The Rant Off
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Rose City 2017 part 2 By: Lexi vaughn
I had the privilege of interacting with some of the many celebrity guests Rose City Comic Con had to offer! Each experience was a positive and memorable one. The first was Grey DeLisle, who is best known for being the voice behind Daphne from Scooby Doo, among dozens of other popular cartoon voices. DeLisle was very enthusiastic, and stood in front of her table to greet and interact with her fans. She even gave out free bracelets for those that favored her talent as "Azula" from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Next in line was Tom Kenny, who voices Spongebob Squarepants. It was so surreal meeting such a major part of my childhood, and the interactions and bickering between Kenny and Rodger Bumpass, the voice of Squidward Tentacles, behind the tables made it seem like the cartoon had come to life. I ended up shelling out a couple extra dollars to take a selfie with Kenny, because who wouldn't? I then went to meet James and Oliver Phelps, who play the troublemaking duo Fred and George Weasley respectively in the Harry Potter series. Now I'm not the biggest "Potterhead", but with people around me in line in tears from excitement, I actually got a bit nervous about meeting them. However, they were absolute gentlemen, and inquired about activities to do around Portland during their stay. And lastly, I met the famous video game voice actor, Troy Baker. Baker is known for his work as Joel in The Last of Us, and the Joker in the Batman Arkham Nights series. He was quiet yet charming, and it was mind blowing how many different characters he's gotten to bring to life. He even shared a story how the late Adam West told Baker that he believed he would make a wonderful Batman, after it was announced Baker would be voicing Batman in the Lego: Batman series.
On top of all of the amazing interactions with these guests, the Rose City volunteers were all so friendly and helpful, which really made the whole experience one to remember!
Rose city 2017 By: Life of Shel
Weird Al was one of the main highlights and unfortunately Felicia Day canceled at the last minute but attendees had a plethora of other guest to fill their time with. (the voice of batman) gave me a highlighted high five.
The cosplay scene, which was my main purpose in con attendance, was AMAZING. While Portland’s cosplay community is still developing and growing, Rose City had such an strong atmosphere of warmth and community, partly due to the Seattle and Canadian cosplay communities trekking down to our galaxy. I was highly impressed by the attention to detail and character impersonations by the cosplayers. There is some extreme talent out here in the north. I attended the Saturday night costume contest with my friend Chandler (who actually won a side contest for her magnificent Anastasia costume). The costume contests were well thought out, the host was hilarious, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves costume art.
Overall, we would definitely say that Rose City Comic Con is a staple of the Portland Geek community and is a must attend for any cosplayer or cosplay curious person in the Portland area. There are many opportunities to fully participate in multiple fashions, which make for a fully engrossing weekend for many demographics. My only advice or criticism that I can offer is to arrive early to get good parking or take the city’s economical Max train (that drops off right in front of the Convention Center) or else you could be paying $20 to park 5 blocks away! Hope to see you there next year!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Dragon Con 2017 by Danielle DeNicola
The self-proclaimed largest multimedia convention in the universe.
- Get in whatever elevator you see, even if you have to go up to go down (which is generally the case).
- There is always free food, water, and a place to sit in the safe haven known as the “Con Suite,” located on the 2nd floor of the Hyatt.
- Always stock up on Emergen-C and Pedialyte, because no amount of partying is worth catching the nefarious con crud.
A Day in the Life….
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Phoenix Comic Con 2017 Recap by Brian Simonsen
Monday, November 7, 2016
Stan Lee's L.A. Comicon by Victoria Tegeler
This past weekend was the sixth annual Stan Lee‘s LA Comic Con 2016, (formerly known as Comikaze) and they can not only count it’s first year under the new name as a success, it will go down on record as having the highest numbers with 91,000 fans in attendance. It is no surprise that the number of passes selling has increased as what is traditionally known as “Nerd” or “Geek” culture becomes more mainstream.
While at most places, having a mass of strangers in costumes, some including prop weapons or a small amount of clothing, would have caused passer bys to ask questions, no longer fazes downtown LA especially so on the weekend before halloween. This year’s most popular costumes appeared to have been Suicide Squad Harley Quinn (I lost count at 30 if them) or Eleven from the Netflix Original Series Stranger Things (let me just tell you there were way more than 11). And as usual my mind was blown by the sheer talent of so many of the amazing and creative cosplays.
One of my favorite parts of this convention is that it is was right before Halloween. Because of this kids can enjoy trick-or-treating their way through the booths of the convention. The atmosphere overall was very family friendly and even young cosplayer MiniBobafett had a booth this year for his fans to come by and say hello. Other famous faces that con goers could meet were, Dita Von Teese, Grumpy Cat, The cast of Flash, as well as cosplayers like Maid of Might, Amber Arden, HendoArt, and BBoySpiderman.
At the largest booth in the hall, Hot Topic, attendees were given candy and stickers and could see the first display of the new line of clothing inspired by the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Two dresses that through back to the 1920’s art deco era flanked a gorgeous coat that resembled the one worn by Eddie Redmayne’s character (which will be sold at an amazing price less then $80).
More than anything, Stan Lee‘s LA Comic Con has to have been my favorite convention I have had the privilege of attending so far. The atmosphere is inviting and encouraging for cosplayers and fans a like. The staff and management of the con, all the way up to Stan Lee himself care about those that have paid to attend this event. Friday, day 1 of the convention, doors opened late as Stan Lee had left the convention center because he felt the convention center staff was mistreating the attendees. As a woman who has attended quite a few conventions and had many different experiences, it is refreshing to know that the management of the convention cares about the experience and not just the money that we spend.
I am already looking forward to next year and hope to be premiering bigger better cosplays myself. Here are some photos of my favorite cosplays from around the con (and a couple of my own cosplays).
Until next time "Don't forget to be a fan!"
Thursday, August 11, 2016
The Game has just started! Game on Expo Review.
Well fans it's time to give a review of another AZ local convention and I happy to say that it is a much more positive then the previous years review. Your Fanboy got to go spend some time at Game on expo and I am pleased to say that they clearly listened to the fans from last year. They expanded the gaming areas, brought in more high profile guests and more than doubled the amount of vendors.
The expo shows only good signs of growth and possibilities.
The vendors this year were not only much more plentiful but more diverse. From costume designers, Video game vendors, custom device designers and even coding schools. There was a plethora of choices and unlike some of the other small cons the vendors seemed to enjoy being there and liked the overall atmosphere. I feel that it's only a matter of time before this local gaming expo has the big boys from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo knocking on their door.
As with any convention or expo there were no shortage of cosplayers and cosplay groups. The layout of the cosplay groups is really the only complaint I have from this event. The groups had tables at different points up and down the hall way intermingled with tables for other upcoming conventions like Yaiyou cox. Tucson Comicon and Phoenix Fanfest. Though it is always a pleasure to see groups like the 501st, Team Rocket and the Autobots. Not to mention the amazing individual cosplayer's like Krash cosplay, Courtney Leigh and Sara Sundae.
As I mentioned previously the expo has expanded it's gaming areas by 3 . Plenty of available consoles and arcade systems to go around, as well as a full karaoke stage Monster energy drink station and concessions. Personally I look forward to next years expo and to see how they further expand the layout and to when they get to move up to the big show at the phoenix convention center. My only change I would offer the team at Game on Expo would be to consider moving it to the winter. AZ needs quality cons in the early part of the year and I think this is one that could easily make that transition.
Remember guys if you wanna see Fanboy Rant at your local con make sure to reach out to us at fanboyrant@gmail.com. Until next time around don't forget to be a fan!
Friday, June 10, 2016
Phenomenal 2016 for Phoenix Comicon
Hello to all the Fans, Dorks, Geeks, Nerds and first time con goers out there. 2016 was a banner year for Phoenix Comicon. Now I'm sure that some of you out there have issues with what happened with the registration lines on Friday. All that says to me is that the con is becoming that much better. More and more people both in state and out of state are making a point to attend our hometown convention that we all look forward to all year round. Outside of the Friday snag with the line the con appears to have been a great success. We purposely held back this blog for attendance numbers and though we only have the estimated number we are happy to inform you that where last year attendance was around 75k the early numbers for 2016 have said to be around 100k. The difference in attendance between the 2 years is honestly amazing.
Some have asked why these numbers excite me as not only a fan but an avid PHXCC attendee. "Won't this make it harder to get into things you want to do?" To these types of worries I ask you all to be more excited than wary. The rise in attendance will lead to more great things in the coming years. I personally don't focus on guests unless it's someone I'm truly a fan of. But the additional buzz and revenue generated from this year will allow those who run PHXCC to get even higher profile gusts along with a greater variety of guests. This will only allow the con to be an even better event than it already is.
Well everyone in the end it has been a great years con and can't wait to see you all at Fan Fest. Have a great time till then and "Don't forget to be a fan!"