Wow!

Today has been another great experience! Such a great opportunity that we have here at Denver Comic Con!  So far the Con has done a great job of working with people and running a smooth show! The Con was absolutely packed today however due to the sheer size of the the convention center as well as layout of the Con, the amount of people never really felt overwhelming. The issues that we experienced today were completely unavoidable given the sheer number of people so Denver Comic Con, keep up the good work! Here is a picture of the amount of people that were stuck in the hallway after we walked out of the Micheal Colter and Finn Jones (Luke Cage and Iron Fist) panel.

Other than this incident and a similar situation when leaving the Millie Bobby Brown panel, there were no issues with crowds. I mean, I am blown away by how much room we have to walk around and look at vendors and artists. There is enough room to make sure that you can get your favorite cosplay pictures and also find that one thing you have waited all year to find, like an Eleven with Waffles and wig Chase Funko!

Being that we were able to get into the Con early again today, we were also able to get time with Rhiannon Owens. Rhiannon is a fantastic artist with whom Cav has known for a while. I will tell you, I was watching her complete a commission during this interview and I was blown away. The level of detail was amazing. The ability to blend incredibly subtle colors into the drawing that made the commission have depth was out of this world. One of the things that I enjoy when I am trying to relax is to watch people “ink” drawings as well as do handwriting so watching this process in person was relaxing and so very interesting! I just find it so impressive that people are able to do what they do with their hands, ink, and a pen.  Rhiannon is well known for doing specialty insert cards known as “sketch cards”. These cards are special inserts into boxes that you can be lucky enough to find!  It was great to listen to her stories about weird requests and her stories about being an artist and making it all work and come together!

Finally we were able to get to spend some time with Millie Bobby Brown panel. It was another great opportunity that we had to have media passes that allowed us to record some great audio and video of the panel.  Millie very much a 13 year old young lady and as such, brings the kid out of the audience. She told fantastic stories about how she came to portray Eleven in Netflix’s Stranger Things and how much fun she has being the mastermind of the pranks that happen during filming. She gave us insight on her personal enjoyment when she is not being a professional actor. During the entire panel, Millie was entertaining and lively and truly brought the fun-loving 13 year old out of us all. It was an experience that I will not forget!

As Cav is editing the recordings that we have done for this weekend I thought it would be great opportunity to write and reflect on what I have seen and experienced at the Con thus far. To say that I have enjoyed the Con would be an understatement. I typically have fun at all the Con’s that we attend, some are more fun than others.   Denver does it right! There are ample food stations, they encourage attendees to bring food and water, they seem to care a lot about the people that are attending, more so over profit. Many times at conventions, we are not allowed to bring in any outside liquids, food usually isn’t as difficult to bring in but it certainly can be.  I say all this to say that I am very appreciative of the understanding the DCC staff has for attendees.   The issue for me personally is a lack of ability to go and eat the food that is available at Cons (food allergies suck!) which normally results in a massive headache each day.  This has been a completely different experience. The fact that I was able to eat food that would not make me tremendously ill and it was not just a bag of chips was outstanding! I clearly was not the only one who was thrilled as several people behind me also purchased a similar meal, so I hope this is a positive trend for future conventions!  IT WAS AWESOME!!!

OK, back to the convention. Friday started off a little rough with entry points but this affected everyone at the con, including artists and vendors.  The reality is that these things are to be expected and while they can be frustrating, with the necessary security measures being put in place, these things happen. So once we were in the Con, it was amazing to see a convention floor empty. Being that this is our first experience to have media access, we were able to access the Con earlier than we normal which was fantastic. The booths were starting to open and artists were getting to their tables and getting set up which offered a unique view of of what goes into creating such a huge convention!

Overall I think the day was a total success. We were able to get our first interview as media and made a great contact with Liv Hadden and Mo Malone which was fantastic!

This is Liv’s first time at a Con as a guest and our first as media! It was wonderful to share the experience with such gracious and interesting people!  If you are not familiar with Liv Hadden, get familiar! She will be one of many great authors that will find a way to meld science fiction with reality as well as real issues that plague our society and our young people! Her current titles are “In the Mind of Revenge” and  her newest book, as of Sunday, “The Adventures of Juice Box and Shame”. Both of these stories have a connecting path, Shame. Shame is a character that represents us all. Emotions are gender-less and boundless. We tend to believe that based on how we  perceive someones gender we should expect a certain response or behave in a certain way. Liv fights this societal norm by representing a character that is void of identifying gender norms.  This adds to the complexity of the story by allowing many to identify with Shame  based on the sheer complexity of the interactions, emotions, and experiences Shame goes through during the journey of “In the Mind of Revenge”. I am personally very excited to read “The Adventures of Juice Box and Shame”, if one thing is for sure, the story is going to be a wonderful adventure!

Next we were able to get some great seats in the Kevin Conroy panel.

While Cav has seen him many times, I had not. It was quite impressive to see someone who is as talented as Mr. Conroy to perform while being himself. It is always so fascinating the stories of the people we hold in our minds as special. The journeys, good and bad, have pushed actors and actresses to greatness. We identify with these characters based on our stories, our insecurities, our desires, our faults, etc. It is fantastic when someone is on stage and they can be so open and honest with fans and so gracious as well. Mr. Conroy did not disappoint! He was gracious, told jokes, sang, and made everyone feel welcomed and appreciated!

Finally, we concluded the day with some great food. Cav and I are simple guys, give us a hamburger and fries during a con weekend and we are set!  So overall, the first day was fantastic! It was a wonderful experience!