My First Comic Con!

Have you really experienced life if you’ve never been to a comic con? Fellow author Allison Maruska and I went to find out in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The city’s convention center hosts thousands of comic book, pop culture and cosplay fans for three days of meeting icons, mingling and listening to panels. Although I was a vendor at the event, I was able to sneak out to hear Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Howell talk about making the movie The Outsiders. More on that later.

The first night was fairly unimpressive with the sale of one book between the two of us. We drove for six hours, unpacked, and set up in the Artist Alley. By eight o’clock we were exhausted. For day two, we were ready to go by ten in the morning. This is when the fun began. I learned the term “nice cosplay” and watched as celebrities paraded past us followed by people with huge microphones. Vloggers brought around their own crews and provided audiences with up close and personal experiences at the convention.

One thing I learned is that you have to actually pay for autographs and selfies with the celebrities. I thought that would be included with the price of admission. Who knew? Besides the two mentioned above, I saw Mark Shepperd (Supernatural), Lou Ferrigno (the original Hulk), some people from Game of Thrones (sorry, I don’t watch the show), Power Rangers, and Iron Man’s daughter (she was at a table right by us and it was fun to watch a seven-yere-old get bored).

Even Allison and I got into the dress-up, although my Weaver outfit is pretty lame.

I enjoyed the contacts we made, making new fans and getting out of town. My favorite experience was going to a panel on The Outsiders and going up front to ask the two actors a question. It was interesting getting up close and personal. The big buzz word of the convention was “Baby Yoda” and you could get pictures, crocheted dolls, stickers and even keychains of the all-to-cute Jedi. My daughter even snuck one home in her backpack.

Allison and I will be in Denver for Pop Culture Con July 3-5 and we’re super excited. Have you ever been to a comic con? Tell us about your experiences.

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