TYF Goes to the 2015 Rhode Island Comic Con

IV. But what did the fans think of the show?

After the show, I got a hold of my friend, Weird Twitter B-lister Ant DiPalma, who attended both this year’s and last year’s shows about how he thought the show was run this year and what he thought of the show in general.

TYF: First off, did you go to the con last year, when it was a huge disaster?

DiPalma: I did go last year, but I went on Sunday. It wasn’t crazy then, and this year it was even easier getting in and out. I only go on Sundays because I always hear horror stories about Friday/Saturday entry.

TYF: And how was this Sunday for you? Especially in terms of navigation?

DiPalma: It was great. A little less crowded than last year but the lines moved pretty quickly. Only had a few hiccups when my friends and I were making our rounds.

TYF: I saw that you bought some art from the con. What were you looking for and what did you ultimately get?

DiPalma: Well every year I try to look for something a little different. A good amount of artists, understandably, sell superhero drawings and stuff that is centered around different fandoms. As cool as it is, I love seeing their original art. To me it’s about finding new artists, too. Last year I discovered Sara Richard, who is an amazing artist and I really love her work. She has a cool series of modern-day oiran drawings and I was hoping to complete the set. Sadly she sold out of most of the oiran stuff, but I was lucky enough to get one piece that I didn’t already have.

TYF: Yeah, i saw her booth as I was leaving and it looked like she did good buisness. What was the most interesting thing that you saw at the con?

DiPalma: Well there was the Iron Throne. Anyone who knows me will say that I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan and it was cool to be able to touch THE Iron Throne. Wasn’t as sharp as I thought it’d be.

TYF: Did you try to meet any celebrities, or would just not match that time you met 5 time WCW Champion Booker T?

DiPalma: 5-time WCW Heavyweight Champion, Booker T is a scholar and a gentleman.

TYF: [laughs] yes, you’ve told me.

DiPalma: That said, we really didn’t try to go after too many people. There were plenty I’d have liked to see, but there wasn’t enough time to really wait for them.

TYF: Do you think that they did a good job getting a good mix of celebs this year? I mean Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston must have been a big get.

DiPalma: I think so, yeah. I like how they try to satisfy most of the major fandoms. I know a couple of friends who have never cracked open a comic in their life but they went just to meet the crew from Sons of Anarchy.

TYF: Was there a bit of merchandise that you thought was particularly weird? Like, other than the whole aisle of those Funko Pop super deformed things?

DiPalma: Weirdest thing was probably the Star Wars novelty neckties. There were two of them, so naturally I caved in and bought both of them because I couldn’t decide which one to get.

TYF: What were those specifically?

DiPalma: They were just regular neckties with the cast of Episode 7 drawn on them. I’m going to wear one to work tomorrow.

TYF: Anything else you’d like to mention?

DiPalma: I’d like to give a shout out to the man dressed as a Spartan from Halo who kept doing pelvic thrusts on the show floor. He was the real winner of this convention.

IV. Final Thoughts

Photo Credit: Megan Phelps

This year’s Rhode Island Comic Con was overall a much improved show, in that it wasn’t a meme-spawning disaster. The $40 parking wasn’t a good look, but it seemed like they had a better handle on the crowd inside and out, and not once did the fire marshall shut down the show. As I said a few pages ago, the could definitely be some more mobility between the two buildings and physical maps could have been more prevalent than the app that they asked people to download.

Carrie Fisher’s cancellation, due to an illness, was a disappointment to some. The Con promised that she’ll be there next year, and I’m certain that she’d be more willing to answer fans’ many, many Force Awakens questions that she probably couldn’t this time around.

In general this was a good show, and both Meg and I are interested to see what they do and who they get for next year.