From the moment The Blot walked into Comicpalooza 2015 I was honesty blown away! I can honestly say Comicpalooza hit the big leagues this year and become one of the best pop culture conventions, not just in Texas, but in the country. With over 40,000 attendees over the four day Memorial Day weekend, this was hands down the best Comicpalooza I’ve attended since I first started going to the show 6 years ago. It is truly amazing how far this comic-con has come in just the past few years.
Comicpalooza 2015 took over the entire first floor of Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, the largest in Houston, and it did so without the Dealer’s Room looking sparse and over expanded. Such growth has clearly been driven by their focus on bringing in some of the biggest celebrity names from all corners of the pop culture landscape, including television, movies, comic books, professional wrestling, rock and roll, cosplay and anime. When you have names at the top of your guest list like Stan Lee, Jeremy Renner, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Sting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Kevin Eastman and the cast of Gotham (just to name a few), you’d be hard pressed not to draw impressive crowds.
What’s even more impressive is how Comicpalooza’s organizers have worked diligently to continue to improve the convention. To be honest, I heard (and witnessed) a lot of negative feedback about the organization of last year’s event. It was clear the show had grown significantly without making sure it had the necessary infrastructure in place. While something like this might have killed a smaller show, it was clear Comicpalooza took that criticism to heart and made sure to address those issues in a meaningful way this year. For instance, the celebrity photo-ops and autograph area was much better organized this year, the lines were shorter and all in all there was better communication – which is really the key for any successful con. I for one was very glad to see all of CP’s growing pains disappear!
I think the single biggest takeaway I have from Comicpalooza this year is that every single artist and vendor I spoke with told me how happy they were with the convention. Literally everyone told me they were super busy, had sold a ton of art/merchandise, and would definitely be making plans to attend Comicpalooza again next year. That’s really the biggest complement a comic-con like this can get. Not only does it mean they continue to stack the event with top notch guests, but with word of mouth like this even more big name celebrities, artists and vendors will want to come to Houston.
Personally, I had a fantastic time at Comicpalooza 2015! I just wish I could have spent even more time there than I already did. There were so many panels, meet-ups, performances and events throughout the weekend it’s literally impossible to do it all. No matter what corner of the pop culture universe you are a fan of there is definitely something at Comicpalooza for you! So go ahead and start planning your trip to Houston now for next Memorial Day Weekend, because you won’t be sorry!
