Nathan Fillion, Patrick Stewart, Karen Gillan and Kelly Hu at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2014
Make comic con a year round event
There are few events that bring the kind of celebrity power, creative fulfillment and intellectual stimulation together in one place like Salt Lake Comic Con and its April FanX. While Salt Lake City is lucky enough to be able to have these two events during the year, six days just isn’t enough. The question that fans have to ask is how to bring comic con to life throughout the rest of the year.
For many, the clear reason to go to a comic con is the opportunity to dress up as a favorite character. As the meme says, “Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then be Batman.” There are a few things that attendees can do to keep this spirit and feeling alive: |
- Join a group – if you are a Star Wars fan, there are several different groups in Salt Lake City that you can join, including the Mandalorian Mercs, the 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion. For Firefly fans there is the Utah Browncoats. For those who like the Resident Evil series, there is the Umbrella Corporation – Utah Hive, and for anyone else there is H.E.R.O.I.C., Inc. These groups allow members to connect with like-minded individuals, many of whom use their costumes for charity events, which means more opportunity to wear those costumes outside of a convention.
- Make a costume – No one at a comic con actually cares how elaborate a costume is. Dressing in a box that vaguely looks like Iron Man is just as acceptable as dressing in a costume that cost thousands of dollars. The one important difference is that making a costume as elaborate as possible will actually take time, and that time will be spent in the haze of comic con. It doesn’t have to be expensive – the DeLorean Time Machine only cost about $500 to make after the purchase of the DeLorean. The better it looks, however, the more comments and photo requests the person is going to get.
- Costume parties – There doesn’t have to be a special occasion to have a costume party, but there are some built in choices like Bastille Day, May 4th and Halloween. If Doctor Who is having a premiere show or a big event in the show, that makes for a good time to throw a Doctor Who party.
A lot of people want more from a panel than the panel was able to provide in the tightly controlled schedule the panels are given. For smaller panels that are exploring a specific subject, it would be easy to start a blog about the subject and keep it running, especially if the blogger can get other people involved.
For example, if someone was in the Cosplay Controversies panel where one of the presenters decided no one should talk about feminism and cosplay, it would be entirely appropriate to create a blog that explored the topic and other controversies related thereto. Until Salt Lake Comic Con decides to support blogs and get the guest panelists to contribute to those blogs, it is up to fans to keep the discussion alive. (Bonus: Salt Lake Comic Con has asked for panel topics. Fans can make suggestions here.)
There are a lot of incredible authors out there writing on a lot of subjects that comic con goers should find awesome. Picking up a book that you want more of is a great way to support authors and to get the types of books that you want on the market. Publishing is driven by profit. An author who sells a lot of books will continue to be published. People like Anne Serling, Mette Ivie Harrison, Bree Despain, Darren Lamb, Adam Sidwell, Natalie Whipple… The list is long. The best bet is to find the locally owned bookstore and ask them about local authors. Some comic books shops may be able to help as well.
This is probably the No-Brainer on the list. Fans are going to indulge in their favorite entertainment choices no matter what. However, making comic con more fun means going just a little outside of the |
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fandom. Firefly fans should delve into Doctor Who. Doctor Who fans should delve into Marvel. By expanding into other fandom realms, the comic com attendee is going to be able to relate better to people in line, to panels that would otherwise have no draw and to stars that may have done something beyond what they are traditionally known for.
Revisit favorite websites and news sources – There is no way that one person can do everything. That means that there are plenty of stories and videos available about any comic con that can expand every fan’s experience. The more that websites get visited and articles get viewed, the more likely news outlets and other writers are to want to write those stories. Publishing is profit driven, and each page view adds to the potential revenue for that publication. Fans who want more of that type of content should continue to look at pages after the event, and share those pages with friends over social media. Not only is it a trip down memory lane, but it is also a vote for more coverage of popular panels and stars.
Revisit favorite websites and news sources – There is no way that one person can do everything. That means that there are plenty of stories and videos available about any comic con that can expand every fan’s experience. The more that websites get visited and articles get viewed, the more likely news outlets and other writers are to want to write those stories. Publishing is profit driven, and each page view adds to the potential revenue for that publication. Fans who want more of that type of content should continue to look at pages after the event, and share those pages with friends over social media. Not only is it a trip down memory lane, but it is also a vote for more coverage of popular panels and stars.