Phoenix Comic Con 2017 Recap by Brian Simonsen

Phoenix Comic Con is now well in the books. For a long time attendee it felt like a whirlwind battle of good versus evil, the man versus the people or even fun versus boredom.  There was so much more frustration leading up to this year's con (volunteer controversy) and such a palpable sense of frustration that I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly apprehensive at attending this year.  Was it going to be a train wreck that so many were touting it to be? Would it be the best Con ever? Was I going to have fun?  These were some damned important questions, especially the last one.  So when Thursday May 25th came around I was cautiously excited. 

I'm going to spoil the end of my story for you, PCC was not a ghost town as people anticipated... 

People showed up, a lot of people, and I had a wonderful time and PCC, itself, was pretty enjoyable.  If you want to know more please continue to read, if you disagree... well continue to read anyways.  

I'm breaking it up into 3 big points to keep things simple.

The Good: The wealth of things to see, people to meet and panels to attend.  

For me, PCC is and always will be about people.  It's a wonderful excuse to have the largest group of geeky people with similar interests into once place for a single weekend.  I get to see friends from all over in quick succession.  So many that I honestly don't get to see everyone.  

We drink, we laugh, we pose for pictures, share stories and in general just have a damn good time.  In this, PCC2017 did not disappoint. I was so incredibly happy to see so many like faces, and even meet a few new ones.  

I got to be apart of 3 amazingly fun and silly panels.  This feeling of just pure and constant adrenaline is what keeps me coming back.  This is also purely subjective, but you're reading an OpEd piece so that's what you should expect. 

The Bad: Really the biggest issue during Con besides the heat, it AZ summer after so there isn't much you can do about it, was the now infamous Thursday takedown of a heavily armed person.  

I want to say one simple thing about this, I am ever so thankful that this person was apprehended in time and that the situation did not escalate.  My real "bad" for PCC wasn't even the unfortunate increased security or prop ban.

  It was the lack of upfront communication by PCC during and after the arrest.  I really felt like PCC was constantly behind the ball in terms of getting information to the attendees and that lead to news organizations spinning the event out of control.  

This was heck of a learning curve for PCC but also for the industry as a whole. 

The Ugly:  This is the part that really bugged me most, Fan Backlash and Anger.

The sheer amount of vitriol and hate that sprouted Thursday afternoon hit full bloom on Friday.  People angry and they wanted someone to blame for unhappiness.  

Most all of it went towards PCC,,,which was fine as it is an organization. But then I started to see people lash out against each other. 

There was actual debate of one person saying they were having a good time and another person calling them a liar. 

 A business that did not agree with, nor follow, the newly imposed guidelines was kicked out and then decided to participate in an internal smear campaign.  Even other Conventions called out PCC for it's negligence and took the opportunity to promote themselves.

I'm Exhausted just thinking about it.  But I quickly realized the solution to most of this, for the weekend at least, I shut my social media down.  I only directly connected with friends and posted pictures.  I just let the experience, my experience, speak for itself without the negativity surrounding it.  

And you know what?  I had a damn good time.  Was it perfect? No, but no Con ever has been. 

 The lines were rough at first but as the weekend moved along things went smoother.  

It was a little hot, but not nearly as bad as last year. 

Some of my cosplay friends weren't able to show of their props that they worked hard on, but most of them made do just fine.  

But I had fun, honest to goodness fun.  And best of all?  I shared that fun with my fellow geeks.

Rating:

I would easily give this con a solid B in my history of PCC (going back to 2004).  Even with the windfall from Thursday I can't help but look back on my time fondly.  I look forward to the next chance to flex some geek muscle and to meeting some more of you lovely people.

Now I have truly spun my wheels dry.  So in closing, I'll leave you with  one of my favorite phrases that I hope you will all take to heart.  To all geeks/nerds out there in fan land "Be Excellent to Each Other!"

Author: Brian Simonsen

Co-Host: Fanboy Rant and Sprecken Ze Geek