A brand name is paramount to any company's success, and a lot of thought and effort goes into choosing the right name so everyone knows what said brand stands for. But sometimes, as a company, or a convention for that matter, evolves and grows, they in turn out grow the brand name that they started with. Heck we will speak from personal experience on that one, because we started out as Girls of Geek, a name that made sense at the time, but one that we quickly out grew for a litany of reasons, prompting us to change to the more appropriate Nerds That Geek.

As it turns out, one of the largest conventions in the United States has also come to realize that the time has come to update their moniker and earlier today, Denver Comic Con announced that they were undergoing a name change to become...Denver Pop Culture Con, and the short answer to the question, why is DPCC is making this change now, is that it better fits the times and their mission since Pop Culture Classroom is what powers this con to begin with. But truly, the best way to answer all of your questions regarding this change is to let the staff of Pop Culture Classroom/Denver Pop Culture Con speak to the details of this re-branding. So, without further ado, here's DPCC and PCC's statement on the matter.

Denver Comic Con is Now Denver Pop Culture Con
Pop Culture Classroom, Colorado Education Nonprofit Behind Denver’s Largest Pop Culture Convention, Announces Name Change
​
Sept. 24, 2018 – DENVER – Pop Culture Classroom, the Colorado-based education nonprofit behind Denver’s largest pop culture convention, has announced that the event known as Denver Comic Con is now Denver Pop Culture Con.

The Pop Culture Classroom leadership team has been considering a name change for several years to create brand alignment across the organization’s name and its signature events, including Denver Pop Culture Con and Reno Pop Culture Con, a new event debuting in 2019.

“After much discussion and careful deliberation, our leadership team arrived at the name Denver Pop Culture Con for several reasons,” said Dr. Christina Angel, Convention Director for Pop Culture Classroom. “We believe it more accurately reflects the breadth, depth, and inclusivity that has come to define Denver’s annual celebration of all things pop culture.”

The new name is meant to encompass everything that goes on at the con — comics, television and film, authors, cosplay, workshops, educational programming, and all other aspects of pop culture fandom Denver Comic Con has grown to encompass since its inception. With the addition of Reno Pop Culture Con, now is the ideal time for the name change. Pop Culture Classroom is focused on ensuring both the Denver and Reno shows are world-class, inclusive events.

“Fans can rest assured that Denver Pop Culture Con will continue to celebrate comic book culture and creators as we always have,” said Dr. Angel. “After all, it’s comic books that got us hooked on pop culture in the first place, and the foundation on which we are built.”

Denver Pop Culture Con will have “throwback” sales on previous years’ merchandise featuring the Denver Comic Con brand, and merchandise with the new branding will be available soon.

Tickets for Denver Pop Culture Con 2019 go on sale November 13, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
MST for 2018 Speed Pass holders and November 14 at 10:00 a.m. MST for the general public. Fans can keep up with all of the latest news and information about Denver Pop Culture Con and Reno Pop Culture Con on social media and at the links below.

Denver Pop Culture Con 2019
May 31 - June 2, 2019
Colorado Convention Center
www.denverpopculturecon.com
www.facebook.com/denverpopculturecon
www.twitter.com/denpopcon
www.instagram.com/denverpopculturecon

Reno Pop Culture Con 2019
November 8 – 10, 2019
Reno-Sparks Convention Center
Tickets available January 2019
www.renopopculturecon.com
www.facebook.com/renopopculturecon
www.twitter.com/renopopculture
www.instagram.com/renopopculturecon

​About Denver Pop Culture Con
Denver Pop Culture Con (fka Denver Comic Con) is a 3-day, family-friendly pop culture fan extravaganza, featuring the best in pop culture entertainment. DPCC is a program of the Colorado nonprofit Pop Culture Classroom, whose mission is to inspire a love of learning, increase literacy, celebrate diversity and build community through pop culture education. The proceeds from this annual event benefit Pop Culture Classroom’s overall educational endeavors. DPCC promotes education and community through pop culture, comics and the bringing together diverse people and interests regardless of age, race, gender or background. We strive to promote tolerance and empower the members of our community through educational programming, guests, and events that encourage diversity and inclusion.

Even though my main focus was covering panels at 2018 Denver Comic Con, these were the top ten booths that I visited and wanted to give some love to. I don’t give detailed descriptions, because I don’t want you to have any preconceived notions. Click on the links and you should see right away why they are included on this list.

False Fox Art - Fionnula Willman is a freelance illustrator, comic artist, and painter. She is ‘committed to telling and bringing to life stories that resonate with the world we live in.’ Her website (falsefoxart.com) includes a gallery with her portfolio, comics, tattoo designs, and fan art, as well as her bio, contact info, and blog. Follow her on Patreon, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email her (falsefoxart@gmail.com) for inquiries.

Puillustrated – ‘Pui Che is a fantasy illustrator,’ who ‘interweaves storytelling into each of his works, exploring philosophy and the spirituals.’ On his website (puillustrated.com), you can scroll down for his Coloring Book, Personal Work, Client Works, and Resume. There are also links to his store and contact info. Follow him on Etsy, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email him (pui.illustrated@gmail.com).

Angelarium - Peter Mohrbacher ‘is the creator of Angelarium and the driving force behind the project since he created it in 2005,’ when he ‘discovered that there were thousands of named angels throughout multiple mythologies.’ On the website (angelarium.net), he has divided the angels into categories: The Emanations of the Tree of Life, The Watchers, The Seraphim, and The Zodiac, as well as a page about the angelic script. There are also links to a news blog, info about his team, and his store. Follow him on Patreon, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email him (trueangelarium@gmail.com).  

AJ Moore - AJ Moore is an artist and the creator of The Super Newts, Dorse and Doose, and Chi-Chi Cosplay Panda and is also the Founder of GudFit Entertainment. On his website (gudfit.com) you can find out about GudFit, check out the blog, production info, webcomics, guddies, a page featuring his art, and a link to his Etsy GudStore. Follow him on Etsy, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email him (ajartist@gmail.com).

Artovision - Artovision makes ‘collectible artwork for your home entertainment system ... inspired by popular culture, video games, food and Americana.’ Their website (artovision3d.com), displays and sells their 3D Shadowbox Art, Desktop Art, Art Prints, Originals, and Merch. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

ayA Studios – ‘We tell the stories, ones that have been overlooked, that need to be told.’ They do comic publishing, motion comics, and educational workshops. Their website (ayastudiosllc.com), has a pages for their stories, news, a calendar of event dates, and their store (where you can pick up issue #1 of their comic Pilla. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email them (create@ayastudiosllc.com).

Brick Bunch - They sell ‘brick’ minifigures ($5 off every $25 and 20%of orders over $25 BB2018 Expires 12/31/2018). Their website (BrickBunch.com) groups the minifigures into categories, including DC, Marvel, Star Wars, movies, Disney, animated, miscellaneous, Ninjago, television, and video games. Whatever figure you’re looking for, they probably have it, and it’s probably $5. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and contact them here.

Glider Comix – ‘The company started with an idea sparked by a father and daughter and their love for writing, comic books, art and the drive to help young people change their lives.’ Their flagship comic Sugar Glider deals with ‘challenges facing teens today...such as self-image, bullying, suicide, social media, etc.’ Their website (GliderComix.com) has info and a store (If you order any merch, they ask that you ‘Please post photos of receiving your package and use the hashtags #SugarGlider and #ComicWithACause’). Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and contact them here.

Passion of the Nerd - Ian Martin is a ‘geek video guy.’ His YouTube, channel is mostly video guides to episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...but there are other videos too. Follow him on Patreon, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Whimsical Whiskers - Brenna Deutchman makes stuffed dragons, and cats…and clothes and accessories for the stuffed dragons and cats…or for real dragons and cats if they are small enough and you can get them to sit still long enough. Her website (whimsicalwhiskers.com) has separate pages for the dragons, cats, and accessories, as well as a bio, blog, portfolio, store, and contact. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email her (brenna@whimsiwhiskers.com) to check stock or for a custom order.

Tell ‘em Tim from Nerds That Geek sent ya!

Nestled in the Chapel Hills Mall and Event Center, the third annual Colorado Springs Comic Con returned stronger than ever in 2018. The Con was the biggest draw of the weekend down in the Springs, bringing in substantial crowds across all three days. Southern Colorado’s finest Batmaniacs, Whovians, Thronies, Potterheads, Trekkies, and fans all turned out for a smorgasbord of nerdy fare.
 
The new space, the aforementioned Chapel Hills Mall, proved to be a good venue for CSCC, albeit sometimes awkward. The event space was roomier than the Colorado Springs Event Center had been in past years, and the division of celebrities and panels downstairs and the showroom floor upstairs made for a neat and easy to navigate convention. Parking was exponentially easier here than at other conventions I’ve been to. Being in a functioning, operating mall did have its quirks. Cosplayers turned a few more heads than normal, strolling through the food court and walking amongst average Joe’s running errands. The panel room was down the hallway from the celebrity floor, past the Charlotte Russe and tucked in an abandoned storefront (if you’ve hit the T-Mobile shop, you’ve gone too far).
 
One excellent use of space was the outdoor eating area. If guests didn’t want to trek up to the food court or didn’t want the hassle of going in and out of the convention through security, they could simply step right outside of the showroom floor into the food area, where CSCC brought in several local food trucks to serve up a variety of good eats. Food trucks make any event better and they absolutely spiced up the convention experience.
 
Filing into the convention was occasionally quite difficult, especially on Saturday when long lines wrapped around the inside and outside of the mall while convention-goers inched through security. That’s hardly the fault of CSCC or the venue. It’s pretty much the norm for every convention’s Saturday. And even with the large Saturday crowds, I have to tip my cap to the CSCC volunteers and the Altered Reality Entertainment folks who worked through the kinks and made the event smoother as the weekend went on. Staff were friendly and did their best to allow fans to have the best time possible.
 
It wasn’t difficult to have a blast at CSCC either. In my primer for the event, I talked about my plans to focus on celebrity guests and cosplay, a change from how I had spent other conventions. Lucky for me, the celebs and cosplay at CSCC were pretty great. And so were the panels, artists, and the showroom floor itself.
 
If I had to use two words to describe CSCC, I might choose intimate and personal. This applies to a number of aspects of the convention, each of which made it so enjoyable. First, to the celebs, you could truly get up-close and personal with each of the celebrity guests. Unlike at bigger conventions, where celebrity tables are placed 20 feet back behind a barricade and a handler, fans could graze literally right next to celebrity tables. Some celebrities even encouraged fans to just stop by and chat, regardless of whether they had paid for a meet-and-greet. I paid for a picture to finally get the chance to meet Lou Ferrigno (and it was wonderful), but it was just as easy for me to get an autograph and a chat from Carl Weathers or to shoot the breeze with WWE legends Trish Stratus and Amy ‘Lita’ Dumas or to tell Kevin Conroy what he meant to my childhood. CSCC is a great place to go to interact with celebrity guests.
 
The intimacy carried over to the showroom floor, a place usually crowded to the point of claustrophobia. While the aisles were a little less spaced out, you never felt like you couldn’t get through them, even when the crowds poured in. You also never truly felt turned around, thanks to the smaller space and how things were organized. I was able to spend more time looking at vendors and artists tables without feeling rushed. All in all, smaller conventions do pack some perks.
 
I’ll write about the cosplay experience in more detail in future articles, but I enjoyed what CSCC had to offer in that department too. Cosplayers had their own section of tables and booths on the celebrity floor. There was also a sizeable percentage of attendees who cosplayed. I went around hanging out with and taking pictures for my friend Steven, who was in costume as artist Dexter Soy’s rendition of Red Hood, Red Ronin. CSCC provided him with a comfortable environment to take pictures with whoever wanted one. He and I had a blast interacting with other people in costume. I did hear some rumblings about how different security interpreted rules on cosplay weapons, but overall Colorado Springs hit the mark on fostering a good space for cosplay.
 
Colorado Springs Comic Con is still in its infancy, but its third year was likely its best yet. There are some kinks that will be ironed out as it grows, but in the process, it is establishing itself as a wonderful annual event for the region and the state. CSCC 2018 had something to offer for everyone, while still maintaining a smaller size and offering more opportunity for personal interaction. This was my first year going to CSCC but there is no way it will be my last. I’m already looking forward to Colorado Springs Comic Con 2019 and I hope to see you there!