XCon World 9

It's May in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which means it's getting hot, it's getting humid, and XCon World is back!  The annual convention, for all things wonderfully geeky, returned for its ninth annual appearance.

As with previous years, XCon World 9 has its share of positives and negatives.  As shown by the photos here, there were numerous cosplayers, covering characters from comic books (Harley Quinn and Deadpool were the most popular characters), movies and television shows, anime, television shows, post-apocalyptic mutants, video games, Pokemon, and more.  (A robotic Dalek and R2-D2 could also be seen zipping around the convention floor.)

The general area was expanded since I was last there, and that provided plenty of opportunities for both shopping and browsing.  Lots of artists and authors were selling and promoting their own works.  Local stores and groups were present, offering everything from toys from the 1980s and 1990s to posters, comics, t-shirts, jewelry, and medieval weaponry.

There were celebrities there as well.  While South Carolina may not attract the biggest names, XCon World 9 had former Power Ranger Michael Copon, Brian Krause (from Charmed and Mad Men), and several supporting actors.

As with previous years, though, there were problems.  The convention lacked private areas for lectures or events, so all held events had to compete with the substantial noise pollution through the convention.  The scheduled events were fairly light in both number and tone, making most of them pretty easy to ignore.  And without more events, making the rounds of the convention floor only took an hour or two before repetition set in.

 XCon World 9 is enjoyable, but down in South Carolina it's almost a default event due to the general lack of other science fiction and fantasy conventions.  I'll be going next year -- and I'll be hoping it improves.

 Written By James Lynch

XCon World VII

This May brought two things to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: lots of motorcycle riders for Biker Week, and lots of fans of comics, sci-fi, fantasy, zombies, and more for XCon World VII.  Since I'm a huge geek (who's also terrified of riding a motorcycle), I spent the past three days immersed in the area's annual slice of fandom delights.

XCon World VII was set up largely as the past few conventions were.  Almost everything happened in the central area, with an screening room off the main room for movies and a tent outside for panels.  There were lots of booths for comic books, statues, stores (like Medieval Times, MagiQuest, and the Hard Rock Cafe), artists, costumers, and more.  A semi-local gaming group had a table and ran demos through the convention.  There were celebrities, such as: Richard Hatch, from Battlestar Galactica; Ming Chen, Michael Zapcic and Bryan Johnson, from Comic Book Men; Sam J. Jones, star of 1980's Flash Gordon; Olivia Olson and Jessica DiCicco, who do voices on Adventure Time; and Soni Aralynn, a costumer and cosplayer who posed with me:

There were other attractions as well.  Little kids could play in a Bouncy Castle, while bigger kids could thrill at seeing full-size versions of the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, a Dalek rolling around the convention, and the Batmobile from the 1960s tv show Batman.

There were lots of panels and interactive events happening through the convention.  Panels included a Zombie Apocalypse Prep Class, getting an independent comic book made through Kickstarter, a Wrestling Q&A, and even some Nerd Church on Sunday morning.  People could also participate in the Geek Dating Game, the Nerd Trivia Game (I won against my two opponents!), or battling with foam weapons or medieval weaponry.

Geeks have been dominating movies and television, and it's no surprise that pop culture affected a lot of fan costuming.  There were numerous characters based on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Frozen, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Classic characters like Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and different versions of the Doctor mingled with folks from Teen Titans Go!, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.  And since Deathstroke has been the main villain on Arrow, it's no surprise that multiple versions of him were at XCon World VII.

Change is inevitable from year to year at the convention -- this year there were a lot fewer t-shirt sellers and a lot more vendors with bootleg dvds -- but, alas, some of the problems with XCon World remained.  There were no classrooms or sealed areas for panels, resulting in a lot of noise pollution either from being surrounded up on the main stage, or from passing traffic in the outside tent.  With only two areas for panels, there wasn't that much offered, resulting in a lot less time picking where to go and a lot more time circling the convention floor.  Instead of spending the whole day there, you could pick one or two panels of interest, go around the convention area once or twice, and be done for the day in just a few hours.

But even with those flaws, XCon World VII was still pretty fun.  I talked to a lot of interesting people, I loved the costumes (not to mention that this was the first time I saw people dressed as Jesus and a piece of watermelon), and I look forward to going there next year.  Probably not on a motorcycle, though...

Written by James Lynch

XCON WORLD VI

This past weekend, fans of science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, gaming, and a lot more converged at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for XCon World VI, the latest gathering of fans for all things geek.  The convention was a lot of fun -- albeit with the same problem that it faced last year.

Held mostly in one big hall, XCon World VI managed to squeeze just about everything together -- and that was reflected in the numerous costumes worn by the attendees.  Some characters were very popular -- I saw numerous Wonder Women, Harley Quinns, and the Doctor(s) from Doctor Who -- but there were also zombies and creatures a-plenty, video game characters like Lara Croft and the folks from Minecraft, Jedi and Starfleet Officers, medieval ladies and steampunk men, and even the first costumes from Breaking Bad that I've seen at a convention!  There was also a TARDIS (stationary) and a Dalek (which rolled around the convention.)

XCon World VI also provided plenty of activities for folks.  Little kids could get their faces painted, play in a bouncy castle, or receive balloon animals.  Old-school gamers could play the quarter-fueled arcade games, while a bus held XBox and PS3 games for those who subscribe to the new school.  (I saw a lot of Injustice: Gods Among Us played.)  A local Gaming Guild ran demos, including near-continuous sessions of the Pathfinder rpg.  Outside the building was a replica of the vehicle from Ghostbusters, while inside folks could get photographed with the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, shown below.

Vendors were spread throughout the convention, selling everything from toys to classic movie posters to t-shirts and varied medieval weaponry and costumes.  There were also numerous celebrities, from voice actors-animators Bob Camp and C. Martin Croker to scream queen Cindy Crotts to Deep Roy.  Several folks from The Walking Dead were there; I got to meet Travis Love!

The main stage of the convention had a variety of events, from costume contests and battle demonstrations to the Geek Dating Game and pro wrestling (shown below), which is even sillier live than on television.  Outside the building, a panel "room" was set up with folding chairs and fabric walls for discussions, lectures, and Q&As with the XCon World guests and professionals.

Much as I enjoy XCon World, there were a few problems.  The biggest one was with the panels: With only one location, there could only be one panel at a time, which led to less variety and a lot of time spent wandering around the convention area.  (The lack of real walls also made noise pollution a problem, especially from the traffic.)  A few events got moved or cancelled (alas, no Twister with the XCon Girls), and the sound from the main stage was sometimes hard to hear over the gathered crowd.  And I was slated for a lecture, but the organizers never quite found a place for me to deliver it.

I've been to XCon World twice now, and the convention seems to be growing each year.  My fervent hope is that they can get more space and rooms, so they can provide more panels to give more variety to attendees.  That said, the convention was a blast -- and I'll be there for XCon World VII!

Written and photographed by James Lynch