[C2E2 2012 Gallery, Pt. 1]
[C2E2 2012 Gallery, Pt. 2]

A couple of years ago a photographer friend of mine was headed out to ACen for a job for Henshin Justice Unlimited. Being an anime freak, I really wanted to tag along, so I told her to tell her friend Keith Hayward that her writer friend was available for the day to help him with any coverage his website would require of the convention. Years later I’m still working on getting my name out there as an established writer and somehow am still friends with Keith. So when I heard he was going to C2E2, I immediately offered him my writing services.

How would I describe C2E2 2012? Pleasurable. And not just in a simple oh I had fun kind of way, more like I had geek-gasms all weekend long. That kind of pleasurable. I know, I may sound like a Con virgin and to be honest I kind of am…well, was. This past weekend was my first time going to C2E2 and it did not disappoint.

I started my Con experience solo (my group was delayed) and I started off by dipping my toes in the geek pool, looking at the shelves of new releases near the entryway. Then I heard the magic words, “Anyone want a free espresso? Follow me.” I had no idea who the guy was, but he had promised coffee so I followed willingly.

The voice belonged to Jerrod Begord who was promoting his book The Angel Hunter. As a fellow writer, I was more than a little excited to be able to talk to a published author. (For more about Jerrod and the book check out Angel Hunter.info) Of course I purchased the book (it is enjoyable so far and I’m only twenty pages in) which he signed and then I moved on.

I also got to meet Anthony Del Col the co-creator of the Kill Shakespeare series. He, too, was a sweetheart. He didn’t have coffee, but he’s writing about Shakespeare and he signed my books, so he earned major cool points with me.

Something I’ve noticed about the conventions I’ve gone to is the timing of the panels. One of my downfalls is my eclectic tastes. That said, I didn’t get to go to all the panels I wanted to due to scheduling conflicts. I’m also not one to enjoy waiting in lines so I didn’t get to get autographs from the people I had wanted to. It was a bit like sensory overload; so many people to see and things to do and buy and not enough time. I wish I had gone for Friday also, but I couldn’t only make it for Saturday and Sunday.

Another complaint is the charging for pictures and autographs. I mean, we paid the travel costs and the entrance fees (not to mention the overly priced food if we don’t starve ourselves all day long) and we have to wait in long lines and miss out on other con activities to meet a star and then we have to pay for proof of meeting them? It’s so not fair.

That said, I was lucky enough to get to meet Virgil and yes, I paid the thirty dollars to get a picture with him and an autographed picture (I plan on giving it to my dad for Father’s Day. Daughter of the year, right here.) and I also now have a great story about meeting him and the conversation we had. But if I had met the other stars I had wanted, my bank account would be starving, which it is almost on the verge of anyway.

One of the things I enjoy most about any con experience is all the cosplay that goes on. I attended a panel titled Cosplay: What You Didn’t Want to Know and Didn’t Quite Ask and one of the panelists explained cosplaying as having such a deep fandom for something that you want to express your appreciation of it so you don the costume and mannerisms to represent the source material as best you can. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I love being able to call out, “Oh, my gosh, Batman, can I take a pic with you?” “Spiderman, I love your comics.” “Dr. Horrible, will you sing for me?” I love the poses and being able to say I “met” so and so. Yes, I am a fan girl. So when Superman asked if I wanted him to carry me for a picture of course I said yes! He wasn’t a creepy guy dressing like Superman, he was Superman and what person hasn’t daydreamed about being saved by a superhero (of course, those are only half of our fantasies, the others are when we are the ones doing the saving).

The vendors’ booths did not disappoint either and my bank account can support this. Not only did I score some old school comics (5 for $1, thank you, First Aid Comics), but I also picked up some superhero shirts and some new games, the latter of which I am uber-excited about. Just about a week ago I put a post on Facebook about missing playing the table top RPGs and what did I find at C2E2? A new RPG: Leverage the role-playing game. I immediately purchased it and all the dice that it requires. My husband is not as much of a gamer as I am, he’s never played a table-top RPG, but he and I are both fans of the show Leverage so I figured this would be a great way to introduce him into the world of role-playing. I also scored the new Fluxx game Oz Fluxx.

In fact, I hear the comics calling me now, asking to be read, so I’m going to go get my geek on now. Until next time, stay geeky.