Holy crap, Emerald City Comicon is this weekend! ECCC, without a doubt, now my favorite convention of the year (PAX and GenCon coming in a tie for a close second place). ECCC is just one of those conventions that gets it. Does it all right.
This will be my 6th ECCC. I’ve been going to this incarnation of the con ever since they moved from the Qwest Field Event Center to their current home at the Washington State Convention Center, the same venue where PAX Prime is held. The first time I went, the con only occupied maybe ¼ of the convention center, confined to one floor and sometimes taking place at the same time as other smaller trade shows in the same building. In the six years I’ve been going, it has exploded in size, now taking up virtually the same amount of space as PAX Prime.
Yet, in spite of all that rapid growth, they’ve still managed to maintain the uniqueness of the show and a cozy, friendly atmosphere that is lacking from so many other conventions (I’m looking at you, SDCC). From the get-go, Emerald City’s focus has been on interaction. The show is dominated by the largest and most accessible Artist’s Alley configuration I’ve ever seen at a convention. While it does still boast the big, crazy company booths, gaming areas, and celebrity appearances, the real draw of the show is that almost every artist and writer who attends has their own small table in addition to their panel and company appearances, allowing fans the chance to shake hands and meet and talk with the creators they love so much.
This is exactly what draws me back every single year. While I love the craziness of something like PAX, the intimacy that ECCC still maintains makes it so much more than your normal comic convention. Over the course of this show I’ve been able to not just meet, but have long conversations with some of my favorite writers and artists – something unheard of at most other cons I’ve attended.
We started the Trade Secrets Podcast at ECCC in 2011. Our “Episode 0” was recorded in the same Sheraton lobby bar that we’d recorded several PAX shows for the now defunct After The Fact Podcast, and introduced three of our long-running cast members in myself, Andy Podell, and Anne Bean (Joel Simon came on for episode 1). The following year we bought an Artist’s Alley table to promote the website and the show, and ended up meeting now-regular cast member Eddie Isaac right there on the show floor.
This will be our 4th year representing Trade Secrets at ECCC, our 3rd on the floor. Over the last few years we’ve done interviews with our favorite creators, talked at length about the best (and worst) cosplay we see wandering by, invite all kinds of guest hosts onto the show, and generally have a fantastic time. ECCC has been an integral part of the Trade Secrets podcast both as the show’s “birthday”, and as a rejuvenating influence on all of the regular members of the show. If ever there is a time where some of start to feel like the show’s becoming a grind, Emerald City just washes that all away.
Even just in the run-up to the show this week, I’ve already felt that energizing effect. We’ll be on the show floor all three days, we’ll be recording a Trade Secrets episode all about Sheltered, and interviewing the creative teams for Sheltered and Rat Queens. I absolutely love this show. It is my favorite time of the year. I can’t wait for this weekend, and myself, Andy, Joel, and Anne all hope to see you there!
