Having attended San Diego Comic Con in 2011 and 2012, I was pretty geeked up when I received the invitation to be a panelist at 2013 Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. San Diego’s flavor of a con was my only taste of a geek gathering, and the opportunity to mix nerd culture with the beauty of Seattle was a combination I could not resist. So I agreed to be a panelist, made travel arrangements, stuffed all my Fringe t-shirts into a suitcase, and headed off to the Emerald City.

If you’re like me and have only ever experienced the overwhelming and sensory overload marathon known as San Diego Comic Con, you may be wondering if “smaller” cons like Emerald City Comic Con are worth it. While there are some advantages and disadvantages to each, I think there is a clear answer to whether or not attending this con was worth it. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of Emerald City Comic Con, and then I’ll reveal my verdict.

Pros:
The first thing that comes to my mind for this category is the fact that I didn’t miss ANY event because I had to wait in a line. I only waited in line for one event, “Star Trek Improv.” I got in line about 15 minutes before it started, and the line was so long that I thought I’d miss out. I’m glad I went ahead and stayed in line. I easily got into the room, and because I was by myself, I scored an empty seat pretty close to the front. The session was hilarious and I’m so glad I didn’t skip out on it. So other than that lone line, I was able to walk directly into every single panel or event I had on my list. In fact, I found a seat about 10 rows back from the VIP section for the Gillian Anderson panel. IT WAS GREAT! I then left and charged my phone for about 40 minutes and then came back to the same room for the Adam West & Burt Ward panel. I found a seat about 20 rows from the stage! This would NEVER EVER be possible for a main room or celebrity at San Diego’s con.

Secondly, Emerald City was MUCH more family friendly than San Diego. Yes, there were a few cos play outfits that I’d rather my 8 year old son not see, but that’s going to happen at any con. Aside from that, this con was definitely something for the whole family. It did not have the big party atmosphere that San Diego has. I realize that the atmosphere for San Diego is different for a reason. The city, climate, size, celebrities, etc all contribute to San Diego’s party atmosphere-and that’s fine. But those are also reason’s I’ve hesitated bringing my young kids. ECCC made it clear that they wanted the entire family to feel welcome and comfortable at their event and I think it paid off. They had kid specific panels and events (yes, I know SDCC does this too). They had a secret hide-out for kids, NASA was on hand, and there were some really cool Star Wars items too! An R2-D2 builders club was on hand with their fully functioning R2-D2 replicas and there were TONS of amazing LEGO creations from all brands of geeky movies.

The last advantage I’ll mention is the ease of getting tickets and the price of the trip. If you’ve ever tried to get tickets for San Diego Comic con, you know what a stressful experience it is. Because ECCC is much smaller, it was easy to get tickets. Also, hotels were very reasonably priced. I found a 3-star hotel about 4 blocks from the convention center for less than $90 per night. Finding such a deal for San Diego isn’t just not possible. Again, thinking about a family friendly trip, this is a big deal. I could easily afford to bring the whole family to ECCC next year where the budget wouldn’t allow me to do so for SDCC.

Cons:
Size has it’s disadvantages too. The variety of panels for ECCC isn’t nearly as expansive and exhaustive as it is for SDCC. There were a few time slots when I couldn’t find a panel that really interested me. I used that time to check out the LEGO displays, eat, or charge my phone. So it wasn’t all bad I suppose.

ECCC is more of a pure comic-con, whereas SDCC is really a con for comic, gaming, TV & film, and pop culture enthusiasts. ECCC had comics and gaming covered pretty well. They had plenty of TV & film celebrities too, but nothing from current shows. That is, SDCC will have a panel for Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, etc. ECCC had personalities like Gillian Anderson, Patrick Stewart, and Wil Wheaton. This isn’t a total negative thing mind you, but it is a distinction worth noting. It’s also worth noting that many people would consider this as a pro for this type of con. It really just depends on what YOU want out of a con.

The final thing I’ll point out here is what I’ll classify as growing pains. At least I hope that’s the cause. The main room at ECCC was very big. It was configured in a very long shape so if you didn’t arrive early, you were REALLY far from the stage. The only projection screens they had were right next to the stage! They really should have had extra screens about halfway back in the room. SDCC does this in each of their main rooms and it is great! I was fortunate to get a good seat because I was by myself and could always find a lone chair on a row up front. If I’d been paired with someone then I would have found myself in the back squinting to see the stage or screens at the front of the room. ECCC should keep the screens up front and add some additional screens for those stuck in the back half of the room.

Verdict:
It was totally worth it! The ability to easily go in and out of any panel I wanted is a really big deal. I waited over 6 hours for a panel at 2012 SDCC and still missed out on it. I didn’t wait in line for any celebrity autographs, but I spoke with one person who got to the Gillian Anderson line late (because the ECCC staff misdirected her) and she still got an autograph! Autographs at SDCC are another horror story. When you add in the family friendliness, cost of attendance, and the beauty of the city, it’s an easy choice. Emerald City Comic Con was worth every penny and I’m already looking forward to next year!

I’ll also point out that I was able to meet up with a few folks from the Fringe fandom while I was there and I have not included that experience in this review. To me, that experience is unique and not something that everyone would get out of a con…but it was amazing and awesome in every way. The same principle is true of my experience of being on a panel. Being on the panel was a great experience that I would do again in a heartbeat if I have the ability to do so.

Thanks to all the hard working folks at Emerald City Comic Con for putting on such a great event!