This weekend I attended the largest comic book convention in the Twin Cities area, Fall Con. This was the 23rd annual event for the MCBA (Midwest Comic Book Association) and was located at the State Fairgrounds. Each year a spring (May) and fall event is held, and I have attended the last few events.
http://www.midwest.comicbook.com/
I admit I am not as into the comic scene as I used to be, but I do still enjoy reading them when I have a chance. Unfortunately school has cut into my geek time considerably in the last year. Instead of reading weekly/monthly series I prefer to read limited runs or graphic novels, including older titles. I usually read Marvel comics, mostly because I am more familiar with the characters but I enjoy DC and Image as well. I recently finished the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
At this event I met up with my two comic geek friends Doug and Stuart. Both of them are much more into comics than I am and it's great to see their inner geek shine at these events. I walked in through the front doors anticipating great things inside.
The $7 entry fee is a small price to pay for the high level of geekness which hangs in the air. As usual the crowd was heavy early in the day, as the first 500 people attending received a free bag of goodies; unfortunately we did not make it there in time.
The building was lined with various vendors. Of course most of the vendors were selling comic books and graphic novels, but there were a variety of other items including; action figures (super heroes, Star Wars, He-Man, etc.), video games and stuffed geek toys. In the center of the building, a large number of artists were setup. All of them seemed to be friendly and more than willing to talk to people. Most of them were selling prints and were working on sketches and selling those as well.
A couple of the most notable vendors a the con were The Source (the Twin Cities largest game/comic store) and Half-Price Books. As usual, The Source was handing out coupons for their store which were good for 20% off everything for the current weekend. Half-Price Books is one of my favorite vendors since they have many bundles of comics, graphic novels and cart full of RPG/Game books and some board games. Unfortunately this year they did not have anything I was looking for.
The highlight for me of every con is the costumed super heroes and other characters. This event had some of the best I have seen yet. Iron Man, Nova and Predator were my favorites. Iron Man's costumer was superb, made of mostly metal. Nova's costume was custom leather and quite detailed. The regulars, Superman and Batman were in attendance. These two guys always give me a laugh as they are so serious when someone ask to take their picture; and neither one are in shape to play the role.
So if you are into comics or any of the other geeky things I mentioned, this event is for you.
Awesome Kingpin, Not so awesome Elastic Girl.
ReplyDeleteYes, Elastic Girl didn't quite capture the look of the animated version.
ReplyDeleteIron Man was the best!
ReplyDeleteStuart