Planet Comicon and the Joys of Nerdiness

Welcome to the fold, fans new and old.

Planet Comicon was last weekend. As I sit here at my day-job desk and write this, coughing only occasionally from lingering con crud, I reflect on the long weekend.

It was a joy and a huge success.

I remember when Planet Comicon was much smaller, working out of a suburban convention center and drawing mostly local comic book talent. Granted, we have some big names in comics here in Kansas City, but still. Now, as they hit their 25th year, they entirely fill Bartle Hall with names big and small.

The literary agency that represents me, Metamorphosis Literary Agency, had a table and invited me to join and hawk my books. And my, it was a wonderful time.

We were in a prime spot, kitty-corner from Jason Aaron and next door to one of the Wild Bill’s Soda booths, which was doing nonstop business all weekend. I came with roughly 30 copies of The Hermes Protocol and Necropolis Alpha. I sat alongside new friends Stephanie Hansen (owner of the agency), Tiffany Killoren, and Natalie Cammaratta.

We did more than sit and talk about our books, of course. Stephanie arranged a couple of panels for us. The first, on Saturday, was about navigating the publishing industry. The second, on Sunday, was about the importance of fiction. All four of us were outgoing enough to do well on panels, and I particularly went in hard when the topic of representation in fiction was brought up. If you’ve read my books or talked to me, you know how important that topic is to me.

I’ve always been a nerd. I don’t do cosplay. I don’t really collect much other than books and Ahsoka Tano Funko Pops. I don’t fanboy over celebrities. I also don’t have kids. So conventions have always been a mixed bag for me. There is a great joy to conventions, though. To see fans come out en masse, letting their nerd flags fly high and proudly is one of the most joyful experiences. Sitting at my table and watching absolute strangers squee with delight over shared interests warms my heart. Watching young children lose their little minds when they see someone cosplaying as their favorite characters makes the child in me do the same.

Sure, the bathroom situation was terrible. Sure, the convention center is like a Faraday cage blocking cell service and they charge a mint for WiFi. But there was just so much unbridled happiness in that big room for three days, it all feels worth it.

By the end of the weekend, I’d sold out of both Jayu City Chronicles books and handed out about a dozen review copies of The Hermes Protocol as well. I’m definitely looking ahead at the calendar, at conventions within a 10-hour drive of Kansas City later this year. Who knows, maybe I’ll be in your hometown soon, watching your local nerds fly those beautiful flags.