Last Saturday was the Northwest’s biggest pop culture event, the Emerald City Comic Con. Comic and sci-fi fans alike, all gathered for a great opportunity to find some great deals on rare comics as well as meet and get autographs from their favorite artists and television stars. As I took the climb up the escalator, the large adorning banner welcomed us and flashes of my childhood came racing back.

Then I saw the line forming in front of the door, that made it looked more like an exclusive movie premiere. To make sure the line didn’t get out of control, the Washington State convention center hired the only people to keep these people in line: Imperial Stormtroopers of the501st Legion. For a few moments, it was a bit humorous as it seemed like we were cattle being herded on to the truck. The menacing presence of the troopers were broken up by the distinct piece of paper on their back saying, “Take your picture with the 501st at booth 126.” That was a cool story in itself, but I’ll get to that later.

Emerald City Comic Con advertised a few variant covers exclusive to this specific con, such as the X-Men #497 and Tim Sale’s limited print of the Hulk at Pike Place Market munching on a Dick’s burger. At the onset of the doors opening, everyone rushed to the table with all of the exclusives being sold. Tim Sale’s print was snatched up and sold out within a few minutes. That booth was one of the most contested moments in the con, with people almost elbowing each other just to get to the table before all the rare stuff was gone.

Other artists and writers were also on hand for the con. In the large area known as the artist’s gallery, fans asked for autographs and sketches. Keynote people included artist David Finch (Ultimate X-Men, New Avengers) whose line was exceedingly long. Other media guests such as Julie Benz (Dexter) and Wil Wheaton(Star Trek) had special Q and A sessions where you can ask them anything that your heart desires. Such as “Excuse me, Wil, How does it feel to be the worst character ever in the history of Star Trek:The Next Generation?”

Needless to say, being a big fan of Star Wars (the original, not the prequels) I had to get a pic. I was expecting something really simple, like two guys standing with you and a quick snap of the camera and off you went. Oh no, it was much cooler than that. They had people dressed up as every type of stormtrooper, as well as Boba Fett and Darth Vader. You could create any type of scenario you desired. The guy working the booth, came up to me when it was my time to go and simply asked, “What’s your concept?” Being the big fan boy that I am, I wanted to take on the Dark Lord himself and one of his minions. The end result was this great pic right here.

The highlight of the con was the appearance of Jamie Bamber (Apollo of Battlestar Galactica) signing autographs and doing photo ops with fans as well. We were one of the last people to get a photo with him and got him to do a peace sign pose with us. Peace!

Overall, I have to admit, it was pretty fun. If you’re into comics and pop culture, the Emerald City Comic Con is one of the few times a year you can geek-out and in my personal case, reconnect with some of your old childhood memories.

It’s official, Iron Man is a big hit in the box office. Collecting over $100 million in box office sales in the first weekend, the comic fan and non-comic fan alike have taken a fancy to Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of the brilliant minded, alcoholic, womanizing, multi million weapons developer Tony Stark and his journey to try to redeem part of his soul.

This is just another clear example of how geek-culture is slowly taking over pop culture and media. Some of the top grossing movies and highly celebrated shows in recent years are based upon comics or reboots of old Science Fiction shows. Marvel based movies as well as DC characters Batman and Superman have garnered recent success among the mainstream audience raking in millions of dollars.

With that being said, the big event for geekdom has arrived in the city of Seattle: The Emerald City Comic Con. Over 9,000 people are expected for the event with about 160 guests signed on from the comics, television, and movie industries. I’m a big comic fan at heart and it’s surprising that the comic book community has grown so much since my hiatus. The first Seattle comic book convention I attended took place at the Seattle Center in McCaw Hall as the Seattle Comiccard. Albeit, it was a very small and only consisted of a few guests and mostly vendors. If you weren’t in the market of buying comics it wasn’t much of a place for you. Today’s comic cons are jam packed full of anime theaters, tons of guests, costume contests and panel workshops.

I’ll be on site at the Washington State Convention Center for the Emerald City Comic-con with my trusty camera and update on the event at the end of Saturday. Tickets are $30 for the whole weekend and $20 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday.