I went to DC Comicon this weekend, and the experience was not quite was I was expecting or hoping for. I’ve seen other people’s reactions to it, and they are wildly differing, to say the least. For the record, I agree more with the former than the latter. As a non-collector, it didn’t make me swoon to see leagues and leagues of not-very-recent books on display and for sale. The artists present were scattered around and I couldn’t tell if they were big names or small guys based on their positioning or presentation, and I’m not deep enough in the rabbit hole to intrinsically know the difference on name alone.

But more than that, was the major headache the second blog post mentioned: it was more like a VA Comicon #2. It was in Fairfax, which, while close to DC, is not actually DC. It’d be purely a matter of semantics, but the fact of the matter is that I live in Baltimore, and every extra mile is an extra pain in my ass. Plus, as I’ve discovered from working on a campus that’s huge and it isn’t easy to leave for some food and come back unless you want to eat away two hours, urban location can be pretty important. People should be able to socialize more than saying “Oh, you want at this box? Sure.” That was seriously the most social event I had while there. Of course, the George Mason University was probably the most receptive to the event, or charged much cheaper than any place in the heart of DC would, but if you’re going to announce a DC comics convention, you should be prepared to deal with what being in DC entails.

Aside from that, the logistical problems William mentioned were quite true. I wasn’t driving, so I had my phone out, alternating between the campus map and Google maps, and I still almost wound up leaving the campus accidentally before I turned around and got to the parking lot. We were followed from there by someone who had even less of an idea how to get there than I did, so I was feeling the pressure when it turned out we went up and around a building needlessly. Damn social anxiety. Then I was asked for directions on our way out by a deaf guy across the street, and hopefully my wild gesturing was helpful cause I don’t think he was close enough to read my lips and I still don’t know ASL.

One of the bigger busts was not the con’s fault, but my own, in that I was kind of looking forward to meeting the aforementioned William, cause he seems pretty cool and I prefer knowing people in real life when possible. Unfortunately, not realizing that he was likewise looking forward to meeting up and having made several circuits of the floor, I decided to go ahead and head out. Adding to the decision was the fact that I’d almost bumped into a couple of people several times, during which I stopped suddenly, right on my partner’s feet, while he was wearing flip-flops. Since he looked about ready to toss me out the nearest window by the second or third time I did it, it seemed a good idea not to risk further incidents. Again, none of this was anything to do with the con itself, just stuff that happened to…er, happen.

It wasn’t really a horrible experience, but it’s probably not one I’ll repeat unless a couple of things change for next year. It should be in DC. It should be more than a vendor room. It should have clear directions for parking and for getting to the convention. The $5 admission price is well under what I’d expect for a convention, but was about par or above for paying to pay for stuff. I have hopes for next year, but I’m not holding my breath too long.

I am looking forward to Baltimore Comic-Con though, I’ve heard it’s quality.