Gateway to Awesome! Ostensibly.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
This weekend my wife and I attended the inaugural Awesome Con Indianapolis, the latest attempt to bring the geek convention life to our fair-sized city. [yadda yadda yadda] The important thing for now is, there were costumes! And photos of same!
Our Awesome Con experience wasn’t entirely about cosplay photos. Our day had its successes and disappointments.
Awesome Con Indy! October 3-5, 2014. Tickets still available!
Now it’s Friday night and I’m still not ready. I’ve had a busy week (not all of it was my fault) and my attention span has been stretched to its limits in myriad directions. I’m really trying to concentrate and prepare for our big, fantabulous day of walking, shopping, walking, meeting, walking, cosplayers, walking, potentially talking to someone, and after that some more walking because my free parking is several blocks away. But I needed to unwind first before I could resume researching.
Sorry, I’d love to spend more at your Artists Alley booth, but I’m too busy being mesmerized by Sharknado.
Food for thought making the rounds in my online circles this week was an essay titled “Denise Dorman Asks — Is Cosplay Killing Comic Con?” The author is the wife of Dave Dorman, a renowned painter with a career spanning over two decades. Their table is a common sight for us at C2E2 and Wizard World Chicago, and doubtlessly a staple at comics and entertainment conventions in other cities. His covers grace several late-’80s comics in my collection and a few items in my wife’s Star Wars library. We’re not talking about an art-school sophomore with iffy talent and no business acumen. He’s a pro.
In the essay, the Dormans reveal the total intake from their first day-‘n’-a-half at Wizard World Chicago 2014 was a whopping $60.00. Their results from this year’s San Diego Comic Con, ostensibly the convention to end all conventions, were technically worse once you factor in the thousands of dollars spent on the experience.
The Dormans’ experience isn’t a singular oddity. The ensuing site discussion, in which Denise herself has participated and clarified some points, has touched on a number of factors that may be contributing to the decline of convention civilization. However, what prompted the most outraged responses — and why I saw a few friends linking to it while rolling their eyes — was the essay’s focus on one theory in particular:
I have slowly come realize that in this selfie-obsessed, Instagram Era, cosplay is the new focus of these conventions — seeing and being seen, like some giant masquerade party. Conventions are no longer shows about commerce, product launches, and celebrating the people who created this genre in the first place. I’ve seen it first-hand — the uber-famous artist who traveled all of the way from Japan, sitting at Comic-Con, drawing as no one even paid attention to him, while the cosplayers held up floor traffic and fans surround the cosplayers — rather than the famed industry household name — to pose for selfies.
I read a few similar complaints in the days following Indy Pop Con back in May (and talked to one of the vendors recently), a new convention where attendance didn’t meet projections and vendors of all sizes were dissatisfied with the results, but the cosplayer turnout was quite strong. At least one artist guest later took to social media the following week and disparaged the cosplay community for the sins of that weekend, as if thousands of Indianapolis residents had walked up to the Convention Center, saw three Harley Quinns walk by in a row, freaked out, burned their Pop Con tickets, and left to go shopping instead.
Cosplay has its ups and downs. So do all the other popular con activities do. Everything at a con is a distraction to someone. Anyone who’s read this site for any length of time knows my wife and I are cosplay fans. Don’t look to us for impartiality. But we wouldn’t be cosplay fans in the first place if we thought they were a menace to fandom and ruined everyplace they walked.
Honest confession, though: I’m personally not spending as much at conventions as I used to. And it’s not because cosplayers mugged me, or tackled me whenever I whipped out my wallet, or bedazzled me so deeply that I totally forgot to buy stuff. From a commerce standpoint, I suppose I’m part of the problem.
Who North America is a regular staple at our regular cons. They seem to be doing okay, even though they have to pay for four or five times the space.
This past Wednesday I walked into my comic shop and waded into the middle of a conversation about booth space prices. Awesome Con is staging their first Indianapolis show in October, and the guys weren’t too keen on what was being asked, how much extra a corner booth would cost over an endcap, and why the con’s rep promised them a “locals” discount over the phone that appeared nowhere in the marketing materials. Much snickering ensued.
No, I did NOT mock up this logo myself. Found it on their site. Anyone who knows me knows my art skillz don’t reach far beyond MS Paint.
But wait! There’s more! From the Department of Unannounced News, I was privileged to catch the following tonight, courtesy of Tony Troxell at Geeking in Indiana, which you should visit for more fun and geeking:
https://twitter.com/IndianaGeeking/status/481603262114971649
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: photos from the fifth annual C2E2 convention in Chicago. In this final installment: what we did at C2E2 when we weren’t applauding cosplayers.
Our first act upon walking onto the show floor: approaching the giant whiteboards (markers were provided) and letting my wife Anne add a Jedi Snoopy to the walls that would collect fan art throughout the day.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: photos from the fifth annual C2E2 convention in Chicago. In this installment: photos from this year’s Costume Contest!
This didn’t quite go as well as we’d hoped. We arrived in line at 6:30 p.m., an hour before start time, hoping to have seats slightly less terrible than our last GenCon experience. We were wrong, and unaware that VIP ticket holders received first dibs on seats. On the upside, the room had better lighting than GenCon’s contest normally provides, and it was equipped with a massive HD screen that gave the audience a much better view of each contestant.
On the downside, the contest started fifteen minutes late and the judges needed extensive time for deliberation after all finalists had been allowed on stage. On the side of compromise, the judges vetted all contestants first and apparently allowed only the best ones onstage — meaning the presentation was ostensibly shorter, but that we’d see fewer costumes than expected.
On the downside, deliberating ran until sometime after 9 p.m. We had a three-hour drive ahead of us and Sunday morning responsibilities we refused to shirk. The DJs who entertained the crowd to cover the judges’ deliberations weren’t enough to keep us in our seats. Consequently, we had to leave before they announced who won in each of the four categories. Thanks to the magic of social media I did find out who won the whole shebang:
Subject Delta from BioShock 2 won against some ridiculously fierce competition.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: photos from the fifth annual C2E2 convention in Chicago. In this installment: more photos from around the exhibit hall and other convention areas, but with fewer super-heroes than last time. If you recognize any of the unlabeled characters, pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top feel free to chime in so proper credit can be given. Thanks very much in advance!
One of my two favorites from this batch: Sharknado!
As I type this, the fifth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition (“C2E2″) is wrapping up this year’s three-day run, April 25-27, 2014. Each year C2E2 keeps expanding, attracting more attention, inching ever closer to its goal of becoming the Midwest’s answer to the legendary San Diego Comic Con and its other coastal ilk. My wife and I missed the first year, but have attended every year since 2011 as a team.
Over the next four entries, which I’m hoping to crank out as quickly as possible without forming a symbiotic attachment to our PC, I’ll be sharing memories and photos from our C2E2 experience. The first three entries will be costume pics; the fourth, a sampling of the creators, actors, and curios we encountered. Several attendees may find themselves strolling through backgrounds as living, walking, oblivious Easter Eggs.
Caveats for first-time visitors to Midlife Crisis Crossover:
1. My wife and I are not professional photographers, nor do we believe ourselves worthy of press passes. These were taken as best as possible with the intent to share with fellow fans out of a sincere appreciation for the works inspired by the heroes, hobbies, artistic expressions, and/or intellectual properties that brought us geeks together under one vaulted roof for the weekend. We all do what we can with the tools and circumstances at hand.
2. It’s impossible for any human or organization to capture every costume on hand. What’s presented here will be a fraction of the sum total costume experience. That being said, please note MCC refutes the popular notion that everyone attends in costume. We appreciate those who do, but the general public believes it’s a mandatory masquerade and I’m kind of burnt out on confronting that cute but inaccurate perception.
3. We didn’t attend Sunday. Sincere apologies to anyone we missed as a result.
4. Corrections and comments are always welcome, especially for Parts 2 and 3, where You, the Viewers at Home, will have the opportunity to step up and name some anime and/or fantasy characters we old fogies didn’t recognize. I like learning new things, especially when I’m trying to write about characters and series that are beyond my particular geek foci.
5. Enjoy!
Booster Gold (in his short-lived armor), Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes edition), Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), and Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) represent for the DC Universe. Many DC cosplayers in the house; very, very few from the New 52.
Stop me if you’ve heard me mention C2E2 one too many times. Well, you can try to stop me.
My wife and I are now in scenic downtown Chicago, having spent the evening enjoying some non-geek quality time before our big Saturday arrives. While we decompress and charge our devices, please enjoy this collected library of our last three C2E2 experiences as previously relayed here on MCC. New photos and stories from this year’s experience will be uploaded and shared starting on Sunday as soon as time and physical limitations permit. Cheers!
* Our C2E2 2011 Photo Archive, Part 1 of 2: Heroes in Chicago
* Our C2E2 2011 Photo Archive, Part 2 of 2: Villains in Chicago
* Our C2E2 2012 Photo Archive, Part 1 of 3: the Movie Tributes
* Our C2E2 2012 Photo Archive, Part 2 of 3: the Marvel and DC Tributes
* Our C2E2 2012 Photo Archive, Part 3 of 3: the TV and Video Game Tributes
* Comic Book Company Resurrection Scorecard, Part 1 of 2: the Valiant Return of Valiant
* Comic Book Company Resurrection Scorecard, Part 2 of 2: First Things First for First
* C2E2 2013 Photos, part 1 of 6: Costume Contest Winners and the Doctor Who Milieu Revue
* C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 2 of 6: Costumes from Screens Big and Small
* C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 3 of 6: Costumes from Marvel, Image, and Other Comics
* C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 4 of 6: Geek Culture Settings and Artifacts
* C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 5 of 6: Actors and Creators Who Made Our Day
* C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 6 of 6: Robots, Games, Misfits and Honorable Mentions
* The Fable of Why This Blog is C2E2′s Fault
* Behold the Future of Chicago Sun-Times Photojournalism (includes some C2E2 2013 Marvel panel material)
* The C2E2 2013 Music Panel: Our Disappointing Photo Collection
Adipose wasn’t at the Indiana Comic Con, but I took this pic later the same day. Cuteness goes a long way toward banishing frustration.
Several random digressions were tossed from the previous entry because I wanted to keep it concise and streamlined for first-time visitors and photo addicts. The following self-Q&A represents what I hope will be the final roundup of anecdotes from our weekend in general, a few reflections on the positive things that came from it, and some eager anticipation of potentially exciting events ahead in 2014 for us and for MCC readers.
So…was that it? You left the con, went home, wallowed in your high blood pressure, and registered your dismay on the internet for all to see? We had a backup plan, but I didn’t expect to have time to use it. After abandoning downtown we headed out west and attended the open house at Who North America. Touted as America’s largest online retailer of Doctor Who memorabilia, they’re normally closed to the public except by appointment, but they open one Saturday every month for a four-hour window. They timed their March open house to coincide with the con and drew at least ten times their normal visitor count. The line to enter was a ninety-minute wait…but at least we were allowed inside. They even announced they were extending their hours to accommodate the tremendous response. We literally applauded their generosity.
This way for more questions, a map, and a 2014 convention schedule!
Indianapolis hosted Star Wars Celebrations II and III in 2002 and 2005, which each attracted over 20,000 fans. Every year since 2003 we’ve hosted Gen Con, which keeps climbing in attendance and turned out 49,000 strong in 2013. We’ve hosted Super Bowl LXVI, the Big 10 college basketball conference, the Indianapolis 500, the Pan Am Games, and other large-scale sporting events. Indianapolis is centrally located in the Midwest and easily accessible from four different interstates in four different directions. The Indiana Convention Center is conveniently located in downtown Indianapolis, where visitors have easy access to countless restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions they can visit in their off-hours or when either hunger or alcoholism strike.
But no one’s ever thought we were worth blessing with a comic book convention to call our own. Apparently word on the streets was that we suck. Or something. When the Indiana Comic Con was announced, that was kind of a major deal. Finally someone scrimped together enough sense to realize Indianapolis might be ready for the kind of geek conference that Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Columbus, and other Midwest cities have had for years. Chicago even has two of them. This, we reasoned, might be our chance to join the big boys and show all of fandom that Indianapolis is, in fact, a real, live city.
Well…they tried.
The scene as we exited the exhibit hall around 12:30. Before it got worse.
Ugh. Just…UGH. No, this won’t do at all. #ICC2014 #failtag
As part of my prepping, I thought I’d check in on the Twitter scene and gather impressions from the three-day attendees who edged ahead of us in joining the fray. I saw a fair amount of evidence that my sincere hopes for everyone to enjoy themselves are largely being realized. I’m looking forward to joining the discussion tomorrow myself.
That’s assuming I can figure out where the discussion is. Continue reading
Official flyer handed out at my local comic shop. No idea what the QR code does.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover, back in June 2013:
This week the Indianapolis Star reported that someone out there wants to make my pipe dream a reality. A young Florida-based company called Action3 Events and Promotions has scheduled a comics convention for March 14-16, 2014, in our very own Indiana Convention Center. It’s as yet unnamed and not yet listed on their official site, but official enough that they’re proclaiming its proposed existence in public interviews. That much alone is a positive sign.
A name was assigned shortly after I wrote that. Nine months later, its time is nigh. March 14-16 sees the world premiere of the Indiana Comic Con, a three-day meeting-of-the-minds for connoisseurs of the graphic storytelling medium, and/or a temporary point of interest for autograph hounds. For once, local comics collectors will have someplace massive to converge that’s not Chicago, Ohio, Louisville, or some faraway land reachable only by air travel.
My wife has always been a big fan of the 1983 TV miniseries V and its 1984 sequel, V: the Final Battle. She could take or leave the short-lived series that followed, and she had no interest in sampling the recent failed reboot.
Veterans of V are an extreme rarity at local geek conventions. Until tonight she’d only met its star, Marc Singer, several years ago at a Trek con that was generous enough to incorporate other sci-fi universes. While it was interesting for us to see the original Beastmaster up close, he was never her favorite V character. Whenever she waxes nostalgic about the show, her narrative sooner or later turns to the subplot of Willie, the humble alien Visitor who would betray his race, join the human resistance, provide comic relief, and lend the show some much-appreciated heart. He may not have been a he-man like Singer, but I’ll admit he stood out in every episode I saw when she introduced me to their world.
This weekend that particular actor is in town, headlining a convention that’s been around for a few years. We’ve never attended it before because its primary focus really isn’t our thing. After weeks of hemming and hawing over whether or not this was a suitable idea for us, ultimately we had to ask ourselves: how many other chances will she have to meet him?
It’s in that spirit, after no small amount of deliberation, that we endured wretched construction traffic and the world’s ickiest dealer booths to grant her not-dying wish of meeting the man who brought Willie to life.
Many of you know him better for his movie work, including one specific character ten thousand times more well-known than Willie.
The next time my wife and I decide to attend major geek conventions two weekends in a row, someone needs to remind me to sleep twice as much first.
Today at the comic shop, one of the owners confirmed they and the other customers have been suffering from “GenCon hangover week”. We don’t drink, but the effects are similar. We’ve been wiped out the last few days, soldiering on in our jobs, ignoring the lingering muscle strains, and lamenting that we’re no longer surrounded by those who Get It. That last part’s always the hardest to handle.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: souvenirs from the 2013 edition of that shindig of shindigs called GenCon. Captured so far in our retrospective:
* Part One: this year’s Costume Contest winners.
* Part Two: other Costume Contest participants.
* Part Three: still other Costume Contest participants.
* Part Four: still other costumes, but not in the official contest.
* Part Five: if you guessed “costumes”, you win!
In our long-awaited miniseries finale, we look back at the scenery, the objects, and the guests of GenCon that crossed paths with our party. According to a report today on their official Facebook page, this year’s spectacle drew a record-setting 49,000 unique visitors in attendance. And everywhere around us, everyone had options to keep them busy in this massive celebration of free-time preoccupations.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: GenCon costumes! In our last astonishing chapters:
* Part One: this year’s Costume Contest winners.
* Part Two: more Costume Contest entrants.
* Part Three: still more Costume Contest entrants.
* Part Four: Super-hero and animation-themed costumes discovered around the Convention Center but out of competition.
Part Five, as promised, is much like Part Four, but with different themes. Pot luck, as it were. This represents our last batch of non-terrible costume photos from any genre. I can scrounge up a few more terrible ones if there’s a surge in demand. Once again, a plea from me: any comments and especially corrections are welcome, especially since this entry has a few more mystery characters lined up.
Once again Final Fantasy favoritism wins out as we lead with Auron from FFX and Kingdom Hearts 2, both winners in my book.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: our weekend-long GenCon 2013 photo marathon! On a normal weekend, posting at this pace would destroy my nervous system and upset my family, but I’d rather share these with attendees as quickly as possible and then collapse for a day or two.
If you’re joining us at random some months down the road, here’s where we’re at so far:
* Part One: this year’s Costume Contest winners.
* Part Two: other Costume Contest entrants, a talented lot in their own right, trapped in a wide field in which some folks regrettably had to be chosen as not-winners.
* Part Three: the last of the not-winners. If anyone’s desperate for outtakes of themselves that weren’t already posted, we have a select few photos that appear to have been taken under earthquake conditions. If I shrink them down to 50×50, they might be useful as tiny avatars, but not for showing off to your family. (Seriously, if anyone has a desperate tiny-avatar request, I’ll be happy to add it to Part 6.)
Parts four and five will be other costumed entities we spotted roaming the Indiana Convention Center of their own free will. One of my personal favorites of this bunch: an uncanny Mr. Incredible.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: GENCON GENCON GENCON GENCON GENCON. My wife and I average four conventions a year, and GenCon consistently has the broadest, most impressive assortment of cosplayers and handicrafts of them all. Sure, we could leave this work up to the professionals with better cameras…but why?
In Part One we listed all the Costume Contest winners. In Part Two we celebrated several other entrants, all game-themed. This time around is the last of the contest photos, what we have left that’s as close to usable as possible. We would’ve taken more and better photos if circumstances had permitted. Traditionally we’ve been able to do so after the contest ends, when many of the contestants usually hang around the ballroom and/or the adjacent staging room for a while. Unfortunately this year’s contest ran much longer than usual. By the time the house lights came up and all the prizes had been claimed, the majority of the cosplayers had long since fled the vicinity for parts unknown.
Nonetheless, we’d like our opportunity to salute the variety and imagination that fans boldly put forth that day. Random example: steampunk Disney Princesses — Snow White, Ariel, Rapunzel, Jasmine, and Belle.
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 