Once upon a time, Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions and comic book conventions were places where a few hundred folk gathered to talk about the genre they loved.
They became more popular, and included more slices of the fandom. Costuming, films, television series, illustrators, editors, agents, musicians, actors and of course more and more merchants. Soon the hundreds of attendees had become thousands, and then hundreds of thousands! The big conventions were expensive and sold out fast. You might want to attend with your friends, but you couldn't be sure that all of you would be lucky enough to get tickets.
Gone were the days of leaning on a table and chatting with an illustrator, one on one. Even old friends seemed to have less and less time to chat as they had to hurry off to one of the multiple track programming events. Sometimes it's hard to see the displays past the shoulder to shoulder people.
But smaller gatherings still do exist. Jet City Comic Show, at the Convention Center in Tacoma, Washington is one of them. It's a two day show, on October 26 adn27th. It's affordable, not sold out, and one can either bus there or find good parking! And once you are there, there are both wonderful things to do and see, and still time to meet people and have a real conversation. You can discuss how a piece of jewelry was made, or compare the styles of favorite illustrators. It's a place to meet up with old friends and find new ones. It's family friendly, so even the youngest (or oldest!) fans are welcome.
Who might you meet? Gil Gerard. Or Felix Silla. A Bumblebee Transformer Car. Jim Valentino. Ben Templesmith. Well, the list is actually too long for here, so try this link: Jet City Guests
I will be there for both Saturday and Sunday. I'll be presenting a panel on Write Here, Right Now, about why you should, indeed, start your story writing right now.
I hope you'll be able to join us. Please feel free to bring any of my books that you would like signed.