Happy Sunday readers!

It’s that time of year again, folks. The time of year when the sun comes out to say hello, the leaves start returning to the trees and nerds enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes emerge from a winter in their basements with the latest in homemade costumes. That’s right it’s convention season. I have heard some conjecture as to when the season actually starts, but with big conventions like Emerald City Con, WonderCon, and C2E2 already having transpired, I think it’s safe to say the season is upon us. Working for Semantink, I get a chance to attend quite a few of these conventions. I have noticed that there are some constants (there are always exceptions of course) that make these events the great things that they are. With that in mind, I wanted to look at some of the things that I love about the convention scene:

The fans: Of course, a convention would be nothing without it’s attendees, and comic book conventions have the most diverse rosters of members anywhere. You have your casual fans, out to stroll through the back issue bins. You have your cosplayers (for better or worse) dressing up as everything from Skeletor to Supergirl and everything in between. You have the autograph hounds with their long boxes full of comics that need signatures. You have your aspiring talent, hoping to make connections and//or find a job. There are so many awesome, fun, and sometimes strange people at a comic book convention that it is hard not to get excited.

Artist Alley: I love to walk around the small (and large) press publisher booths as well, but for me, Artist Alley is where it is at. This is where you can go to meet some of your favorite comic book talent up close and personal. You can buy some of their work, or just get a sketch.  But the best part about Artist Alley is getting to meet the new artists that you have never heard of before. Folks like Lord Mesa or Ruben Martinez that haven’t become superstars yet, but whose art will just blow you away.

Panels: The great thing about panels at comic conventions is that they are so diverse. San Diego has a ton of movie and television panels every year. Long Beach had a wide variety of “breaking into the industry” panels. A.P.E. focused on the creators. Wizardworld had “how to draw” panels. Every convention has something fun to check out, and it is always different.

Comics: What would a a comic book convention be without comics. I was a fan of comic books before I worked in the industry, and there is nothing I like more than walking around looking for that rare copy of FLEX MENTALLO #1 or a SOLAR: MAN OF THE ATOM variant cover. And there are always awesome sales at conventions.

Now with the good we must take the bad as well. This is true of most things and convention season is no exception. Here are a few things that really drive me up the wall at conventions:

“Security”: Why do I have quotations around the word security? Because nothing these people do makes me feel secure. These people are often ill-informed or just flat clueless, and do nothing but hinder me from getting where I need to go. If you are ever lost at a convention, do not go talk to these people, as you will only wind up more lost, or at least more annoyed.

Celebrity signing areas: This doesn’t make me mad so much as sad.  These folks were popular once upon a time (mostly, sometimes these people were never popular) and have been reduced to sitting at a table for a weekend to sign autographs. Lou Ferrigno has been at every comic convention I have ever been to, and I am beginning to wonder if he has ever stayed at his house over the weekend. At Wizard World Anaheim, even Kato Kaelin was signing autographs. Kato? Really?

Comic conventions are wonderful things. If you have never been, I encourage you to go to at least one in your life. Even people that don’t like comics can have a good time. And if any of you are planning on attending the Phoenix comic con next month, drop me a line, as Semantink will be there too.

Thanks for joining me today folks, and remember, Comicopea will be moving to Thursdays from now on, and Sundays will be featuring works by some of the writers that we have here at Semantink. Thanks for stopping in, see you next week.