* This article was slated for last Tuesday, but was postponed by an attack of the office death flu: my apologies for the delay.
Seattle, WA is fortunate to have a variety of local comics conventions, each with a different focus: the Emerald City Con is mainstream-oriented, indy-and-mini- comics fans can enjoy the Olympia Comics Festival and the Stumptown Comics Fest (the latter is in Portland, OR), and otakus have Sakura-Con (which was held Mar. 28-30 this year). Each con has its own charms, but there are some elements of Sakura-Con that I particularly enjoy and that I think would be worthwhile to adopt at the others.
1.
Hygiene. The professionals and attendees at Sakura-Con are definitely the most pleasant-smelling of the local cons I've attended. Since you spend a lot of time crushed in with a lot of people at conventions, and since I'm a short person that comes up to about armpit-height on many other people, a lack of fanperson funk (which, by the way, is not restricted to mainstream fans — there are culprits among small-press and-indy-comics enthusiasts as well) is a blessing.
2.
Dance Dance Revolution. Time and time again at a convention, I'll be in the washroom, or in an exhibition hall, or waiting in line for a pretzel, and some overstressed-or-overstimulated attendee will simply burst into tears. DDR is a great way to work out overwrought nerves, burn off overpriced convention-food calories and stretch legs that have been standing in lines for far too long. One might argue that this would never fly with mainstream or indy comic fans, but think of the possibilities if the game could be modded to play the Merry Marvel Marching Society theme song or "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" from the
Ghost World soundtrack. We might have a Haruhi Suzumiya-dance-like movement on our hands.
3.
Mixers. On the first night of the convention, Sakura-Con has a panel that schools attendees on how to flirt and a singles meet-and-greet directly afterwards, in the same room. It's a nice option for putting people together who may be looking for a little con romance — and for keeping them away from the rest of us.
4.
It's family-oriented. To me, that means the kids are having as much fun, or more, than the adults. This is a pretty rare thing to see at both mainstream and indy comics conventions. I overheard a father and son compare this year's Sakura-Con to last's, and while their assessment was slightly unfavorable ("it was fun, but not as fun as last year. Hopefully it'll be better next year"), I couldn't help but contrast the way they related over the experience with one of the most shameful things I've ever seen at a convention; I had watched a man instruct his 7-or-8-year old son to cut to the front of the huge Brian Michael Bendis line, because when the man had Bendis sign his huge stack of comics previously, one had been missed. You talk about comics not being for kids anymore ….
5.
The manga library. This could easily be adapted for other types of conventions. Basically, the manga library is a room where you look over a list of titles they have available (according to con publicist Elmira Utz, the books have been donated by "staffers, attendees and industry sponsors"), sign one out and hand over your badge. You can read in the room for as long as you like, returning and signing out each book as you go along. They have a list for suggestions for titles to add to the library, too. You get your badge back when you leave. Other attendees have commented on how pleasant it is to just have an oasis to read and rest between events and panels, and what I like about it, besides the chance to try out or catch up on some series, is how it brings you back to the fundamental pleasure of reading the comics rather than just shopping for them (and, admittedly, licensed tchotchkes) in the exhibitor's hall.
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Aimee Major Steinberger, part onePhotos are ©2008 Kristy Valenti
Kristy Valenti currently works for The Comics Journal and Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
Uncharted Territory is © Kristy Valenti, 2008
