Dragon*Con: Day One

3 HOURS!!!

That’s how long I and several other Dragon*Con pre-registration patrons stood in line to get our badges so we could enjoy the lovely offerings of this very BIG convention spread over 4 hotels. Three looooooooong hours, one and half of which was spent in the Atlanta heat of mid-morning.

There was fun conversation to be had since I was before a film school student/teacher. We had a nice chat about movies of the summer after griping about the long line and ways Dragon*Con could improve the pre-registration situation. It seemed worth it to forego pre-registration in the future and just pay the extra $30 to get the badge that day. The line for that was infinitely shorter.

The one good thing about the line situation helped me come up with a fantastic promo idea (or two or three) that I will implement next year.

After the line and getting badges, my brother and I wandered the massive convention track. We hit the exhibit hall, the dealer’s room, the comics & art room, the food court and then just wandered aimlessly before exhaustion drove us home.

The highlight of Day One was meeting NeNe Thomas. She started her career illustrating Magic cards. That’s how I was introduced to her art, which is totally and utterly AMAZING. I would hunt down any and all cards so long as they had her name on them. I told her that too. I bought her calendar and plan to visit her site for more goodies to purchase with my meager means.

The second jewel of my day was meeting Ted Naifeh. He is the author of the Courtney Crumrin series. I was first introduced to his art in the Gloom Cookie series. When I saw he had a book of his own, I started reading it and fell in love. He assures me that Courtney Crumrin has another two volumes planned but there is no set release date yet. I know how that is.

I met some other comic authors as well as some amazing artists. I got business cards from all of them so I can check out more of their work.

I managed to hook up with my friend Panya whom I haven’t seen in nearly ten years. I missed Jean Marie Ward, but I’ll try and catch her tomorrow.

The best costumes I saw were Guyver I, Bumblee in robot mode, and an alien. The most obscure was Jem from Jem and the Holograms. The costumes are fantastic and I only regret being too tired to dig out my camera and wave people down so I could get pictures.

Tomorrow will be better since I won’t be standing in line for three hours at the start of my day. As well, I know my way around — for the most part — so I won’t be expending energy wandering around aimlessly.

This is by far and without a doubt the biggest convention I have ever attended. Dragon*Con makes Otakon look small. That’s an accomplishment and a half. It really is an eclectic gathering of people from all walks of science fiction and fantasy life. I’m really enjoying it.