When the Comic Booked team was talking about which conventions to put on our 2019 schedule, we knew we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to check out one that none of us had yet attended. And in Las Vegas, of all places! So we were excited to connect and engage with the comic community and enjoy a little bit of the nightlife while we were there. Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con may have been our first, but it was a great convention! And we even had time to hit up some of the Strip and a free concert on Fremont Street. Here are just a few quick highlights:
Artist Alley – There was so much space and it was a fantastic change of pace from the normal “breathe to heavily and you’ll bump into someone” type of cons. It was also sort of fun that Artist Alley was in the same room as the main stage for panels as well as the surrounding vendors and celebrity signing area. Look for more information from our team as we do some Independent Comic Spotlights in the coming weeks.
Panels – Gerry Conway and George Perez were the highlights for me personally, in a series of panels talking about the history of Spider-Man, the Infinity Saga, and many, many more topics. Perez himself said that “Nerds have inherited the Earth. The geeks have won!” and the audience (and all of fandom) could not have agreed with him more emphatically. It was also cool to hear some of the ideas surrounding Conway’s influence on everyone’s favorite neighborhood crimefighter, including the idea that Mary Jane Watson is Peter’s one true love and Aunt May was supposed to die instead of Gwen Stacy. It was also cool to hear Jim Starlin and tons of other legends talk about the industry they love.
George Perez – I’m going to be honest… Mr. Perez announcing his retirement was the main reason I went to this convention. I had the pleasure of meeting Marv Wolfman last year at New York Comic Con and got to speak with him and have him to sign a Crisis on Infinite Earths print. When I met Perez, he laughed and said that it was so cool to see fans of all ages always going back to the characters he killed off. He then went above and beyond and chatted, signed the print, and took a picture with me. This was easily the highlight of the entire convention for me.
In conclusion, we had a blast at Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con. And we’d love to go back next year. If we missed you, please feel free to reach out to us on social media or at JeffHill@ComicBooked.com so we can continue (or start) the dialogue. And if we met and chatted, expect continued coverage in the weeks to follow. Hope you enjoy our coverage as much as we enjoyed ourselves in Vegas.
