Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 Report

Well Attended, Not Well Organized

The 2014 Salt Lake Comic Con saw over 120,000 attendees. Thursday evening some people still weren’t getting their wristbands until ten minutes before the convention hall closed. This was particularly frustrating for people who had purchased a 3-day pass. Saturday, the last day of the convention, more than 90,000 fans came to the Salt Lake Convention Center (Salt Palace). The line to get in (even for those with wristbands) stretched around the block and then some, as capacity was at its maximum. All tickets had been sold by Saturday around noon, but lines outside persisted well into the afternoon.

mainhall

Convention Floor - Courtesy of Salt Lake Comic Con
Convention Floor – Photo courtesy of Salt Lake Comic Con

Convention Floor

Tom Cook – animator and director of a number of 1980s cartoons (He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters, Bravestar, Blackstar).

On Blackstar, the Wikipedia entry says:

John [Blackstar]’s race is not specified in the series, though it is often speculated that he could have Native American heritage.

However, as I was visiting his booth I heard Toom Cook explain how Blackstar was originally meant to have black skin, but the networks didn’t like it. Instead the title character was changed to have deeply tanned skin.

Tom Cook
Tom Cook

I saw a couple of Groots, and their costumes were pretty good.

groot
I am Groot.

The Utah Lego Group was back with more builds.

batman
Lego Batman
friends.
And friends.

Eventually I got thirsty, but fortunately I found an oasis.

Voldemort isn't the only one who likes to relax with a glass of blood to wind down.
Voldemort isn’t the only one who likes to relax with a glass of unicorn to wind down.

I also saw this, when I peeked my head in, I was just a little bit frightened.

Cosplay your way into love.
Cosplay your way into love.

Panels

I attended a couple of panels while I was there. This being my first panel experience I learned a few things.

  • When you line up for a panel, there are no ropes or anything to keep the snaking line from merging, even when they press the lines together. Despite this obvious flaw, people tend to be honest and snake along their given path and not cut.
  • Sitting near the edges is a great way to go deaf from the speakers
  • Most panels are comprised of random fans and not celebrities or people in the actual know.

The first panel I attended was 75 Years of Batman. This panel consisted of six people talking about their favorite aspects of Batman, from comics, to films, to villains, and everything in-between. I left this panel early to make sure I made it into the next panel (Marvel Movies: Phase III). Panels might not be my thing. I’d like to see more insiders and less random local people.

Syfy Z Nation

Everyone knows that San Deigo Comic-Con is the place to see new trailers and test footage for upcoming movies. While Salt Lake Comic Con may bring in SDCC levels of attendance, it hasn’t reached the point where it the place for new content. That’s why I was happy to see that the Syfy Channel premiered the pilot for their new series Z Nation at SLCC.

SLCC’s place on the calendar might make it a good spot for upcoming fall shows to tease footage and other things. What SDCC is for movies, SLCC might be for television.

Salt Lake Comic Con will return in September 2015

Conventions

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