I love the start of convention season, the time of year from Memorial Day through to Labor Day where a great majority of conventions take place. This year Comicpalooza returned to its Memorial Day weekend roots as was traditionally hosted prior to the pandemic. The convention has been in existence since 2008, with its first convention at the Alamo Draft House. It is estimated that more than 50,000 fans attend the show each year.
I arrived early on Saturday and began my journey into the George R. Brown Convention Center to pick up my credential and walk through the humongous show floor. The thing that I like about this convention is the variety in the show floor itself. In one portion of the room you can find different crafts from local artisans or you may find artwork and commissions available from others. There was no shortage of vendors offering a variety of wares from different fandoms. In addition to the vendors and exhibits, Comicpalooza offers programming on its show floor. You can find everything from demonstration areas with Battlebots, live jousting in full armor, or even things like a mechanical bull which I’m not sure but it may be a Texas thing. The other stages included more fandom related items such as one panel asking about the attractiveness of Mr. Spock, while another area offered a comic themed podcast. I found the Star Wars 501st had a very large presence at the convention offering plenty of photo opportunities and areas to see the different droids featured throughout the Star Wars franchise.
I made my way into the General Assembly area where the main programming takes place. In this auditorium, Comicpalooza had set up an entire stage with an LED video wall and other items giving a futuristic appearance to what would be just the normal stage. I came to hear the man himself William Shatner, Captain Kirk from Star Trek the Original Series. At 92 years old it’s great to see that Bill is still very active in his work.
He came on the stage with monstrous applause and an ego the size of Texas. If anyone has ever seen him in the past, they knew what to expect; a monologue session about his life for a completely unrelated topic based on absolutely nothing. This time he was talking about a trip that he took, probably more than 50 years ago, to Australia and his encounter with Koalas. It was a fascinating discussion but had zero to do with why people were there to listen. Having seen the man on stage more than a few dozen times I exited the room after taking a few photos to check out the other offerings of the convention.
Generally speaking. I have positive thoughts about the convention as a whole. However, there are some issues that I have concerns with and that is the over-commercialization of conventions. I have seen an abundance of what I would call flea market booths at this convention as well as others. Those different exhibitors offering stuff like insurance, blinds for your home, or timeshares which I don’t believe belong at a convention. Sure, those type of exhibitors pay a hefty premium, but I feel like it completely misses the target demographic. I’ve seen a lot of discussion about this from vendors and attendees alike stating that they feel the convention may have lost its focus. This kind of thing can be said about any event anywhere and it’s not just this convention exclusively.
On a positive note the amount of celebrities attending this convention always seems to be impressive. Even with a few cancellations the guest list still offered a wide selection of different fandom choices including: Anthony Starr and Jack Quaid from The Boys, Christopher Judge from Stargate, Lou Diamond Phillip, Stephen Amell, and Ian Somerhalder. This year I elected not to get an autograph but did peruse the autograph area to see many fans getting an experience of a lifetime meeting their favorite celebrities.
Wrapping up this review I can say that Comicpalooza was a positive choice to attend this year and I’m very hopeful for the coming years of the convention. I always enjoy seeing fans gathering together to enjoy the things that bring us closer. Because a convention is like a family reunion where you see thousands of your best friends and family members that you haven’t seen in a little while. Many people forgot about this during the pandemic, but it was necessary and continues to be necessary for the community in order for us to embrace our inner geek. The convention has not announced its dates for 2024 but I would expect that pretty soon.
Find out more about Comicpalooza on their website www.comicpalooza.com.
Comicpalooza 2023 Photo Gallery
