My First Con

This weekend will be my first con. No, I am not confessing to a new life of crime (although after this past month, I don’t think anyone would blame me). No, I am talking about going to my first comic book convention, the SC Comicon.

I am no stranger to attending events. With a career in the media (radio, magazine and newspapers), it’s part of the territory. I’ve been to concerts, trade shows, business conventions and festivals galore. But I’ve never been to a comic-con. #ComiconVirgin

The SC Comicon will be held at the TD Convention Center in Greenville, SC. My family lives in a nearby town, so this trip also serves as a convention of family time and my mom’s home cooking (at least, I hope there’ll be lots of food). I’m also sharing part of this comic-con adventure with my four-year old niece and brother. Full disclosure, my niece has more knowledge of comic books than I do thanks to my brother reading comic books as a bedtime story rather than a typical children’s book. Last I heard, they were working through the Silver Surfer series.

About two weeks ago, I interviewed Michele Young, the dynamic lady who co-organizes the SC Comicon with her husband (Read my interview with her here.). After talking with her, I can’t wait to get my comic-con on.

This year, the SC Comicon’s docket includes Sean Maher, the hot doctor Simon Tam from Firefly and Helen Slater, the original Supergirl, circa 1984. It’ll be interesting to see how much influence the initial woman of steel has on CBS’ revamped Supergirl, a show that is kryptonite for some of the Nice Girls. The new Supergirl, Melissa Benoist and her on-screen sister, Chyler Leigh, have been nominated a couple times recently as our Women of the Week .

The Walking Dead zombies will also be roaming the halls of the convention. Maybe I should invest in a crossbow? Team Daryl all the way, obviously.

But I anticipate really connecting with the cosplayers. Dressing up in costumes is a relatively common practice of mine.

In fact, I have a costume closet, courtesy of my Grandma Maltba (may she rest in peace). She used to make my Halloween costumes when I was kid, including a Supergirl with the cape and tights. When I became an “adult” (I use that term loosely), she and I would plan my costumes months in advance. Several of those costumes have resurfaced at various parties and Renaissance festivals (case in point, see above photo.)

Whenever I go to a concert, I always say I am going to leave a groupie. But in reality, it’s not going to happen. Life on tour wouldn’t suit me, I am too much of a homebody for that. But at a comic-con, I wouldn’t rule out me leaving in a completely different outfit than the one I arrived in. The only remaining question is, what costume will I choose? The possibilities are endless.

Stay tuned next week to hear how my first con experience goes and to see my coverage of the event.