Denver Comic Con 2017 - Day Three Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Denver Comic Con weekend can sometimes be quite the exhausting experience, in a good way of course, and because of the fatigue that can settle in from seeing the sights and the sounds of a convention this big...people tend to have a pretty specific routine when it comes to Sunday in order to maintain their energy and see the end of the weekend with a smile on their face and pep in their step. 

Let's see if this sounds about right. After a fun filled Saturday evening at the various hotels with your good friends or friends you haven't seen in forever, you tend to sleep in the next day. Sure you're excited for the con, but today...you take your time getting ready. Your breakfast or your coffee isn't consumed in a matter of seconds, in fact you take your time to enjoy it all before finally grabbing up your gear and your badge and heading over and once you arrive, you mosey about the sights, pick up those last items on your shopping list and say your goodbyes to your con family before heading home for a long summer's nap. 

But this year, that was simply not the case for Sunday. There was a special energy in the air, in fact the best way to describe it, is that it felt like Friday. People were rushing into the con as quickly as they could, they were filled to the brim with energy and ready to get everything they wanted to accomplish on their list out of the way before the clock struck six. Sure, plenty of folks were tired as well, as is to be expected, but in my many years attending this convention, I've never seen this kind of energy and drive on a Sunday and it was simply a magnificent sight to behold.

Not to mention, the obligatory goodbyes were different in their own right this year as well. Usually it's a quick wave and goodbye or a brief embrace before parting ways. But this time around, everyone was determined to make every single second last as long as possible before heading out for the day and everywhere I turned people were talking about how wonderful it was to see their con family once again and how this year felt like a family reunion, and as the day finally wound down, and I finished my lengthy lists of goodbyes as well...that's when it hit me, this really was a reunion of sorts.

In a way, Denver Comic Con really has become about family. It's one of the few conventions out there anymore built from the ground up. There's no bigger company concerned about profit alone running this con and several other ones. This is Denver's baby, it's for a good cause, and every single one of us have helped make it what it is today. It feels like home, because we've made it home. It feels like we're seeing family because the people we've met at this convention have become a big part of our lives, and the fact that it feels so comfortable and so familiar speaks volumes to what everyone involved with this convention, from Director Chris Angel to the everyday fan, have built...a truly open place for geeks to unite, and share their love of a particular fandom without impunity, and potentially make some life long friends along the way. Either way, this was simply the best Denver Comic Con I've ever attended, and I cannot wait to see what wonders await us next year, and beyond...

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