STAB and Emerald City Comicon 2008

This year, I was fortunate to take a contingent of STABies to Emerald City Comicon to experience the joy and exhilaration of a comic book convention. If you have never gone to something like this, you really should at some point. Even if you don’t like comics, you can find plenty to do and see. There are lots of giveaways, plenty of people in costumes, and all sorts of amazing and intricate displays. Not to mention, it shows you what some people will do for the things they love/obsess over.



The day had an inauspicious start when Aaron, my nephew, and I hit a squirrel on the way to the library. I feared it was a bad omen, but there were no further problems that I could attribute to this sad occurrence.

About 9:45am, Aaron and I, Leslie, Natalie and Amanda left the library to head down to the convention center in the STABwagon to meet our collective and individual destinies. We found parking, got into the building and traded in our tickets for badges quickly and efficiently.

When we entered the main hall we were hit by a visual and auditory onslaught of comic fandom. The main entry in the center was focused on webcomics. Some of my favorites were there, such as Wondermark, so we browsed for a while and I discovered that Natalie and I share an affinity for a couple of the webcomics. After gathering signatures, goodies, and having creepy discussions with the artists and creators in the area we moved on to the free stuff table.

It was like a comic fan’s buffet. There were posters, comics, (in)action figures, flyers and other assorted items all with comic related themes. I needed an extra set of hands and I thought that I had brought some. But, sadly, the extra sets of hands I brought (STABies) were too busy stuffing their own bags.

We moved on to looking at the various publishers. They were very friendly and gracious with their giveaways: more comics and more posters and a couple of buttons. I was especially interested in the Star Wars galaxies map. Now, the next time I go on vacation to Tatooine, I won’t get so lost getting there.

Next we stopped by some comic store booths. Things there actually cost money, so we browsed those pretty quickly. I have to say, though, as far as displays went, they were pretty impressive. Especially the one with Silver Surfer.

After the stores, we were off to the “Artist Alley”. Lines for autographs were huge, so we didn’t spend too much time there. It was fun to see the look of hopefulness of many of the fans. They had a guy mopping up all the drool from those in line slavering for their turn to get a picture/signature.

After this, we needed nourishment, so it was off to lunch. Natalie and I hit the Creperie, while the others tried their luck with Subway. (Crepes and Comics? I was in heaven.)

After lunch, it was time for one of the strangest encounters of the day. Adjacent to “Artist Alley” was the booth of the Fighting 501^st Legion’s Titan Garrison. For a small donation to a local cancer charity, you could get your picture taken with a few of the characters from the Star Wars movies. We were lucky enough to get Darth Vader AND Boba Fett. (DUDE!) They also had a few props that were available to use in the pictures. The STABies asked for light sabers, but I requested “the biggest gun you have.” They did not disappoint.

As the photographer was organizing us for the shoot, he gave me some direction. In the midst of that direction he said something that didn’t quite register. He gave us more direction, and said something to me again that didn’t quite sink in. He said it to me a third time and then, with horrible realization, I realized what he had been saying. He was referring to me as “Dad” and he must have believed that I was the father of the STABies!

“Whoa! “ I said, “I’m not their dad! I’m their librarian.”

“Whatever.” He responded, “Move a little to the left.”

We can get into whether or not it is mathematically or chronologically possible for me to have 4 seventeen year old kids, but the really strange thing is that all of the STABies in attendance looked different and none of them looked like me. I suppose I could have adopted . . .

Once we were done with that, we made one last sweep through the convention hall, picking up the last few remaining free items that were not nailed down. Then we were on our way back to Shoreline with the STABwagon full of very happy STABies and lots of comic paraphernalia. I hope we can go again next year and bring another adventurous group.