Spokane Comicon 2009 recap

Wow, I am still on cloud 9 after an amazing 3rd show. Each year the Spokane Comicon continues to grow in all areas such as attendance, tables, costume contest, new things to do and flat out hype! There was an electricity in the air early on. Maybe it was the line that started forming at 8am and grew and grew and grew. It was so cool seeing all the people lined up around the corner and coming back down the hall. We had 200 people through the doors in just the first hour we opened and the main show floor was absolutely packed.

Special guest artist Art Thibert is a true professional and a gentleman. He was so nice to fly in from California and do anything we wanted really. My personal favorite part of the day was when Mike Watson, Art Thibert and I conducted a Superman Panel. We discussed many things related to Superman including past and present comics, Smallville tv series, what direction should a new Superman movie go towards and what's next for Art Thibert to name a few things. The crowd erupted in applause when Art announced he would be working with writer Kevin Smith on a new Batman title.

The day was full of things to do. New this year were three exclusive prints created just for the show from local artists Daniel M. Davis, Levi Skeen and Bellingham artist, Ben Hansen. Also new this year was a full day of programming such as free hourly raffle prizes, hourly panels were held in the Senate Chambers (Battlestar Galatica, Superman, "Shadows in the Garden" short film screening, Web Comics Panel and Ghost Hunting How and Why), Gaming tournaments were held in the cafe dining area and of course our second go around for our costume contest. We had way more participants this year and it made it much harder to decide. Ultimately it came down to two: Rorschach and Captain America. Captain America won best adult costume based on audience applause and a gift certificate to the Comic Book shop on Division for $50!

Everything ran smoothly and the reason why is because I had the best group of student volunteers from both SFCC and SCC. Their willingness to do "whatever it takes" to make the con the absolute best made all the difference. They were on hand all day attending to the special guests needs, dealers, attendees questions and setting up and taking down of the rooms. Every single one of them showed maturity beyond their years. Special thanks to Oscar, Sheena, Mike Watson for their leadership and dedication from the start.
Nearly 600 fans came out for the 3rd annual Spokane Comicon. No matter their reason for attending, gift bags, special guests, costume contest everyone left having fun. With over 50 tables, and 5 special guests this was our biggest show yet. I can't wait for next year!

All photo's copyright Rachel O'Brien 2009