Fandemonium from p 17 cosplay. There were a couple rooms and It was all geeks. I remember there were only a few cosplayers, like there was a Spider-Man and my friend came as Vash [from Trigun]. Fotos: I think one of their first actor- type guests was [Herbert Jefferson Jr.] from the original Battlestar Galactica at one of the Glendale events. Brian Pulido, comic book creator and founder of Coffin Comics: I recall having a panel during the Glendale years. It was attended by two people and I was happy with that. I remember seeing [Phoenix Fan Fusion director of program- ming] Joe Boudrie running around, getting everything orga- nized, and I think, at the time, he was accountable for six panels. It was all very urgent and these guys were still learning the ropes. It was still a baby Cactus Con at that point, still trying to find its sea legs. Rise of an Empire In 2006, Phoenix Cactus Comicon moved across the Valley again, this time to the Mesa Convention Center, where every- thing about the event continued to grow. It became a two-day event, crowds got larger and more diverse (thanks in part to word of mouth), more prominent names began attending, and its programming expanded to include nighttime events. Malve: At that point, [Matt] was really expanding it and growing it, which is why he moved to Mesa, because it was an actual convention center, and he was able to do more programming and have it run longer than single day. I remember being able to utilize the outside and it was more of a footprint to actually do some cool stuff in and be like a real convention. Pulido: In short order, they took over the entire place and filled it with people. Astell: It took off really in 2006 when it went to Mesa. They went from like 700 attendees in 2005 to 2,600 in 2006. Daniel Davis, artist and co-creator of Steam Crow and Monster Rangers: We go back to 2006, when it was in Mesa. We were in a hallway with a 6-foot table. I took over the photocopier [and] lamination machine at my day job, brought prints in, I laminated them all together to make this super crappy banner for us. I think our prints were in a pile, we didn’t know how to bag them yet. We were really green back then. I think it was our second show ever. Dawna Davis, artist and co-creator of 18 Square Egg Entertainment Steam Crow and Monster Rangers: We had our 3-year-old son with us also. He hung out underneath the table, watching Godzilla movies. Jessika Malic Cosplayer Jessika Malic (right) at Phoenix Cactus Comicon 2003 in Glendale. Dawna Davis: There was so much going on when they were [in Mesa]. There was an auditorium-like room and then a couple of rooms off to the side for panels. They had gaming in another building. It was busy and exciting. Daniel Davis: One year we got to meet [Hellboy creator] Mike Mignola, which blew us away. They had some big names coming in. Pulido: I remember connecting Matt and all them to [recently deceased comic book artist and writer] George Pérez as a guest [in 2007]. I’d known him since the ’70s, so I put them together. So the first day he’s there, I check in with George and he goes, “I don’t know about this suggestion of yours, Brian. Right now it’s not going so good.” I’m quaking in my boots, thinking it’s not going to go well. The next day, he’s like, “Oh, this is the greatest convention ever.” Malve: We had a giant booth and brought out bigger guests, like Rick Remender and Jeremy Opeña for the Daniel Davis: It felt really crazy. The energy level was really, really high back then. The fans were super excited and all us artists were kind of gathered together at our, like we were all around a fire. Prior to this, we really didn’t know any other creative people in town. And it was like, “Wow, what you do is amazing.” launch of Punisher #1. And that was so much fun. I also started bringing a mobile comic book store, which was a giant truck. It was a big deal to drive it inside and we had to empty the gas tank beforehand. Daniel Davis: We kept making our booth better and we eventually moved to inside the [main hall at Mesa Convention Center] where where some of the guests were. We were next to Wil Wheaton that year. Matt Hinds, co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Army fan group: Wil Wheaton’s been a big part of the con going back to when it was in Mesa. Wil Wheaton, actor, writer, and geek icon: That con is deeply special to me. Matt Hinds: My wife and I started going in 2009. A friend of ours knew we were big fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation and told us [in 2009] that Wil Wheaton, Brent Spiner, and Marina Sirtis were going to be at this comic book convention. We’d never met a celebrity before, didn’t know anything about anime or convention life, and didn’t even know what a weeb was. So we walked in not knowing what to expect. Jen Hinds, co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Army fan group: As soon as we get there, we saw Peter Mayhew was there, too, and we were able to walk right up to him. Matt Hinds: This was back when conventions in the Valley didn’t have ginormous lines. You could just walk up to people. Like, “How you doing, Chewbacca?” And he was the sweetest guy ever. So we just bounced around this really small convention hall. We also met Lou Ferrigno, who probably wouldn’t have talked to us unless we had cash. We had to hit an ATM, since it was cash only for most people then. Jen Hinds: The con was so different then. You’d be walking to a panel room through the hallways and there were artists along artists kind sitting on the floor along the walls or at tables. It was like a convention at a hotel. Matt Hinds: Wil Wheaton was there with copies of Just a Geek, or whatever book he was promoting at the time. Being a smart- ass, I decided to print out an 8-by-10 glossy photo of myself and signed it to give to Wil Wheaton. We checked out his panel with Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner. Then, we dipped. We were probably there for four hours tops. Then in 2010, everything changed for us and for the con, too. The Phoenix Saga In 2010, the con (now known as just Phoenix Comicon) hit some major milestones. It relocated to downtown Phoenix, started taking place over Memorial Day weekend, expanded its size, and saw attendance swell past 13,000 people. Some local geeks refer to MAY 26TH– JUNE 1ST, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
