​Does the end of summer have you down in the dumps? Need one last nerdy hurrah before fall hits? The 3rd annual Colorado Springs Comic Con (CSCC) takes place this weekend, putting forward a great way to wrap up August! This year’s edition of CSCC promises more space, more celebrities, and a wide variety of exciting activities.
 
After spending its first two years at the Colorado Springs Event Center, CSCC is moving to the Chapel Hills Mall Event Center to offer a much larger and more centralized location. The Chapel Hills space will feature a showroom floor for artists, vendors, merch, food, and the overall con experience, as well as a lower level to showcase celebrities, photo ops, kids con, panels, and gaming.
 
In contrast to the previous cons I have attended, I’ll be approaching CSCC with a couple new focal points: celebrity guests and cosplay. The former is all thanks to the stacked lineup CSCC is bringing to town this year. Personally, I’m excited about the idea of meeting Lou Ferrigno (someone I’ve been wanting to meet for years now), Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed and Chubbs himself!), and Trish Stratus, Lita, and Rey Mysterio (my inner child, a massive wrestling fan, is freaking out). The guest list also includes celebs from a host of popular franchises, including a hefty contingent from The Walking Dead. Autograph and photo-op information can be found on the guest pricing page.
 
The latter portion of my quest, the cosplay, should be a blast at CSCC too. At any convention I’ve gone to, people-watching is always a major draw. The elaborate costumes and characters bring the passion for fandoms to life! CSCC is doing this by bringing in over 20 formal cosplay guests and displays, including AZ Powergirl, Rosanna Rocha, and a couple famous movie/TV cars. Then, of course, you’ll have the many fans who will show up in costume. They can show off their creations and battle for supremacy at costume contests Sunday afternoon. I have yet to cosplay myself, so I’m excited to use CSCC to get a deeper dive into that world, even if only vicariously through my friend. Steven hasn’t quite decided on which costume to break out but be on the lookout for either Predator or Red Robin.
 
CSCC truly does have something for everyone. In addition to everything discussed above, you can also find a gaming lounge, geek speed dating, and some very fun panels. Saturday’s 11 a.m. panel, ‘Batman and Bender in the Panel of Doom’, brings together legendary voice actors Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) and John DiMaggio (Futurama and Adventure Time). Conroy is a fan favorite and has been a hit at other conventions I’ve seen him at. Pairing him up with the great DiMaggio for a Q&A session is sure to be hilarious. Other panels on deck include a Revenge of the Nerds reunion, a sit down with the Green Power Ranger (Jason David Frank), and a visit from Deadpool’s Colossus. Check out the full schedule for more great panels.

Colorado Springs Comic Con will run all of this weekend, from Friday August 24th through Sunday August 26th. Tickets range from $25-$35 for a one-day pass to $75 for a three-day pass. VIP tickets are also available. All tickets options are still available for purchase now. I’m looking forward to my first ever CSCC experience. If you’d like to join in, head to the website and grab your tickets now. I’ll see you down in the Springs!

​While we all enjoy conventions to their fullest and are happy to attend them as often as possible, I think we can all agree on one particular thing; there is a definite level of hustle that comes with every single con we attend. If we are staying at a hotel, we have to hurry and pack everything we need for the weekend at hand. We need to be up early to get our place in line to get into the con and we’ve got to hustle to get in line to meet our favorite celebrity and of course, we need to move like a ninja through the vendor room to get our hands on that perfect collectible.
 
Granted, none of these things are bad in the slightest, simply because it’s part of the con going experience and many of us have made all of these things an art form in their own right. But, it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to casually stroll through a convention at a leisurely pace and simply enjoy the nerdy vibes flowing through the air. Because cons are bigger than ever, and there’s no sign of their popularity slowing down anytime soon. But, believe it or not, there are conventions out there that have figured out how to replicate the down home and relaxed feel that used to accompany this experience and one such con that has managed to pull this off, is Fort Collins Comic Con.
 
Now in its third year, this particular convention understands that sometimes, all nerds want to do is hang out and have a good time and really, that’s the first vibe that one gets when they come to this con, because it truly does feature a relaxed environment where you can of course find all the awesome geeky goodies you’re looking for in a wonderfully designed vendor/artist area that allows for you to sit back and chat with everyone at their respective tables and learn more about their works and their wares. In fact, I remember having an awesome discussion about art and film and screenwriting with artist Zach Howard last year and I really appreciated the fact that Fort Collins Comic Con allows for this kind of relaxed environment to exist.
 
But the wonder of this con doesn’t end with its relaxed feel. It’s all about the fun as well, since there’s activities and panels for just about every one of every age to enjoy and it would seem that if there is a theme to go along with this year’s convention, it would have to be inspiring the imagination since there is a heavy focus on art and science, something that’s reflected by the guest list. Because comic artists Val Hochberg, Gordon Purcell, Rob Davis, Greg Guler, Mike Baron, Jolyon Yates, Ron Fortier and Matt Brundage will be in attendance alongside some brilliant scientific minds in Carolyn Collins Peterson, Erin Macdonald, PhD, Sarah Lipscy, PhD and Andrew Metcalf and I know that as a kid, science and comics were my thing and I think it’s great that the con has assembled a guest roster that will get everyone excited about those particular topics.
 
As an added bonus, the con is also highlighting film and gaming by hosting the people behind Tales of a Broken Reality and the creators of Friday the 13th: The Game, Illfonic and well, this is a convention that I flat out cannot wait to attend again. Because last year was my first year here and this is one that I’ve been counting down the days to because of its down home feel and relaxed environment and if you’d like the opportunity to attend this amazing convention as well, then head over to the Fort Collins Comic Con website and pick up your tickets today and I’ll see you at the Aztlan Center up north come next weekend. 

‘Turtle Power’ took the world by storm in the late 1980’s and never let go. If you were a kid in the 90’s, chances are you watched or read some form of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, battled with their action figures, attended a TMNT pizza party, played one of the video games based on the series, or otherwise interacted with the franchise. I fondly remember doing many of those things, mostly while I was in the TMNT sleeping bag that I used just about every night (and day). At Denver Comic Con this year, a childhood dream was realized when I got the chance to sit in on an exclusive press conference with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. There, he treated us to a history of his life and of the Turtles, discussed the generational impact of his creation, and shared stories from its rise to fame.

Like many comic creators, Kevin Eastman started off just like you and I: as a fan. As a child, Eastman lived in a small town in Maine that provided little in the way of entertainment. He kept himself busy with a paper route and stayed entertained by reading comics. He would save up and buy them from a local drug store when money allowed. He read various Jack Kirby titles and followed Gene Colan’s Daredevil.  
 
If you haven’t yet heard the tale of how the Turtles were created, it’s a fascinating one. Eastman and TMNT co-creator Peter Laird were roommates who enjoyed bad TV shows. One day, they were pondering what species Bruce Lee would be if he were an animal. Eastman started by sketching a turtle standing up on his hind legs and in a martial arts pose. The two laughed at the silliness of it before Laird responded by trying to one-up Eastman. Laird drew a cooler looking turtle with a weapon. Eastman topped that by drawing four turtles, each one holding a different weapon. Next came the words ‘Ninja Turtles’ floating above the drawing. Ultimately, for the sake of ridiculousness, ‘Teenage Mutant’ was added to the front of that. What started as a ‘dumb joke’ became the primary focus of the comic-creating duo, as they saw potential in the story.
 
Eastman and Laird began to flesh everything out, creating a universe for the four sketched fighting turtles they had created. Much of the inspiration for the TMNT backstory came from those early Daredevil comics that Eastman used to read. You know the radioactive canister that blinded a young Matt Murdock and destined him for a life as Daredevil? Well, in the TMNT universe, that canister rolls down the street and collides with a man carrying a fishbowl containing his four pet baby turtles. That’s where the ‘mutant’ part of things comes into play. The canister keeps rolling and falls into a sewer, where a rat who would become known as Master Splinter finds it. Additionally, that name for the Turtles’ rodent leader and martial arts guru is a play on ‘Stick’, the name of the man holding a similar role in Daredevil. Finally, just as Daredevil battles ‘The Hand’, an imposing and mystical order of ninjas, the Turtles fight ‘The Foot Clan’.

For all the inspiration TMNT took from Daredevil, it remains one of the most imaginative and unique franchises of our time. Perhaps that’s what sparked the immediate boom when it went public. After Eastman and Laird self-published one issue of TMNT and introduced it at a small comic convention in a New Hampshire hotel, it took off like a rocket. The duo struck a mega licensing deal that sent the comic’s characters into every avenue of mainstream merchandising. From the mid-80’s to today, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have sparked the imaginations of kids everywhere.
 
During the press conference, Eastman was asked about the generational impact of his work, and what it means to him to have seen so many people enjoy it over its decades-long run. He said it is mind-blowing and humbling to see how much people enjoy his creation. Growing up reading comics and looking up to writers and artists, Eastman now sees a little bit of himself in those kids that love TMNT. He’s blown away when he sees that people who have grown up with his work have now passed their love for it down to their own kids.
 
To my absolute thrill, and to that of my inner-child, I was able to ask Eastman a question during the press conference. I asked when it really hit him that his creation had become a major part of pop culture. He offered up three different moments. First was when the TMNT animated series had made it into TV Guide. He received a phone call from his ecstatic mother after she saw it listed in that week’s issue. Second was when he received an equally jubilant call from his grandmother, who wanted to let him know that the Turtles were the answer to a question on that day’s episode of Jeopardy! The final shock came after TMNT toys started to hit the shelves in 1988. Eastman drove to the nearest KB Toys to see if the action figures were really there and what that looked like. Not only did he find a large display waiting on the shelves, he also arrived just in time to find a mother telling her son that she wasn’t ‘going to buy him one of those stupid turtles’. (That’s how you know you’ve made it big!) Eastman admitted that it was hard to see the rise of TMNT when he and Laird were in the middle of it, working 80-90 hours a week. Those small moments allowed him to step back and see just what TMNT had become.
 
Thirty years later, both Eastman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are holding strong in the world of comics and pop culture. New movies, stories, and TV shows have captured the imaginations of a new generation of fans. Eastman has seen plenty of changes in the styles of and approaches to creating comics, but he’s stuck with his tried and true methods. While he appreciates computer-based artwork and the work that it takes, he says ‘I’m not that smart…and I like the physicality of pen to paper’. Eastman is currently busy working on a run of TMNT comics through IDW Publishing, as well as the Drawing Blood Comic and Heavy Metal Magazine. I unfortunately wasn’t able to meet Eastman personally at Denver Comic Con, but the long lines at his table, the time he spent meeting with fans, and the joy on the faces of the people who got to chat with him are all testaments the influence of his wacky, beloved creation. Here’s to another thirty years of Turtle Power!

A myriad of quotes exists about the importance and beauty of giving. There are few places where the joys of giving are on display as much as they are at Denver Comic Con. At DCC, charity and education are ingrained in the entirety of the event, though that is sometimes easy to forget amidst all the excitement. Lost in the sea of art, cosplayers, celebrity guests, and merch, there’s a chance you were having so much fun you didn’t quite realize how much you were giving back.
 
Denver Comic Con is an educational event put on by Pop Culture Classroom, a local organization that aims to introduce comics and pop culture to kids in need as a means to increase literacy, foster a love of learning, and make an impact in the classroom. DCC has firmly established itself as one of the biggest conventions in the nation, only trailing New York and San Diego in attendance. The 100,000-plus annual attendees of DCC contribute to the cause just by walking in the door, as all proceeds from ticket sales fund the classroom program, including staffing and supplies.
 
Children’s education is at the forefront of what Pop Culture Classroom and DCC both do. That is evident when strolling through DCC, as over 9,000 square feet of the convention is used for the ‘Kids’ Laboratory’, an area that gives children their own panels, activities, and chances to engage with comics, art, STEAM learning, and other programming. I had a blast just walking through the Kids’ Lab and seeing the excitement and wonder on kids’ faces.
 
One particular highlight was watching former Denver Bronco and Super Bowl 50 champion David Bruton’s story time. Clad in an Iron Man and Spider-Man team up shirt, Bruton read Quit Calling Me a Monster to the kids in attendance before fielding questions from them, chatting with them, and taking pictures. Bruton, a former substitute teacher and founder of his own reading-centric charity ‘Bruton’s Books’, is a true champion in the realm of children’s literacy. Seeing all of the kids that were so engaged when he read was just one example of the power of community and learning that was evident all weekend long. 

In addition to their focus on the kids, Pop Culture Classroom and Denver Comic Con also make it a point to give back to teachers. This year’s con schedule featured a slew of programming specifically aimed at educators of all levels, including panels on starting a school book club, using meaningful gaming in education, creating standards-based lesson plans for graphic novels, and incorporating comics into college classrooms. I had the chance to chat with a few educators that attended some of these panels and all of them talked about how fired up they were to try some of the new approaches they discovered.
 
I’d like to give a personal testimony on Pop Culture Classroom’s staff and their commitment to the organization’s mission. Last December, I made a small donation to Pop Culture Classroom on Colorado Gives Day, the state’s annual donation campaign. Not long after I donated, I received a personal call from Vicki Carey-Davis, PCC’s Development and Sponsorship Director. She thanked me for my donation, asked me why the Pop Culture Classroom mission was important to me, and discussed other opportunities to stay connected and get involved. That call let me know that they are an organization that is passionate about what they do and that they truly care about the impact they have on kids across the state.
 
We attend Denver Comic Con and similar conventions because superheroes or fictional worlds or fantastical stories have captured our imagination. Right behind us is a generation seeking the same adventures. Unfortunately, not all kids have the same access to books or haven’t yet found comics that might pull them into reading. Good news is, there are plenty of opportunities to change that! You can donate used books, money, or your time. You can see what great organizations like Pop Culture Classroom and Bruton’s Books are doing. You can spend some time reading with a younger family member or personally introduce them to comics. And keep in mind when you’re taking a trip to Denver Comic Con next year, even that helps put books and comics in the hands of kids who need them.

​Our feet are bruised and blistered from walking the floor, our eyes are watery from the wash of original art and colorful cosplay that danced across them, and our wallets slump, allowing a lone moth to flutter its way to freedom as we blew our overly optimistic budget within 10 minutes of hitting Merchant Mesa. Now we’re back at work, back to being mild-mannered desk assistants, mail carriers, and policy makers, back to our secret identities and it's hard to believe we got to be ourselves so completely for the 3 days now past.
 
It’s hard to make casual chit chat with Fred from accounting over coffee about how your weekend was when you met the Flash, and you got to be Jyn Erso, and you got to shake the hand of an artist whose comics you’ve been reading since you were old enough to read. How do you translate all of that into Monday morning small talk? How do you explain that over the weekend you were home? Truly home. And now you have to wait a whole year to feel that accepted, comfortable, and seen again.
 
I don’t know if I can speak to how to cope with the Post-Con Blues, but I can say that I’m comforted by the fact that my Instagram feed is full of new artists I met in Artists Valley, the signatures I got from Tom King, Mitch Gerads, David Finch, and Jeff Smith are shining up at me from the stack of comics I haven’t had the heart to file away into their long boxes, and the sweet clay figures from Timid Monsters that I couldn’t get out of my head all weekend are settling into their new homes on my desk at work. Actually, its Post-Con Blues that led to my writing for Nerds That Geek in the first place, which in turn led to my getting to know 3 of my very best friends in the world, the Movie Mumble Podcast, and my typing this out to you right this minute.
 
Tim Girard, composer, podcaster, and friend was somebody I saw every day at work, somebody I’d only ever had passing casual small talk with, but I had seen him at Denver Comic Con and when the dreaded Post-Con Monday came as it has to every year, when I saw him I asked, ‘You feeling the post Denver Comic Con Blues?’ How rare is it that you remember the first words you ever said to one of your best friends? Denver Comic Con gave me that. Commiserating over the demise of the nerd’s paradise weekend cemented a friendship that led to hour long discussions of fandom, of movies, and the in-depth comic book analysis that I’d always wanted in my friendships but hadn’t thought possible. But I found another one of my people, and through that friendship and the ones that followed now I get to interact with my people almost every day.
 
My point is this, we’re at a point in popular culture where nerds aren’t hard to find. They may dress in plain clothes and mark time in their jobs the same way you do, but you can find them, and that means that the way Denver Comic Con makes us feel inside, that acceptance, freedom, and community isn’t something that has to come just once a year. So hang your commemorative prints, Instagram your hard-won signatures, and curl up with that new tentacle kitty plushy because while Denver Comic Con ‘18 is now over, Denver Comic Con ‘19 will be here before you know it. Until Next Time, Geek On!

As I continue to attend Denver Comic Con year after year, and especially as I have been lucky enough to attend as a media guest as a part of the NTG staff, I believe I’m finally zeroing in on the genre of panel discussion that I get the most of out of [from a content standpoint]. Panels are tricky beasts in that it can be difficult to suss out the panel’s desired audience either from vague or too specific titling, too broad, or too specific content, or from too vague or specific specialization in the panel participants. 101 panels, or those concerned with fostering diversity, inclusivity, and positive fandom environments are often filled with an audience to whom the information presented is not new, and the desired audience, those that would be swayed or galvanized by the panel’s presentation of acceptance, are not in attendance. It’s these kind of panels that force me to ask myself, Is Comic Con for adults, or is it for children? In no way do I mean this question to cheapen the community fostered by Comic Conventions, but rather to sharpen in my own mind, what the greater purpose of the Con is or, perhaps what it should be. If these panel discussions of the basics of inclusivity are aimed at children, at generating in the youth of fandom an informed and nuanced understanding of concepts like body-shaming, bullying, gate-keeping, and fostering diversity then they are not reaching that audience. The same is true if these panels are aimed at aging fans with backwards and damaging views of inclusivity. Now look, we all enjoy the celebrity panels, and screaming our heads off as David Tennant regales us with tales from the set of Doctor Who, or when Kevin Conroy says ‘I am the night!’ for the millionth time on stage, it’s fun and it stokes that fire of fantasy and imagination in us all as we are made to feel a part of these stories, these pop culture staples that we’ve come to build who we are around. It’s why I light up at those flashy big panels that put me in the same room as Batman, or Weird Al, but if I’m honest with myself, those panels, and their impact on this art we love, these stories we fill our wells from, don’t hold a candle to the potential of some of these smaller discussions.

Honest, candid discussions of representation in popular culture, rooms full of the bullied, the quiet, and the hopeful letting each other and especially kids know that it's okay to be a nerd, that it's okay to have a new perspective, that their voice is important, that their voice is necessary to our community; this is the potential impact of the smaller panels. I don’t think we’re going to shout down the belligerent fanboys, it makes me sad to think that’s the case but it's true. They won’t come to our panels. They’ll avoid them by their very titles. So who do we focus on? Who do we target these panels for? Kids. Young ignorant entitled people grow into old ignorant entitled people, but Comic Con provides a perfect venue for shaping young, enthusiastic, and impressionable minds. They’re already in the door, for lack of a better phrase, lured by the massive spectacle of guests, cosplay, fun, and community.

We’ve all experienced the awkward silence of the uncool teacher attempting to relate to their students through pop culture. It feels cheap, condescending, and disingenuous because it’s a tool, it’s a flimsy facade meant to engage you in material that you don’t find particularly interesting. But the Comic Con panel as a vehicle for education is impervious to that sense of falsehood we recognize in the classroom. Here be Nerds! And the beauty is that their passion, their expertise, and their critical analyses have their origin on the fan side of the dividing line, and are not some dubious strategy with a thin connection to common curriculum.
 
All of this is to say that the important work, the crucial impact that the Comic Con panel discussion can contribute is in the vein of education, and to that end it is necessary that panels accurately represent themselves and their intended audience in how they’re named, the content they cover, and the panelists they’ve assembled. Now I did mention that I believe the important target group for these discussions ought to be kids, however that is not to say that there is no value in the panel discussion for adults. I think there ought to be very clear distinctions between introductory, 101, and overview discussion panels (targeted specifically towards kids and young adults) and deeper, more nuanced presentations of how the fandom community can foster inclusivity and suss out themes, commentaries, and nuances of their respective fandoms. This is an area where I see the need for improvement. These more nuanced discussions, and DCC definitely provides a multitude of them, suffer from a number of hobbling factors leaving this intermediate or advanced level panel attendee group frustrated and unsatisfied.

In order for these more nuanced discussions to be effective they have to be just that: nuanced. Oftentimes these discussions dedicate huge chunks of their truncated time to overviews of the topics being discussed, leaving less time for the desired discussion to take place, and even less time for questions from the audience. These panels feel as though they see the need to catch up the audience on the topic being discussed rather than focusing on the specifics of the discussion that they’ve advertised through their panel descriptions and titles.

I believe that a clearer sense of panel progression might be a way of combating this trend, designing panels as components of a larger study if you will. Using DCC’s three-day format as a guide, panels could progress from overview foundations the first day, to intermediate the second, and finally advanced on the third day. This would be a clear cut format indicating to panelist and attendee alike that those discussions on later days would skip the foundation component and start right into discussion with the assumption that those in attendance are familiar with the material. This concept of panel titles indicating parts of a series are currently in place but they exist only in order to distinguish between panels on the same subject with difference panelists such as Batman in Comics I & II, or panels/demonstrations on the same subject tailored to different age groups like Creating Fantastical Creatures Workshop I (ages 3-12), and II (ages 13+). The idea of a three-part panel course over the length of the convention, broken up by expertise would indicate clearly to attendees and panelists how far into the weeds a discussion can lead, alleviating the need to rehash the basics, and freeing up the more knowledgeable panel seeker to skip the primer panels.

Time constraints are another major issue. Obviously, shorter panel runtimes mean that you can provide more panels, and though that is a hard point to argue, an hour (which is the average panel length) can fly by in the depths of an engaging discussion, or creep along at a snail's pace if the content is not interesting. One minor adjustment that would allow in depth discussions to breathe without being cut short, would be a longer buffer period between panels. DCC currently allows for 10 minutes between panels, which is great for quick turnover from panel to panel and jam packing the weekend with as many discussions as possible, but it doesn’t allow for much wiggle room. This can be frustrating as the distance between panels increases for both panelist and attendee, and instead of a thoughtful leisurely stroll to the next discussion as both groups dash from meeting room to meeting room, panting into microphones and hastily testing computer hookups.

Guaranteeing the quality and expertise of panelists is another component critical to how effective these smaller panels are. For example, a panel on diversity composed entirely of middle-aged white men is from the jump lacking the perspective and experience necessary to give their discussion any credibility, the same way that a panel of exclusively comic book artists would have no credible expertise sitting on a novel-writing panel. Ensuring that the panel participants can speak with authority about the content of their panel is crucial to the credibility of the panel, and to a certain extent, the Convention as a whole. Unprepared moderators and misinformed or inappropriate (in terms of area of study or expertise) panelists can be especially detrimental to the introductory or 101 style discussions as they present to an impressionable audience who have sought out such panels for a foundation in a new subject. These first impressions are important and it is critical that with topics like inclusivity and diversity that the foundation is clear, informed, and coming from panelists whose research or anecdotal experience is relevant to the discussion.

Now I spend a lot of time on the merchant side of Comic Con, as my growing Moon Knight collection and comically empty wallet can attest, but panels make or break my experience every year. A poorly presented panel can sour your whole day as you consider how much time you wasted there, the panel you decided not to go to instead, and the mad dash you made to make it there in time while an especially stimulating panel puts a renewed spring in your step. These are effective teaching venues and great forums for interacting with the community of fandom when executed with care and I sincerely cannot wait until next year’s Denver Comic Con and the new panels that’ll come along with it! Until Next Time, Geek On!