Convention / Show Classifications...

A side-effect of attending more conventions than most anyone is being asked questions that cause us to squirm a bit, such as:
  • Which con is the best?
  • Is show X good?
  • Would I like show X?
These are difficult questions because, like with food, everyone has different tastes in their cons.  After conversations with Amazing Comic-Con owner, Jimmy Jay, & listening to thought-provoking conversations between George Cordero and Chris Eaton, on The Realm Cast Podcast, it became clear that a convention evaluation system could go a long way in answering the common convention-taste questions.

As with tastes in food, there isn't a simple, all-encompassing definition of which cons are good; so we're going to assign descriptive categories to each convention/show.  Similar to denoting a food as "spicy" or "sweet," we've established categories to assist attendees in determining what to expect from a particular show.  Many cons overlap in several of these categories, so we'll classify cons by what we feel are their 1 - 3 most prevalent offerings.  Our descriptive categories are:

Collector's Corner… These shows focus on providing access to collectible items; be they comics, toys, or other types of collectibles.

Cosplay-a-palooza… These shows focus on giving attendees access to a culture that fully embraces costumed attendees.

Game On… These shows focus on giving attendees access to gaming, in a variety of formats.

Hollywood of Today… These shows focus on giving attendees access to the movie and television worlds of today.

Hollywood of Yesteryear… These shows focus on giving attendees access to the movie and television worlds of the past.

Independent Nature… These shows focus on giving attendees access to non-mainstream products and creators.

Swagger… These shows focus on giving attendees access to freebies.

Wednesday Warrior… These shows focus on giving attendees access to comic books and their creators.