Rob Salkowitz is a professed comic nerd as well as a business writer, and he draws on both sides of his personality in Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture, a tour of the San Diego Comic-Con, the largest and most enduring comic book convention in the world. The book succeeds at telling the story of the comic book industry--past, present and possible futures--mainly due to Salkowitz's obvious passion. His love for comics and their creators, both independent and corporate, shines through every chapter.
Each chapter is organized around a day of the convention during his 2011 visit; smaller essays within each section address topics from the spread of comic book characters into other forms of entertainment media to the evolution of Comic-Con from a small gathering of the faithful to a media circus spanning an entire long weekend. Salkowitz also manages to discuss the business of comics itself, from indie artists who create for the love of the medium to brash young creators who write comics with an eye (or two) toward getting movie or television deals.
The final chapter discusses four possible future paths the comics industry might take based on current trends. Salkowitz brings the educated insight of a longtime fan into a compelling analysis that suggests comics might not always be at the top of the media game--and explains why that might not be a cause for grief, even within the industry. --Rob Le Febvre, freelance writer and editor