Comic Con is huge success in Salt Lake City

This archived article was written by: Josie Slade

Crowded into the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, thousands of people attended a three-day conference titled, “Salt Lake City Comic Con”. A gathering that some people (myself included) have deemed, “The Gathering of the Geeks.” If “geekism” was a religion, Comic Con would be the biggest religious gathering internationally.
Comic Con is a convention held originally just for comics but has slowly morphed into something bigger. At these conventions there is information on future TV shows, film, literature, comics; as well as celebrity guests who come to meet fans (or more often to promote what they are currently working on).
Many of the attendees show up in costume, and cosplay contests are hosted. Comic Con is simply everything pop culture thrown into one convention.
The original Comic Con, “Comic Con International”, takes place annually in San Diego. According to the trade show website, the estimated number of people who attended in 2013 is 123,000. An incredible number when we consider exactly how large the convention center has to be to fit that many people in. Salt Lake City’s 2013 Comic Con is a first-year convention, and had few celebrity guests.
No one could have guessed exactly how high the demand for tickets would be. What started out as a little rinky-dink conference, quickly turned into a convention that needed the entire Salt Palace; which ended up being too small.
I attended the Salt Lake City Comic Con and had the time of my life. It was wall-to-wall people, with a lot of laughter and some clever maneuvering through the large crowds.
Normally I would complain about so many people in one place, but everything about this convention made the little annoyances worth it. Being shoved to the point of nearly falling down was quickly forgotten in favor of wandering the vendors, attending panels and even meeting my childhood idol: Nicholas Brendon.
The panels comprised of different topics ranging from writing, TV, film and gaming. There was something for everyone, even the people who would not normally consider themselves “geek”. The vendors were mainly artists from all over the country, and most were selling their prints for a reasonable price. There was so much to see, and even three days wasn’t enough to do or see everything you wanted to.
With record-breaking numbers for a first year Comic Con, Salt Lake deserves a pat on the back for their accomplishments.
Who knows, SLC might even rival San Diego next year; especially if an estimated 70,000 people attended this year alone (resulting in the fire marshal’s screaming at everyone). So for next year, remember to get your tickets early, and attend. It isn’t just for geeks, but for everyone.