Last year after Fan Expo Dallas, we talked a lot about the enormous crowds, awful line management and guest disappointments. It was a pleasant surprise, then, that all three of these issues were (mostly) solved by the time the convention returned to Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center this past weekend.
To give the Fan Expo organizers credit, they addressed the complaints of the fans, moving the floorplan to a much larger (and more spread out) space within the convention center, relieving any major bottlenecking. Crowd size was still enormous but, with careful planning, the widened exhibitor areas gave fans the option to not feel like herded cattle. But if you really wanted to stand in line for hours, Fan Expo definitely provided a few opportunities, with the huge names attending the convention (Ben Affleck, Jeff Goldblum, Chuck Norris, among others) commanding multi-hour wait times, just for a scribble and a handshake.
The guest list, as previously mentioned, was probably the strongest it has ever been. There was initial disappointment with some late cancellations (Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson’s sudden removal from the guest list created some waves, especially because a much-hyped Back to the Future anniversary panel was suddenly whittled down to just Biff and Doc). But these concerns were quickly remedied by the late Ben Affleck announcement, joining Jason Momoa to represent ⅓ of the current Justice League in Dallas. As far as we are aware, however, no one asked him about the back tattoo, which seems like a big miss.
Rare appearances by Jeff Goldblum, Morena Baccarin (formerly of Firefly, currently of Gotham and Deadpool), as well as three of the kids from Stranger Things commanded significant wait times for photo-ops. And Star Wars heavyweights Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Joonas Suotamo (the “new” Chewbacca for these sequel movies, who was an absolute delight in person) rounded out a must-attend event. It was an impressive showing for celebrities, even for Fan Expo, and fans waited in long lines to take selfies, get an autograph or even get a recorded phone message.
Even though it is no longer called “Dallas Comic Con”, one of the most important parts of the convention is always meeting the comic artist and writers. The difference between superstar comic artists and superstar actors and personalities is accessibility. Saturday was filled by going table-by-table, getting old back issues signed and getting to thank an incredible list of creators for their stellar work. Headlining the event was Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, DC Comic’s current go-to team (previously of Batman, most currently of the surprisingly great Metal event). The creator of Deadpool, Rob Liefeld, made a rare Dallas appearance, as well as previous Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. Those four names alone would be enough to get any comic fan excited, but there were so many other legends (creator of New Mutants, Bob McLeod) and current big names (Andy Kubert, David Finch, Donny Cates) that it was hard to choose which issues to lug around all day.
As the convention gets bigger and the exhibitor area gets larger, however, it is disheartening to see so many terrible vendors. What used to be filled solely with aspiring artists, expansive comic longboxes and hard-to-find toys and treasures, is now mostly overrun with corporations and straight up garbage. It took some definite searching to find my favorite booths (the comic sellers who love to haggle over the price of a slightly damaged Batman key issue). Instead, every turn that we made seemed to bring me face-to-face with one of four options:
- Photoshopped Laserjet Print-Outs: For every talented, tired artist who is a guest at the convention, there seems to be five booths stacked bottom-to-top of “art”: flimsy Kinko-printed 11x17s filled with Google-able images and Photoshop filters. Do research before you buy (do they have multiple styles showcased in their display? Does the image in question look a little too familiar?) and support the real (and oftentimes local) artists who are passionate about their work, not just ripping off someone from DeviantArt.
- Corporations: Let me tell you right now: I’m not going to buy insurance while I’m at a comic con. But tell that to State Farm, who set up a sizeable booth this year. Dick’s Last Resort, Medieval Times were odd fits, as well, and took the spot of local comic labels and great collectible finds. (For the record, Sleep Number, I am not here trying to buy a mattress. I am here trying to buy a hardcover Star Wars roleplaying game book from the 90’s.)
- Funko POPs. Just Funko POPs: It is easy to hate on these black-eyed bobble heads and this is not the place to write that thinkpiece. But, even with all of my feelings surrounding cheap nostalgia plays, it is just the worst seeing booths filled with only boxed Funko POPs. We get it … you went to a nearby Target before show hours and bought out the stock.
- Mystery Box Peddlers: With multiple booths spread throughout the convention, this is now the biggest offender of them all. Why spend $20 on one collectible that you know you’re going to like, when you can spend $30 on five-to-seven random branded pieces of crap that someone is trying to get rid of? Sadly, it seems like the second option was wildly popular, with many fans clutching their Loot Crate knock-offs as they walked out, praying for something rare and resellable.
Yes, it still has too much uninspired Deadpool cosplay, but Fan Expo Dallas just keeps getting bigger and better … for the most part. In the end, it was a very successful con that brought a lot of variety for North Texas fans of all nerd niches. It is Dallas’ biggest geek gathering of the year and I can’t wait to see who they convince to come next (please say Gal Gadot).
