Hey-o! So I thought I’d post a quick recap of Austin Comic Con, which I attended this last weekend. The ever-patient BF and I braved the elements to drive in for Saturday. It took waaaay longer than normal, since the rain was insane on our drive to the con. We also opted to leave earlier than expected to avoid the Winter Weather Advisory Warning that keeps teasing me with prospects of a snow day. Gar.
Anyhow, here are some of the pros and cons of the event:
The Good:
- Pretty nice facility, given what I’ve experienced at the Irving Convention Center for Dallas cons. Very spaced out.
- I really enjoyed the Dealers Room and the Artists Alley. It was a huge space and I didn’t feel claustrophobic like I have at the ICC.
- The Facebook costume contest was a neat idea. Very cool way for cosplayers to show off their work.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get there in time to see the panels I wanted (I really wanted to see James Marsters 😦 ), so I can’t speak to that aspect of the con.
The Bad:
- Organization was pretty poor, especially in regards to line planning. We pre-registered about a month ago, but there was no separation between pre-reg and on-site. The line was absolutely ridiculous, wrapping around a few times at the front of the line and extending all the way through the building. Yes, the line moved quickly (took us about 1.5 hours. Are you listening, A-Kon?), but when you’re only at a con for 6~ hours and the line takes up 1/4 of that time, it’s not cool. I was also told that lines for VIP were longer than regular registration on Friday.
- Add-on to the above point: the volunteers seemed to have no idea what was going on. Better communication with the volunteers could have alleviated a lot of line tension. I saw more than one yelling match happen between angry line go-ers and volunteers (Aside: guys, don’t be dicks to volunteers. Their job is pretty thankless).
- Mia brought it to my attention that the programming book failed to mention female fans, but it does say you can talk about comics with other “fanboys”. C’mon, Wizard World, it’s almost 2014. Having a vagina and tits does not preclude one from liking comics. Fun fact: I was actually reading Uncanny Avengers when I discovered this.
Some of my favorite moments:
- Little girls running up to me wanting pictures and hugs. I’m not much of a kid person, but those moments melt my otherwise icy heart. It’s one of the reasons I want to get into the 501st and use my costume insanity for good.
- Running into the lovely Mia Moore! I’ve been following her Twitter and blog for a while now, so it was awesome to make the IRL connection. She’s also inspired me to cosplay Ramona at some point (go check out her Ramona cosplay! It’s so cute 🙂 ).
- I picked up a Fennekin plushie in the Dealers Room! My BF got Pokemon X a while back, and I finally got around to playing. Fennekin is by far my favorite of the starters, and he’ll be a perfect prop for a female trainer cosplay.
The Geeky Seamstress 