Dragon*Con Reports

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Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Imp-Chan »

I'm starting a new thread, because I suspect that each of the people who went will have their own report to make, and I figure this is a little easier to link to when I do the newspost.

So, Dragon*Con... this convention was one heck of a mix for us, and for me especially. This is probably going to be my longest and least coherent con report ever, just to warn you all in advance.

You see... long before I was an anime geek, or a comics geek, or a musicals geek, or a costuming geek, or any number of my other geekdoms, I was a science fiction and fantasy geek. My formative years were spent reading an AWFUL LOT of fiction, and that fandom has stuck with me through thick and through thin, all the way into adulthood. I may not have gotten to watch TV or buy comic books or play video games as a kid, but I was definitely allowed to read, and the science fiction and fantasy shelves were my weapon of choice.

So, needless to say, the scifi/fantasy geeks are pretty much my true people. This con, therefore, was already set to be a different experience for me than all the anime conventions I've been attending all these years. As with all different experiences, this had both good sides and bad sides.

First of all, I have to say that the sheer mass of this convention was astonishing. I don't know the official count or anything, but there had to be at least 40,000 people attending, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were more. The spread of the convention was likewise astonishing... I'm used to everything being in a convention center, with people staying at a zillion hotels in the area. Not so here, there were events pretty much 24 hours a day, in each of three major hotels, and the sheer crush of people was overwhelming. My true people or not, I don't do well in crowds, so this was not a low-stress situation for me. Ah well, it was also energizing in its own way.

There was a small drawback to the giant mass of people that filled the halls of the convention, and that was crowd control. I don't think it was the convention's fault per se, since there were about 10,000 people more than they anticipated this year and their regular hotel for a lot of stuff was under construction, but this convention did have a LOT of problems with keeping people sorted out. I'm no stranger to largish conventions and a need for some crowd management, however, conventions with so many problems doing crowd management are new to me. I kept wanting to give them some velvet ropes and tazers, not to mention a megaphone or two and some clear idea of where to put all the people. I wound up only getting to go to one panel the entire four days, because I simply wasn't willing to be exposed to that many disorganized bodies for a couple of hours just to see whatever the panel was about. The one panel I did attend (the Mythbusters panel) I got into only because my friend Jenny was incredibly sweet and managed to hold a place in line for me, and I kinda felt guilty about even that.

So, with all the crowd problems, a part of me kept thinking that there HAD to be a better system for getting attendees into events, and the other part of me was in awe that the convention staff managed to get anyone anywhere they needed to be considering the sheer amounts of noise and disorganized fandom they were facing off against. Lord knows I had a hard time deciding where to be at any given time... 40,000 plus fans (in varying states of inebriation, no less) all trying to decide the same thing would be impressive for any convention to handle as smoothly as Dragon*Con did. Also, the guy doing the crowd control as the line streamed into the room for the panel I did go to (see: the guy stalling until everyone was seated and the panel could start) was quite good at his job, and soothed the wait considerably.

Sadly, I didn't get to meet the majority of the people I was looking forward to seeing at this convention. There simply wasn't enough time what with the hectic schedule at our booth and the exhaustion from a long drive and an extra day of work, and the enormous amounts of time that would have to be spent in line in order to do anything. Robert Asprin and Terry Brooks were too hard to track down, and I didn't get a chance to do any of the Whedon-universe panels that I wanted to see. I did, however, briefly get to meet the Mythbusters build team. Given that I am actually a shy person and ordinarily overwhelmed by crowds, I am very much afraid that I was inaudible. However, I did give each of them one of our catgirl shirts, and Grant laughed like any true geek at it. So that was neat.

Also on the subject of crowd management, one of the coolest things at this convention was the sheer number of events that I could participate in WITHOUT having to stand in line. This wasn't because of high capacity, but because of Dragon*Con TV... a sort of Adult Swim-like setup which occupied one of the hotel's channels all weekend. When it wasn't airing Trek parodies or random zombie-related music videos, it had amusing bumps AND live transmission of major events at the con. Thus, I was able to see events like the Dawn Lookalike Contest (dubbed by our group the "Magical Mary Sue In Her Underwear Fashion Show"), the Masquerade (hosted by Grant and Kari from Mythbusters), and even a lively few minutes of the D*C TV host's computer desktop (which we promptly captured on camera for posterity).

In fact, I have to say that I personally consider D*C TV the best part of the convention. We stayed in the Hyatt (where even the balconies have balconies), so we were able to lounge in our room with the door to the balcony open, and watch the major events from the comfort of a cuddle puddle on one of the beds. This was nice, because every so often one could tell by the spontaneous roar coming from outside that a large number of the other attendees were doing the same. It's impossible to describe why this was so cool, but it just was. Maybe it has something to do with having worked our asses off all day in the Exhibitor's hall, so not wanting to deal with actually trying to navigate the crowds, but still wanting to be included in the crowd dynamic? Anyways, D*C TV rocks!

Thanks to D*C TV, I have now officially seen more Star Trek fan works than I have actual Star Trek. Jim (Viking-Sensei) has resumed threatening to sit me down some night and show me a healthy dose of the real deal, however, he agreed that the fan stuff this weekend was pretty darn good all things considered. I especially recommend that you all see Star Wreck.

Also thanks to D*C TV, I was blown away by some of the costumes in the competition this weekend. Truly. The giant robot was particularly impressive, but I also liked the cute little tribute to Wash. The Moonlin Rouge skit was disturbing, appropriate, and impressive as well. All in all, the costume contests were inspiring. Someday, I really will work on my next big project and build an Ohmu. I promise.

While I'm on the subject of TV, I should mention that I experienced quite the fangasm this weekend. You see, Monday night when everyone else had gone home, my friends John (who doesn't participate on the forums), and Jim (Viking-Sensei) introduced me to the wonders of Doctor Who, which I had somehow managed never to encounter up until now. I was hooked right around the time he did a giddy little moment of "I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!" Michael has forbidden me from doing my usual new fandom routine where I attempt to absorb everything I've missed at once, however, given the amount of Doctor Who to catch up on, I must admit this is probably for the best. It's unlikely to stop me from trying anyways, though. ^-^'

One thing that really stood out about attendees at this convention was the difference in relative age. I'm used to the anime conventions, which draw a much younger overall crowd, so I usually feel ancient walking around surrounded by disturbingly energetic pseudo-raver kids. Not this time... this time I was on the younger end of the spectrum, so I felt right at home because the fans I talked to understood things like mortgage payments and health insurance and all those pesky details of adulthood that it's sometimes hard to converse about with people who aren't even out of high school yet. They also understood my need for coffee... many thanks to random con attendee Jeremy, who saw I was tired on Sunday and out of the blue brought me an icy coffee beverage on Monday which positively made my day. Much <3!!

Of course, you can't have an older crowd of attendees without also realizing that more than 90% of the attendees are suddenly above the legal drinking age. Holy crap, there were a lot of people partying this weekend!! I went out to explore and find some interesting people to party with one night, and was literally no more than ten feet outside of my room before random attendee in a kilt Bill generously provided me (and my friend John) with free alcohol. Mmm... pear cider. ^-^' Then the elevator arrived, and it was clear that this... this is a convention that really enjoys its alcohol. I can think of no other explanation for the elevator being full of people toasting each new occupant all the way down to the lobby. Fun times. Oh, and this isn't even counting all the pirates that were partying on... was it Sunday? The days are kinda blurry I'm afraid.

However, the days are not so blurry that I don't remember randomly acquiring a new person for our little band of craziness! Chelsey is a student at my old college who was attending the convention for fun, and she was quickly adopted by our little crew. I suspect that even if she ever wants to it is probably far too late already for her to escape us. Though she wasn't on our staff this weekend, it's only a matter of time before she will be (which is why she's listed as a Booth Minion here). She's just awesome like that. Everyone, say hi to Chelsey!

I also got to meet quite a few forumers this weekend, which was pretty awesome. I know that this forum is barely a couple weeks old, so it's too soon to tell, but I can't help feeling that given the renewed interest and the people I met this weekend and the variety of discussions already in play, this place is going to be a great new home for a real, honest to god fan community, and I'm really looking forward to that.

This convention was a great place to generate some new interest in ES, too. We completely ran out of fliers and almost ran out of business cards as well. The amount of actual interest in the comic at this con was far disproportionate to the anime cons we usually attend, and I think we may need to shift our focus a smidge in future. I can't wait to see what happens when we return next year!

All in all, Dragon*Con was an incredible experience. The con staff was amazing, and from what I could tell they were both devoted and competent all the way around. Our booth staff was also incredible, and I can't tell them thank-you enough for all the hard work they put in. All of you should tell them that too, because without their help we'd have been completely dead halfway through day one of this thing. Also, special thanks to Jim (Viking-Sensei), because it was his suggestion that got us to go to this con. (Also, because he let me steal his hat. I now have a black fedora which I will probably never give back to him unless he asks me for it, which he probably won't because it looks much cuter on me and doesn't fit him that well anyways. Now, I just need a tricorn and a top hat as well, and I shall be quite dapper at the conventions in future.)

^-^'

Note: I am running late for meeting with my parents, so I will go back and edit this and add pictures and so forth later.
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Viking-Sensei »

*Ahem*

My Dragon*Con 2007 Report

By Jim, The Viking-Sensei

Since joining CAS a couple years ago as occasional muscle, occasional contributor*, and occasional sane person, I've had the pleasure of accompanying Impy and Poe on a number of convention runs. It is against that backdrop and with complete honesty that I say that this convention was unlike anything we've done before. Here's a breakdown:

1. It was SciFi.
We've been hitting primarily anime cons since Poe started being actively sociable, which did/does make sense up to a certain point. The Japanese influence on artwork, formatting, and characters is present in both EN and ES, and without reading too much into it many might easily confuse it for an actual japanese manga. This played for and against us at the D*C... for us, his work visually stood out (instead of being imbedded in a sea of Naruto and Bishonen) and actually got appreciated by some on it's artistic merits alone; against us, we had more than a few con-goers who dismissed our desperate pleas for attention with a "I don't like anime/manga." which more or less killed things right there.

Breaking out of the Anime con-dom (that just doesn't sound right, even with the hyphen) and into the SciFi equivilent had some other interresting side effects. Most notable, I think it exposed Poe and his works to a much older, more mature audience capable of appreciating some of the older, darker jokes and humor. Exploitation Now garnered quite a bit of interrest, not just from people who remember reading it 'way back when', but also from people who the concept genuinely intriuged. We also ran into a surprising number of people who were already readers at one point (either of EN or early ES) but who'd dropped off for various reasons.

If you happen to be one of those readers who is reading this now - hello, and welcome back!

2. It was 'The South'.
I don't think we've avoided going south for any specific reason. Heck, Poe's from the south (and those pesky 'warrant' issues were most likely cleared up years ago), so it's not like we've got a bias against it or anything. It's just, as far as Cons go, we're sitting nicely in the middle of a comfortable West-to-East zone of conventions and haven't had cause or reason to travel up or down much. To one side and slightly up we've got ACEN, to the other side we've got Katsu, Tekko, Otakon, Anime Boston, and several others I've probably offended by not remembering their names.

I think the problem isn't The South... it's getting across 'The Middle'. While there are cons to the north (I assume there's cons to the north, anyway) and the far south (of which I am now aquainted with several, thanks to every flat surface I encountered at D*C), there really isn't very much in between here and there. If you look at a map of the US and draw a line from Nashville, TN to Washington, DC... you'll see there isn't a damn thing there. Empty map. Once you get about halfway throgh Tennassee, then the cities and towns start picking up the pace again... but there's a stretch in the middle there that just isn't.

So what metric did being in the Southern USA change? Honestly, I don'y know. All in all, I'd say that people were nicer. A little scarier (especially in the 'middle' zone, where a gas station attendant was either scratching a poorly placed itch or was rubbing his crotch vigirously at The Intern) but generally nicer and more friendly than their large city northern analogs. Heck, even the bums in Atlanta were a lot friendlier than northern bums. They offered directions, helpful hints about choice eateries, and philosophical debate in return for whatever spare change that you just happened to have on you. They were smarter, too... There was a guy with a bad arm and a bad leg in power wheelchair who kept going to the top of the hill the hotels were sitting on and 'faking' a brake failure, crying for anyone to stop him as he was 'out of control'. Of course, it was just a cheap come-on to get you to feel sorry for him. His brakes did work and he was never in any real danger... still, a cunning ploy to the inexperienced.

3. It was a 4-Day Convention.
I've never done a 4-Day Con in all my years. It's both awesome and sort of scary at the same time. Sales were a mess because of the extra day... Friday (usually so-so) was blah, Saturday (usually our biggest day) was so-so, Sunday (usually blah) was our biggest day, and Monday was 'Wacky Extra Special Bargain Day' at the Flea Market Dealer's Room. Apparently, it's a standing tradition with Dragon*Con that a number of the dealers do discounts on the last day to avoid having to pack up and carry home more than they want to. And since this isn't just a bunch of retail outlets like many anime cons are, it's probably a legit strategy.

The down side of the four-day-scheme is that, as far as I could tell, everyone hordes their money until the last day or two, which caused us more than a little concern. I don't know how much I ought to go into our expenses, as that's really Impy's department, but I think I can safely say that I was a little panicked myself come Saturday night when we hadn't quite broken even yet (especially since going to Dragon*Con was MY suggestion). So when we hit that golden number Sunday and then realized that we still had all day Monday left to go... it was a good feeling. Also, Con Programming may have had something to do with the delay... most of the major guests left sunday night, leaving the con-goers little or nothing to do except shop their hearts out on bonus Monday.

On the non-analytical-personal-side, the 4-Day-Scheme was sorta nice. at a 3-Day con, Friday's got some partying, but mostly it's people getting settled in and sleeping off whatever jetlag they may have from arriving... Saturday is the big colossal party night... and then Sunday is quiet, contemplative, restful for those who stayed over. Not so at the 4 day con. Saturday is indeed the big party night... and then, Sunday is ALSO the big party night. I noticed that the parties of these two nights were wildly different, too... Saturday is an explorative night, getting to know the surroundings, meeting people, getting drunk... Sunday was taking what you learned Saturday and putting it to good use, with the full knowledge that if you didn't get up and moving until 2 PM on Monday, nobody cared ('cept maybe the hotel).

4a. This was a mature crowd.
This crowd was a much older crowd than at an anime convention. Not as mature as PhilCon was last year (FYI, I drug Impy to PhilCon in 2006 - it's a Scifi Author's Con in Philly) where everyone except me got the 'Junior' rate and the dance was an actual dance, with people dressing up like they were going to prom. No, it was a comfortable zone in-between... I'd say the average con-goer was between 25-40, with a few notable exceptions on either end of the spectrum. This meant that a lot of them understood a number of the jokes EN (many even read EN during it's original run) and could appreciate the deeper, darker fantasy elements of ES. These are people that I could say things like 'Elfquest', 'Tolkien', 'Robert Asprin' to without getting the "bwa-huh" expression...

Also, when describing Errant Story, I likened it several times to Animaniacs in that it was appreciable on the surface as just a fantasy story, but if you understood gaming and classic fantasy elements there was added humor content. I couldn't do that at an Anime con. They'd either go "What's Animaniacs? Is it sumfin about anime? I like Naruto! Lolz!" or they'd have lost interest and be buying bishonen manga at the stall across the way. At anime cons, it's much less personal, kind of a hit-and-run unless a person's already a reader... here, we could actually sit down (stand) with people and talk to them about the comic and why it's good. It was actually very nice, albeit a little taxing.

4b. This was a mature crowd.
See, having an older con-going crowd has another side effect... at this con, the crowd was much more mature, and they *knew* it. As an interresting byproduct, there was a whole lotta nerd/geek/dork sexing going on at Dragon*Con.

I'll be blunt. I'm 28, and the god damn jailbait 16 year olds running around in nothing but a thong because they saw somebody in Naruto do it just gets OLD after a while. Where the hell are your parents? Hiding in shame? For the love of Cthulhu, stop torturing us old men and go... I dunno... read a book or something. It can be porn, that's fine, just do it as far away from me as you can, creepy little half naked raver girl. And while you're away not bothering me, go eat a sandwich; you're too skiny, it's not healthy, and no amount of spirit gum and costuming foam is ever going to cover up your complete absence of cleavage.

Ahem. Sorry about that. It's been building for a while. I'm not against the 'raver kids' so much... but when you're trying to refference Shakespeare and you have to bring up "10 Things I Hate About You" as source material, it makes not killing the person you're talking to all the more difficult.

Now, being recently married (hi, honey!) I did not participate in any of the large amounts of Geek Hook Up that were obviously going on around me... but had the situations been different, I can say with almost certainty that I would have at least tried. Not only were there people there that I probably could have fucked, but there were people there who would have wanted to fuck me (and a couple who still wanted to despite my unavailable status). Not unatractive people either... some fairly hot geek ladies. And the best part is... it would've been legal! No checking IDs or examining teeth. No need to cut off a limb and count the rings. No going to jail for anything that didn't involve a donkey, a roll of duct tape, and some oven mitts.

I guess it's nice to be with your own and know that you've still got it. So yeah, even though I didn't participate in the baser instinct action, sometimes it's an honor just to be nominated.

5. This was a big f'ing convention.
Last year, when I attended Otakon, I thought I'd seen the pinacle of Con-Sizes. Walking up to the convention center and seeing the registration line stretching completely around the 2-block wide building... twice... that was big.

Then I attended Dragon*Con... walking up to a panel about Aqua Teen Hunger force, and seeing the line to get in stretching completely around the hotel... it was then that I knew in my heard that this was bigger. There's no official numbers up at the dragon*con website yet, but from what I heard they topped 40,000 people this year, possibly topped 45,000... and last year they were under 35,000... so it certainly goes a far distance to explain Impy's population overload comments.

The con was spread fairly evenly through three major hotels, so there wasn't quite the press of bodies that there was at Otakon (and a surprising absence of that tradmark 'otafunk' that Otakon developes around day three). That is, unless you actually wanted to attend a major ticket item... then, you'd better have shown up at least an hour before hand, or you won't even be able to get into the line to get into the line to get into the event. Or, as several people have put it, "Curse you, fire marshals, and your maximum occupancy standards!"

I don't think things were poorly planned out... there were a couple of spot instances where some better planning might have saved the day... I was in an Adult Swim line going into Ballroom A and B which somehow wound up lining up across the entrances to Ballrooms C and D. There was a Stargate SG1 panel in Ballrooms C and D... guess where their line was lined up... that's right, in front of Ballrooms A and B. So, for each group to get into their respective panel, the other group had to not be there anymore... but you try getting 400 people to all take five big steps back at once. It doesn't work.

And yes, Dragon*ConTV was Teh Awesome. Their website has some of the things that made them awesome, however it doesn't quite capture the magic of it being shown as a tv channel itself. Next year, I'm taking a DVR or a DVD Burner... I figure at Extra SLP mode, I should only have to change disks three times a day... that ought to work. Plus, as Impy said... if we hadn't watched it on DCTV, we wouldn't have been able to see the costume contest or the 'Dawn Look-Alike Contest'. Also, even if we had somehow managed to make it into the contest hall itself, I doubt several of our off-color comments (especially during the Dawn contest) would have been appreciated by the contestants or their families.

6. The Costumes...
Don't have the pictures up yet, but let me just say... damn. From gimp Venom to Fuzzy Captain America, we sorta covered the entire gauntlet of costumes. Hot girls... real, actual, hot girls with a good amount of meat on their bones, painted to look like cats and not wearing a damn thing above the waist except a couple well-placed bandaids. An 8-foot tall Wookie. The world's littlest Princess Leia. Two Rincewinds. The girl from 5th Element (also good looking). Waaaay too many redheads (leftovers from the Dawn contest). I'll talk to Impy about possibly setting up a webpage for her, my, and Intern Lauren's pictures.

Final Thoughts
So... overall, a fantastic experience. Not without it's ups and downs, but certainly something I'm hoping I get a chance to do again next year. I think Poe really enjoyed it too, although he probably won't admit that he did. It was a reconnect, on several levels, with people who made me appreciate the fandom as a whole again and be glad that I'm a scifi writer (still unpublished) and not... oh, I dunno... a furry.

Also, as Impy mentioned, we picked up a new human... everyone say hi to Vixen In Purple/Chelsey, or as I like to call her "The New-And-Improved Intern". And if you met the regular "The Intern" already, then wait until you see next year's model... Va-va-va-voom. Ok, sorry, both Interns have given me free liscence to innuendo, and I feel it's only right to abuse the privlage until they take it away again. I'll behave now. (No, I won't.)

All in all, I'd have to say without a doubt that it was one of the best conventions I've attended in my entire life, and I strongly recommend that if you're going to try and see US at one convention next year, make it Dragon*Con. There's something there for everyone... possibly someone there for everyone too... and while the con itself may be a bit of a clusterfuck, at the very least it has the dignity to be a pleasant one.



* Look for Viking-Sensei and Stalker Ninja Sensei's Field Guide To The North American Catgirl appearing at a con near you sometime in 2008...9... um... sometime.
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Vixen in Purple »

Egads...What the heck can I write here that hasn't already been said?

My version of the Con was quite a bit different than either of the previous posts. Not only because I actually had the chance to walk around but also because I didn't have the fun of staying in the hotel.

My brother let me stay with him in his Apartment, he is living and working in Atlanta for White Wolf. Although I didn't get into the con for free I still wanted to go. I did love having a bed, room and bathroom all to myself I'm sad to say that I didn't get to see any of the nightly activity. I think next year I'll stay in a hotel room so that I can both watch DCTV and get to attend a few of the parties.

The Artists:
Lord I met so many artists that it just blew my mind! I met and chatted with KittyHawk author and artist of Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki, also the people of Sluggy Freelance, Nigel The Pirate from Devil's Panties and Jennie Breeden creator and artist of DP. I made friends with so many wonderful people, to whom I either promised to buy from next year or in the case of Imp I think I promised my soul.

The Guests:
I met Claudia Christian from Babylon 5. She's so nice! I got her Autograph for my dad for Christmas.
I also hung out with the heads of White wolf and we had drinks.
Also I met James Marsters.....Enough said. ;) (sexy man!)


The Booze!:
I love my brother to death. More so now that he bought me several drinks just because he's my big brother and I'm only a few months shy of 21. Yes people I am that young but in no form are you to remind me, please. I remember everytime I can't buy a drink. Tis sad, le sigh. Oh well. We drank and ate at Trader Vics which was amazing! I even got a Foofy Lulu Drink AKA: The kind with the cherries and umbrella. I will gladly attend their lovely Tiki themed bar again. Even if it is a bit Pricey

The Geeks:
God love them, I know I do. As with Jim I too am in a relationship, I'm just not married....yet. But were I single and looking for a quick lay (riiiiiight) then I would have had the chance to get lucky several times. Mostly by my brother's Coworkers, several were sweet and easy on the eyes. I actually laughed when one asked me for a drink. His jaw nearly fell out of his head when I told him my age. He, being 25, assumed I was the same age. HA! I had several other nice guys react the same. Then there were a few venders who hit on me then asked if I was Jailbait. From one end to the other. Am I 16 or 25? Honestly. *shakes head* That was fun though.

The Costumes:
All I can say is I wish I had that much money. I would cosplay and have men at my feet. damn college and it's stealing my money! Perhaps I'll try an ES cosplay one of these days....all I have to do is borrow a sewing machine, and learn how to sew better. But until then I'll dress as a fox and a pirate with a great rack. Va va va vooom! (thanks Jim)

Will I go back?
Two words: Fuck YES!
I want to go back, but not just by myself. I hope to see a few more panels and whore myself out to the ES crew. I have been adopted! *thinks* adopted again.


I think that's about everything. Sure there might be more but hell if I can remember it right now! *laughs* This is not as fancy as the ones above but It's a quick sum up of my Dragon Con 2007.
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Kite »

What, no one mentions me?

Hi, I'm the random guy that some of you might have met, depending upon when you came. I'm an old friend of Hilary and Poe's, I was a member of the community where they first talked. I'm a local for Dragon*Con, so the things they mention come as no surprise. Maybe I should have told them, a lot of the people who go to the con don't actually go for the convention proper; many of them go for room parties. These numbers include my cousin's husband Eric who got me right smashed on off brand whiskey Saturday night, and my friend Zack, whom almost died of alcohol poisoning later on Saturday night. No lie.

I'm going to keep it short, as I don't have much else to add that they haven't. My big nerd moment there was meeting Pete Abrahms, who is a fantastic guy. I got a chance to talk to him for a minute and we dissed on Keenspot together. Good times. Sadly, I did not get to go to the release party for his new book, I wanted to but I was busy nursing my friend that day. I also got to meet Kittyhawk, who is also a pretty fantastic person. I did not get to speak with her much, I choose a rather busy time to drop by.

I have to say, the fans of ES that I met at the con are pretty great people. I met some fans at Otakon when I helped, but these people aren't just fans. They are ravid. Many of them talked Poe's ears off. I also noticed a lot of people were really interested in the artwork, which is great. People who appreciate the subtleties rather than "that one time when Jon fell was really cool" are pretty awesome people in my book. The only problem was a lot of these people were a bit quiet and the con is quite loud. My apologies to Neko7, who was quite patient with my "I'm sorry, what was that?'"

Some of the outfits people chose were quite amazing. I was really taken with a spot-on Hagrid costume, right down to the pink umbrella. I also laughed at the spot on Tyrone from Dave Chapelle, and the Pee-Wee Herman I saw wandering around. I was appalled at the furry Captain America. It's not right, I tell you. Also, I hope there is a picture around here of Jim in his white suite, and he was quite pimptastic.

Will I be there next year? Chances are good, but I'm keeping an eye on my friends next year. No one is getting wasted, and I am going to smack any of my friends who follow in my friend Paul's footsteps, who proposed to his now fiance in full stormtrooper regalia at the con.
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Vixen in Purple »

Also I forgot to mention that I have a fab picture of Poe with Cthulhu. Amazing!
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by LaurenTheIntern »

That can't beat the two fourteen year old girls dressed as tentacle monsters who decided to violate Poe on camera at Otakon. Dragon Con hands-down topped the last few Cons we've been at for pure fantasticness! The booth ran smoothly and I got to enjoy myself in the off time because we had enough staff no one was too fried. There was also plenty of eye-candy, new friends and old buddies to be found everywhere. I found plenty of new things to fan girl over as well as got my Christmas shopping done! (Not to mention birthdays.)
Vixen in Purple
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Vixen in Purple »

I know! I was do happy to have my Christmas shopping done. I have a few more gifts but not many. And I have enough business cards to be set on Birthdays too! I love Con shopping!!
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Neko7
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Re: Dragon*Con Reports

Post by Neko7 »

Back from DragonCon.
I'm very happy to have seen all of you. I hope you guys had the time to enjoy it despiste the short time of sleep availiable for evryone and hopesee your Con report sometime soon.
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