There were fan meetups, product advertising panels, and card games happening pretty much all the time, as well as a strange number of “how to make costumes” panels, as well as panels about explorations of queer culture in comics and media. And there were many comics, and doodads being sold. The standout piece of merch in the convention was definitely this bat wielding, cigar smoking Dennis Rodman statue:
I was a little disappointed at how little videogames were represented at ECCC. Local Seattle retro game vendors Pink Gorilla were exhibiting, but they didn’t bring much with them. Retro game hunting is one of my favorite pastimes, but I ended up mostly buying bootleg DVDs of strange old unreleased cartoons, like Gandahar, and the Savage Dragon cartoon series.
But… it’s impossible to cover a Con without talking about the costumes. There were definitely cosplay trends at Emerald City Comicon: classics like Stormtroopers, Batmans, Spider-Mans, Jokers, Harley Quinns, and all manner of space marines were mixed in with popular newcomers like Deadpool, and Rey from The Force Awakens. None of these could possibly make my list of the top cosplays of ECCC 2016, because I was looking for originality. When there’s a multi-way tie for amazing costumes, I’ve gotta go with the best ideas! So without further adieu…
Honorable Mention
Well maybe a little adieu. There weren’t very many Street Fighter cosplays, and because I went as E. Honda, I have to show off my favorite:
This Dudley was fantastic, and he knew how to fight!
Click on thru… the countdown begins!