Conning
I think someone may take my geek credentials away for this confession, but I've never been to a geek convention before.
No Comicon, no DragonCon, no Wiscon. I never actually made a real PBP, come to think of it, unless Wolfram and Hart counts. I went to all of the alternative parties, instead.
I, of course, know about all of the conventions. I follow the geek press fairly regularly, I can explain what a con is to non-geeks (like my parents), and I am aware when some mass geek gathering is happening somewhere, but I've never been to one.
This will change next week when I go to Comicpalooza here in Houston next week. It is described thusly: Comicpalooza was first held July 19, 2008 in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Katy, Texas. It wasn't a comic convention; it was a simple signing event set to coincide with the release of "The Dark Knight." Comicpalooza was conceived as a means of helping local comic creators reach the media and the public. It was fun for all dozen or so comic creators who showed up. We had no idea what it would rapidly grow into.
Comicpalooza 2009 was re-imagined as a two-day comic book festival set in a local mall, again with a strong emphasis on promoting creators, connecting with the media, and fostering new growth in the fanbase. We featured guests like David Mack, Terry Moore, Steve Scott, Tom Hodges, Mat Johnson, Andy Kuhn, Dirk Strangely and others, and added events like special screenings, Q&A sessions, and the charity live art benefit. The event was so successful we drew more fans than any other Houston comic convention in 15 years.
2010 will see Comicpalooza re-invented again, this time as a multi-format convention celebrating not just comics, but also sci-fi and fantasy, horror, steam punk, New Media, movies, film, and gaming of all types. Our venue has again changed, this time to the most prestigious convention center in Houston, the George R. Brown Convention Center, where we hope to serve both creators and fans as we have in the past.
It's been around only two years; this is their third show. And this year, Graham is producing the event. So obviously, it's a bigger deal in my household for a longer period of time than in others. He appropriately got the call that brought him on board while we were at Geek Night awhile back, which is a standing Monday night get together with friends to watch Babylon 5.
The big draw, of course, will be the special guests. I'm actually quite psyched to see some of them, especially Nick Brendon (despite his, er, very recent troubles), though as girlfriend of the producer, I can't really fangurl out as much as I probably would under other circumstances. But still, dude, Chewbacca is going to be there! And Darth Maul! And Bruce Campbell!!! And I can personally thank Rob Liefeld for creating Deadpool, one of my favorite comic characters ever. Plus, the panel discussions look pretty awesome (from the glances I've seen over Graham's shoulders), and really, it's the sort of thing I should have been going to for years but have never been able to because there hasn't been one nearby.
And maybe my geek creds will be a little repaired after this.
No Comicon, no DragonCon, no Wiscon. I never actually made a real PBP, come to think of it, unless Wolfram and Hart counts. I went to all of the alternative parties, instead.
I, of course, know about all of the conventions. I follow the geek press fairly regularly, I can explain what a con is to non-geeks (like my parents), and I am aware when some mass geek gathering is happening somewhere, but I've never been to one.
This will change next week when I go to Comicpalooza here in Houston next week. It is described thusly: Comicpalooza was first held July 19, 2008 in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Katy, Texas. It wasn't a comic convention; it was a simple signing event set to coincide with the release of "The Dark Knight." Comicpalooza was conceived as a means of helping local comic creators reach the media and the public. It was fun for all dozen or so comic creators who showed up. We had no idea what it would rapidly grow into.
Comicpalooza 2009 was re-imagined as a two-day comic book festival set in a local mall, again with a strong emphasis on promoting creators, connecting with the media, and fostering new growth in the fanbase. We featured guests like David Mack, Terry Moore, Steve Scott, Tom Hodges, Mat Johnson, Andy Kuhn, Dirk Strangely and others, and added events like special screenings, Q&A sessions, and the charity live art benefit. The event was so successful we drew more fans than any other Houston comic convention in 15 years.
2010 will see Comicpalooza re-invented again, this time as a multi-format convention celebrating not just comics, but also sci-fi and fantasy, horror, steam punk, New Media, movies, film, and gaming of all types. Our venue has again changed, this time to the most prestigious convention center in Houston, the George R. Brown Convention Center, where we hope to serve both creators and fans as we have in the past.
It's been around only two years; this is their third show. And this year, Graham is producing the event. So obviously, it's a bigger deal in my household for a longer period of time than in others. He appropriately got the call that brought him on board while we were at Geek Night awhile back, which is a standing Monday night get together with friends to watch Babylon 5.
The big draw, of course, will be the special guests. I'm actually quite psyched to see some of them, especially Nick Brendon (despite his, er, very recent troubles), though as girlfriend of the producer, I can't really fangurl out as much as I probably would under other circumstances. But still, dude, Chewbacca is going to be there! And Darth Maul! And Bruce Campbell!!! And I can personally thank Rob Liefeld for creating Deadpool, one of my favorite comic characters ever. Plus, the panel discussions look pretty awesome (from the glances I've seen over Graham's shoulders), and really, it's the sort of thing I should have been going to for years but have never been able to because there hasn't been one nearby.
And maybe my geek creds will be a little repaired after this.