Posted in: Comics | Tagged: conventions, phoenix comicon

Friday, Phoenix Comicon, Cosplay And Swag

Published Sat, 25 May 2013 10:15:36 -0500

Last updated Sat, 25 May 2013 11:42:00 -0500

Alex Wilson writes;

Phoenix Comic Con is happening right now this weekend and guess what? I'm here covering the convention for all of you.

I picked up some great little treats at the convention. In the order of what I purchased: Supurbia by Grace Randolph (Rich Johnston has a nice little quote on the cover), Ghost Projekt because I'm a sucker for anything Joe Harris writes, and Rachel Rising by Terry Moore (TV show in the works and I thought I should see what everyone is talking about.) I also picked up a small little print from Agnes Garbowska. I love her style so much and she was a treat of a person to meet.

The convention was exciting Friday. A girl's dress became entangled in the escalator. She was a good sport about the whole ordeal and kept a smile on her face. If my dress had been caught in the gears of an escalator, I would have been crying my eyes out. (I'm kidding. I'm a guy. Why would I wear a dress in public?) Security was trying to get the dress unhinged without tearing it.

I always find security at conventions funny as well. They make everyone form a line so they can look in their bags but they really don't look, do they? You open the bag up, they see you have opened the bag, and the exchange ends there. It seems the checking inside of the bags is glossed over for the most part. Although, I have seen a huge number of Phoenix police officers walking around the convention floor. Every time I see them, for a second, I think they are just great cosplayers.

The Bleeding Cool fan awards took place and Saga did very well (I was hoping Revival would get a nod.) Fiona and Brian were not there to accept, though. They had another conflict with another award show I was told. Everyone seemed to have a good time, though. People laughed and gave acceptance speeches for Saga. Scott Snyder and Rob Liefeld won best feud of the last 12 months. Snyder also walked away with best comic writer of 2013 so far. I'm sure everyone who wasn't there to accept their awards wishes they could have been. The big award of the night, most attractive (fanciable) in the industry, went to Grant Morrison, and what a sexy beast he is.

I was surprised to see publishers like Boom, Oni, and Valiant at this convention. Phoenix Comic Con, to my knowledge, is about 30,000 people. I've never been to a convention of this size, and what I mean by that is I've been to conventions like C2E2, NYCC, and SDCC but also small conventions of no more than a few thousand. This was an in between number and I had no idea what to expect from this con. Needless to say, I have been pleasantly surprised this weekend.

There has been some great cosplay this weekend as well. I know everyone loves cosplay photos and I love taking them. Here are a few convention fans that dressed to impress. I have to say my favorite is the Avatar Aang followed by the Halo Spartans. The Umbrella corporation soldiers did a dandy job by coming in a group. The girl in a pink bikini, I can't say I know what she's exactly from but she was kneeling over someone's chest and had prop gun pointed at him. I thought it wasn't a bad idea to take a photo.