My thoughts on the Denver Comic Con

I spent this past weekend as a guest of the inaugural Denver Comic Con. Unfortunately the show seems to have flown under the radar of most of the online comic book press, but I found it to be an exceptional success, especially for a first time convention. The show floor was crowded and lively all weekend, including Friday night when it was open only from 6 to 10 pm. It was obvious just from looking around that Denver had been hungry for a show like this. There was an army of cosplayers parading the halls, long lines for many of the creators and crowded panel rooms, even with multiple tracks of programming running at all times. I heard a few different reports of over 20,000 folks in attendance, which sounds to me like an unqualified success for a first year show. And the weekend ended with the announcement of next year's guest of honor as none other than Stan "The Man" Lee, so those attendance numbers will surely only go up.

And the best part is, the whole thing is a non-profit venture, with all proceeds going to fund Comic Book Classroom, an after-school program where kids are taught to create their own comics. More info here.

San Diego is still the Grand Poohba of American comic cons, though I myself rarely go. And the New York Comic Con is always a blast, and one I never miss. But overall my favorite cons remain the smaller regional shows, like Emerald City in Seattle, Baltimore Comic Con and this weekend's Heroes in Charlotte. Now I expect it won't be long before I'm adding Denver to that list.

Cheers to everyone involved. Thanks for having me.