I wasn’t originally going to attend MegaCon Fan Days. I’m currently just beginning my new job, I’m tight for money, and it was simply just super short notice. I hadn’t done any research on the convention like I do most conventions I attend. I hadn’t really given any thought to attending MegaCon Fan Days, until Tom Croom, creator and co-owner of Green Mustard Entertainment, messaged me on Twitter imploring me to go.
I met Croom when I attended WasabiCon and covered the event for my college paper. I went with my best friend, roommate, and photographer, and for a smaller sized convention, had a great time. Croom had spoken with me previously on the history of WasabiCon and passionately about conventions in general (since he builds them), so when he pushed for me to go to MegaCon Fan Days, I finally gave in. That night I asked my best friend, roommate, and sometimes photographer if she’d like to go with me. The convention was tomorrow.
I’ve never had a spontaneous roadtrip before. Usually things are meticulously planned because of my personal anxieties. This time, however, I just jumped headlong into this and brought my friends along with me. Another friend of mine, who’s more into anime than comics, I invited along and the three of us decided to attend the last day of the two-day weekend convention.
What helped my decision to attend MegaCon Fan Days was the fact that George Perez, Amanda Conner, and Jimmy Palmiotti were going to be in attendance, so I packed up two comics, my issue of New Teen Titans: Judas Contract and Starfire #1 for signing. George Perez co-created Starfire with Marv Wolfram in the New Teen Titans series. He’s also one of the first Latino — specifically Puerto Rican like me! — creators at either Marvel or DC. He’s always been a huge inspiration for me as a fan and a journalist, and maybe one day a creative writer. He helped give birth to one of my favorite comic series ever (New Teen Titans), along with one of my favorite comic characters ever (Starfire). Meeting him has been a long time dream. Then there was the addition of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, the two creators who have brought Starfire to the forefront with her new solo series. Which I also love.
So I was convinced. We packed up, hit the road, got lost, and arrived at MegaCon Fan Days.
It was a near three hour drive to Orlando, and we got lost because of course we did. But spontaneous adventure! I decided not to dress up unlike my time at WasabiCon, because getting up around six in the morning was tasking enough without putting on a corset. Instead I wore my one and only Starfire t-shirt that I made into a crop top, my handmade Robin wooden pendant by Altruistic, and some jeans.
The convention was, surprisingly, empty. There were certainly people, but it wasn’t the overcrowded nightmare I had typically associated with the words “MegaCon.” In fact, my one friend who I had whisked away for this spontaneous MegaCon Fan Days adventure, had previously attended MegaCon and hated it.
The three of us didn’t go to any panels — again this was completely unplanned — but we spent most of our time talking with friendly vendors, avoiding George Perez’s table — I was nervous! — and searching for goodies to buy with our limited funds.
The vendors were mostly friendly, though one T-shirt stand kept pushing me to buy a Starfire shirt that I was already wearing. Another was overly flirty and kept pushing a way-t0o-large letterman Captain America jacket. It was fluffy, but standing at 4’11, I don’t need a jacket that reaches my knees.
Finally I got the courage to approach George Perez’s table with some not subtle pushing by my friends. In front of me was another woman who had brought a Starfire shirt for him to sign. The staffer at his table saw me and laughed, pointing out that I was wearing the very shirt Perez was currently signing. It was a good way to break the ice until I giggled like a schoolgirl upon finally meeting Perez face-to-face. I gushed. Told him about how much he had inspired me personally, and how much I adored Starfire. He signed my issue of New Teen Titans, and when I went to ask him how much, Perez laughed shaking his head and explained how silly he thought it was to charge for his signature.
OMG pic.twitter.com/gfULkWb7gh
— BoricuaDesi (@BoricuaDesiree) November 22, 2015
I’m a regular convention goer; I’ve gotten four other signatures in my life. Stan Lee, Manu Bennett, Todd Haberkorn, and Amanda Miller. I’ve paid for the first three, and I only received Miller’s autograph for free because she knew me from a phone interview I had with her previously. So not having to pay for an autograph was a pleasant surprise for me. Especially considering I was ready to pay a good forty dollars for his autograph.
So Perez signed my comic, talked to me, hugged me, and took a picture with me. I was red in the face and dizzy by the end of it. But of course my adventure wasn’t over. I still had one more comic to get signed. Through a series of hits and misses, both Conner and Palmiotti were at their table ready and signing. They were friendly and engaged in conversation as they signed the fan’s Harley Quinn POP in front of me. Both joked about people sending them Harley Quinn bikinis and other merchandise.
When I got to their table they complimented my shirt — I got so many compliments on it! — and we ended up talking in detail about Starfire’s solo comic. Palmiotti even asked if I’d like to get a picture with Conner, to which I asked excitedly if I could have one with both of them. So I stood my tiny self between them — Palmiotti joked that I could just be their daughter — and my friend snapped the picture. We even ended up spending some time discussing Stella before I removed myself because I didn’t want to take too much of their time especially with the line.
Once again I was floored and red-faced. It was utterly worth it to make the spontaneous trip to MegaCon Fan days just for those two meetings. But also, it was just a good time. I got to spend time with two very good friends whom I hadn’t been able to spend much time with and we were all going through personal issues — as the holidays often bring out — at the time. It felt therapeutic and refreshing for all of us. The vendors were nice and varied, and I got to speak with Croom as well, which is always a treat. He’s hilarious and informative.
He gave us three some insider details on MegaCon Fan Days but they were off-record, so I can’t share them. I can say that a majority of the attendees were very happy with the convention, though there were some apparent bumps as well. For a first-year convention, that’s not surprising. If MegaCon Fan Days keeps the overall quality of the convention, and the great atmosphere — it could do with fewer vendors to be honest, the dealers room felt very crowded — MegaCon could have a great end of the year convention on their hands.
I know I want to attend next year, so fingers crossed!
