries that features original comedy and stories, as well as interviews with authors such as Robert Greene, and Amy Tan. He also works as a theatrical producer, and is based in Los Angeles.

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is a Los Angeles–based voice talent with hundreds of commercials and promos under her belt. She records books on a regular basis and has been nominated for several Audie Awards.

About P. J. Ochlan

P. J. Ochlan, an Audie Award-nominated and multiple AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator, has recorded close to 200 audiobooks. His acting career spans more than thirty years and has included Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival (under Joseph Papp), critically acclaimed feature films, and regular roles in television series. Along the way, he's worked with countless icons, including Jodie Foster, Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, Al Pacino, and Garry Marshall.

About Tim Paige

Tim Paige is an audiobook narrator and voice actor who has worked on numerous projects ranging from bestselling books to video games and documentaries. Passionate about bringing stories to life, he believes that they're an opportunity to escape from reality (or to find a new lens with which to view it). Formerly a touring musician, he has played on some of the biggest stages in the world, including MTV's TRL. A husband and father, he is a bit obsessed with all things Disney and Marvel.

About Simon Vance

Robert Whitfield is the pseudonym for Simon Vance, an AudioFile Golden Voice with over forty Earphones Awards. He has also won more than a dozen prestigious Audie Awards and has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over thirty years.

About Lisa Flanagan

Read by Lisa Flanagan, Derek Perkins, Marisa Calin, Henrietta Meire, James Foster, Lucy Rayner, Tim Campbell, Helen Lloyd, and Esther Wane

About RZA

RZA (aka Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is one of the foremost bellwethers of modern hip-hop, having led and produced for the pioneering collective Wu-Tang Clan. The Grammy, BAFTA, and Emmy nominated artist has also composed soundtracks for such films as Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog. He is the writer/director of the 2012 film The Man with the Iron Fists, co-written by Eli Roth, and starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu.

About Feodor Chin

Feodor Chin, an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor classically trained at the American Conservatory Theater and UCLA. His acting career includes numerous credits in film, television, theater, and voice-over.

About Curt Bonnem

Curt Bonnem is an award-winning, professionally trained multi-media performer, traversing the globe between stage, screen, and booth for almost four decades. From Shakespeare to musical theater, comedy juggling and magic, fronting a rock band to narrating audiobooks, Curt's skills are wide-ranging. With an aptitude for character voices and accents, Curt's storytelling abilities transport the listener and transform text from imagination into reality. In 2019, Curt was selected as Mark Twain Narrator scholarship winner to the Hear Now Festival in Kansas City and mentored by the "Ginger Yoda" and prolific narrator, Sean Allen Pratt.

About Grover Gardner

Alexander Adams is an award-winning audiobook narrator. He is best known for his reading of the novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He has also narrated numerous books by Jonathan Kellerman and John Grisham.

About Eunice Wong

Eunice Wong is a classically trained actor who works in professional theatres across the United States and in New York City, as well as having appeared on HBO, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, and in various independent films..

About Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith is an American artist and the award-winning creator of the bestselling comic books Bone and RASL. Smith has received numerous awards, among them ten Eisner Awards and eleven Harvey Awards. In 1995 and 1996, he won the National Cartoonists Society’s award for Comic Books. Smith helped found the annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus festival, which debuted in 2015, and he serves as its artistic director. He lives in Columbus, OH.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shayna

Pros: - Treasure trove of first hand accounts and interviews - Great read for those interested in comic con history Cons: - The loose organization of quotes were too loose. More headings other than the occasions "Part One" sectioning would have made it easier to follow. - The quotes chosen from differen......more

Goodreads review by William

An incredibly well researched, entertaining and informative look at the origins of SDCC and how it's grown into the power house that it is today. Featuring interviews with those still alive who helped found and run the convention, you can feel the love for Fandom and for the convention itself, it's......more

Fantastic oral history of the creation of San Diego comic con. Excellent history and interviews. If you have any remote interest on what goes on behind the scenes of a comic convention I strongly recommend this book.......more

Goodreads review by Jasmine

A little repetitive and some quotes felt a bit redundant but otherwise a great read, felt like a little treasure trove of inside secrets and anecdotes.......more

Goodreads review by David

I’ve never been to Comic-Con, and after reading this I probably never will. The time when I would have really enjoyed it is long gone. But this massive book is a compelling story about a bunch of geeks and weirdos that created something truly special for themselves and eventually brought the masses......more


Quotes

“Epic.” Los Angeles Magazine

“A loving oral history.” Chicago Tribune

“A fantastic, exhaustive look at the rise of geek fandom and culture over the past century through the lens of San Diego Comic-Con.” Boing Boing

“An essential and defining resource of the forces that have transformed popular culture over the course of the past century.”  Fangoria

“Put this on your bookshelf to thumb through to remind yourself of where fandom has been and where it could go from here.”  Multiversity Comics

"The multitude of perspectives arguably gives you a much better overall feel for what it was really like than just plain cold hard facts could ever have done.” Forces of Geek

“Finally! An unexpurgated history of Comic-Con and fandom that comes directly from the horse’s mouth…as pleasantly chaotic as the con itself.” Scott Shaw!, Comic-Con cofounder and cartoonist

“This amazing book about the secret origins of the Comic-Con is a fascinating deep-dive into the first generation of pop cultural fandom! (Full disclosure: I’m in it too.)” Kevin Smith, filmmaker, actor, comedian, and comic-book writer

“These wild and wooly origin stories of San Diego Comic-Con and fandom take us back to the thrilling days of yesteryear…when San Diego Comic-Con was the ramshackle creation of first-generation fans, teenagers, and stoners. All of this makes for a colorful oral history, especially from the mouths of the people who lived it firsthand.” Rob Sakowitz author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture