Emerald City Comic Con certainly exploded in size since 2019. Instead of occupying one building and a quarter during the time I last attended, it’s a full building and a half! I’ve heard stories about last year’s and am glad I didn’t go. Folks had problems navigating around and getting used to the new space. And although the pandemic caused this event to lose momentum back in 2020, it continued in 2021 with health checks in place. To get those certificates verifying you’re safe to arrive from out of the country was a hassle. While the medical concern is today considered an endemic level threat, I heard on Facebook three vendors in Artist’s Alley caught Covid-19.
On Friday and Saturday, the two exhibitors’ floors were packed! Maybe 15% of the people walked around wearing face masks. Although the new building is much more spacious, I doubt spreading things out further can help limit the transmission of con crud. Even after following all the talk concerning the move to Washington State Convention Center‘s Summit Building (last year’s show), this new space is much better than the old one! And after last year’s blunder, there are signs pointing to the basement level where the best vendors are located!
Most folks spent more time at the new structure and for those who want to meet their favourite talents, be it in print or on the silver screen, they have the original convention space to themselves. With industry panels held on the third floor, and the celebrity and photo op area on the fourth, the spare space was offered to last-minute exhibitors. I have to salute John Rhys Davies for attending Thursday. Although the online schedule said other names would be present, there wasn’t anyone new later in the day (during the times I checked).
With Emerald City Comic Con, I am here for both the major exhibitors and waiting in line for one or two celebrity Q&A’s. For the latter, I saw lineups stretch all the way to the escalators (especially for Chris Evans) even one hour before they started. When the ballroom is not cleared between guests, the random people I asked didn’t complain and I didn’t want to waste 1/4 of my time at this show waiting in long queues. Everyone outside knew they were taking a gamble on getting in. ReedPop made the wise call to stream these on Popverse for the next 30 days. I’m not sure if they’ll be available publicly afterwards, but I may look.
I lucked out with the Avatar: The Last Airbender voice cast getting together. From where I waited, I had a 50/50 chance. Had Michaela Jill Murphy been part of the invited group, I’d be showing up early and breaking my bank to get not only a photo op with the team but also autograph my Blu-ray set.
As for those workshops, like the Make Your Own Con Badge Holder, the capacity was much smaller than what was printed on the guide. My advice is that if you really want to be there, show up two hours earlier than one. Because I believe what’s offered would not be as good as the one I currently use–which allows me to pocket more goods (like cards, pen, and my phone)–I moved along.
That’s when the industry panels are my bread and butter. Since they define what a comic convention is, I always plan to be there at least 30 minutes before and hope I’m not racing between the two buildings to get to them both! Quite often, I’ll learn something new. Sometimes, I may get a photo op. In the past, I got to meet Jim Lee and many showrunners of my favourite series like Man of Action who made Ben 10 and Greg Weisman of Gargoyles. This year, it was getting to know everything Zack Davisson has done! He’s authored or translated many a paranormal book I have in my collection and I say they are all recommended reading for any enthusiast in this genre!
As for the movie business, I noticed there was a smaller presence. There was only one studio doing promotions, and sadly, there were no special screenings of upcoming television shows.
And for anyone seeking a memento, I’d say don’t bother. The best years were before the pandemic. Not only was I able to save nearly every printed guide, but also the official merchandise booth had stuff I really wanted. The tees from last decade, with licensed pop culture icons in some action poses in front of the Space Needle, were the best. I would religiously be there as my first activity to buy a tee shirt with any Autobot or Decepticon on it! This year, the product line at the ECCC merchandise table was mostly generic. I thought about getting the Sasquatch patch, but alas, my decision to wait till Sunday was for naught.
Because I emphasised wanting to sit down and enjoy this year’s show, I finally got to experience the gaming side–which was mostly role-playing and tabletop! Regarding the former, there’s a lot more RPG products offered compared to previous shows. I had time to pace myself since I attended for all four days. On the busiest two nights, I attended a mini-concert, played a game, went to a theatre type play and even had dinner with an old friend! All of this alone made my return to ECCC more memorable.
And with Tom Kenny and the High-Seas (pictured below) really rocking the night with covers of R&B hits with the Adventure Time (Jeremy Shada, Olivia Olsan and John DiMaggio) crew, it’s hard to top. I particular loved how DiMaggio sang the praises of bacon! I haven’t had this type of joy/excitement since going to a Michael Bradley concert at Anime Expo a long time ago.
Although Emerald City Comic Con has fewer industry exhibitors/representation like Fan Expo, I’m wondering what the reasoning is. All the regulars I recall from the past decade. Dark Horse Comics, Funko and Funimation were not present. WETA used to have a tremendous display, and I’m sad they’re gone. I don’t think I even remember walking by the Kinokuniya booth, as I was hoping to locate some Boy and the Heron merchandise. If this trend continues, I’d be hard pressed to say ECCC is worth making an annual pilgrimage to. Ultimately these companies make the decision if having a presence is profitable. It’s not the organisers fault. Whether the pandemic is at fault for causing some businesses to rethink their approach to these fan events, I honestly don’t know.
As a fan, I’m just happy the pandemic was short-lived. I’d have a problem if I wasn’t able to attend because of it. And because I believe the better events are State-side, maybe I should move. While a convention in a small town can satisfy most fans’ needs, I find it’s the huge ones with after hours events that give the best memories. I’m aware Gottacon and Capital City Comic Con had a burlesque show, but they won’t be for everyone. What I want is music!
After Tom Kenny’s concert, all I can say is that the performance brought back wonderful memories from when I was at Anime Expo 2005 (Robocon-20 was held within this larger show) and Michael Bradley put on a mini concert featuring the best hits from Robotech. Both were terrific shows, and if they’re coming to your local fan event, it’s worth attending!
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