My decision
made me a little sad. I enjoy pop culture conventions. I like
getting books signed by authors. It’s fun to catch previews for the next
blockbuster movie or tv series. It’s entertaining to see some of the
clever and detailed costumes fans come up with. Every once in a while I
find something – a book, a t-shirt, a poster – that I or someone I know will appreciate.
I would miss that part of the con-going experience.
So I was
really happy to find out that other cities and places are having Comicons, too,
like Phoenix and Denver and Las Vegas. I
went to Phoenix Comicon this year. I
chose it partly because of who the author guests were and partly because I have
a friend who lives near there and I didn’t need to stay in a hotel.
Smaller is definitely the way to go. Phoenix
didn’t have the big publishers or studios there with the latest arcs and
trailers of upcoming programs, but there were plenty of celebrities and authors and all stuff like that there worth attending for. The venue
was big enough to support a vast dealer room; the food choices were better than
anything I ever found at the San Diego con; and I was free, with occasional
exceptions, to walk through the halls and down the aisles without having to
slow my pace to a snail’s crawl as I collided with hordes of storm troopers and
superheroes. The crowds in Phoenix on Thursday and Friday reminded me of
Disneyland on a rainy Wednesday in February, which is not bad at all. The
weekend was a little worse, and I did have to stand in line a couple of times
for more popular authors, but it was still never as bad as San Diego.
As usual, it was amusing to see who was dressed as whom. Here’s a partial list of what I saw:
- Lots of Dr Whos, male and female
- Assorted superheroes and villains, male and female, including Loki (male and female) and Bane, whom I have not previously seen at cons.
- A couple of nuns, male and female
- Many steampunk and neo-Victorian ensembles
- A few guys without shirts, not even painted green like Hulk. I don’t know who they were supposed to be but it’s a fashion choice they ought to rethink for aesthetic reasons. Same with the handful of people who thought underwear = costume.
- Storm troopers, bounty hunters, and Jedi knights
- Zombies and zombie killers
- Furries
- Much Starfleet crew
- Lots of “Carry On” shirts with variations
The highlight for me,
naturally, was getting books signed, followed closely by attending panels to
hear authors speak. I did pretty well
acting normal when getting books signed.
I think I might be getting used to it!
I even had a bit of a conversation about steampunk tropes with Cherie
Priest.
So, normally I would
recommend Phoenix Comicon and other small versions of same, but maybe I won't. I don’t want them to become so
popular that they get overcrowded.
Not too crowded . . .
. . . but still a little weird.
Brandon Sanderson
Cherie Priest
Terry Brooks
Timothy Zahn and Michael Stackpole
Frank Beddor
Invader Zim and Grr
Indiana Jones
Hulk
Spidey
No clue
This isn't the princess you're looking for.
Two of my favorites: Ming the Merciless and Prince Vultan
A plethora of Doctors
Steampunk!
Steampunk!
Steampunk!
Steampunk!
It got a little more crowded on the weekend.
The dealer room had everything from light sabers . . .
. . . to fezes. What more could you want?
2 comments:
Did you dress up? Did you patronize Fez-o-Rama? Indiana jones looks like he's gone to seed. Also, did you know they now have a comic con in salt lake?! I know some people going this year. Apparently some cool famous people will be there? You should go some time.
I feel like hardly anyone ever dresses up as the ninth doctor. There are always a million tens and elevens running around, a few earlier incarnations, but I barely ever see nine. Hm. I hope you bought a fez. Also I kind of want to go to one of these cons but I don't know enough of the people there because I don't read very much sci-fi/fantasy. Hmmmm.
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