SALT LAKE COMIC CON

SALT LAKE COMIC CON–A CHARMER!
Article by Jeff Sanders

This is my first time covering SL Comic Con and I must say, after the hustle and bustle of this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, I was a little apprehensive about jumping back into long lines, expensive concessions, loud noises, stress, and all that other nonsense. Not that San Diego’s Comic-Con International isn’t great. It is!  But it’s also stressful.  Well, to my surprise,  Salt Lake City did a great job of putting on a show and their guest choices were pretty fun. They had a whole plethora of panels for every type of fan to enjoy (we even had an opportunity to attended a John Carpenter appreciation panel.) They had a bit of difficulty getting all of their ticket holders in on the first day, but as an attendee of Comic-Con International, this is nothing new. What was refreshing here, is that  SL Comic Con heads were first to offer an apology.

So why would someone want to attend SL Comic Con?  Is it even worth it? In my humble opinion, yes. When I moved about the convention center, popping in and out of panels, strolling up the exhibitor floor, I didn’t feel the stress that comes with Comic-Con International. It is quite easy to move around and get to where you need to be once you’re inside. Celebrities of every caliber were on hand, ranging from Seinfeld’s The Soup Nazi to comic book icon Stan Lee. Now, seeing Lee might have been difficult without paying an extra premium, but Ian Ziering of BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and (my favorite) SHARKNADO, was perfectly content walking the exhibit hall. I literally bumped right into him. We had a brief discussion about my friend Russ Adams’ werewolf costume display (only at Comic Con, right?). It’s this intimacy and accessibility that always brightens the life of a fan. I am quite certain that Ian had never heard of me or CineMast.net. I was just some random guy. Still, he was talkative and friendly with me. Why? Because the environment is simply lighter at SL Comic Con. At this event, celebrities aren’t bombarded the same way they are at larger Cons, and it’s clear that they feel far more comfortable mingling alongside “common folk”.

The Cosplay aspect of SL Comic Con was truly memorable. I only judge this on what I hear about the subject and the quality of the costumes I saw myself, but I was impressed! I am certainly no expert on this stuff, but to any reader who may wonder, the die hard Cosplay participants were in full force and their creations were of high quality–Particularly the Doctor Who robot that we came into contact with a Cary Elwes panel.

The Exhibit Hall was great! They didn’t have the studio presence of San Diego’s Con, but they had plenty of things that made their Hall well worth visiting. Tons of incredible art. I saw paintings ranging from Big-Eye-Anime-Batman to Scary-Zombie-Poodles. I saw awesome creature masks that looked like they came right out of THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. There was even Sasquatch merch! Never thought I’d see anything like that. I also saw the Soup Nazi (of SEINFELD fame) in person! He was smiling… it was weird.  In a good way though. Hundreds of professional artists were sitting at booths and all were very approachable. While most of these artists were on hand to sell product, they were also more than willing to geek out with enthusiastic attendees.

The panels were very accessible. SL Comic-Con’s largest Ballroom hosted the bigger guests (I was fortunate enough to catch panels for Cary Elwes, Ron Perlman, Doctor Who, and Aquabats.) It was easy to find seating. The room wasn’t so big that you couldn’t see the stage from anywhere in the house. The panels were hosted and facilitated well. There was a mix up with the Ron Perlman panel time, so I missed most of his appearance. Instead,  I found myself watching the Aquabats panel which actually turned out to be quite entertaining. As for Perlman, he was in good spirits and answered fan questions with ease and kindness. The Aquabats (who I am not very familiar with) surprised me. Their young fans clearly had a blast, and to the crowd’s great delight, The Aquabats did their entire panel in character. As an added bonus, they awarded tickets to their concert to 20 lucky Aquabats fans. Very generous of them.

The guest I should really put an emphasis on is Cary Elwes.  Westley himself was there to please. He had a lot of fun with his fans. He did not balk when asked silly questions. He would just laugh and answer. Elwes was ultimately asked to reenact a scene from PRINCESS BRIDE with a disabled fan, and he affectionately obliged without missing a beat. And then, Elwes turned what could have been a cringe worthy moment, into a SL Comic Con highlight.  Elwes couldn’t remember his lines but rather than letting his fan down, he plucked another attendee from the crowd and asked the individual to feed him his lines via the script online. For the record, Josh– the spirited, wheel chair bound man acting opposite of Elwes–nailed it every step of the way. After a few hiccups, the scene was complete. It was a cute, charming, and sincere SL Comic Con moment. Thankfully, I captured it on my iPhone. Pardon the poor quality.

So, I think that video expresses my sentiments. At least, where the Cary Elwes panel was concerned. As for SL Comic Con as a whole, there was a simple charm to it all. My partners in crime should be throwing in their two cents soon. In the end, I say good job SL Comic Con. While you still have a few bugs to work out, you have put together a  personable event and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Take care friends.

Watch movies.

Make stuff.