by Kris
Earlier this month, I spent four days at the Phoenix Comicon 2014, one of my favorite appearances of the year.
One of the strongest draws for the public is always that they get to 
garner autographs and take photos with various famous actors. Across from our table was Mark Sheppard, of Dr. Who and Warehouse 13 fame, along with other shows, and we were just down the way from Bruce Campbell of Burn Notice. Nathan Fillian, Stephen Amell, John Rhys-Davies, Julie Newmar, Adam West, and so many others also put in appearances.
The best part for me is that I get to see good friends, some of which I 
only see at PCC. It’s always great spending time with my regular table-mate, Chantelle Aimee Osman, as well as our Authors Alley neighbor and good friend, NYT Bestselling science fiction author Mike Stackpole, author of I, Jedi and too many other great novels to name.
The panel programming is always first-rate. This year I appeared on the Crafting the Mystery panel, with Sister Femmes, Charlaine Harris. I also appeared on the Crossing the Streams panel, which dealt with those authors who write cross-genre works. And I did a little speed critiquing for a talented group of aspiring authors.
The vendors in the Exhibition Hall aren’t what you find at other trade shows. One of my favorite booths were the one selling Super Hero Stuff 
because what super hero doesn’t need...well, stuff? Since one Dr. Who briefly thought fezzes were cool, there’s always a good selection of fez dealers.
The funniest booth, operating under the name Twiggs & Berries, sold elaborate, inventive cod pieces. What well dressed man ever has enough of those?
The parade of costumes at fantasy cons always dazzles. Everyone pays the most attention to the elaborate, custom-crafted costumes, and naturally, I marvel at those as much as anyone, though my favorites are usually the ones people make themselves. They might not be as showy, but they’re always imaginative. 
The organizers of this event deserve huge applause. If any problems do pop up, they must deal with them instantly, because I never hear of them. And that the attendance has spiked so dramatically every year has to have made organization a challenge, but they consistently handle it with aplumb. The Guest Services staff especially always takes such good care of us authors.
The absolute best part? Where else can I see 77,000+ people having more fun than should be legal without going too far from home?
It sounds wonderful. I always fear that if I went to Comicon, though, an alarm would go off - "TBBT!TBBT!" - identifying me as someone who heard about Comicon on a certain sit-com . . .
Posted by: catriona | June 20, 2014 at 10:06 AM
It is wonderful, Catriona! But I suspect tens of thousands of others learned about it the same way. Alarms can't go off for everyone. :)
Posted by: krisneri | June 20, 2014 at 02:28 PM
77,000! That's a lot of crazy people. :) So glad you had a big time, Kris. That's pretty cool that stars come to these. It's a nice thing to do for the fans.
Posted by: Mary S. | June 20, 2014 at 03:52 PM
Wow..amazing...you must have been laughing every minute..how wonderful!
Posted by: Hank Phillippi Ryan | June 20, 2014 at 07:59 PM
But, but, fezzes are cool! ;) Bowties, however, are a different story…
Sounds like it was a blast, Kris! Glad to hear everything went so smoothly. :)
Posted by: Kathryn McKade | June 21, 2014 at 02:54 PM
Mary, there was something for everyone there.
Hank, you're right. Loads of laughs.
Posted by: krisneri | June 22, 2014 at 06:18 PM
Katy, I think we have to agree to disagree about fezzes. ;)
Posted by: krisneri | June 22, 2014 at 06:20 PM
Sounds fair! ;)
Posted by: Kathryn McKade | June 22, 2014 at 10:13 PM
I missed it this year, Kris. So glad you took the time to post about it. Took my straight to it. :-)
Sally
Posted by: Sally J. Smith | June 24, 2014 at 11:44 AM