Writer's Grove

Phoenix Comicon 2012

Woohoo! Good times!

So here’s what I’ve heard from people who have been to SDCC “back in the day”: Phoenix Comicon now is what SDCC used to be like. It’s every geek’s happy place. You can move around freely. You can get in to see panels. And yet, there are still plenty of great artists and attractions and a freakin’ ton of cosplay. We had William Shatner and a bunch of other dudes visiting…honestly I didn’t pay much attention to the TV side of things because I didn’t have the time. But the important takeaway here is that Phoenix is fun and not overcrowded—at about 35K people, it’s not too big, not too small, but juuust right.

The argument I’ve heard is that SDCC is too dang big and the Hollywood types have sucked all the joy out of it. Now it’s insane to move around there and you can’t even get in to see the panels you want to see. Okay, I think that part of that argument is entirely valid. Though last year was my first year, I did see more armpits up close than I would have liked. I’m not expecting to enjoy a surplus of personal space this year, either. But there is something awe-inspiring about the size of the spectacle, the utter abandon with which people leave behind their attempts to conform to some perceived standard of normal and just geek the fuck out. It’s a place where you’ll be praised rather than teased for dressing outside of the mainstream…and get photographed a whole lot.

Despite the crush of the crowd, methinks SDCC has sorta reached pilgrimage status now for geeks and nerds and assorted dorks. “Someday, I gotta go there…” Well, it’s darn tough to get in, and I’m here to say that Phoenix is cheaper and really quite pleasant. It’s a very acceptable secondary pilgrimage. If you want to buy a fez and pose with a badass Hulk, this is the best place to do it.

Comic Accomplishment Unlocked: I scored 24 back issues I was looking for! I just need two more and hopefully I’ll find them at San Diego.

Fan Recognition Unlocked: I was just about to go all fanboy on John Layman, Eisner-Award winning writer of CHEW, when for the first time, someone actually geeked out on me. A loud voice behind me shouted, “Hey! You’re Kevin Hearne!” I turned around and spoke to this nice fella for a while, and when I was finished, John Layman had mysteriously disappeared. He may have sekrit powerz. I caught up with him the next day, though, so that was all good.

The popularity of Doctor Who really leapt forward in the past year. I think I remember two whole Who cosplayers last year, but this year there were many. And not just the Doctor, either—lots of companions and even some Daleks and folks dressed up like the TARDIS. Can you identify all the characters in the photo below? I love the Doctor’s Wife nestled back in there.

Other cool stuff! I got to hang out with spiffy artist Ashleigh Popplewell, who did this really spooky marker study for me of Vainamoinen and the sea serpent from HAMMERED—you remember that bit, where Vainamoinen summoned a serpent out of the fjord with his kantele, nothing but firelight to illuminate the scene?

I also got to meet Cody Vrosh, an illustrator who did a beautiful watercolor of Atticus and Oberon a few months ago. He and his wife are fans of the series and I’m fans of theirs. I’m hoping I can talk Cody into doing some more stuff.

The best bits were meeting readers and chatting with ’em for a while.. That’s something else I can do at Phoenix that I can’t do too much of in San Diego. Though I had a steady stream of visitors, there was never a gigantic line where I felt pressure to hurry the person along and get to the next one, so that was quite lovely—and I imagine that’s also a huge benefit for fans. Whoever you want to talk to, you can probably find ’em and enjoy a conversation beyond “Hi! Big fan!”

Okay enough o’ this for now…I have books to write and I’m finally free to do so. :)