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| Celebrate geek times, come on! [image by Eric Mesa] |
So there I was, in the middle of a massive warehouse (Baltimore
Convention Center) filled with geeks and I couldn't help but ask myself
questions. And not easy Hawkeye vs. Green Arrow questions (Longbow Hunters
Green Arrow, duh) but larger, existential questions that were troubling my
soul. In the past year, I've been to 12 or 13 Cons, but this was my first
ComicCon and the differences are huge.
Let’s get this out of the way first: should you go to Baltimore ComicCon next year?
Dude, you need to be totally into comics. Novels, music, movies, and even comic-based movies don’t cut it. This is not San Diego where all those Hollywood suits stole my ComicCon, man. This is all comics, everywhere. And if that's your thing, welcome home.
Oh, and you have to spend the weekend rubbing butt to crotch with 10,000 other dudes that look like you. Still in? Of course you are, you love comix.
But here’s what I really want to write about: Should I go back to Baltimore ComicCon next year?
I go to about one Con a month as a performer and another one or two a year as an attendee. I’ve seen big, small, awesome, and forgettable, so I think that I have a good handle on what makes a good Con experience for me.
1) The Staff
At CapClave 2011 the staff got Sir Terry Pratchett as a surprise guest. A f’ing surprise unannounced guest! He came by on Saturday, sippin’ on gin and juice (I assume), and gave an hour-long interview to a packed hall. Word had leaked on Twitter and I-don’t-know-how-many people changed their plans and bought a day pass. CapClave was always cool, but the staff now should have your blind faith and trust.
2) The Details
MarsCon has an attention to detail like no other I’ve seen. In 2011, the theme was end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse. So what do they do? Decorate hallways, provide makeup artists to do you up like a zombie, theme panel discussions, continuity in the printed materials, mini-events where the staff shows up in scrubs to give inoculations of jello. Basically, every time I turned around I saw something unexpected and theme related. And their Con Suite is the best I have ever seen. No exaggeration. It is worth the price of admission for me.
3) The Attendees
Maybe it’s because it’s in the South, with Southern manners and all, but ConCarolinas has some of the most outgoing people I’ve met. There are nice people everywhere and I feel very fortunate to have made some close, true friends from almost all of my Con visits, but there is something about the ConCarolinas crowd. There’s an undercurrent of glee that I haven’t felt elsewhere, and that feeling is contagious.
4) The Events
With midsized-to-larger cons, there is often a feel like they went out of their way to provide a little something for everyone. But after your little something, there’s nothing else there that interests you. RavenCon has always felt as though they filled out every idea. There isn’t just one obligatory gaming/steampunk/ghost/anime/crafting/podcasting panel, there are a bunch, well spread out, evolving from year to year. In other words, there are constantly things to do no matter what you’re interested in.
Let’s get this out of the way first: should you go to Baltimore ComicCon next year?
Dude, you need to be totally into comics. Novels, music, movies, and even comic-based movies don’t cut it. This is not San Diego where all those Hollywood suits stole my ComicCon, man. This is all comics, everywhere. And if that's your thing, welcome home.
Oh, and you have to spend the weekend rubbing butt to crotch with 10,000 other dudes that look like you. Still in? Of course you are, you love comix.
But here’s what I really want to write about: Should I go back to Baltimore ComicCon next year?
I go to about one Con a month as a performer and another one or two a year as an attendee. I’ve seen big, small, awesome, and forgettable, so I think that I have a good handle on what makes a good Con experience for me.
1) The Staff
At CapClave 2011 the staff got Sir Terry Pratchett as a surprise guest. A f’ing surprise unannounced guest! He came by on Saturday, sippin’ on gin and juice (I assume), and gave an hour-long interview to a packed hall. Word had leaked on Twitter and I-don’t-know-how-many people changed their plans and bought a day pass. CapClave was always cool, but the staff now should have your blind faith and trust.
2) The Details
MarsCon has an attention to detail like no other I’ve seen. In 2011, the theme was end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse. So what do they do? Decorate hallways, provide makeup artists to do you up like a zombie, theme panel discussions, continuity in the printed materials, mini-events where the staff shows up in scrubs to give inoculations of jello. Basically, every time I turned around I saw something unexpected and theme related. And their Con Suite is the best I have ever seen. No exaggeration. It is worth the price of admission for me.
3) The Attendees
Maybe it’s because it’s in the South, with Southern manners and all, but ConCarolinas has some of the most outgoing people I’ve met. There are nice people everywhere and I feel very fortunate to have made some close, true friends from almost all of my Con visits, but there is something about the ConCarolinas crowd. There’s an undercurrent of glee that I haven’t felt elsewhere, and that feeling is contagious.
4) The Events
With midsized-to-larger cons, there is often a feel like they went out of their way to provide a little something for everyone. But after your little something, there’s nothing else there that interests you. RavenCon has always felt as though they filled out every idea. There isn’t just one obligatory gaming/steampunk/ghost/anime/crafting/podcasting panel, there are a bunch, well spread out, evolving from year to year. In other words, there are constantly things to do no matter what you’re interested in.
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| Do awesome costumes equal exciting events? [image by Rodney Brown] |
So, will I be returning to Baltimore ComicCon?
The Staff: There were a bunch of folks running around in neon shirts. The lady who found my press pass was very helpful and it all seemed to unfold as planned. Having been there, I felt no soul, no spirit, no identity.
The Details: Really, Baltimore ComicCon is a massive room full of people who want to sell you some pretty cool stuff and I bought some of it. The tables were set up according to spec and everybody was hawking their wares. It was functional.
The Attendees: This blows my mind, I know around 18 people who were there, vendors and attendees, and I only saw one. I walked up and down every aisle hoping to run into some friends. Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect that considering the size of the Con, but man, I know they were there. I saw their Facebook photos. But the crowd was cool, methodically shuffling about.
The Events: There were panels, quite a few actually. I didn’t get into any, because at first I couldn’t find them, and then I saw the lines. Hey! Those are ComicCon lines!
So, should you go to Baltimore ComicCon? Totally. I discovered Welcome to Creepyville and there is a ton of cool stuff to look at (including most of Powergirl’s breasts - AZ Powergirl says the "window" serves a functional purpose). I legitimately love huge events like this. I try to go to the sold out opening weekend summer movies because they are one of the few truly communal group experiences left for us these days. Go forth and be with your people!
Will I go back? Probably not. I like couches and meeting new people. I like a little quiet between the crazy. I like to learn stuff, do stuff, and make stuff more than I like to get stuff. I’m glad I went though, and someday hope to get to SDCC, DragonCon, and GenCon, but for now, I’m looking forward to CapClave 2012 in October. Those guys can put on a damn fine low key, high quality Con.
The Staff: There were a bunch of folks running around in neon shirts. The lady who found my press pass was very helpful and it all seemed to unfold as planned. Having been there, I felt no soul, no spirit, no identity.
The Details: Really, Baltimore ComicCon is a massive room full of people who want to sell you some pretty cool stuff and I bought some of it. The tables were set up according to spec and everybody was hawking their wares. It was functional.
The Attendees: This blows my mind, I know around 18 people who were there, vendors and attendees, and I only saw one. I walked up and down every aisle hoping to run into some friends. Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect that considering the size of the Con, but man, I know they were there. I saw their Facebook photos. But the crowd was cool, methodically shuffling about.
The Events: There were panels, quite a few actually. I didn’t get into any, because at first I couldn’t find them, and then I saw the lines. Hey! Those are ComicCon lines!
So, should you go to Baltimore ComicCon? Totally. I discovered Welcome to Creepyville and there is a ton of cool stuff to look at (including most of Powergirl’s breasts - AZ Powergirl says the "window" serves a functional purpose). I legitimately love huge events like this. I try to go to the sold out opening weekend summer movies because they are one of the few truly communal group experiences left for us these days. Go forth and be with your people!
Will I go back? Probably not. I like couches and meeting new people. I like a little quiet between the crazy. I like to learn stuff, do stuff, and make stuff more than I like to get stuff. I’m glad I went though, and someday hope to get to SDCC, DragonCon, and GenCon, but for now, I’m looking forward to CapClave 2012 in October. Those guys can put on a damn fine low key, high quality Con.
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