Convention season

When the Spring starts to turn to Summer, it signals a lot of things. Mostly, my allergies. But also, it gets to be that time when people go to all sorts of conventions. I don’t personally have a lot of experience with conventions, only now having been to two. But, I do enjoy convention season for one main reason, and it’s new pictures of people’s cosplay.

For those of you who may not know, cosplay is when people dress up in costumes of their favorite characters, most commonly from comic books, video games and anime. But cosplay’s pretty all-inclusive these days. They can be impressive, imaginative and downright beautiful. Even without going to many conventions myself, I get to see these cool costumes because people who go to the conventions often take pictures and post them up online.

My own experience with conventions is somewhat limited. I tried to get into this year’s San Diego Comic Con, but was unable to get a ticket. Besides that, I’ve been to one convention several times and another convention only once.

Fanime is, according to the internet, the fifth largest anime convention in the US. It is also apparently the only one of those left that is completely fan-run and fan-funded, meaning without any major sponsors. I’ve been to it many times now. The first time I went, I didn’t know anything about it, but a friend of mine asked me if I was going. I hadn’t seen this friend in some time, and he told me that other friends of mine who I hadn’t seen in some time as well were also going. If only to see them again, I decided to go that year. I went, with very little in the way of expectations, had a decently good time, mostly watching the cosplayers but also seeing my friends. The next year, I decided to go again, but only one of my friends came that year. I was less enthused about it, but enjoyed it somewhat. I decided to skip Fanime for the next couple of years, deciding that I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I did. The things to do there were… limited. There wasn’t really anything that I was particularly looking forward to there. But when another friend of mine, whom I still hung out with on a semi-regular basis, decided that I should take him, I went again. And he has since basically dragged me back to Fanime each year. I enjoy it, to some degree. I like to see the cosplayers and getting to see some old friends I don’t often see is a welcome scenario. But to this day, I still haven’t really found my niche in Fanime.

I should maybe explain why it was so hard for me to like Fanime, especially this year. I had just gotten through two weeks of some of the hardest work I had to do at my job. Excruciating, teeth-pulling work. But the Friday at the end of that week, I went to a Lindsey Stirling concert(with the opener being Dia Frampton’s new band Archis) and had an absolute blast. Then, the following day, I went to Big Wow. Now, I had considered going to Big Wow last year. But to be honest, outside of a few cover artists and some writers, I didn’t know that much about the people who made comics. I know a few big names, but when I would read the guest lists, I had to actively go check to see if I had read anything they made. But this year’s Big Wow was a little different. They had invited a suite of cosplayers that I had actually heard of as guests.

It might be shallow to admit, but I’m still assuming no one’s reading, so I’ll admit it right here: I went because of the cosplayers. Jessica Nigri was obviously the big draw. The line at her booth was impressively long throughout Saturday. There was also Riddle, Monika Lee and Scruffy Rebel, some of the cast of the first season of Heroes of Cosplay. Holly Conrad was there, but she didn’t have a booth, so I only saw her at the Heroes panel and as a judge of the costume contest. Her other half, Jessica Merizan couldn’t make it, as well as Chloe Dykstra, who was also on Heroes. I got to see them in person, took pictures of and with some of them, and even got to have an extremely brief, 30-second conversation with Nigri. That, to me, was pretty cool.

The other reason why I enjoyed Big Wow much more than Fanime was just the general atmosphere. They used the same space for the Dealer’s Hall at Fanime that they used for pretty much all of Big Wow, but the difference in space and the amount of people there was amazing. I was actually able to talk to the people manning their booths, able to ask them questions about their products and was able to peruse in peace. At Fanime, the crowds were so overwhelming they had volunteers yelling at people to clear the walkways pretty much constantly. That’s not exactly the kind of atmosphere I find welcoming. Through all the years I have been going to Fanime, between the Dealer’s Hall and the Artist’s alley, I’ve definitely spent less than $100 in them. I think I’ve spent more on parking alone. At Big Wow, without intending to, I spent close to $200 in a single day. I was more interested in what the people there had to say about their comics and art than I ever did at Fanime.

But that’s not to say I got nothing out of Fanime. Like I said, first and foremost, it’s a way for me to hang with friends. Some that I don’t get the opportunity to see very often. But also, I like to keep a tally of the cool, positive experiences I have. Take last year as an example: despite having to wait in a 5-hour line for registration, I actually met a very nice couple. We bonded over similar interests and in complaining about the 5-hour registration line. This year, however, I counted fewer. I got to meet Christine Sprankle, a cosplayer who is pretty well-known in the Magic community, mainly for cosplaying Elspeth. I got to take a picture with her and hang out with her a bit. That was fun. But the thing is, after that, my next best memory is of my Saturday morning sandwich. Don’t  get me wrong, it was a great sandwich. Andouille sausage with a hash brown on top and sauteed onions and red pepper, a little fig jam, with a little parmesan grated on top for a salty finish. I actually made a few really great sandwiches for Fanime. But when one of my best memories of a convention is the sandwich I ate, what does that really tell you about it?

This has been a pretty long post already, and probably a bit ramble-y, so I’m going to cut it short. I feel like even though I’ve had sort of a mediocre experience with Fanime, my incredible experience with Big Wow is more telling about what I like about conventions. Discovering new stories in the form of comics I had never heard of. Seeing cosplayers, especially ones I’ve actually heard of before. That’s what I like about conventions. I haven’t had the most positive experience with Fanime, but that’s no reason to judge any other conventions by its standards. Next year, San Diego Comic Con.