Droids Canada has once again invaded Arizona. Phoenix Comic Con fan fest took place over the weekend and we were there to tell you about. We will take a look at the cosplay, the stars and everything else that makes this an even to see. Our admin Rick Rice(Follow on twitter @inkedandholey) reported the experience
I'd like to start off by saying that fan fest isn't the full con (it's often referred to as the baby con), but that doesn't mean that there isn't fun to be had. Taking place at University of phoenix stadium it was a bit cramped, considering it's only the size of a football field. That being said there was still a lot packed in. Once you go down the the escalators to field level you are greeted by with rows of vendors and exhibits that span the full length of the field.
Many of the vendors were selling comics and various sci fi books, many of which had the authors on hand for autographs. I didn't see a lot of comic book vendors to be honest but the ones i did see had boxes upon boxes of comics for sale from a quarter up to hundreds of dollars. I leafed through a few of the boxes but didn't find anything of interest (i'm not much of a comic book guy). I was impressed that there were a lot of independent comics where the artist was there doodling what might be there next book or the next big thing. Some were offereing to draw you something right there on the spot as well as having prints and one of a kind pieces of art.As i mentioned there were alot of vendors selling various sci-fi books. While i'm not a book guy i didn't think it was cool that just for buying their book most of the authors were signing them at no extra cost. Majority of the vendors were selling collectables, everything from action figures to autographed headshots of famous actors. If i had $400 i so would have bought an autographed picture of David Morrissey where he signed it as his name as well as “The Governor”. Most of the collectables were movie props and action figures but there was also a lot of cosplay accessories. Steam punk to anime you could definitely find anything you needed to be ready for next year’s con.
Speaking of cosplay. There wasn't a lot of people cosplaying (that could have been because i could only go on friday which was when it started) but most of the ones i did see went all out. Seemed that the theme was a lot more focused around anime than the full con was (i didn't recognize a lot of them since there are so many). That's not to say they didn't look good though. Too be expected (with the release of force awakens right around the corner) there was a good amount of Star Wars and some of the stormtroopers were bang on. There were a couple of the local cosplay groups there too including, AZ umbrella crop, Az Avengers, and a local steampunk group that always impresses with their craftsmanship.
Now what would a con be without the stars that we all love? While there weren’t a lot of big names there were a few being Karen Gillan, Alaina Huffman, Dirk Benedict and Kevin Sorbo. As usual there were photo ops and autographs available for a price. Sadly i'm poor so i couldn't get any but i would have loved to get ones from Dirk, and Kevin. The prices of autographs and photos is outrageous but that's just me.
The turnout was good even for a friday, and overall approx 9,200 people flocked to the stadium to show off their pride in all things geek. While i don't know if there was enough of a draw for me to back next year it was definitely a good time. If you're in Phoenix and looking for that hard to find comic, or ideas for your next cosplay, this is the place to be.
