This one’s close to home. No, literally — as of two weekends ago, I now live in Arlington, Virginia, going from being in the shadow of our nation’s capital for all of my life to being right outside of it. And, like every other comic nerd in the area, I am shocked that Washington, D.C. hasn’t had its own comic convention for decades (that’s actually in DC, at least — let’s not talk about the previous “DC” comic con). Awesome Con debuted this summer and, unfortunately, I was attending a wedding and wasn’t able to make it. Thankfully, the same batch of folks who put it on are doing a Kickstarter to make sure that Awesome Con 2014 is a reality. Who doesn’t want a comic convention they can take public transportation to?
As the convention is a year out, and the location has yet to be reserved — that is, after all, the goal of this Kickstarter project — the definite details are not available. A few comic professionals, however, have already confirmed that they will appear as guests. Among those include industry legend George Pérez, friend of the site (or at least we like to think so) Justin Jordan, and all around super talented guy Ben Templesmith, among others. Beyond that, the convention can promise those Kickstarter supporters an exclusive comic, as well as access to a backers-only panel. What does that panel entail? Well, again, with the con’s existence depending on this Kickstarter campaign, the team doesn’t yet have anything set in stone, but they promise it “will probably be the greatest single fan event of all time.” That’s some promise, guys.
Most people are going to be interested in the first few tiers. For $25.00 or $40.00, you gain admittance to the convention on either one day or the whole weekend, respectively, as opposed to the normal $30.00/$50.00 rate. Not only that, but the first few hundred people to register get copies of either the Regular Show or Adventure Time variants from this past Awesome Con. Beyond that, the incentives are more for people who wish to do business at Awesome Con, such as having a table up in Artist’s Alley, or various levels of exposure for retailers, which are worth checking out if you are either an artist or retailer in the DC area. There are some varying levels of extended access passes, but they are a bit too pricy for my taste, starting at $200.00. Then again, I’m only kind of a convention person — they’re worth taking a look at if you are the kind of person who loves going to cons. Of particular note is the $5,000.00 (!) “Omnipotent Super-Being” level, where you are essentially treated as a guest: access to the green room, hotel covered by the convention, catered lunch during the convention, and a minio– er, volunteer to help you with anything. That’s pretty nuts, even if it is pricey.
To be honest, there isn’t much more to say. Are you a fan of comics who lives in the DC area? Awesome Con 2014Then support this! I admit I am promoting this partially out of selfish desires, as this will probably be the only con I will be able to go to once law school starts up, so be warned that if this doesn’t meet its goal I am holding each and every one of you responsible.
