Tampa Bay Comic Con in Florida, this past weekend was everything I could have hoped for and more. Deadpool Labbit agreed, and he took pictures with quite a few of the cosplayers while exploring the convention floor.
In comparison to other cons I’ve attended, this one had a very nice variety of vendors in attendance, including a nice balance of crafts, leather work, comic books, and fan areas.
I was amazed at how easy it was to navigate the vendor floor while walking around. The aisles were spaced out to allow everyone to walk through pretty easily and without bumping into each other too much.
In artist alley I found my friend, Charles Thurston, and discovered his latest book, Wedge on a Ledge: A New Christmas Tradition ($15). This book comes with a cut-out of the famous Star Wars rebel pilot, Wedge Antilles, and just like Elf on a Shelf, you sit him around the house to watch over everyone.
My favorite vendor at the event was leather maker Two Fairies and a Dwarf. The quality of their crafts was great, and I picked up a journal and holster set from them. They sell them as “spell books,” but I saw it as something I could use at press events to take notes in without having to dig through my bag for a notepad. The journal cost $15 and the holster was $15 so it wasn’t a bad deal considering you can refill it, and it has a slit to attach it to your belt loop.
One of the things I go to conventions for, though, are the comic book deals, and boy did I make out like a little Jawa bandit at this one. For about $40 I came out with four graphic novels that would have normally cost me around $80. The one downside is I didn’t walk away with anything I was actually looking for, but instead I came out with books that looked cool or had characters I had heard of and wanted to read more about.
I have only a few complaints about this con. My first and biggest complaint is the lack of space the 501st Legion/Rebel Legion/Mandalorian Mercs had to showcase their props and cosplay. At MegaCon we can easily fit everyone in one space, but at this convention, it was a tight fit for the three groups to co-exist together in a 10 x 10 booth space.
I’m also a little disappointed that the Power Rangers were not put in a location where the fans could find them easily. It looked like Steve Cardenas was put in a regular booth to man by himself. I didn’t see any of the other rangers or Superboy, Gerard Christopher.
Even with those few minor disappointments, I still had a great time and enjoyed every minute of the convention. I was surprised to see that it took my husband and me from convention open to convention close to walk the entire floor. There was so much to look at and explore, it was hard to pull ourselves away.
You can bet that I will be returning next year to see what Tampa Bay Comic Con does to top this year.
Disclaimer: GeekMom received a press pass for this event.
The TAMPA BAY Comic con was not in Orlando…. for fuck sakes its in the name!! I literally created an account just to post this and remark on your simple mistake.