Zappcon Year One was Fresno California’s first premier comic book convention and it was a smashing success. The convention was host to a plethora of special guests including Blake Anthony Foster and Kerrigan Mahan of Power Rangers fame as well as renowned comic book artists Yanick Paquette who gave life to the New 52 Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated. Also in attendance was Khoi Pham Marvel artist who has worked on Scarlet Spider and The Mighty Avengers. Not only were we given great guests like these but the con floor played hosts to everything a Convention should. Venders, Artists, Games, and all around craziness filled the senses as you walked from booth to booth. It was enough to make any geek strolling the floor a very happy attendee.
The show floor was also home to indie comic producers like Eddie Angelini who does a unique weekly web comic strip about being a geek whom is married to a none geek. It’s a hilarous strip that all of us can relate too. (Eddie’s Collectors comic can now be found weekly on GeeksWithWives.com). We were also able to meet Paul Jamison creator and writer of Paragon which is part of his Superhero Network Comic publishing company. They offer a very different take on the superhero genre and just released Lady Phenom a strong heroine who can stand toe to toe with the big guns likes of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel. One of my favorite creators to speak with was Taking Eden writer and creator Jason Beckwith. His passion for creating and writing comics really stood out and it shows in every panel of Taking Eden and his new book ChronoIntel.
Of Course no convention would be complete without and Artist’s Alley and a variety of vendors to entice your geekyness. Some of the high points for us included Joshua Wittman whom creates amazing charcoal and pastel portraiture using geek culture and especially Disney as a heavy influence. Another highlight of Artist Alley included Caleb Paullus whom displayed beautiful, fun and colorful art that would make your inner child squeal with delight. Also setting up shop was the before mentioned famed comic book artists Khoi Pham and Yanick Paquette who were both doing commission work any Zappcon attendee would be happy to add to their collection.
Like most conventions Zappcon was also a place to hear from stars in the world of comics, TV, pod-casting, table top gaming and Cosplay. The convention played host to numerous panels including one by your very own Geeks With Wives crew. The Zappcon panels were definitely a highlight of the con and included a variety of interesting subjects including: Video Games as a Relation Builder (The Married Gamers Podcast), Women Do Comics (Alison Madaville and Paige Warren), Live Action Role Play (Terras Wars), Working with Worbla (Christine Sprankle) and Cosplay The Right Fit (Holly Brook). These panels offered a ton of insight and knowledge for every area of geekdom and if you were lucky enough to attend you walked away a little wiser for it.
Some of our favorite panels were hosted by Zappcon special guest included Power Rangers featuring Blake Anthony Foster and Kerrigan Mahan, Working for Marvel with artist Khoi Pham and Working in the World of Comics with DC artist Yanick Paquette. These panels hosted by stars of the industry gave Zappcon attendees a taste of what it’s like to work and play in their favorite universes and were certainly a treat especially for us uber fan. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention our panel the Geeks With Wives & Free Stuff which according to Zappcon officials was the most attended panel of the entire weekend and was an absolute blast to sit and chat about the latest and greatest in all things Comics, Video Games, Movies and TV.
We Also need to extend a huge thanks to the MJ Ramirez and the Zappcon Board that brought this wonderful event to life. Without them Zappcon wouldn’t have become the glorious reality it did. Thank you Jennifer, Sammy, David and Sarah it was such a fantastic event.
Finally Thank you to everyone that came out and supported us along with all of the special guests and panelists in attendance. It was truly a wonderful experience. Here is to Zappcon Year Two!!
*All the photograpy from Zappcon displayed by Geeks With Wives was done by Evan Walsh of Mighty Fist Media find them on Facebook and Instagram