Denver Comic Con 2014: Shae's Weekend Recap

A convention a year in the making, the planning for Denver Comic Con starts before the current one is even over. For me, I'm already looking forward to next year. With that, though, is the sadness that comes long with knowing that DCC 2014 is over. While the weekend is over, DCC is far from forgotten, and with the memories still fresh in our minds, lets take a trip and highlight some of my favorite moments this weekend. 

For me, DCC started Thursday the 12th. Mattie, Melissa (my best friend from high school!), and I packed up, and got our room across from the Colorado Convention Center. After, we hit up the party at the Mile High Comics Warehouse. Melissa got her ticket, and we got to see a lot of fantastic nerd things! Has anyone been to the Mile High Comics Warehouse? Because I never have. It. Was. Fantastic. There are so many comics, so many statues, and so many action figures! Guys, this place is like paradise. I am so beyond excited to go back there the next chance I get. There were a decent amount of people there, and of course food. They also had skits, entertainment, and Lou Ferrigno, TV's Hulk was signing autographs at the pre-DCC party. It was an all around fantastic experience and I am glad we got to make it there. Now to just get back and empty my savings on the various things they had there (don't tell Mattie).

After a good nights sleep, Friday took off without a hitch. Mattie and I met John, Dan, and Scotty, and we got a chance to see the entire dealers room just before the door opened. I have to admit, I was blown away with all the fantastic dealers, booths, artists, and everything that was there. Melissa and our friend Kendra joined us soon after, and the day was spent checking out everything the Con had to offer. I'm not going to lie, I was jealous about the Kids Corral. I wanted to color so bad! But, it's okay, we got some great pictures of Cosplayers, met a lot of amazing people, and even got to snag a few hugs. I was utterly blown away by the Cosplay's I saw Friday. Such talent, time, and effort go into making the perfect costumes and everyone who dressed up at DCC did not disappoint. It was so wonderful to see just how much people truly cared about their costumes.

That evening, we got to go to the first, official, DCC opening ceremonies. There was sword fighting, singing, and even a cello on stage! The biggest news, however, was Comic Book Classroom changing their name to Pop Culture Classroom. This amazing organization chose to change it's name so that they could encompass all of what they do into a name. Reaching beyond just comics, to include other various forms of media. The news was both shocking, and resounding. The goal stays the same, bringing literacy, confidence, and helping children! And the new name reflects it all perfectly. This Con is all about the kids, and it was utterly amazing.

Saturday saw even more people. That was so much fun. The amount of Cosplayers doubled easily, and it was like I was home. Now, I didn't get to Cosplay a whole lot, but I'll tell you, not being in Cosplay at a con is the weirdest feeling in the world (but don't worry, we did dress up, I'll link that blog in a bit). I did, however, get to hug a lot of Cosplayers and we got a lot of pictures of many fantastic costumes. With the fantastic costumes, the atmosphere was electric, and the children were in abundance. It's oddly rare to see so many kids at a convention like this, but I could not have been happier. Their costumes were just as amazing!

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I also had the pleasure of seeing Jeremy Shada (the voice of Finn on Adventure Time) talk about bullying. This warmed my heart. Getting the opportunity to see how people react to such a subject, was very insightful. Words can hurt and last with us throughout the rest of our lives, and to children they can be even more damaging. Having such an influential voice actor, from such a well known kids show do this….it still brings a tear to my eye.

Saturday was amazing, but this weekend held so many moments that will forever be in my memory. Kevin Conroy read to the kids in the Corral, Stephen Amell and Caity Lotz did a Q&A that should go down in history as the best Panel in the history of Panels. I don't know if you guys read our live tweets about it, or if you read my recap of the Panel alone, but if you haven't, you should. They were, funny, outgoing, and utterly made my Con. You don't have to be an Arrow fan to enjoy the magic that happened in that Panel.

Speaking of, there were many Panels this weekend, some informative, like craft weapons, costuming, and wig design. there were also guest Panels. As this was the 75th anniversary of Batman, Adam West and Burt Ward got together in the Main events hall with Julie Newmar and gave a truly astounding Panel. And of course, there was the reunion of a lifetime with Star Trek: The Next Generation guests, moderated by the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner. Now, it was impossible to make it to all the panels that happened this weekend, especially on Saturday, but I truly hope many of you got the opportunity to make it to some.

Sunday is always the saddest day of the Con for me. It's the end of a great weekend, but it's not fully over. I started the day on a hunt in the Dealer's room for a particular Pops figure. If you've been following my blogs, especially my Gift and Guilty Pleasures one, you guys know, just how much I am addicted to Pops figures. Well, they make a Winter Soldier one…that has the full face mask/goggles combo…that I made the mistake of not buying when I saw it. I've never been able to find it again. While I could have easily found it online, there's just something about buying it in person that makes the experience so much more fulfilling. Believe it or not…I found it. I found the last, and likely only one at Denver Comic Con. I'd spent all weekend looking for it, and just as I walk up, one of the women working there pulling it out of a box and set it down. I bought it so fast it wasn't even funny. He's now sitting with my collection, on my bookshelf, next to my bed, and my friends can now rest knowing I'm not going to be whining about not having him. It's a win/win! Because it was Sunday, and the 75th anniversary of Batman, and not to be left out of the Batman reading to kids circle, Adam West sat down in the Corral, and read to the children. And I missed it. Thankfully, John was on the scene and got the chance to see and film it. For that, he is my hero because that might just be my new favorite thing about Denver Comic Con. While Adam was reading, Mattie and I were changing, and here is where I am going to leave you guys. As promised, our Cosplay got its very own, special, blog. 

I hope you all had a blast. Please leave a comment bellow with your favorite memory for the con, or tweet it to me personally @SoraLostSoul, or to @GirlsOfGeek12. I love hearing from you guys, always, and adore the stories we all get to share with one another!

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