ACEN 2009 1
There’s something to be said about smaller conventions (and I say “smaller” only when compared to SDCC, NYCC, and Wizard World Chicago, because ACEN is the largest mid-west anime convention), because the groups of people that you meet are awesome, passionate, and eager to hang out. It’s a very personable experience. And with that personable and intimate experience, you’re able to make some of the best friends of your life.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. My ACEN experience began over 6 months ago in an attempt to contact them about guest status at the convention. Having been published both on the web (and very recently in print), my industry friends Russell and Josh had encouraged me to apply. And I never heard back. I didn’t know if the convention people hadn’t received my e-mail, if I had the wrong address, or if this was a passive-aggressive way of saying, “Yeah right. Get lost buddy!”
The week before ACEN, I was invited to a BBQ being hosted by some of my friends, who were friends with the people running the con. Isn’t networking great? While there, I explained the situation while dying t-shirts for the con volunteers, and they were very sympathetic and agreed to help me out. As a thank you, I was sure to leave them my bottle of whiskey – and also in exchange for the fantastic food that they had prepared, including beer soaked brats and BBQ chicken. It was a veritable feast for only a handful of people, but it was fantastic!
My friend Adam took pictures while we were at the BBQ, and Ive posted a few of them to my MySpace and Facebook accounts. He’s quite the pro with a camera, and if he had a URL that I was aware of I would totally post to it. As it stands, you’ll have to stare at this scintillating image of the chicken.
After going through a very hectic week at the office, I was finally gearing up towards attending the convention. Having recently moved to Chicago, I had the benefit of not having to drive 4-5 hours to get to the place, but did have to figure out the public transportation route (not difficult). I had been talking to Josh Elder (Batman Strikes, Mail Order Ninja) and Russell Lissau (Batman Strikes, Hope: New Orleans) all week about the convention, since we were all hanging out together. I had actually met both of these writing professionals at this convention a few years back (Russell last year, and Josh the previous year) and we’ve become very good friends. Russell and I hadn’t seen each other since Wizard World Chicago 2008, but Josh and I had the chance to hang out at NYCC back in February. It had been so long, it was great to see Russell again and get to catch up.
Thursday night, I arrived at the con for the industry guests and was treated to free pizza and booze in the Green Room, where I met Russell’s friend Steve Horton. Steve and Russell met on a forum that I frequent, and he’s literally written the book about making webcomics and manga. Since the convention didn’t start until the next day, the people who put the convention on whisked us away to the movie theater across the street for an advance VIP screening of Star Trek. 
The Movico 18, a stylish and all-digital multiplex that has a VIP viewing room that we were privy to as guests of the convention. We sat not in chairs, but on velvet couches and received free popcorn. There was also booze available, but we had plenty of that for free waiting for us back in the Green Room. The experience was superb, everything you would want out of a theater-going experience. Perfect sound, digital quality visuals, and no annoying crowds that mistake the theater for their living room. I sat near Robert Axelrod (Lord Zedd from the Power Rangers), so it was an absolute geek-out moment for me. The movie was great to boot (which I’ve reviewed in a previous post on here, so I won’t go into details again).
After the flick, Russell, Steve, and myself went back to the hotel to get our drink on and network with some of the other early-bird creators that had shown for the con. I spoke with the programs chair about participating in some panels, since I wasn’t “officially” a guest, and she was absolutely fine with it. After several hours of socializing and hanging out, it was time for bed. Friday was the opening day of con, and we would all have a lot of stuff to do: Steve and Russell needing to sell books and all of us attending panels.
