Denver Comic Con 2014: Scotty's Saturday Recap

Saturday is always the main day of a con and this year at Denver Comic Con, it still stands true.  With the stars from Star Trek: TNG in town for their late day panel, I thought the lines would start a bit later, but once again, when doing my morning laps around the convention center, it was amazing to see when people started to line up.  Still, at 5:30am, there is no one there, I think I must be crazy for being up that early to do this, but hey you got to do what works.  After breakfast I walked around again and at 7:00am there were about 250 people waiting happily for the doors to open.

This is a little bit more than expected for me as last year when I got there at 8:00am I was about a hundred people deep, but you know what, Denver Comic Con predicted 75,000 people this year, so I am starting to understand the scale.  As the doors opened a bit before 10:00am due to the lines, I noticed that there was a new feeling in the air that I did not get at the previous cons.  There was a feeling of excitement for the day and everyone wanted to see it all go off without a hitch, and it did.

The lines grew quickly for some of the headline artists being more than a fifty people deep in most cases, but it did not seem to cause a problem for being able to get around.  As I have said, there was enough room for people this year and it was a relief to not have to bump into people when trying to move around. It was amazing to see how the fan bases migrate from booth to booth to get their prized items signed.  Most of the people I talked to had the 3-Day Pass and were trying to get the full effect of the con under their belt before the next big event came up.

I did pick up a few more pieces on Saturday, I do have a problem when it comes to something that I like and need to have in my collection.  But when I got a few seconds away from the main con floor, I was able to check out the Costume Parade and was able to witness something very magical.  A local band was playing all of our favorite songs as a long, growing line formed behind them filled with children wearing costumes and smiles as they were escorted through the con floor.  Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces as they waived to everyone makes you remember what DCC is really about, the kids and literacy. 

After the parade was over, I was special enough to go along and witness something that I have never seen before, two Doctors being interviewed at the same time.  Peter Davidson and Sylvester McCoy were gracious enough to give the site an interview and were just amazing. It was hard not to laugh during the interview as both men were on their games and popping jokes left and right, it is one thing that I wish everyone could witness.

It turns out that during our interview with the two Doctors, I heard that something else amazing had happened.  Bruce Campbell’s panel was going on and there was a surprise guest that came into DCC that was never announced.  From what I have seen, it looked like Bruce Campbell was trying to test the fans knowledge of Burn Notice by having people come up to the stage and doing the narration of the beginning of the show.  A bearded man was last to go and when his voice was heard, everyone in the audience erupted as it was Michael Weston himself, Jeffery Donovan.  A little Burn Notice reunion that looked like no one expected this year at DCC, it just means that the little con that started three years ago has grown up.

The Pop Culture Classroom Corral was also full all day with children and some of them were able to have a special person come up to the stage and read to them.  Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman in the animated series came up to the stage and read Mustache Baby.  The children lined up and listened as Conroy read the story and several voices came out that he has used over the years.  Staying to the basics of the story, you could feel the Batman coming out just a bit and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

As the night started to fade and everyone was heading to the TNG panel, I decided to call it a night and go watch a World Cup Soccer game at my hotel.  I was able to find an empty seat at the end of the bar and let my poor legs recover from all of the running I did on Saturday.  Not really surprised to see anyone one from the con there as well, I did get the opportunity to talk and eat dinner with one of the stars from the show as the Ivory Coast took down Japan in their match.

Con memories are something that you should never give away.  Either it be at a panel or at someone’s booth, or just walking around the floor and being asked to have your picture taken. These are the memories that cons are meant to provide and for you to remember for several years. I was lucky enough on Saturday to come away with memories that will last a lifetime and I hope you were too.

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