Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, denver comic con, jesse james

Jesse James Goes To Denver Comic Con

Gail Simone getting Jesse Jamesed at Denver Comic Con.

When you arrive in Denver you are almost immediately swarmed with that new sensation Denver Broncos QB #18 Peyton Manning.  Everywhere you turn you see his number or his face.  In Fact, that's all my driver would talk about.  However, hold the press there's a new kid in town and its number is #1.  That's right. Denver Comic Con celebrates it new arrival on the Denver scene as its inaugural season has begun.  No, I'm not going to use football terms during this report.  But all I can say was, there were more Touchdowns then Fumbles during their first year.

Now even before I start.  If you are flying in for the first time.  The airport is in just about another city.  Don't take a taxi.  The trip will cost you about $50.00.  You can pre-book a Super Shuttle for about $20.00 and will be a better ride as well. Remember the more money you save the more comics you can buy.  Also, its about a 45 minute drive from the airport to the con.  So put it in your schedule as lost time on the floor.  Hopefully, if your staying at a hotel they have a shuttle service.  Also, your not having a heart attack when you find breathing is a little difficult.

It takes about 3 to 5 minutes to adjust to the air. The person next to me in the shuttle was already dialing 911. The driver had to put them to ease. Okay on to the con!

I have been to a lot of first year cons over my life. A lot I have never gone back not because I didn't want to, they just never had a second event.  However,  I 'm not worried about next year for Denver. In fact I have already planned for next year. They will be back and I'm sure all those first year glitches will be solved.

Now, originally I was going to start off by saying what I didn't like.  However, I think I will just put that in a memo at the end.  Now last week I blasted Philly for only having 2 major publishers.  Well, Denver had Zero, that's right Goose Egg, Nada, as in Nobody.  Guess what? Didn't matter.  They made it so you really didn't realize it until after you left.  In some fashion it was cool.  I didn't have too spend money on "must have" con exclusives.  Hmmm, but where do I spend my money?

There seemed to be a buzz around Arthur Suydum's table.  Though, that wasn't a surprise.  It was the demographics that he had buying his goods.  They all seemed in their early twenties.  That's when I realized that this Con had something special.

They were introducing a whole new generation to comics. Now, don't get me wrong I'm sure the local comic book stores do a great job and introduce their next generation to the comic book culture. Denver Comic Con though, just gave it a bigger stage for them to absorb what the comic book world has to offer.

Now, J Scott Campbell was there.  This is where it got a little confusing.  They placed him in a very odd place and it did create a bottle neck.  Denver Comic Con I'm sure will learn that your A+ creators needs a corner spot with a lot more spacing.  His line went on forever.  The fans though didn't care and waited patiently for their turn.

Gail Simone was there and all smiles.  I got to talk to her for a while and really enjoyed how humble of a creator she is.  Again young folks were waiting with their goodies to be signed.

Artists Alley may have had too much space and you could tell it. Is that a good or bad thing? Really depends on the fan.  I felt that a lot of space was wasted and as you will see in the pictures they needed space.  Mike McKone., J Linsner where nestled in artist alley.  My good friends Alfred Trujillo, Cara Nicole and Micheal Kessler were rocking it out.  The Steam Crow team was there as well.

Okay, now I'm going to say something that Emerald and Phoenix arn't going to like.  The Cossies were freaking AWESOME in fact, probably the best group I have ever seen.  Now, its probably because they had years to prepare for their debut. There were just so many and the cool thing, almost every genre was represented.   Of Course Star Wars ruled the day.

The Batman's, Jokers and Harley Quinns were in abundance.  They just seemed that it was a controlled chaos for the Cossies at this con. I would almost say 90% of my pictures were cossies.

Now, as Bleeding Cool reported last week, the longest line was for festive drinks.  Yes, including nice bottles of wine for your comic book perusing.  Though you could buy a Golden age comic for the prices they were charging.  However, these are comic book fans who pay extra money for variant covers that have the same story inside. Oh but lets not get me started on that subject.  This seems to be a theme at Cons and as long as its controlled.  I'm sure there will be no issues.

Though the Big Boys in the Golden and Silver age comic scene were there.  There seemed to be almost no Modern or Bronze age vendors.  This I hope will change next year.  I wanted to get something for Simone to sign but to my dismay there was no one to take my money.  There wasn't much of a presence of The local comic book stores.  I Want more Comics was there. However, other then a Mile High Comic's mini exhibit and directions to their new store. there was no one else.

Now, here is why Denver Comic Con gets a A+ for this con.  Their main highlight was for the kids. Boy, did they take care of the kids at this con. They had a area in the front called Comic Book Classroom Corral.  This, had the little ones drawing and also posting their work on a big billboard so that all could see.  They also had a Fantastic Kids in Costume walk. Lead by Stormtroopers and the Star Wars Theme blaring over the loudspeaker.  It felt good to know that Denver is already building their young generation to take over when we old Fanboys move on.  Their response to a Code Adam was very good and you could tell they were very passionate about this part of the con.

Now, I mentioned this above already. There were almost no Denver Con exclusives.  I always like to leave with something representing the Con itself.  However, I prefer something that has a brand name attached.  I'm hoping next year that some of the companies will do this regardless if they are there or not.

So did I like Denver Con? Lets put it this way.  I LOVED IT!!! Why because I expected very little and received so much.  The crowds were awesome and there seemed to be something in the air saying "Culture, Comics, and Fun"  Would I have a table next year, yes!  Of Course, with a whole bunch of Denver Comic Con exclusives!

Some of the things I think they can improve on next year,

Volunteers- It was very hard to figure out who was a volunteer or not.  They all seemed to be wearing different color shirts, but not distinguished enough to know if it was a fan or not.

Programs- Don't run out of Programs on Saturday midday.  Not knowing where creators are or any programming info makes it a long con for a Fanboy.

Food- More vendors were needed.  Hungry fans make for a testy con scene.  Zombies feed off of hungry folks.

Cossie Photo area-  designate a area for all the Cosplayers to take pictures with fans.

Empty tables-  Artist alley had a lot of empty tables.  find ways to take tables out or give them away.

Bands in middle of the floor.-  Self explanatory.

Now, all this is a pass for the Denver Team.  It's their first year and most of this is just Freshman mistakes or under projections. If, your near a calender mark it down now.  This is a con that will be a force in the future.  Now, when your watching Peyton Manning throwing touchdowns all year and winning like he does.  Don't frown when the NFL season ends in Denver.  Now, you have something to look forward to during the offseason. It doesn't have a numbered jersey.  However, if it did it would be bearing Denver Comic Con #2.

I would like to thank Ami Heinrich and her team for their hospitality.

P.S While in town don't forget Lunch at Maggiano's! Molto Bene'

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