Being a Guest at Anime Zing, and my triumphant return to Iowa.

Many years ago, I had attended a tiny little show in Iowa called Anime Zing, and tabled next to such incredible guests as Johnny Young Bosch (Power Rangers) and Robert Axelrod (also Power Rangers). I hadn’t returned to the show since, not because I didn’t have a fun time, but because other conventions tended to conflict with it or I had something else going on. Come back to this summer, and I was invited to return and the stars aligned in my schedule. So here I was, back in Iowa, and the show has grown by leaps and bounds.

Don’t get me wrong, the show is still small by comparison of a lot of shows that I do, but that adds to the charm of the event. There are a lot more opportunities to hang out with fans, attendees, and yes – other guests.

I lead a number of panels throughout the weekend:

Tabling at Conventions on Friday, and then Writing for Comics and Making Webcomics on Saturday. The venue was a lot of fun, and the other guests were HILARIOUS. I was added to a panel doing a D&D campaign with many of the other guests, and we were all a little sauced – and the kinds of characters we created, and the crazy adventure we went on is something of legend for that weekend.

Dinner with friends.

I also got a chance to do an all-guests dinner, which was a lot of fun. An opportunity to connect with people I had known for years, and a few new faces I had just met that weekend. Whitney Rodgers, Jon Swasey and so many more were among the dinner, and they were such a fun group – AND the networking for them was fantastic, because Jon was a very open and inviting person who was trying to help the younger voice actors make connections and get some new gigs.

All in all, Anime Zing was a lot of fun and a great low-key convention to end the summer of cons on. I had a blast, was treated well, and really enjoyed reconnecting with friends and fans both new and old.