by Courtney Goodrum
edited by J. Schleusner
Ming Chen at Dragon Con is always having a good time. The podcaster, webmaster and Comic Book Men personality is also one of the convention’s biggest fans. He has built a career around comics, podcasting, pop culture and traveling the convention circuit.
During this year’s Dragon Con, Courtney sat down with Ming to talk about his love of comics, memorable celebrity encounters and why the convention feels like home.
Still a Fan After All These Years
Courtney: Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat with me. I do have to say that we always have so much fun whenever you’re here. You are always having the best time, and everyone around you has the best time too.
Ming Chen: If you can’t find a good time at Dragon Con, you’re probably not living life correctly.
They say, “This is the happiest place on Earth?” No. It’s Dragon Con. This is my Disney.
Courtney: You’ve been attending cons for years, both as a fan and as somebody people come to meet. What is something about conventions that still makes you feel like a fan, as opposed to just a guest?
Ming: I’ve been going since I was a kid. I was a fan waiting in line for celebrities, buying artwork, looking for comic books and buying toys. That was awesome.
Then I got the privilege to be on the other side of the table, where people wanted to meet me. I remember waiting in lines thinking, “When am I going to see this guy?” You’re nervous and you want a good interaction.
When I got to the other side, I thought, “That’s what I want to give to everybody who comes to my table.”
I learned from Kevin Smith. Kevin makes everyone feel like they’re family, and I thought, “That’s what I want to do.”
People ask me, “Now that you’re doing cons, are you still a fan? Do you still fanboy over stuff?”
It’s even worse now!
We have access to green rooms, and it’s weird being in a room and seeing all these celebrities together. It’s like this fever dream of pop culture. Sometimes you’re like, “Am I awake? What’s going on right now?”
It’s pretty amazing, and I’m really lucky I’m able to have that kind of access.
I love conventions. When I was going as a kid, they weren’t like Dragon Con. There weren’t nerds everywhere. People weren’t wearing Star Wars shirts and X-Men shirts.
It was kind of lonely. You would read a cool comic or find a cool TV show, and there was nobody to talk to about it.
That’s what nerds want to do. They want to find something cool and share it with other people.
Now you can literally walk into the Marriott and have thousands of people who know what you’re talking about. It’s pretty awesome.
It’s like home. It’s definitely home.
Last night we were at the rave pretty late, and my friend said, “Oh man, I’ve got to go home.”
I said, “You are home!”
She still left. Come on! You can sleep after this is over. Sleep on Tuesday.
When Celebrities Surprise You
Courtney: You’ve met an amazing number of people through Comic Book Men, conventions, podcasting and everything else you’re doing these days. Who has completely surprised you — as in, they were not the way you expected them to be?
Ming: That’s a great question.
I think the one who intimidated me the most was Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Most people know him from Supernatural and The Walking Dead.
On screen, he plays a badass.
I remember he was at a con outside smoking a cigarette, and I thought, “I’m going to say hi.”
It took me a little while to work up the courage. I walked over and said, “I hate to bother you. I love your work. Walking Dead is great.”
He looks over and says, “Ming, I watch your show, man!”
He started talking about the episode where we had Ralph Macchio on. He got very detailed, and I realized, “Okay, he really watches the show.”
It was pretty mind-blowing.
He was like, “Man, I’m a fan like you. I watch nerdy stuff too.”
I had thought he was too badass for nerd stuff, but it turns out he’s one of us for sure.
Malcolm McDowell was the same thing. He plays these very serious, evil characters. I moderated a panel of his and was very intimidated.
Within 30 seconds, he’s busting my balls. He’s making fun of me. He was hilarious.
I thought, “Oh, these guys are actors. They’re just goofballs.”
The other one who turned out to be even better than I hoped was Stan Lee.
You’ve seen Stan on TV with “Excelsior!” and “True Believers!” I wondered, “Is that an act? Is he really that cool?”
He was even better.
Again, within about 30 seconds, he starts making fun of me and my friends.
I was like, “Stan’s a ballbuster!”
Who doesn’t want to get made fun of by Stan Lee? That’s a badge of honor, for sure.
When Loving Pop Culture Becomes a Career
Courtney: You’ve made a career out of things that probably didn’t seem like a job when you got started — websites, comics, conventions and the celebrity banners you do, which are amazing. Was there a moment when you realized, “Wow, this is my career. This is what I do?”
Ming: I still haven’t realized that yet.
When I was young, especially as a kid, the first question people always asked was, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
I had no idea.
Eventually I got so sick of that question that I started answering honestly.
“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“I want to read comic books. I want to play video games. I want to watch Star Wars over and over.”
Of course, I got laughed at.
They were like, “That’s silly. No one is ever going to pay you to read comic books. No one is going to pay you because you have great knowledge of pop culture. No one is going to pay you to play video games.”
They were wrong.
I ended up on a TV show where they wanted me to talk about comic books and toys. And now there are kids making millions on Twitch playing video games.
Even now, my mom still wants me to get a real job.
I realized life is short. You really should be having fun all the time.
If you do something with fun and passion, you’ll find a way to support yourself. Again, I learned that from Kevin Smith.
It’s nice to not wake up dreading the rest of the day.
I love that I do something where it doesn’t feel like work.
Ming Chen at Dragon Con: Why It Feels Like Home
Courtney: Anytime you see you, you always have the biggest smile on your face and you’re always having the best time. It really brings joy to us as your fans.
Ming: Well, it is Dragon Con!
It ends on Monday, and the next day I’m already planning for the next year. I’m looking forward to it while remembering the past week.
It really is one of the greatest things ever.
I tell people who are thinking about coming, “Come on. It’ll change your life.” It’s truly life-changing.
This is my ninth year now, but I think my favorite thing is bringing someone for the first time and seeing their face as they walk into the Marriott.
They’re like, “Whoa.”
Then you take them around and show them the little things you’ve learned over the years.
It’s pretty magical here.
Only at Dragon Con
Courtney: Since you’ve been here all these years, what is the most “only at Dragon Con” thing you’ve ever seen?
Ming: Oh, man. It’s such a long list.
There was a group of about 50 inflatable dinosaurs dancing to Flo Rida’s “Low.” I had to videotape that.
Then there are hundreds of people dressed up as Mrs. Roper, which I’m going to do today. I’m actually going to jump in.
I’m not really a huge cosplayer. People do it so well that I’ve never really jumped in. But today I packed two cosplays. Who am I?
I’m joining a Jurassic Park cosplay, and I’m going to do Mrs. Roper.
I also found out about kilt blowing a couple of years ago. Last year I was watching it and thought, “Instead of watching, you should jump in.”
So this year I got to wear the kilt. I did it last night. It was awesome.
I haven’t felt that adrenaline rush in a while.
Not only am I going to do it every year, I’m going to get more friends to join me.
“Hey, I’m going to stand on stage and a lady is going to blow a leaf blower up my kilt.”
Okay. Cool!
Even just seeing all these cosplayers in one place — you can’t find that kind of concentration and quality anywhere else.
That’s only at Dragon Con for sure.
After nine years of attending, Ming Chen at Dragon Con is clearly more than just another celebrity guest. He still approaches the convention as a fan, whether he’s joining a cosplay group, trying kilt blowing or introducing a first-timer to the Marriott.
If Ming Chen Opened a Dragon Con Shop…
Courtney: If you had to open a shop inside Dragon Con, but you could only stock three things, what are you selling?
Ming: Good question.
Any of the Marriott carpet — preferably remnants of the original Marriott carpet. Some people still have pieces.
I’d sell pieces of the carpet.
What else would sell immediately?
Definitely comfortable shoes.
You know how Disney has a FastPass? I’d probably sell those to get into the bigger parties. People might complain about it, but if I was a true capitalist, I’d do it!
And if there was a way to bottle your experience and make it an elixir, I would do that.
Whenever you were having a bad day, you’d take a sip and get that Dragon Con feeling again.
Dragon Con-ade or something.
Just something to get those warm fuzzies.
And air conditioning, I guess.
Give out those little fans — fans with the carpet print on them, for sure.
A Shared Universe PodcaStudio.
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