Conventions: The Good | The Bad | The Smelly

My bud, Alex, helping at my booth at Phoenix Comicon 2014.

Conventions (cons) are the some of the biggest things to happen during the year for most nerds. There is a convention (or Expo in the case of video games) for all types of people. Everything from comics to anime have their own event. Some gatherings are geared to one singular franchise. (Minecraft, Star Trek and Image Comics to name a few.) If you have yet to attend a convention, especially ones the scale of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), it can be extremely overwhelming. Having attended various conventions myself as a guest, professional or exhibitor, I feel inclined to share my thoughts on the whole idea.

After five years, and twelve conventions, I have grown to have a love/hate relationship with the convention scene. Now, most of my cons have been of the comic variety, but I have also been to a few video game expos in my day as well. Namely, I have been to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2005 and 2006 as well as the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX East) in 2011.

Let us dive into the good, the bad and smelly side of conventions

GOOD

- Conventions are a great place to be enveloped in the things you love and relate to. I remember walking into my first comic convention and seeing a life-size Spawn statue. I was so excited because at the time, Spawn was my favorite (anti) hero. Not only can you find vendors that will have just what you are looking for, a convention is a great place to discover new things to dive into.

- There is something special about walking around a convention with your friends. It brings you back to the days when you would walk around the mall endlessly as a teenager, but now your favorite store is the size of a mall. A convention is a great place to go to with a group of friends. You can even meet some really cool people there. Some of my best friends now, I have met at conventions.

- One trend that I am seeing more and more is little kids being exposed to this growing community.  Now, more than ever, is this nerd/geek culture accessible thanks to numerous movies, television shows, video games and other media. Some of my favorite cosplays I saw recently at Phoenix Comicon 2014 were when whole family had a theme.

- Do you want an original 1996 Power Rangers Megazord? How about a replica lightsaber? Well, you are in luck! Most conventions have these in spades. Not only that, but for a premium you can get all the retro or limited edition stuff to add to your collection. Personally, I am a collector of Gundam models and anime conventions are a great place to find said items. If you can't find a certain issue, toy, game or item at your local comic shop, chances are you will find them here.

- Conventions are a great place to meet you favorite artists and writers as well as the various celebrity. While I am not completely sold that the latter should be there (more on that later), I think the former two are a great thing. I know, from an invited guest's perspective, meeting fans of my work is my personal favorite aspect. It allows me to get feedback and meet the people who allow my work to grow and flourish. This is something I will always be thankful of.

BAD

- Money. Why is money bad? Because EVERYTHING about a convention (minus smaller city ones) is expensive. Ticket to the event: $80 - $200, hotel for the weekend: $600 -$800, food while at the convention center: $9.50 for a hotdog, autograph with your favorite celeb: $35 - $100, spending money for prints/comics/toys/art: $200+. As you can see, this is a weekend that some families will spend more on than Christmas.

- Be prepared to hurry up and wait. If you do go to a convention that is large enough to have celebrities (or popular artists.writers) visit, and that is something you want to experience, you will be waiting a lot. Want to go to their panel? Get in line. Photo op? Get in line. Autograph? Get in line. Hell, even trying to buy merchandise of their to sign can take a while. Now don't get me wrong, the staff of the convention do their best to make it go smoothly. But 600 people in line can only go so fast.

- Celebrities. There, I said it. Why do I say that celebrities are a bad thing for conventions? Well they aren't and yet they are. Depends on the convention really. When you go to SDCC, you expect three things; to spend a lot of money, wait in lines and see celebrities. At this point it is a given. The reason this is a negative is because it makes the conventions that used to be focused on comics and their medium, less about said medium. Now don't get me wrong, I don't care if a celebrity goes to a convention. I just don't like it when a person comes to a convention and charges $80+ for a 3 second photo. THREE SECONDS! THREE! Ok, woo, I am calm. While this frustrates me, I will admit that I am a bit of a hypocrite. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Amell from Arrow as well as John Barrowman from Dr. Who (and Arrow). I was starstruck and they were awesome. But, if that hadn't of happened, my con wouldn't have been worse off. I guess I just prefer my comic conventions to be about comics. Speaking of which...

John Barrowman and I

- It is hard to find comics at comic conventions (again, depends on the con). While comic stores will have their set up. Most places sell toys, clothing, prints, posters, props, movies and other stuff. If can be hard to find actual comics. Harder still is to find independent or local books. You will find a metric shit-ton of talented artists, just very few books. I have a lot of respect for people who publish their own books. If you ever need suggestions on some awesome work from Arizona, I have tons to recommend.

SMELLY

- Be prepared for a lot of various smells. Some good, some hunger inducing, and the polar opposite of the previous two choices. While you may be overwhelmed with what you see, you other big sense will be overwhelmed too. Let me also clear any misconception, MOST nerds are not smelly. Some, however, are. Please do not be the later. I recommend throwing some deodorant and cologne/perfume (or at least body spray) into your bag for those times you don't feel so fresh. There is a good chance you don't smell so fresh. I will be the first too admit that cons, when at full attendance, get very hot and muggy inside. 

EXTRA

There is one thing that I feel needed it's own dedicated section. Cosplay. I respect the people who take hours to make costumes for their favorite franchise/character. What I don't respect, and will report (or interfere if necessary) is disrespect towards those people. I don't care if that gorgeous woman is dressed in a revealing outfit. Do not... let me say it again... DO NOT touch her unless you ask for permission. If that permission is granted, be respectful. Cosplay is not consent for you to be handsy. This also applies to male cosplayers as well. Being an ass is not limited to touching. Be mindful of how you talk to cosplayers. You may not like their work, but they put hours, sometimes dozens, into their work. No need to be a jerk about it. If you don't like it, don't take a picture. If you don't like it, just keep moving and go to the stuff you do like. There is never a need to be a douche bag about it.  

So there you have it. My thoughts and tips regarding conventions. Even with the negative points, I find the comradery and atmosphere to be to much to give up. So, if you decide to attend your local convention, I hope you have a good time!