Top 10 Things About SC Comicon 2015

SC Comicon is March 21 and 22 and we couldn’t be more excited! Tickets are only $10 a day or $15 for both days! Plus, kids 12 and under get in free! SC Comicon is a family-friendly convention that is affordable enough to bring the whole family! Here are a few of the highlights to be experienced this weekend, in no particular order!

1) Drink and Draw

This year will be the first Drink and Draw at SC Comicon. The event is in honor of our friend and comic-creator Jeremy Dale who passed away last November. 100% of the proceeds raised from the sale of art will go to charity. Half of the money will go to Team Cul de Sac who raises money for Parkinson’s research and the other half will go to Hero Initiative who assists comic creators in need. The Drink and Draw will be at Quest Brewing Co. from 7 pm to 11 pm. At a Drink and Draw attendees of any artistic background can pick up coasters and paper and draw, paint, or sketch. They then donate their creation and the piece is sold that night directly to the attendees. It is a great way to draw, watch people draw, or buy art in a relaxed fun environment all while supporting two great causes! As an added treat Marco’s Pizza will be set up selling pizza by the slice! And Chocolate Moose will be there selling sweets! For more information about the event click here. To join the event on Facebook click here.

2) Film Fest

This is also the first year of our Film Festival! In conjunction with The Film House we will be showing short and feature-length films from guests and local filmmakers. This is a great opportunity to relax and catch a cool flick during the convention. It is a fun way to showcase area talent and we are excited about this event! During the Film Fest you can watch The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra by Larry Blamire, Bee Sting By William Grammer (adapted from the comic by Matthew D. Smith and Jeremy Massie), Desdemona 6 by Johnny Priest, and more! For the full schedule click here! There will also be panels featuring the filmmakers so you will get a chance to find out more about how they made their films!

3) Media and Cosplay Guests

We have some fantastic guests this year! John Wesley Shipp, the Flash from the 1990s tv show and the Flash’s dad on the new tv show, will be attending. His signature and photo rates are really reasonable. It is $35 for both a picture and an autograph! We also have four zombies, Tony Gowell, Chris Harrelson, Alex Wayne, and Ashton Woolen, from The Walking Dead tv show! They are going to be on a panel on Saturday answering all of your burning questions about what it takes to be a zombie. We also have Miracole and Chris Burns! Chris is currently working on Avengers Assemble. And Miracole is a costumer for the new Powers tv show. Callie Cosplay will also be in attendance. We are thrilled to have her back this year! New this year is Toni Darling. You may recognize her as Thor from our tv commercials with the Reel Guys. There are more media and cosplay guests and you can view that full list here.

4) Artists and Writers

So many guests! The last surviving artist to draw Captain America in the 1940s, Allen Bellman, will be at the con. Robert Venditti and Van Jensen are back! Rico Renzi who is the colorist on some of the hottest books on the shelves will be there. Dave Dorman, well known for his Star Wars covers, will be set up. We have a huge presence of creators who work on all-ages comics, like Andy Runton, Joey Ellis, Joey Weiser, Chris Schweizer, Tracy Yardley, and Jason Horn, just to name a few. We also have Chris Brunner, Georges Jeanty, Meghan Hetrick, Tommy Lee Edwards, Sanford Greene, and the list goes on and on and on. There is no way I can list all of the fantastic artists and writers who will be at the con here. There are a ton of returning guests and a ton of new guests. There are art styles for every taste! For the full list you can click here.

5) Valiant

All of us at the store are huge Valiant fans and we are super excited that Valiant is going to have such a huge presence at the show! We will have an exclusive print of the cover of X-O Manowar #34 available at the show. The art is done by SC Comicon guests Lewis LaRosa and Brian Reber so you can get the print and get it signed by them while you are there! Also, the official convention t-shirt features a cast of Valiant characters! And if that weren’t enough, if you donate blood with the Blood Connection at the show there will be a special Bloodshot shirt that they will be giving out!

6) Vendors

We have increased the number of vendors from last year. Be sure to have your want lists ready so you can find those comics missing from your collection. And I’m sure you will even find a few new comics or new series that you didn’t even know about! If your comic collection is complete you can find some toys or action figures. If you have all the toys you need you will be sure to find some geek apparel to keep you dressed in style. The vendors will be selling a huge array of products, from sweets to shirts to comics to toys to games to art to crafts; we truly have something for everyone! To check out the full vendor list click here!

7) Gaming

There will be tournaments and demos all weekend long! We will have Star Wars X-Wing demos so you can learn how to play this super, fun game! Just ask the staff at the gaming area and they will be able to tell you more about when the demos are scheduled. We will be having a two-day Warhammer 40K tournament. If you are interested you will need to buy an additional ticket to be able to participate. You can find that ticket here. The same goes for the Warmachine and Hordes Mace Qualifier. We will be having Munchkin tournaments all weekend long that are free to enter. And the fine folks at Boardwalk will be organizing a Magic the Gathering tournament that is also free to play. There will be plenty of games to watch or participate in for every level of gamer.

8) Cosplay Contest

Our cosplay contest was such a hit last year that we have expanded the space for it. We have a stage and seating specifically for the cosplay contest and we made sure there will be room for everyone! This year’s categories are: Children (12 and under), Intermediate (if you have hand-made 50% or less of your costume, or this is your first ever competition entry), Advanced (if you have handmade 50% or more of your costume), and Group (2 or more entrants). The prizes for the winners include gift certificates to Borderlands Comics and Games. Additionally, Vier Madchen will award prizes to the best female cosplayer. For more information, and the entry form, click here.

9) Panels

We have panels and workshops going on all weekend! There will be a Spotlight on Allen Bellman where Bellman will discuss his career in comics. There will also be a Spotlight on John Wesley Shipp where he will talk about what his career in acting is like. There will be panels on how to break into comics, how to take your idea and turn it into a comic, and other panels on comic art. Plus, we will have a cosplay panel and a board game panel. For the full panel listings and descriptions click here.

10) Art of Akira

We are thrilled to have a small piece of Joe Peacock’s Art of Akira collection here at SC Comicon. Peacock will be showcasing a portion of his massive Akira art collection. He will also be hosting tours of the collection. He will walk you through the pieces he brought and let you know more about them and why he chose to bring them with him to display. This is a not-to-miss experience! For more information about the tours click here. For more information about the exhibit click here.