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Denver Comic Con 2015: Nice but Not Nice Enough

June 3rd, 2015 by Crowbar 2 Comments

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Another year of Denver Comic Con has passed and after the rather fantastic previous year, it is hard to think how the convention could top itself. Sadly, it couldn’t and there was a small array of things that made this con somewhat disappointing compared to the previous year. While I still loved going, I left underwhelmed and wanting more.

Comic Con is always something people go to so they can wait in line for an overrated panel, pay ridiculous amounts of money for photo-ops and autographs from guests. When that isn’t enough, you can spend even more amounts of money in the dealer’s room from third-party vendors. Comic Con is what I like to call a “Spending Convention”. This means exactly what it says, you have more fun at the con if you have at least $200 to blow on cool merch. In my case, I had about 20 bucks. I still walked away with stuff I wanted, but I felt like if I had more spending money I would have had more fun being the traditional American consumer.

Outside of that, activities at this year’s Denver Comic Con revolved around children. It has become a more family-oriented convention focusing on child literacy and creativity. And I find that quite admirable. Parents can go to the convention for their own reasons, but now they can bring their child and have him/her interact with something educational and positive. Panels and show floor activities reflected this and it was refreshing to see a convention attempt to accommodate both uber comic fans and potential comic fans.

The panel choices were certainly geared more toward literary education and comic creation for both writers and artists. The main problem with panels was the same problem I had last time I went to DCC. The space. Lines and people crowded the halls to the panels and it was difficult to see what panels were in which room. While this isn’t directly DCC’s fault, I still feel the need to mention it for future cons. Be prepared to wait in unorganized lines.

Probably the most fun part about any convention like this is the cosplaying. For those of you that do not know. Cosplaying is when someone wears a costume of their favorite character to bring them to the real world from a comic, videogame, anime, etc. Some costumes are simple, some are incredibly detailed and elaborate. Every DCC I like to run a “Featured Cosplayer” section to showcase three of my favorite cosplays I saw at the con.

hideyo_mochimo_disgustThe first is Hideyo Mochimo on Facebook. She’s a massive Disney fan, so much she actually works at Disney World as a Cast Member! She wasted no time in creating a stunningly accurate and fantastic cosplay of “Disgust” from the new movie “Inside Out”. She brilliantly captures the look and attitude of the character and the movie hasn’t even come out yet. Her cosplay stood out to me in the best way possible. Oh did I mention she made the outfit herself? You can check out more of her cosplays on her cosplay page. Photo Credit: Julie Brokish, Cosplay Photography

frostcat_cosplay_rengarThe next one is FrostCat Studio. They specialize in Fursuits for the Furry community. They attended DCC as two League of Legends powerhouses, Gnar and Rengar. The quality of these suits are impeccable. Major props to these dedicated cosplayers and creators for not only creating the cosplays, but also wearing them. I know first hand how hot they can get. You can find more pictures and information about FrostCat on their Facebook page. Photo Credit: FrostCat Studio

 

 

11348828_10100464113430483_293027567_nThe final one was probably my favorite from the entire convention. Jessolaurus Rex is what they are known on Facebook as. They are cosplayers that happen to be a couple (Jesse and Laura). They had quite a few cosplays the weekend of the convention but I found their Colossus and Kitty Pride to be the best. The body paint (credit to James Nay) for Jesse’s Colossus was fantastic and the clothing was done by both Jesse and Laura. They really brought the characters to life from the comic. It helps that Colossus is my favorite X-Man. You can find all of their cosplays and their incredibly supportive views on Cosplay Equality on their Facebook page. Photo Credit: Images by Goodell. Storm Cosplay: Samantha Post.

 

 

 

 

 

Denver Comic Con was a success, well, depending on which way you look at it. Everyone’s experience will be different and my experience as a journalist was pleasing, but as an attendee I got bored quickly. The space was as good as it could get, some places were easier to navigate than others. The lobby area is great for looking at cosplays, and there’s a lot to look at on the show floor. Guest wise, last year’s guests were so much better. The focus on family friendly fun was a nice change of pace but this may be a con to skip for some if DCC continues this trend.

Denver Comic Con 2015 was a con you could pass up and not miss much. But if you attended, odds are you would have fun.

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Crowbar is an angry young man, but he knows his games. We all have our passions and his come alive when his digital self is hammering baddies, solving puzzles or flying. He also has a penchant for dressing like giant penguins, but we promised him we wouldn't mention it.