It feels excellent to be visiting conventions. Seeing the menagerie of writers, illustrators, craftsmen, and women refreshes the mind. It pulls back the curtain and reminds you of the vast creative spread which is out there if you know how and where to look.
The Wyoming Pop Culture Con ran the weekend of July 7 through 9 at the Best Western Downtown Casper. I visited the full day of July 8 and half of July 9. A small-scale event to be sure, but I still found many interesting things.
The Convention
I started motoring my way up to Casper around 8:00 a.m. local time and arrived at the Best Western roughly an hour and a half later. Collecting my weekend pass, I began wandering among the small collection of vendors. In a simple explanation, the convention’s layout consisted of a long, narrow, rectangular hallway that connected to a larger, partially divided rectangle.
Walking down the long hallway, I reunited with Mr. Terry Mark, the author of the Vim Hood Chronicles. I originally met him at last year’s Fort Collins Comic Con, where I bought the first book in the series “Kill the Night.” Here in Casper, I purchased the second book, “And the Sun Goeth Down,” which he was kind enough to autograph. Moving further down the corridor enlightened me to artisans of wood, ink, and 3D printing.
About halfway down the hall, I turned left up some stairs and entered the large room near the divider wall. I wandered within the divided half and stumbled upon the familiar Fandom Theory Embroidery and Dragon Wyck Embroidery booths. I purchased a Pokémon pillow from the former for my sister as a gift. Seeing friendly faces again and meeting a new one in Mal’s Dragon Horde felt wonderful.
Throughout Saturday, panel were being held in the hotel’s side rooms. Only one about self-publishing and slated for 12:00 grabbed my attention. Half an hour before, I captured my first interview with a wonderful and bubbly group of DnD players called Of Dice and Friends. What makes them unique besides being themselves? Well, I’ll let them explain.
The panel began just slightly behind schedule and was entirely improvised. A trio of authors shared their experiences about writing books, employing social media for marketing and promotion, and traditional publishing versus self-publishing. Only myself and two other people attended, and I hogged most if not all of the question time which I felt poorly about.
After the panel concluded, I continued wandering about the small space for the next hour or two. Having seen most everything at this point, the final variables were how much time and money I spend. To my delight, I met and talked with Mr. Ron Richard, a Casper author. One of my panel’s authors, he kindly gave me twelve minutes of his time to talk about his growing book series about a group of adventurers called Group Six.
I walked away from Ron’s booth with a paperback copy of book #1 in the Group Six series. And earlier this week, I confirmed myself as the owner of an audiobook copy too. Last but by no means least, a special mention goes out to Mr. Adam Gaffen, the author of the Cassidy Chronicles. I didn’t purchase any of his books, but we held an excellent off-the-record conversation about science fiction. He introduced me to the term “hopepunk,” which I now consider incorporating into my own creative writings. Time will tell.
I only spent about half of Sunday at the convention, though I managed to persuade my sister to visit with me for an hour. I gave her the quick guided tour through the floor and introduced her to Ms. Cote of Fandom Theory. We three struck up a long conversation about crafts and the convention itself.
Following my sister’s departure, I stayed at the con until about 11:45 a.m. Before leaving though, I completed one more quick fire interview. My subject was Mr. Shawn Lewis of M&L Comics. Initially, his “Force 51” print caught my eye for being a mix of WWII G.I. Joe with touches of the supernatural. He offered a great deal of “Force 51” and four issues of “Immortalis” for $20.
In closing, and being honest, going to the Wyoming Pop Culture Con was just alright and nothing exceptional. Sure, the roster of celebrities was impressive, seeing familiar vendors was fun, and making connections is beneficial. Unfortunately, I can’t easily explain the $80 price tag for the weekend pass, especially since Sunday’s admission became free.
Oh well, you live and learn. It’s time to look ahead to the next convention. Or in this case, conventions. Plural. If my research is correct, GhengisCon’s sister event TactiCon and Fort Collins Comic Con share the same weekend in August. Two for the price of one! Plus, I’ll be seeing some vendors from Wyo Pop Culture Con at FC3. Until then, keep safe everyone.
James Meyer 