Two weeks ago, a few friends were going to be at DoDeca-Con both as artists and visitors, so I bought a weekend pass and planned on stopping by for a little bit. As it turned out, I had such a good time that I spent hours there on each day!
DoDeca-Con is a new local comic created by comic creator Randy Taylor. This year was the first ever, and it was very well executed.
When I got to Columbia’s Kemper Arena (not the Kansas City one!) I was surprised at the small size of the building. After all, the only other Con I’ve been to was the San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest! In contrast, DoDeca-Con took place in a single room fit for a wedding reception. Still, as I walked around I noticed a great use of space. There were the same features of a larger Con, just shrunken! There were vendors set up near the entrance and artists were lined along the long wall, wrapping around the far side. To the left of the entrance was a good concession stand. In the back there was even a curtained off area for panels!
Over the course of the day I wandered through each section. It was fun hanging out with my friends who had tables set up showing off their art. I browsed comics and action figures at several of the vendor booths, most notably those run by Category 5 Comics and Games of St. Louis and The Antiquarium in Jefferson City. I left with a lot of affordable stuff and the vendors were also great to talk to.
Later in the afternoon on Saturday I went to a panel held by some of my friends. I took video with my iPhone but I kept running out of space. I got around half of the hour-long discussion and I’ve put them on Youtube:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JB1IO8CFB0&
I had a chance to chat with Randy when things were winding down on Sunday. He seemed pretty happy with how the Con turned out and is already planning for next year. Maybe I can get my own table with a new comic to show off by then!