Another year of Rhode Island Comic Con is in the books, and it lived up to its moniker—“The Biggest Convention in the Smallest State.” Spread this year into three buildings, the con was bigger—and better—than ever. Though it had a few minor tweaks to work out (I’ll cover those in a bit), overall, the con was the best it’s ever been, with a bigger mix of fandoms and a mishmash of interesting panels.
If I can point out one difference between this Comic-Con and others in the area, it’s that this one seems more media-focused than comic book focused. But in a way, that’s to be expected, as comic book storylines grow into pop culture movies and tv shows. As a die-hard comic book fan, I love cons that focus on the artists that make them; but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have just as much enjoyment of the actors, media celebrities, and voice artists who are the bread and butter of Rhode Island Comic Con (RICC.) They drew in everyone from Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns photo op!) to the kids from IT, to big name heroes from Agents of SHIELD, Marvel’s Iron Fist, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Guardians of the Galaxy. And they had a couple of comic book greats as well, snagging Kevin Eastman (TMNT) and Rob Liefield (Deadpool, X-Force.)
Better Set-Up
This year’s set-up placed their biggest stars in two separate buildings, the higher-traffic guests in the lower level of the Dunkin’ Donuts center and a second set in the RI Convention Center on the fifth floor. The panels were in yet another venue, the Omni Hotel across the street. They also opened up the Skybridge from the Dunks Center to the Convention Center to two-way traffic, which kept the crowded areas to a minimum, even on Saturday, which is generally the busiest day (the only exception to this was the Photo Op area, where there were often crowds in a small space.) As a person who looks at the con from a parent’s and cosplayer’s eyes, the lighter traffic was more family-friendly, more cosplay friendly, and it also made lines move quickly and smoothly for even the most sought-after stars.
My eldest standing star-struck with Nat Tena, who played both Tonks in Harry Potter and Osha the Wildling on Game of Thrones!
In the Convention Center, the lines were incredibly short, despite how popular the actors in the ballroom were—take Michael Rooker or Jessica Henwick, who both had minimal waits the three times I wandered through the room. I’m not sure if that was because of the location—I wish there had been a better guide to where each attraction/media guest could be found. There were large maps placed in a few areas, but there were often crowds of people looking at them. There’s a great program that lists all the guests, but if they had put a map and where to find those guests and the vendors inside it I would have been thrilled. Nevertheless, we persisted and found Joey Pantoliano, who expressed surprise that so many fans wanted pictures of his Running Scared character Snake, Elizabeth Henstridge (Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Jenna Elfman, and Katrina Law, the actor who plays Nyssa Al Ghul on Arrow. Ms. Law was absolutely lovely to speak with, as we chatted a bit about Shethority, the brainchild of Caity Lotz and Candice Patton, and she told me she loves that, while Nyssa isn’t a regular character on Arrow, you know that when she shows up, it’s about to go down!
Ms. Law was taken with my spouse’s T.A.R.D.I.S. dress, and was so warm and inviting that it erased a (small) incident that occurred due to the lack of clearly marked gender-neutral bathrooms. My spouse is genderqueer, and generally at RICC this is not an issue in any way—check these incredible gender-bent cosplays!
But when we searched for a bathroom, there wasn’t a readily marked gender-neutral one, so my spouse and I used the ladies room (I assure you, we both went pee, washed our hands, and left.) I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say the experience wouldn’t have been a thought without a woman who seemed offended. It wasn’t a huge enough incident to chase after her and call security, but it was uncomfortable enough that the interaction with Ms. Law was a much-needed palate cleanser.
Geeks Doing Good
A huge bright spot was the number of charitable organizations—geeks doing good-type platforms—that dominated the con, including the following:
The 501st Legion, as usual, had a huge crowd of fans clamoring for pics with their favorite Star Wars heroes, villains, and robots. Every photo op raised money for Dana Farber/The Jimmy Fund.
RICC had a Tom Brady signed jersey on raffle to raise funds for multiple charities including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, BayState Children’s Hospital, and K-9s for Warriors.
And Random Tuesday, Inc. presented a way for geeks to get up and move as well as raise funds for a variety of worthy charities through their virtual run programs, where you can run anywhere you want and win cool Harry Potter, Dr. Who, and Gilmore Girls themed medals. You can find out more here: http://www.rantue.org
Association of Rhode Island Authors
Area comic conventions have become increasingly friendly to indie authors, and RICC was no exception. The Association of Rhode Island Authors was on hand with a contingent of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror authors. They had a great selection of books, as well as a panel on questions of morality in science fiction. You can find more about them here:
KIDS CON/LOW SENSORY AREA
As a parent, I’m always happy to see a kids con and particularly a calmer area with lower sensory input. First and foremost, my youngest had a blast in the Kids Con building with legos, making a gadget out of recyclables, and watching the awesome Mad Science show. When I say an awesome time, I mean it was the best part of the con (other than sitting in the Jurassic Park Jeep and buying Arthur Weasley’s wand)
for them. And outside the Kids Con room, there was an area where you could play the new Spider-Man game, so I was impressed with the array of activities.
I was disappointed there were paid activities interspersed between the free ones in the Kids Con room, especially because we went there to get away from the constant “can I buy this” on the vendor floor. Families already pay a mint to attend a con, even with a great free-under-6 policy like RICC offers. The other small issue was that those looking to escape the loud noises of the con for a few minutes in the lower sensory area were crammed into a fairly small space, especially when you consider many of them had wheelchairs. Those are two small things (in comparison to how well the con ran overall) that could be tweaked to provide a better experience for younger con-goers as well as those with sensory issues. All of that said, it was great that they had the rooms at all, so I’m hoping those kinks will work themselves out over time.
The Cosplay
The cosplay is my favorite part of any comic convention—watching fans who love something so deeply they wear it is a joy. Specifically, I love people showing you a piece of themselves you can’t see anywhere else. This year’s RICC had some fantastic cosplays, both individual and group:
Overall, this was RICC’s best year yet, at least as far as this family woman and volunteer cosplayer could see. They’ve definitely upped their game as far as fan experience goes, and I can’t wait to see what they bring to the table next year.
Photo credit: SM Roffey
