Denver Comic Con 2014: Scotty's Friday Recap

With Denver Comic Con 2014 starting on Friday much earlier in the day this year, I did not know what to expect from the fan turnout, especially in the morning.  I was lucky enough to get a hotel room at the Hyatt this year and was more than willing to use its proximity.  Before getting into what really went down on Friday, I must tell you my early morning regiment.  I have been an early riser for many years now since I have started to work an office job and find myself trying to get the blood pumping before work or a large event such as this one.

Walking laps around the Convention center this year was my pre con regiment this year and I must tell you, it really worked.  Before the sun was fully in the sky, I was walking around, getting my legs to loosen up before I would have to be running around all day long.  I was kind of disappointed at the turn out at 5:30am, but around 7am, the masses made their way into line and looked just ecstatic to be there.  It was nice to see so many of the three day ticket holders and how excited they were to get in and scout out their attack and when they walked into DCC this year, the con veterans were surprised about how much more space there was.

Following a couple of people around, trying to get my bearings of the floor as well, there were several things to take note of immediately, and the first was the size of the Kids Corral.  I think it was quoted as being eight thousand square feet, quite a bit larger than last year and with good reason as no child could be turned away.  Walking through all of the vendor booths, it was a noticeable change from last year with plenty more room to walk in the isle ways.  With the massive space for the vendors, I took a mosey over to Celebrity Summit to check and see who would be sitting where when they all arrived later on in the day, or on Saturday.  Once again, the size of the area and the list of heavy hitters was massive.  

Now that I was able to figure out who I wanted to get an autograph from in the Celebrity area, I was able to move back and check out where my passion lives, Artist Valley.  Once again, there was plenty of space between booths for lines to form and people to still be able to move through.  This however was dangerous for me, as I had a list of things I wanted to get picked up before the infamous Saturday rush..  So I did.  I stopped by Allen Bellman’s booth to get his newest Captain America print, then Ben Templesmith’s booth just to chat for a moment and see what he had available this year since I was not able to pick up anything last year.  Then as always, I headed back to find Robert Elrod’s booth as his work has become a fixture in my collection.

Getting everything I wanted before my favorites sold out, I was able to scout the remainder of the con floor and found a couple more booths and familiar names and faces that I would have to make sure to at least say hi, but looking at the clock, it was time for the Opening Ceremonies and a must see for everyone.  I say that because Christine Tubbs, the new executive director of Comic Book Classroom took to the stage with a new announcement that changed the future of the program.  It was a goodbye to Comic Book Classroom as Pop Culture Classroom was born at Denver Comic Con this year and with the proceeds going towards this program update, it is exciting to see everything that will be incorporated into it.  With adding in music, gaming, and film this will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

As the doors closed and everyone was going on their way, I was happy to just go back to the hotel and get some work done, but one thing that an event like this does is bring people together.  Getting a call to go out for dinner, I would be a fool to refuse and ended up going to the Hard Rock with a couple of people to discuss our thoughts of the con along with life in general.  We all enjoyed Friday and were looking forward to seeing what Saturday would bring. 

It was a strong opening for Denver Comic Con this year and with the changes that are coming soon to Pop Culture Classroom, it will be amazing to see what is about to happen with the convention for years to come.

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