It is that time again. My now home Convention rolled around. This year I stayed in a hotel to get the full Con going experience. So with out further adieu here is my review of the Con this year.
Friday:
I arrived to an organized entry line, take note of this first sentence, received my badge just in time to walk around a bit. Here is where MegaCon really shines in my book, vendor and Artist Alley selection. There is such a wide array of types of vendors that you almost couldn’t see everything for sale. You have a wide selection of comic bookshops, the website Coolstuff, inc., a shop that sold old video games and devices and Lego minifigs, and all manner of vendors. One that truly stood out in my mind was a video game being shown on the vendor section. This is a good idea on the part of MegaCon, it provides not only a distraction for a few minutes but a break for tired attendees, a few more of those types of booths next year would really separate MegaCon from the pack.
Another honorable mention for Vendors: Geek Chic. These guys have some of the geekiest wood working for your dollar. While only the most die hard of geeks will want to purchase their gaming tables, you can always take home one of their finely crafted wooden weapons for a reasonable price. I would be remiss not to mention that the craftsmanship of these fine retailers is excellent.
Artist Alley: This is another bright spot for me. They had an excellent sliding scale of artists. They also didn’t really have anyone who didn’t belong in the alley. Each artist stood out in his/her own right. Most artists had square or some other type of e-payment that made buying the art almost too easy. This is something the con should look at for autographs.
Side comment: Really MegaCon, we are in 2014 and I cant use my debit or credit card to get an autograph from the celebrity. Maybe its the Agent or the Actor that refuses, however in this day and age where almost everyone uses plastic I shouldn’t have to fork over an extra $3 dollars to pull out the right amount of money for an autograph.
Friday Panels: There will be a more indepth review of the panels posted on this site later. Here are the quick Shits of the panels I attended Friday
Panel 1: “So they say you Shouldn’t cosplay” a Great cosplay panel spearheaded by Ivy Doom Kitty and 4 other cosplayers. This panel had a great balance of moderator led topics and audience questions. The best thing out of this panel was a 58 year old man cosplaying as an astronaut. He asked if he could cosplay at such an old age. The panel’s response “Just do it”
Panel 2: A quick pop into “All about DC Comics Panel” saw a host of DC writers and artist talking about DC. My favorite part of this talk was getting my Harley Quinn Comics question answered.
Panel 3: Ask Kristen FAQ panel. A great one on one panel. Pure ask me anything panel. Favorite moment from this panel, Kristen Hughey wielding a Light Saber cosplaying Velma from Scooby-Doo
Saturday:
Out of no fault of MegaCon, I was stuck on the interestate for 2 ours and 20 minutes waiting to start. Several smashings of the steering wheel later, I arrived at the con, to breeze through the entrance.
The cosplays I saw that day were worth the ticket of admission. The artistery I have seen increase over the year was fantastic. There has truly been a great increase in cosplay quality.
The panels: I went to two, why did I only go two? Because the other celebrity panels I tried to go to were absolutely impossible to get into, not because of confusing location, but because of line management. It was so atrocious that you had a better chance of being touched by a stranger than being let into the panel. In fact the main panel and cosplay contest were so bad that the next day Mega Con released a statement about the issue.
However this issue is not unique to MegaCon. If MegaCon wants a better line management system next year my advice is to contact the heads of Dragon Con. Dragon Con is one of the biggest Cons in the USA and yet it manages to hold it to together line management wise.
The bright spot in this black eye is that they had better control of the lines for Sunday’s Panel
Some Winners from the costume Contest: (a full list in the Panel review later)
Light Side Revan by Sarah
Charlotte Kalsey- Hit Girl
Best Group: A Hobbit rule 63 Group
Best Comic Book Cosplay: Apokolips from Marvel’s X-men by Aaron Smith
(note if you won and I misspelled your name let me know)
On a different note I got to hangout with friends this day which made the con day fly by faster and the crowds seem less stressful.
Sunday:
This day, as with most conventions, is much lighter. You can fully explore the vendor room more freely. This day and Friday are the two best for getting all your geeky shopping done. While lighter, still got some great finds cosplay wise.
Panel 1: A interesting behind the scenes look into the cosplay scene featuring: Pat Cubby who is a event organizer for Conventions, Stacy H. who is a cosplay photographer, Kristen Hughey who is a cosplayer, and Bruce “the Handler” who organizes and helps various cosplayers. This panel was great for inside information. The most memorable part of this panel was the warm fuzziness I walked out of this panel feeling. They really broached every topic of the cosplay community, and gave everyone hope that their are caring people in the cosplay community.
Panel 2: Kickstarter Panel. This panel was a great overall look on how to plan and launch a successful kickstarter campaign. Memorable part of this panel is when Frank Tieri said that a good Kickstarter campaign is about building relationships and interacting with the community.
With that panel my Journey into Geekdom was complete. The new hall this year made this years Convention one worth attending, notwithstanding the line management problems on Saturday. I can only hope they find some insightful days to deal with the line management next year. The official attendance number making this Con the third largest in US, so if Sandiego or Georgia are not your style consider MegaCon. And beside Mickey is just around the corner too.
Final Note: Best Buy from the Con this year: Leather Rebel Alliance insignia key chain from Galvin Leatherworks