The annual gathering of pop culture in Phoenix, Arizona just keeps getting bigger and better. This year’s Phoenix Comic Con between June 5th-8th definitely was a hit with returning guest John Barrowman and Stan Lee, to new comers Nathan Fillion and John Rys Davis. Unfortunately fan favorite Wil Wheaton was absent due to his new show on Sy Fy. Now as all Sci Fi geek’s in Arizona know that Phoenix Comicon is the Con for every genre, to Table Top gaming in the Hyatt to Spotlight panels in the North Ballroom and great guest and fandom panels throughout the convention, it truly out did it self as always. As always it starts out with Preview night or Day 0. Past Comicon’s preview night has always been a night to peruse the vendor hall and snag on those cool exclusives and scope out the merch you might get that weekend. This year they added more programming then usual to preview night, almost making its own standalone day.
Thursday for me however was all about Phoenix Ultimate Geeks Smack down or PUGS and the vendor’s hall. Now if you haven’t been to PUGS you need to in 2015 because it is hilarious! It’s a debate panel that has two geeks discuss a mystery topic, from capes to no capes to Lepricon vs. Chuckie. It’s a quick witted panel full of laughs and burns. Now the vendor’s hall this year was the biggest it’s ever been! There was a Balrog from the 13th floor, tons of photo ops and enough art to fill a castle. One of my favorite artists Karen Hallion (Well known for Star wars\haunted mansion and doctor who\Disney mash ups was present).
Now Friday was a great opener to the convention weekend. 77,818 attendees made their way to through the convention center that weekend and one of the biggest topics of Phoenix Comicon is always the cosplay. In the past couple years the cosplay in phoenix has become amazing! This past year we had Ivy Doom Kitty and Holly Conrad both amazing cosplayers graced Phoenix Comicon with their presence this year. (Holly Conrad being a cast member of Sy Fy’s Heroes of Cosplay) Saturday as always is the star of any Comicon weekend! Panels with John Barrowmen, Dean Richard Anderson, and Steven Arnell made the north ballroom almost impossible to get into. Photo Ops were also in huge demand this year since there was a great line up of guests! Skewed n’Reviewed held panels this convention as well, each one having a great turn out! My favorite thing about Saturday was the John Barrowmen panel. The Arrow/Doctor Who actor is always an open book at his panels, and is always upbeat and funny. If you’re not into the costumes or the packed vendors hall; outside the convention center was a great car show. With a Hummer detailed to look like the car from Zombieland, to the classic Knightrider car Kit, the classic Back to the Future DeLorean ,and a bunch of other geeky tricked out vehicles; this weekend was full of plenty to do and see. When night fell a convention standard, The yearly PCC Masquerade happened. It was filled with amazing costumes ranging from beginning to professional. It was a fantastic show, my favorite costumes were the Samurai Finn and Jake from Adventure Time. If you haven’t been to a convention before I would definitely recommend the Masquerade. It is a convention staple, and showcases a great number of talented cosplayers.
Finally Sunday the last day of the convention. There were several guest spotlights in the North Ballroom like Stan Lee and Mark Shepard. One if not the most anticipated panel of the day was Firefly and star of ABC’s Castle, Nathan Fillion. His panel was full before it even started! Stan Lee was also a much anticipated guest for the con, the creator Marvel sure knows how to pack the North ballroom too! Personally my favorite parts of the convention were walking around the vendor’s hall, meeting new people, and getting photo ops with my favorite celebrities. This year’s Phoenix Comicon was an absolute hit and I can’t wait for the next one! 2015 is sure to be bigger and better then 2014!
