Thursday, January 9, 2014

Tulsa Green Country Comic & Gaming Con, 2013--Part 1: The Costumes

 



So maybe I procrastinate from time to time...

In Oct. 2013, a small local convention took place in Tulsa, OK called the Green Country Comics and Gaming Con. I was going to be in town for the Weird Al concert, so I stopped by to check out the local vibe. And the vibe was good!

Like my usual m.o. for reporting on cons, I'll break this post up into two separate reports...one on costuming and one on the great artists that displayed their wares. Before I do, a word on the con's set up.

It was held at the Tulsa Marriott, a little off the beaten path but close to the Tulsa Airport. Traffic was weird due to a lane restriction, but aside from that the parking at the con was ample and free. The lobby of the hotel was medium sized and housed most of the con linger-ers. The con desk was easy to find, as were the event rooms available for the attendees. There was a large video gaming room, a modest dealer room, two table gaming rooms of small size, and an auction room. There were also presentations going on in another room, but I didn't make it to any of those.

The dealer room, as I said, was small, and I was slightly turned off from the limited offerings. I like the dealer room to be commercial and packed. This is the trade off when we go to smaller, new conventions I totally get it. "Build the con, and they will come" is very true for attendees and dealers, so I get it. I hope that the organizers will try to court more dealers for the next year's convention.

The artist alley was upstairs along a walkway above the main lobby. It was packed! I met many cool creators and I'm excited to share their art with you. I'll post their links and works next time.

Best part? My friend and occasional collaborator, Jerry Bennett, was a special guest! Kudos to the con organizers for bringing in local flavor to the creative mix.

All in all, a great first time convention. My hats off to the organizers and I hope to see this convention grow, especially as larger cons come into town, like Wizard World.

For now, enjoy some of the costumed attendees that were wandering around the lobby.

Warning Part One: there was a lot of anime, so you may not recognize all the costumes.
Warning Part Two: I need a new camera phone...I know, I know...