The fifth annual Spokane Comicon was held on Saturday May 21, 2011 and like the previous year before it was our best show yet! A record crowd of 1,300 turned out (300 more than in 2010) despite some patchy rain showers in the early morning. Another best for this years con was the increased amount of tables sold (100 in 2011 up 30 more than 2010) and expanded dealer space beyond the main lobby.
This year we were lucky enough to have special guest artists Dave Johnson and Dan Panosian fly up from L.A. to join us. In addition we held our first ever Drink and Draw the night before the con at Cyrus O'Leary's. We had an outstanding turn out with over 40 guests, artists and friends during the night. Everyone enjoyed getting a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We even poured out a little liquor for the passing of Macho Man Randy Savage.
The line to get into the con was massive. It seemed to go on and on and on. By our count we had 400 people through the doors within the first 2 hours. The first 200 fans where lucky enough to get their hands on exclusive gift bags that included 35mm "Thor" film cells.
Throughout the day fans of all ages took advantage of the many things to see and do. Returning for his second straight con appearance was graphic artist and Keyboard Cat creator Charlie Schmidt. Charlie went as far as painting on a canvass throughout the day.
The one thing that I am sure many of you that attended are wondering about, "What was up with the fire alarm?" Well, here's how I understand it. First off it wasn't deliberate, nor was it someone deciding to sneak out of an emergency exit. According to campus security there was a faulty fire alarm in the building. It was also the third time that week that the same alarm had gone off. I am sure the Fire Dept enjoys wasting their time to keep coming back again and again to turn off the same alarm. On a more serious note I was impressed on how cool everyone was when the alarm went off. All guests, vendors, volunteers and attendees all cooperated and evacuated to the nearest exit. The 30 minutes lost until we got the clear to return back inside was unfortunate but we moved up the costume contest almost 45 minutes to give fans something to cheer about.
Speaking of the costume contest I was really impressed with the increased amount of participation in all ages groups. I really do feel the level of costumes went to another level too. The duo of The Beast and Mystique where fantastic, as was the female Booster Gold. Tip of the cap to the group that dressed up in all colors of the Green Lantern spectrum.
Reflecting on five years of doing this con has been a blast. Sure it looks easy but sometimes things don't always go as planned. Still the positive steps we've made over the years has been great. I couldn't be more happy helping to provide a slice of the comic convention and pop culture world to the Inland Northwest. One of the best parts of the con is seeing kids faces. Seeing the look in kids eyes when they see a member of the 501st strolling around, or handed a sketch from an artist. That's what motivates me to want to continue. That's the type of things that I would have loved when I was a kid. Is there anything better?
Thank you to all the Guests, Vendors, Artists, Volunteers and Attendees who helped make the 5th annual Spokane Comicon another success. I hope you all had as much fun at the con as I did putting it all together. Please join our facebook fan page to keep up to date with anything and everything about the Spokane Comicon.
Thanks and good Con!
Nathan O'Brien
Spokane Comicon Founder & Coordinator
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