Okay, everybody; breathe. It’s over.
The fifth annual (and ninth total) Salt Lake Comic Con ended yesterday; it’s cavalcade of celebrity guests have departed, vendors packed-up and left, and attendees left with sore feet, empty pockets, and a powerful need to do it all again.
Where to begin? If you’ve read Day 1 and Day 2, you’ve gotten the general gist of what’s been going on.
Day 3, for me, at least, is a kind of “mop-up day,” from a shopping and celebrity standpoint. Normally I try to have most of that done on Thursday and Friday, unless a celebrity is only available on Saturday, or a schedule would just get too crowded otherwise. It’s tough when you overload a day with photo-ops, especially those you know are going to be incredibly busy.
Thankfully, I didn’t overload myself this time out… only wound up with four photo-ops after the Dick Van Dyke situation (Day 2).
Michael Rooker and John & Joan Cusack went well, but by the time we finished the Cusacks, it was the end of a pretty long day, and we were pretty much beat.
Day 3 for me was a photo-op with Elektra herself, Elodie Yung, and the Arrow Team-Up photo (John Barrowman, Willa Holland, and Stephen Amell).
Both photo-ops went very well, as I noted on Day 2’s coverage, although there was a delay due to a medical situation near the photo booths. Swift response by medical folks, and I hope all turned out well with the affected individual.
Saturday was still a very busy day, and I’ll be interested in hearing what the final attendance numbers were, but there was still room to move around, although there were a few points of congestion (as there always will be during events like this). I do think that perhaps wider aisles in the artists’ alley would be nice, as people are stuck outside of the tables to check out art, whereas in the vendor areas they can duck inside most booths.
Just a thought.
I also heard rumblings from a few of the artists that communications from SLCC about set-up times was inconsistant and often wrong, which isn’t good. Also, at least one artist sent in an announcement well before the deadline about an exclusive offering, but that no announcement of that ever came out of the SLCC camp.
So communication might need to be tightened up again for FanX or SLCC18, whichever comes first. Events have been going pretty well, but complacency is bad.
When it comes to cosplay, Salt Lake Comic Con attendees are still some of the most creative and enthusiastic out there. I see more folks dressed here than I have at either Phoenix or Dallas events. Any and every fandom, it seems, is well-represented, from steampunk to superhero, and comics and cartoons from around the world, somebody was showing off their love for it this weekend.
Overall, I’d rate this event near the top of Salt Lake’s (admittedly) brief (but spectacular) history. I know Bryan Brandenburg had billed this as the best show yet, and it might be, but that’s purely subjective. Whether it is or isn’t “the best” isn’t really important.
What is important is that Dan and Bryan have managed to put together another high-quality event, with some big name returning guests, such as Zachary Levi and Stephen Amell, along with some great new blood in Willa Holland and Michael Biehn.
Make no mistake, Salt Lake City’s event is here to stay, outcome of the lawsuit with San Diego notwithstanding.
They have built it, and we have come, and will continue to do so for years to come.
My Own Little Shadow 