The Rose City Comic Con Experience

The Rose City Comic Con Experience

Rose City Comic Con turned out to be a lot bigger than I imagined it would be, yet still retained a comfortable feel about it. But, then again, my only other Con Experience was a first year event called Cherry City Comic Con, and that was this year as well. It's safe to say that I am definitely not a Con Veteran like so many of my friends and readers. So yes, this was my first "big" con experience and to be honest, it was a amazing. Hot, but amazing. And not hot like, "Oh, that's so hot", but more like swap-ass, need to apply more deodorant six times a day hot.

There is so much; to do and to see; the people, the Cosplay and of course, the comics. I didn't know where to start. I knew I had some comics I wanted to get signed, a few books that I wanted to buy and only one celebrity I wanted to meet, but outside of that, I simply wanted to take in the experience. And that I did.

One of the biggest surprises for me was how time seemed to speed up. The Con opened at 10:00 AM, and my wife and I were in the door by 10:15 AM. The next thing I knew, it was 12:48 PM. How the hell did two and half hours just pass I asked myself. Einstein was right, time is relative.

The Overall Experience

All in all, for a public-phobic person, like me, the experience was still very much enjoyable.The people were friendly, the crowds were cheerful, although at times a they were a little pushy.

I learned quickly that if I wanted to get to something I had to act like I was in L.A. Traffic and just turn my blinker on and go. If you can't suppress your need for people respecting your personal bubble, you need to stay away from events like this. I truly enjoyed this experience, although I missed the one event I was actually looking forward to; the Wil Wheaton panel, but that was my own fault as I lost track of time.

The Comics:

The comics were plentiful. Not only did Rose City have well over a dozen vendors selling comics, Dark Horse had a giant, center of the con, booth that was 360° of Dark Horse goodness and the artists all were selling, and in some cases were giving away their comics. Yup... That's right, giving them away. This is how I got Nail Biter #6 two weeks before the release date, from Joshua Williamson who was simply happy that I was such a fan of the series. By the way Josh happens to be a really cool guy and easy to talk with.

Here's the story of how I got Nail Biter #6. I go up to his booth to get all five issues of my Nail Biter books signed and we are talking.

Me: "Man I simply love this series."

JW: "Thanks. I'm glad you're liking it."

My Wife: "No, I don't think you understand, he [refering to me] tells everyone about this book."

JW: "Oh wow. That is so awesome."

Me: "The only thing that sucks about the book is..."

At this point, Josh's face looks concerned.

Me: "...having to wait to a month between issues."

Josh then gets big smile on his face.

JW: "Well then, do I have a big surprise for you."

He then digs through several boxes and pulls out a comic. Not just any comic, but Nail Biter #6, not due out in a few weeks. Suddenly I become a six year old who just discovered what Santa left for me under the Christmas tree as he signs the comic and then hands it over to me and says, "There you go. Thanks for being a fan."

And this is how so many of the artists and writers were. They were just awesome. By the way, as a side note, Josh Williams signs the Nail Biter comics in red ink. It is disturbingly visceral.

I only bought five comics that day; because they were five for a dollar. Of course they were all Hulk comics, cause well, that's how I roll. My wife convinced me of this this early in the day. This con was a chance to buy things I can't get in my LCS or find online really easy and that I shouldn't blow my budget on comics, but rather on the things I wanted that weren't comics; a gray hulk action figure, a hulk coffee cup, signatures if need be and things like that. And that is what I did.

The Artists:

Alex Maleev was my first stop. I am such a fan of his work and as I mentioned above, he was one of the artists that was so awesome and giving. When I approached his table he was already talking to someone.

The conversation took a long time and after he was done with the conversation he said that he wasn't signing until the official signing time tomorrow. My sad face ensue, but I understood. But Maleev was awesome, as I said.

He said, "You know what, you waited a long time, I will sign your comics." As he signed my comics, all five of them for free, I looked through his prints and ended up buying a Moon Knight water color print, shown in the photo on the right, which he posed for without hesitation.

Most of the artists and writers were like that; giving, respectful, and gracious of their time and energy. They came across as being lucky to have fans at all and took the time to express their gratitude for the fans they had. These artists and writers included Jeff Parker, Josh Fialkov, Cat Farris, Greg Rucka and so many others. Humble is the word I would use to describe these awesome people.

And I am grateful for the humbleness of these great talents in the industry and their willingness to connect with their fans.

I also got two books signed by Tony Moore, but he charged $5 for each book, and was so busy drawing insanely expensive custom pieces for other people that he barely even looked up. I actually only spoke to his handler. But I am not focused on that experience. I am focused on all of the other positive experiences I had here.

The Panels:
The one panel I wanted to see I missed because I lost track of time. This was the Wil Wheaton panel. I vow to see it next year. But the lines for "big" panels were long, and you had to wait in line for an hour or more before the panel started if you wanted to attend because there was not enough seating for the volume of people who wanted to sit in on the panel. So next year I know to plan around that.

The Cosplay:

With all of the hype about about sexual harassment and hypersensitivity over over-sexuality of characters in Cosplay I was actually expecting multiple instance of guys being thrown to ground and beaten to within an inch of their lives for groping women and the con being filled with mostly naked Cosplayers. The reality was nothing, if not 180° opposite of that.

While there were a couple of ladies dressed as Slave Leia and a few others who chose to dress a little provocatively, but there was for the most part, just awesome people dressing awesomely and oddly there was not any controversy, contrary to what the blogs and media sites try to lead us to believe.

Everyone I asked allowed me to take a photo with them and they were very willing to allow you to touch, if you asked. If they had said no, I would have moved on. But the key here was to ask and not assume. I had several photos with ladies and when I asked if I could put my arm around them their response was; "Of course." But I did not assume.

This air of willingness was likely because there was air of respect all around the event and that air of respect bred a sense of community between Cosplayers and the fans. Cosplayers weren't slut'n it up and the fans weren't perv'n out. We were one community with a single goal in mind, to have fun. If we do that respectfully, then there aren't any problem, and Rose City Comic Con proved it could be done.

This sense of community and respect was also attributed to people not being so damn sensitive. Even when I pointed to my chest and told a group of ladies that I loved their uniforms, they didn't assume that I was telling them I loved how it made their breasts look. They knew that my intention was say that that I loved that their normal looking cheerleader uniforms that had Hydra across the chest. I found it funny and loved the humor their costumes conveyed. Hydra cheerleaders, come on, that's funny. Hail Hydra.

This mutual respect across the board made for a positive atmosphere across the con and that made the con all that more enjoyable for everyone involved.

My favorite Cosplay of the day was The Dude and Maude as seen below. A very gracious couple that were absolutely happy to be approached for photos, but that was because I was respectful and asked.

I was Cosplaying in my own way as by wearing the shirt I was wearing. In case you can't read it, it says, "I'm the dude man. - Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski". This movie has an oddly cult-like following and as a result people were frequently commenting on my shirt. In one interaction a guy says to me out of the blue;

Stranger: "You're Lebowski man, I'm the Dude."
Me: "Yeah, well, you know, that's like your opinion man."
Stranger: He simply busts out laughing at that point.

That was human interaction that started with something I was wearing. That was my intent by wearing the shirt. See I see Cosplay as being about some more than just an elaborate costume. It's about what you're wearing relating to people. In my case, many people are fans of "The Big Lebowski", and by me interacting with people who comment and show their love of the movie, I was, in a way, Cosplaying.

The Celebrities:
I didn't get to meet any celebrities, but I did get to see the one celebrity I wanted to meet; Wil Wheaton. He was doing a signing and while sitting their talking to a fan who was getting a book signed, Wil was laughing out loud at something that was said. This interaction I witnessed is why I wanted to meet him in person. Wil presents himself as a down to earth, real person. Well that and he is somewhat of a geek hero of mine.

But alas, meeting Wil Wheaton was not meant to be for me. There was not enough time in the day. That is why I am planning on making time for it next year.

The Games:
This is what I know about the game at the con. They had them. They had a complex gaming schedule, special gaming passes and a room dedicated to gaming. The end.

Summary:

All in all, it was great day. I came home very satisfied, with no regrets and completely exhausted. I got to meet some creative greats in the industry and came home with a ton of swag for both me and my wife, and signatures, as well as a couple of items for friends who have birthdays coming up soon. :)

The only negative comment I had about the event was the heat. It was like 90° in the convention center and was uncomfortable for most everyone, all of who were mentioning out loud about the heat out loud.

This is a big event, but not so big that I wasn't able to run into some people I actually knew.

Until next time... enjoy the remainder of these photos from this awesome event.