Indiana Comic Con #IndyComicCon

So this past weekend I was lucky enough to make it to Indiana Comic Con #IndyComicCon. While I have attended many other conventions, this was my first Comic Con. Like many of the other patrons I had high hopes and expectations for the convention. There were many issues that plagued it from the first day. It wasn’t all I had hoped it would be, but it was fun.

The biggest issue was the apparent lack of understanding of the Midwest’s fan-base. They apparently didn’t expect the turnout that they experienced. They underestimated the desire of those in the region. Fans showed up in force and quickly crowded and overwhelmed the plans they had set out. I heard that they only expected around 2,000 people: 10,000 showed up. Not only did they just not have the space to handle that many people, they didn’t have the layout organized for it either.  The show had SOLD OUT by early Saturday. (Also heard rumors of fire marshal issues).

They had both the entrance and exit to the dealer hall connected to the entrance to the ticket booths. The only signs they had for it were right next to the doors, which were obviously blocked by the crowd trying to get in. This was all contained in only ONE Exhibit hall section (D I believe?) of the Indy Convention Center. They did have a couple smaller rooms as well but they do nothing to change the point: lack of space.

The second issue (not ranked in importance as its arguable on which is more grievous) is the “Lack of things to do.” What I mean by this is the majority of this convention was a dealers’ room. Selling. Pushing. Demoing. Adverting. Etc. They had the old style Batmobile, an area where panels talked about different things, and the dealers’ hall, but that was about it apparently. Wither this was because of the lack of space, or was intended I can’t say, but I do know it left a sour taste for a lot of people.  Most conventions that I’ve been to have rather busy schedules with panels, workshops, and seminars that run late into the night, #IndyComicCon lacked that sadly.

By this point you’re probably thinking, “But Kirk, you’ve done NOTHING but complain, I thought you said you had fun?” I did and… I did. The convention itself was a bit lackluster, but the fans that attended made it an overall enjoyable experience for me.  The cosplayers walking around in a colorful array of creative interpretations was solid gold. I’ll post some of the pictures taken so you can see for yourself.

To be perfectly fair: this was the first year for Indy Comic Con. Of course there was going to be mistakes made. Of course there was going to be room for improvement. Of course not EVERYONE was going to leave happy (especially those that were turned away.) This is just a fact of life for conventions. Indy Comic Con just experienced hemorrhagic growing pains from the start. I would expect they are analyzing the data already and making plans for next year.

So I’m going to give it the best compliment / rating I can give: I’m already planning on going next year.

See you around the con circuit!

--Kirk

Delayed Beginnings

I grew up when this tsunami known as “The World Wide Web” was just forming. I experienced the leading edge of the ripple and all of the great, and not so great, things that came about with its introduction to daily life. I was there for the gloriousness of the Dotcom boom, and obviously for its Babylonian tower collapse. I was onboard with a FaceBook account before most people even heard of it.

Because of all this, and my geeky, nerdy, techy background, people have been shocked, astounded, and downright confused by the fact that I’m not a blogger. The fact that I haven’t been latched to weekly or daily updates has left people curious. Some have even questioned if I’m just ‘antisocial.’ If I’m so into technology and such: why the absence?

The answer for this is rather simple. For those that have known me long enough in person, you may have guessed already. In person I have a habit, generally speaking, of not speaking much or often. I’m more of a listener. Does that mean I’m not interested? No, far from the truth. I speak when I feel I have something to contribute, or something to say. To do otherwise just seems foolish to me, and thus I refrain. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt”… yes? In recent years I’ve piped up in more conversations, simply because I’ve grown my knowledge base into a massive eclectic library. In short, I have more to say: So I do.

So, with this in mind, I’m “stepping into the digital age finally.” I am starting this blog with several goals in mind, one of which is to keep those interested up-to-date on the progress of some things I am working on. I have been informed that the lack of an online presence has given a bad impression. I intend to fix that from this point forward. I will begin weekly updates, maybe more depending on what comes up, starting promptly.

Why? Because, NOW, I have something to say.

Thank you;

--Kirk