Conventions & Cosplay
Professor Alan and Emily talk about their experiences at comic and other geek-related conventions and gatherings, as well as the times they have dressed up in costume! Con factoids, con histories, con advice, dressing up to attend a con, con funk, and con crud are all discussed ... in the shortbox!Send e-mail feedback to relativelygeeky@gmail.com
You can follow Alan on twitter @ProfessorAlan
Promo: Trentus Magnus Punches Reality
Link #1: Mur Lafferty's web site
Link #2: Ohayocon
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I went out to Emerald City ComiCon both in 2012 and 2013 (Evie, my Remakes co-host, attends every year, so it was a great chance for us to finally meet and hang out). When I went in 2012, it was fantastic. Big enough to keep a person busy for the weekend, but not so big that it felt overwhelming. Great panel content, great floor layout. Just a wonderful con. In 2013, they doubled the size, flooded it with people, and it was a chaotic mess, and I hear it was even worse this year.
ReplyDeleteI find this is happening a lot as the larger regional cons are trying to over-inflate themselves so as to create alternatives to ComiCon, and try to ride on the tails of its publicity. C2E2 in Chicago was a very quaint, quiet con wen I went in 2011, but went the way of ECCC when I returned this year. It's not that it's a bad experience, as I still had fun, but I find the larger a con gets, the less of it you feel you get to experience, and there's such a mass of people that you don't get those same moments of bonding with strangers as you do from the smaller or mid size cons.
I think I'm skipping out on a big con next year, though I do find they make convenient converging points for get togethers among the internet folk. Got a nice little group together in Seattle, and some really large gatherings in Chicago each year, and those are the experiences I treasure, even more than the cons.
I have done the actual ComiCon. My dad managed a comic shop for nearly two decades, and they'd pack up a van and drive out to the big shows a few times each year. The year he decided to retire, he asked if I'd like to come out to San Diego just to see what it's like, and despite not being much of a comic reader at the time, I went and... let's just say it's what made me a comic reader. :) That was 2001, and we went again in 2002 (his first time just attending instead as a retailer), and while it was massive, their growth has been pretty steady over the years, so they really know how to handle their crowds and floorspace more than the others, which are trying to get too big too fast. (Also, massive cons are awe inducing at first, but a bit annoying after a couple years of it).
I do also attend the local spring and fall cons each year, which are nice and quiet, and a good place for local folk to catch up a couple times a year. They make for a great afternoon instead of a mapped out weekend.