Back from ECCC. I went Thursday and Friday and agree that these days were a walk in the park. I also felt special being able to have fun while most everyone else downtown was at work. Then I got to go back home Saturday and have the weekend to myself.
This year felt different...more slick and professional, than previous years. I think this year is the turning point--we're seeing slight signs that ECCC is turning into the "NYCC West" that I'd hoped it'll be (rather than that bungled generic-location NYCC-Lite of 2016) -- still not that many signs, but at least this year it was noticeable. Also, this is the first year that the original founder (Jim Demonakos) was not involved. Not sure if this had anything to do with it, but it's worth mentioning. It did feel like there was a little less local flavor, though at least this time we actually saw the resources promised by the ReedPop buyout begin to materialize.
The Exhibit Hall is the area where we saw the biggest difference. This was the first year at ECCC for Hallmark/Popminded and Tokidoki (though Tokidoki's placement was odd, all the way against the back wall), and Warner Bros. WB had the same booth that they had at Silicon Valley Comic Con, meaning a tiny booth with a wheel that you could spin and get a prize. We also got FYE, Bluefin/Tamashii, Penguin/Random House/Del Rey, Boom and Dark Horse as usual, a pretty respectable Nintendo display on the 4th floor, and of course Funko in a BIG way. I got lucky and scored a 10 AM Thursday Funko lottery spot...and got everything on my list.
But one part that was sacrificed for this was IMO the bigger independent creators and artists that can't quite compete with the major vendors, but are too big and not 2D enough to be part of the Artists Alley. ReedPop made a huge deal out of ECCC Homegrown this year, but it seemed pretty anemic...it took me like 10 minutes total to walk through and I felt the location (off in the back corner of the exhibit hall) made it seem like a back-burner idea. Also, my favorite vendor that I most associate with ECCC (ZOMs) and is local to Seattle wasn't there.
Despite the bigger names in the Exhibit Hall...it actually overall seemed smaller this year. I haven't counted the exact # or sq. feet of vendors but it felt like there was more space to walk around and bigger gaps between booths. Also, a legitimate reason for this could have been that they expanded and moved the ECCC Live stage to the main Exhibit Hall. Last year, it was up on the 6th floor with Artists' Alley...but this year, in its previous place, was the new Music Alley -- IMO creating this was an epic move. They had a critical mass--I think 7 or 8--of geek rock bands, with their tables set up around a stage where they had live performances on Friday and Saturday. I caught GeekRockCynic on Friday which I enjoyed. I'd love to see this come back every year.
Artist Alley looked as awesome as last year but didn't have time to explore in depth. Writer's Block looked smaller and more crowded. Last year moving Autographs/Photo-Ops to the Sheraton was an epic move. Keeping them there this year was also epic. The line at the official merch booths was much smaller and more manageable this year. Perhaps because they've pushed ordering online, perhaps because they didn't have any mega-hot collector's items i.e. Funko Pops at the merch booth. They also did better at filling up the convention center/convention areas. I noticed a big gaming section on the 3rd floor...I didn't stop by but I don't remember seeing anything that looked like that in previous years (I know they've always had gaming, but it wasn't noticeable to me before) and it seemed very prominent and inviting.
They added Thursday in 2016. In 2016 and 17, Thursday was a half day and even then, it was pointless because they couldn't even fill up that half day. So I was a little worried about them expanding it to a full day...but they actually did a good job with the scheduling on Thursday this year. Panels were good but did not improve as much as the exhibit hall did. The biggest thing worth mentioning IMO is that they finally brought in an official DreamWorks-Netflix Voltron studio panel on Thursday, and it was everything a studio panel should be. As far as I know, this was the first one since 2012's Falling Skies. We need more of these. Some of the mid-sized panels (i.e. Phil LaMarr spotlight, Cyanide and Happiness) were pretty awesome. But the only main stage panel I attended (other than Voltron), David Tennant/Billie Piper, was a 5 minute introduction followed by 55 min of Q&A. Weak. Guest List improved significantly by the end but IMO still ended up on par with ~2014 (their second weakest year since I've started going.) I'd be ok exchanging the collective notoriety of the guests for a better selection of studio panels...but whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
Another area which saw improvement was offsite activity. While walking about in downtown & Cap. Hill, I did notice more businesses with signage that referenced ECCC i.e. a party on Friday night at Redhook Brewlab sponsored by MoPop (Museum of Pop Culture/formerly Experience Music Project.) It also seemed like there were more cosplayers on the streets, although this could just be because it was clear and sunny (albeit cold) most of the time. Also, after 8 years they finally made Kirby Krackle's Kracklefest an official con event. I didn't go though I watched it live on Facebook from my hotel, which was cool.
Funko also held a podcast meetup at their HQ in Everett on Wednesday night -- good to see some pre-con activity. It was fun though a lot less structured than I'd expected...they did not really have a podcast. It was just people socializing and buying stuff from the HQ (with the option of getting the HQ exclusives) and a few games set up and hosted by members of the podcast that you could play for prizes. But I noticed there were already plenty of people camped out to be first in line to buy the HQ exclusives the next morning... :X
Anyway, as mentioned previously I almost didn't go, but I was glad to be able to go up after all...seventh year in a row.
I do like most of the changes that I saw this year and am satisfied now with the direction it's going in. Two days this year was fine to be able to stay in the loop but next year it's going back on my must-attend list for the entire weekend.
