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That time of year once again, the air gets cooler, the leaves turn and…. Actually no none of that. This is Arizona and most of that doesn’t really happen. What does happen, however, (and the best sign of autumn in my opinion) is Saboten Con. I’m proud to say I have been to Sabo for the past several years and Saboten was the very first anime specific con I had ever attended. Since then I have been to Kikori and Con-Nichiwa (Both anime cons presented by the same group) and we always have a blast.

Con Energy

Those of you who have attended Saboten or any of the Monkey Paw cons have probably noticed that there is a difference between them and other cons like Phoenix Comicon or Fan Fest. That difference is the community. We all love different anime but the underlying fact is we all love anime. As I have mentioned in other articles in the past. I have been a lover of anime since diapers. Watching Voltron way back when there was a very limited amount of anime available in the US. I always watched any anime I could and even remember a time where if one wanted to see new anime they had to “know some one who knew someone“. If you wanted more than what was being shown on American TV you had to go to the comic shops and gaming shops to make a connection. This was before Downloads, and streaming services like crunchy roll and even before you’d find an anime or manga section even in the best comic shops. This was even before Toonami.

Today we live in the golden age of anime in America. Saboten Con is, to me, a wonderful thing that really reminds me just how far it’s come and awesome the anime community is now. It’s an inspiring thing.

Saboten Con is more than just anime though. Let me share a story from the con that I believe captures the true power of this con and its community.

Beautiful BJD dolls

I spoke with a woman who was part of the BJD (ball jointed dolls) panel.I hadn’t ever seen one of these dolls before and I didn’t know anything about them. When we walked into this panel room multiple people stood up to greet us and bring us in. They brought us to the table where they had their dolls displayed and showed us all the different dolls and shared with us the community and stories of how each of them came to be involved and how they met each other and how they found and selected all the different elements of their dolls. They shared their passion with us and we were total strangers. They continued to tell us just how thankful they were for Saboten because their group was accepted and allowed to do panels and have meet ups and the overall environment was just peaceful and accepting of them. Apparently, even in other cons the BJD community isn’t so well received and aren’t given much consideration for panels or meet ups and as this woman shared with me, they even good looks and glairs at other cons. She said I know that what we love is considered a little weird but here we can be who we are.

To me, this was the best panel and best conversation I had at con this year. A woman I knew for all of 20 minutes, who was so excited to be around people who loved what she loved and who wanted to share what she loved with me a total stranger, is the essence of Saboten. It may look like other cons but that is only how it looks. We have a lot of real substance in our community, a lot of love and respect for each other and we are all just like this woman. Happy to be around people who love what we love and whom we can tell about the things we love.

Live Music at Sabo10

This year’s Sabo was the best one I’ve been to and I’ve been to quite a few. There were great concerts and performances, as usual. There were great panels. Also as usual. As my wife and I walked around outside con this year we were asked by many people who saw our badges or saw my wife’s Japanese dress, what we were doing or what event we were attending. When we said Saboten and were asked what that was we were both surprised that the explanation we may have thought we’d give wasn’t exactly what we ended up saying. We didn’t say anime con cause there’s more than that, we couldn’t refer it is soly as a pop culture event or a japanese cultural event or a concert or place to shop or… We just had to say to those who asked “ it far too much to explain, but there is something here for everyone”

Phoenix Comicon just passed and we are all still sorting through our thoughts and feelings. Phoenix Comicon is the largest pop culture convention in the Phoenix area and has come a long way towards becoming one of the top Comicon in the country with over a hundred thousand attendees each year. A lot of the Nerd of the Day crew has been attending this con almost since it began and thus have been privileged to see it grow each and every year. This year was no different, bigger, better, onward and upward.

This year at Comicon had a few new additions as well as a couple unfortunate surprises. there was a very strong scientific presence this year which came with a lot of cool new features. Several panels which explored many interesting topics, presented by PhDs as well as undergrads from ASU and other institutions from around Arizona, offering real scientific perspective on things such as sci-fi, and pop culture media. I myself attended about half a dozen of these panels myself. Panels such as “Baking Bad” the science of cooking where the presenters explained the different chemical reactions between different ingredients while baking, There were panels which explained the very vast difference between the actuality of forensic pathology as opposed to its portrayal on shows such as Bones and CSI. There was a very interesting panel which took medical cases straight from the show House and went down the line symptom by symptom to show how accurate or inaccurate each illness was shown and treated on the show. We even got to see more fun panels from such as the science of Futurama where the presenters discussed classic episodes and just how plausible they were. I learned here that one of the creators of Futurama actually had a background in physics. you might actually be surprised how plausible the show actually is. in retrospect, some of the scientific analysis of Futurama was a bit more realistic than some of those regarding bones and house.

In addition to the panels, we also had the addition of planetariums in the hall of heroes. I regret that I didn’t make it all the way up there until the final day of the con but there was a lot of really cool exhibits done by the Phoenix art museum, the Arizona Museum of Natural History and the Lowel observatory just to name a few. This strong presence of actual science and history experts definitely added a lot of fun to the con this year. there have been science related panels and exhibits in the past by in my years going to con it seemed a lot more prevalent this year.

Another great thing that happened this year was the heightened awareness of the con by downtown business. there is usually a couple places that, for lack of a better term, exploit con goes. The change the names of a few menu items to Nerdy cliche’s to attract some of the crowd. honestly, it’s a little insulting. This year however many nearby businesses really joined in the fun. almost every place near con had some sort of Comicon deals or special menu items. some business even participated in a scavenger hunt of sorts where you followed a map to different places participated in a deal such as a $2 appetizers or playing arcade games or bowling and you’d receive a pin. once you had 5 pins or more you could go and get a grand prize which was a rechargeable battery bank you cloud use to charge your mobile devices, cleverly called the “extra life” charger. This was a fun way to introduce the area to Comicon and vise versa.

Now as I mentioned before, this year brought with it also some unfortunate events. while everyone was relaxing, unwinding and having some fun, there was at least one person who wasn’t. Matthew Sterling, a man who I believe was severely mentally ill came to Comicon this year with the plan of killing Jason David Frank, the actor who played Tommy the green ranger and later the white ranger in the early episodes of the mighty morphing power rangers. This was in addition to Sterlings threats against actual police officers who were at the event for security.

This man didn’t last too long in the event and was quickly apprehended and removed however he did make it into the con with several weapons. Thank God no one was hurt and though this man was heavily armed he wasn’t able to use any of these weapons. The result, however, was that stricter security procedures had to be implemented at very short notice. Extra officers and security personnel was brought in to make sure everyone who was entering the con was checked and that no one was bringing in any contraband. additionally, there was a ban on costume weaponry and props. This is where things got a little heated.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with cosplay or cosplayers may not know that some of these crafters spend a lot of time and money on their cosplay. sometimes the cosplay they wear at Comicon represents the who year since the last Comicon in fabrication, sewing, printing, painting, polishing, wiring, crafting and planning and some cosplay can cost hundreds of dollars or more to create. to be told after all that effort that you aren’t allowed to bring half of your cosplay with you was a serious blow to the cosplay community. The cross the broad ban was one that outlawed all props indiscriminately and some props which would have been less potentially harmful than a lot of everyday items such as water bottles or car keys were not allowed. when coupled with the extream short notice at which they put all this extra security together there were understandably quite a few issues and a very long line to get in. It didn’t take very long for the operation to become much smoother and lines weren’t so long after that first day of extra security but the ban on weapons or props was not removed. I personally can understand the need for more security as the con grows and surely no one wants a repeat of this incident in the future. Comicon has always been a very safe very fun and very positive experience. I have been going for years and have never heard of so much as a fight breaking out or any such thing. even with over a hundred thousand people in the building, everyone is generally still very happy and excited to be there.

Bow and Arrow By Uria Evan

One of the best things to see at Comicon this year was the amazing fortitude of the cosplay community in using their creativity to poke some fun at the new rules while also having fun and not letting this situation get them down. We say things like storm troopers wielding French bread as weapons and this guy who very cleverly used a bow from a present as his Bow and I even say someone dressed as the green ranger whose weapon was a smaller dagger using a foam knife given out as for marketing within the con as his weapon. very creative on the spot thinking which exactly what cosplayers are known for.

My hope for the future is that instead of a ban on props that guidelines can be established that can help keep us all safer but not deprive these artists of their ability to wow us with their crafting. Cosplay and the ability to walk around and see our favorite characters come to life is a huge part of Comicon. we love the panels and the vendors but the cosplay is just as big a part of the experience. It’s my opinion that the cosplayers walking around, graciously posing for pictures and dealing with all that makeup, foam, plastic, wiring in what is normally a time of year that has temperatures well over 100 degrees, are what makes the inside of Phoenix Comicon and any con for that matter, feel like another world. Like the worlds of the comics, anime, manga, movies, shows and games we all love. the reason we go, our connection to Comicon in the first place. Comicon without cosplayers would be like going to Disneyland without Mickey Mouse.

I love our cosplay community for rolling with the punches and I hope that this will all be but a memory next year.

This will be the first article I have written of this type and I am doing so because I realized I had an interesting opportunity. As some of you may know we recently had the opportunity to go and check out New York comicon (NYCC2017) for the first time. This year NYCC broke its previous record and held its title as the largest comicon in the US with over 200,000 attendees.

TCC 2017

This Friday we have the opportunity to attend Tucson comicon for the very first time as well. Tucson comicon has a great reputation for being an amazing Con in the southwest and last year reported about 12,000 attendees.

Now I recognize this amazing chance to write a comparative piece on just what it’s like at both NYCC and TCC 2017. What the difference between a 200,000 plus and a 12,000 attendee event and how do the events compare?

New York comicon is of course a must for any comicon lover because the enormity of the event. Now if New York is your stopping ground then this sort of things won’t seem as impressive to you but if your normal con experience is, well pretty much any other con in America aside from San Diego then you will have your mind blown.

PCC2017

My wife and I have a grid pattern we normally use to make sure we get to all the various booths and attractions in the vendor hall. Using our pattern has served us well and it gives us the ability to take off and go to panels and then know right were we left off. This tried and true method was a total bust when set against the vender hall of NYCC. It was overwhelming to be honest.

Tucson comicon, which celebrated its 10^th anniversary this year was an amazing con. I know we generally think of larger cons as being best because the larger crowds and the bigger budget brings the big name guests and attractions. This can be true but in our experience it’s not always the case. As a shining example, we had the amazing experience of seeing 3 principal members of the Rocky Horror picture show cast a couple years ago in at PCC. It was one of the coolest things we’d ever seen or so we thought. We sat in a room with about 3,000 people at PCC and saw Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbel and Patricia Quinn from a far. At TCC however We got the chance to see the same 3 amazing people up close and personal.

Tucson Comicon was, in my opinion just as good as Phoenix Comicon but with a 10^th the amount of people.

As a constant Con-goer I find the most fun cons are the ones who have the most apparent passion for the subject, the people, the whole concept. It’s not just something that you can see in large cons and it’s not something that smaller cons have a monopoly on either.

NYCC 2017

An interesting observation I’ve made when comparing NYCC to PCC is that while NYCC has twice the amount of attendees, New York is just used to that many people and the result is actually a much smoother experience when it comes to panels and security. You actually, believe it or not, don’t really notice all the extra people until you stop and look around lol.

Another odd difference between cons is beer. you might not have been to a con that allows alcohol before but its actually a not uncommon thing. in Phoenix there is no alcohol at all whil Tucson haws a special beer area. New York ciomicon serves beer you can walk freely around the venue with and some cons even have cocktails and shots you can partake of as well.

The fact is ever con is fun and as many as I have gone to I can’t say I have ever really had a bad time. From tiny one room cons with a couple hundred people to a con so big it actually took over parts of Madison square garden and various theaters in Manhattan to contain all the events and in both places we had a blast. The connecting points of cons all over the country is love. So keep on loving, con-goers, keep on loving and cons will always be awesome,

A few years ago we were at Saboten and wondered by a room with a panel going on inside. When the people inside saw us waling slowly by they called out to us and invited us in. Never having been invited into to a panel personally before we (my wife and I) entered. The panel was BJD meet up. BJD for those who don’t know are Ball Jointed Doll. This chance meeting has forever changed our con experience.

The people who were in this room were so joyful about their dolls. They shared with us all so openly everything about their passion and even shared with us the truth that they weren’t always met with happy responses when they talk about their dolls. In spite of having met with some less than receptive and yes even judgmental people in their pasts they still joyfully shared their world with us, two perfect strangers.

Since that con we make it a point to go and see these amazing people every time we can. This is a room that will get you up out of any funk you might be in. Their excitement is so genuine its like someone bottled the joy of Christmas eve. This year we ended up at an event they had which was technically for collectors but true to form they invited us right in gave us candy and told us all the new stories about their new dolls as if we were all family.

I’s not the place we expected to find the essence of, what this humble writer thinks, everyone is looking for, but it is definitely where I found one of the truest representations of the whole community that makes Monkey Paw Con’s the best. No matter how much they grow they have some of the finest people who are genuinely and kind to one another.

In the world we live in today this is a rare thing. I applaud the members of the BJD panels this year and every year really, for exemplifying such a beautiful way to behave.

Their Dolls are so beautiful as well. We have some images here that don’t truly do justice to how amazing they are. I definitely recommend stopping by their events at Sabo 2020 to not only see these beautiful Dolls but also to meet these wonderful people.