IEEE Spectrum July, 2010 - 24

The King of
ComiC-Con

in his spare time, software
engineer John rogers
presides over one of the
world's largest and strangest
conventions

T

he last thing you want to do is
rankle a group of Star Wars stormtroopers. The annual geekfest
known as Comic-Con International
is not only a four-day exploration
of the intersection of science fiction,
comics, science, and pop culture; with
125 000 attendees, it's one of the largest
conventions in the world, requiring
heroic feats of engineering to keep the
lines moving and the fans happy. Luckily,
the guy at its helm is an engineer.
By day, John Rogers is a mildmannered director of engineering
at an undisclosed San Diego
telecommunications company. But
on the third week in July, he sheds
his suit and tie and morphs into
the president of Comic-Con. You'll
probably spot him wandering the
San Diego Convention Center, past a
parade of Jokers, Supermen, and blueskinned Na'vis, walkie-talkie in hand.
24

NA * iEEE SpEctrum * july 2010

"My job at Comic-Con is all about
managing crowds and people,"
Rogers says, but a list of his other
responsibilities seems endless: avoiding
empty seats in sold-out programs,
arranging quick entrances and exits for
panelists and audiences, pinpointing
how many badge scanners and dataentry people are needed, and honoring
fans who have lined up early. "If you're
passionate enough to show up at dawn
for a panel, then we have to work hard to
make sure it happens for you," he says.
Rogers has done the honors
since 1986. He devotes "more hours
a month than I care to calculate" to
managing the US $7 million budget,
a staff of 20 full-time employees, and
3000 volunteers. He also oversees
CCI's San Francisco-based sister
conventions, WonderCon and
Alternative Press Expo, which
together attract another 40 000
attendees and 400 volunteers.
This year, Rogers is electronically
streamlining the workflow by hiring
a programmer to develop custom
software that tracks where, when, and
which kind of security and signage
are needed throughout the convention
center's 57 200 square meters
(616 000 square feet). A database,

fronted by an Excel spreadsheet, links
the security shifts of the more than
300 daily guards with the 400-plus
daytime and evening events. Another
feature shows a detailed but changeable
map indicating sign placement
around artist tables, publishinghouse booths, and movie studio
kiosks. "As far as we know, nothing
exists like this today," Rogers says.
"There's not a lot of technology
or understanding of how you can
use computers to make the process
better," he adds. "If you look at the
convention industry, you'll see people
with binders that are 10 inches thick
with explanations of where to place
everything and position people."
Rogers began at Comic-Con as a
projectionist when he was in high school.
After graduating with a bachelor's in
computer science from the University
of San Diego in 1983, Rogers worked
steadily in computer engineering-
first for Sperry Corp., an electronics
firm that became part of Unisys Corp.,
and then as a software developer at
the now-defunct Simpact-before
embarking on his current job in 1995.
Initially a comics-centric convention
with science fiction and media
components, Comic-Con has seen an
increase in real-science programming,
in part because Rogers loves sci-fi,
programming director Eddie Ibrahim
was formerly a biologist, and treasurer
Mark Yturralde-a hardware
engineer who helped develop the
Comic-Con iPhone app-has a major
jones for anything space related.
"One of my fondest memories was
when we had people in to do Tesla
coil demos and talk about the science
behind it," says Rogers. "I have this
really cool picture of me sitting on top of
the coil at night, looking over the harbor,
and holding two rods with lightning
coming off of them."
-Susan Karlin
Comic-Con International
22-25 July 2010
http://www.comic-con.org
spectrum.ieee.org

DeniS poroy/ap photo

geek life
http://www.comic-con.org http://spectrum.ieee.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum July, 2010
