I’m not one for conventions. 

It’s not the large crowds, or the dripping amount of geekdom that is often associated with most of these things.  It’s more along the lines of trying to find enough interesting things to do or see.  For many people, it’s the chance to see those they idolize or long to meet - like writers, artists, actors, directors, and so forth.  For others, it’s one of the few times they’ll be able to see some of the people that they’ve been chatting with online.  These are friends from around the nation - around the world in some cases - with the added opportunity to meet an entirely new set of friends that share similar interests.   

All of this rambling leads us to Wizard World Texas 2006 (WWT).   Not the biggest comic book based convention in the nation - I would think that prize would go to ComicCon in California - but probably the largest in the region.  I missed out on attending last year.  There was something about duties, responsibilities, running a GUILD meeting, you know… small stuff. I was determined to make it this time, and after talking to a friend of mine we decided to go Sunday.  WWT was a three-day event starting Friday and going through Sunday, with lots of events on the schedule.  

After we realized that we were lost trying to find the Arlington Convention Center - which is next to the Ballpark - we backtracked to try and find some signs that pointed out the location.  

(Hey, back off… I don’t like baseball, so there isn’t any real reason for me to go down there.  But I digress.)

We made it inside, got our badges coated in shiny plastic laminate, and made our way into the main room.  Several booths were here - some from the local scene like Lone Star Comics, and others from the Northwest such as WizKids Games. Other booths included various comic publishers (Top Cow, Dark Phoenix, and others) and vendors.  Even Spike TV had a large presence there.  I can sum that massive booth up in one word:  

Loud.  

Music, people yelling on bullhorns, giveaways, visiting wrestling stars… and it was surrounded by a crowd of fans at all times.  

There were a couple other rooms aside from the vendor room.  One was dedicated to FT. Worth-based Funimation studios, where they were showing videos and holding a discussion panel with some of their staff.  I didn’t stop to listen - I was there to check out some other stuff.  Namely the Wizkids tournament room.  

Wizkids hosts a few tournaments at each of the WizWorld Conventions (Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas) for each game in their miniature gaming line-up.  While I didn’t participate in any of these tournaments - maybe next year - I did get to meet a bunch of the players and event staff.  I even managed to get some miniatures of favorite comic book heroes - and villains, of course.

All-in-all, I had a lot of fun.  It started off good, became a bit slow around mid-day, but ended well.  While I could probably only handle a day of a convention like this, I can easily see how and why people would fly from around the country to participate in the full convention experience.  

Thanks for reading another edition of the IMO.

~David Krein