Fort Collins Comic Con 2018 Recap

WRITTEN BY JOHN EDWARD BETANCOURT

I’ll never forget the first convention that I ever attended, because quite frankly, it felt like home. When I walked through those hotel doors it suddenly felt as though I was at some kind of massive family reunion and I met so many incredible people who shared the same interests that I had over the course of that weekend that it goes without saying that I was hooked. This was a whole new world of nerdy possibilities and replicating that sense of belonging is what compels me to attend convention after convention.
 
Granted, time is of course the great equalizer, and while I still get a thrill when I walk through those doors, it’s rarely as strong as I felt that first time around, in fact, only a handful of conventions have managed to replicate that experience. So, imagine my surprise when last year, Fort Collins Comic Con, pulled off that all important feat and gave me that same rush that I felt all those years ago, to the point where I immediately made plans to attend the convention this year and amazingly enough, the allure of this particular con had me counting down the days and the minutes to it.
 
But, as a writer is wont to do, I had to know why this con had caught my eye. Was it because attending it serves as a mini road trip with my friends, harkening back to the days when you used to just hop in the car and ride to some place cool? Is it because I was making major effort to attend a con that’s an hour and a half away from home? Or was it something more? Well as it turns out, the answer is yes to those first two questions because it is a fun experience to jump in the car with snacks and find a good station to rock out to on the radio with your buds while the open road awaits, but there really is more that this con has to offer.
 
Because Fort Collins Comic Con has truly figured out how to make a convention simply feel like you’re hanging out with old friends, and much of that comes courtesy of its laid-back style. Everything here moves at a relaxed pace, something rare for a Comic Con in any capacity and that chill feel allows for attendees to just hang out, and this weekend was no exception to that particular rule. Because everyone was just kicking back, with a smile plastered on their faces as they roamed about, checking out the booths and every other wonder that the con had to offer. And there is a wonderful vibe that comes about from seeing old friends and that’s what really sticks out in my mind when it comes to this weekend.
 
There were in fact, people that I hadn’t seen for some time at this con, and it was great to blast out a joyful hello in seeing them and share a handshake or a hug and catch up with them and I suppose that’s the ‘more’ in question that I was trying to put my finger upon, the fact that the best cons out there, find a way to bring people together, the kind of people that become our surrogate family and that’s precisely what Fort Collins Comic Con achieves, and it was just great to feel welcomed and feel like I belong and that’s the kind of magic you hold on to when it comes to a con and that’s precisely why I’ll be back to attend FCCC next year, to enjoy good times, with good friends in a place that I can call home.   

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