Normally I am not a fan of first year conventions for numerous reasons. Often times it is due to a lack of guests, programming, or attendance. Comikaze was unlike most first year conventions I have attended. The biggest difference between Comikaze and most first year conventions is the sheer number of attendees at Comikaze. The large amount of fans, cosplayers, and families was a bit of a surprise to the team and shows that first year conventions can succeed in gathering attendees if you put out a great guest lineup. That being said, there are still many issues this convention needs to work out.
The first problem that occurred to me with Comikaze was the lack of convention badges. Instead of badges attendees were given wristbands. While this is not a bad idea for one day attendees the multiday attendees find this to be troublesome. The wristband requires either people to either keep the band on all weekend or they need to hold on to the band and reattach it on the second day. This could easily be remedied by offering badges to the multiday attendees with wristbands for only the one day visitors. This would keep costs down and separate the industry and multiday visitors from the one day attendees.
The hall was large, but not without flaws. The hall was a former parking garage, which does not give a sense of professionalism to the convention. However, it is not enough to ruin the event by any means. There was more than enough space for all the booths and guests. However, the acoustics are horrible in the hall and it can be difficult to hold conversations. In addition the panel rooms are located in the hall as well. This makes the panels very difficult to enjoy. The sheer amount of outside noise really makes it difficult to hear panel. In addition, there was no map that we could find for the event. In addition there was no hand held program guide to keep track of panel listings. A few simple fliers with panel listings and a hall map would have made navigating the convention much easier.
It feels like the convention needs to be divided into three major areas. The first section is the panel area, which should be away from the hall so that panels can be enjoyed. The second is the autograph area, a separated area to line up for autographs and with enough noise reduction in order to communicate with the guests. The final section is the typical dealer hall. If divided like this it will help keep the crowds down and it will make shopping and panel hopping more enjoyable.
The guest line up was great. There were a large number of actors, artists, and icons from various genres such as horror, comics, and sci-fi. It was difficult to find some of the guests due to the layout of the hall and the lack of a personal program guide to help find the guest booths did not make things easier. The lack of a guide is very frustrating and while shopping is easy enough, but finding that one person you want an autograph from can be a pain, especially if you do not know where they are and when they will be there.
Every first year convention has problems. Some are major issues and some are easily fixed. Comikaze is no exception to this rule and with a few fixes and a little more preparation next year could be really great. Comikaze has the potential to be an amazing comic book (and other media) convention due to the guest line up, location, and panel opportunities. I hope that the staff takes the time to fix the minor problems for next year. Either way I will be there ready to have fun at Comikaze 2012.
I highly recommend this event to anyone who is a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, comic books or horror. If you can find parking check out Comikaze. In the meantime, I would like to thank Miguel, Becky, the Peanuts gang, Pendant audio, the girl with the whip, and all the cool cosplayers who made my Comikaze adventure fun. If there are any comments or questions feel free not to contact me at Jared(at)scarlet-rhapsody.com. Until next time I leave you with my list and a simple request: give my love to Elvira.
The List
1. Can’t I say hello to anyone?
2. Star Trekking across the universe…
3. RE: 2- Going boldly forward because we can’t find reverse
4. Still need a comic book themed cosplay
5. Where did the lunch truck go?!
6. Is it even possible to top this guest line up next year?
7. Note to self: audition for Pendant again.
8. Old Republic era, you say?
9. Zombie Research Society, awesome!
10. There is no way that the snob will read this.
11. I still lament the loss of my VHS collection
12. Toxie 5, that’s what they tell me and I believe it.
13. People, learn to park!
14. I keep feeling like I am going around in circles
15. Next cosplay: Vincent Price
16. Oh, nice whip
17. I want more cookies!
18. You can never find a Doctor when you need one
19. If not for men in spandex, we would have had Ianto
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