A Primer for DiNK Comic & Art Expo 2018

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When one plans or prepares to attend a convention of any kind, a particular routine immediately comes to mind. For me, it’s to hit up the Vendor Area first thing when I get there to see if there's anything I need to take home, then I get a solid lay of the land to know where everything is at before I dig into the con, and really, we’re taking the moment to talk about routine today because let’s be honest…there is a certain familiarity that comes with conventions now, to the point where we are able to game plan every last one of them.
 
This is of course, not an insult toward conventions in the slightest, because their design and setup are business models that work and they’re easy to navigate and familiarity helps every nerd and geek out there to plan. But the best part of a convention, is the sense of awe and wonder we experience when we walk through the doors and when you get into a routine, some of that goes away. But thankfully, the convention world is evolving so that it doesn’t become stagnant through and through and there is one particular event that has managed to properly reinvent the con experience; DiNK Comic & Art Expo.
 
This event, which happens to take place this weekend, is unique for one particular reason…it brings back the down-home feel of a convention, where it’s all about hanging out and having a good time with your friends and it accomplishes that, in several ways. First and foremost, it removes some of the barriers between guests and fans that one normally finds at events such as these. The big names that come to DiNK are extremely accessible, and while I’m sure eyebrows are being raised over the possibility of big time celebrity guests being mobbed and harassed by legions of fans by being accessible, that brings us to the next reason why DiNK is so unique, because it focuses on a different kind of celebrity…artists.
 
After all, this is a Comic and Art Expo, and because of that, the big names in question that are going to be in attendance are some of the finest artists around. Jeff Lemire will be there this weekend for instance, as will Melanie Gillman, and what’s awesome about this con is that you’ll be able to hang out at their tables and chat and learn what makes them tick and what has influenced their incredible work and even when they do bring in a star of the silver screen like a traditional con does, they still find a way to make their appearance unique for the fans since John Leguizamo will be at this convention as well, and he will be participating in upgraded meet and greet sessions throughout the weekend. 
 
If anything, DiNK can basically be considered to be a convention that goes back to basics, since conventions sprung forth from our love of comics and art and perhaps what I truly enjoy most about this con, is the sheer fact that so many local artists will be in attendance as well so we can discover new stories to captivate our imagination and really, this is just a wonderful way to spend a weekend geeking out and if you’re interested in finding new stories, like BEARCANO from Creephouse Comics or anything Wicked Awesome Tales has to offer, head to DiNK’s website today and snag some tickets and we here at Nerds That Geek will see all of you there this weekend.  

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