Minnesota Fan Fusion at Rivercentre, St Paul (03-05 August 2018)
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The long three-day Minnesota Fan Fusion geek/comic convention is over..
Everything was a million times better this year vs MNFF’s debut last year. There was twice the space (last year they shared the second floor with some sort of shoe convention), twice the merchandise, twice the number of guests, and, get this, four times the number of panels.
With Wizard World not returning to Minneapolis, MNFF (organized by Phoenix’s Square Egg) is really one of the few companies that organize this type of “Comic Con” in the city. Let’s face it, while Springcon/Fallcon (officially known as MSP ComiCon) are fan favorites… they will never bring in these guests.
Although comic books are our thing, MNFF does offer other options for fans of television, films, books (wow at Harry Potter’s fanbase!), sci-fi (Star Wars), Doctor Who, cosplay, anime, gaming, etc. It was really fun to walk around and see what fans were into. While it shouldn’t surprise anyone, but there was a strong CW fanbase, thanks to its popular DC Comics’ shows like Arrow, The Flash, etc.
FRIDAY
MNFF added Friday to their show. This is usually the day that we come and get a lay of the land. There was a rather long line to get into the showroom, and once in, many went directly to John Rhys-Davies’ line for photo op and autograph.
Thanks to the Hero Initiative, they brought in some great comic creators: Kevin Nowlan, Christopher Priest, Howard Chaykin, Barry Kitson, etc. Friday wasn’t as busy as Saturday, so this is a great day to get all your comics signed and maybe talk to the creator and their works.
SATURDAY
Typically, Saturday is the biggest and longest show day. There’s a lot of walking around and most of the celebrities will work the Saturday shows. This is also usually the day for fans to hear the celebrity guest speak and do a Q&A with the audience.
Danielle Panabaker was the first speaker in the main ballroom. Since Manu Bennett cancelled, Dan Fogler was moved to his spot, followed by Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden, and then Ray Park.
With so many panels all taking place at the same time, you had to really choose what you were interested in and love and find the room. The printed schedule (probably printed months in advance), had some changes, so you had to really rely on MNFF’s phone app to get the latest information. However, I found it was just easier to look at the signs at the door to each panel for the most accurate information.
Saturday is also the day that most of the cosplayers come out to play, partly because of the Masquerade Costume Contest taking place later that day.
SUNDAY
Sunday was known as “Family Day”, so you did actually see a lot of parents and their kids in costumes. Sunday is usually the best day to go shopping.
There were only two celebrity speakers for Sunday, John Rhys-Davies and Summer Glau.
Everything was a million times better this year vs MNFF’s debut last year. There was twice the space (last year they shared the second floor with some sort of shoe convention), twice the merchandise, twice the number of guests, and, get this, four times the number of panels.
With Wizard World not returning to Minneapolis, MNFF (organized by Phoenix’s Square Egg) is really one of the few companies that organize this type of “Comic Con” in the city. Let’s face it, while Springcon/Fallcon (officially known as MSP ComiCon) are fan favorites… they will never bring in these guests.
Although comic books are our thing, MNFF does offer other options for fans of television, films, books (wow at Harry Potter’s fanbase!), sci-fi (Star Wars), Doctor Who, cosplay, anime, gaming, etc. It was really fun to walk around and see what fans were into. While it shouldn’t surprise anyone, but there was a strong CW fanbase, thanks to its popular DC Comics’ shows like Arrow, The Flash, etc.
FRIDAY
MNFF added Friday to their show. This is usually the day that we come and get a lay of the land. There was a rather long line to get into the showroom, and once in, many went directly to John Rhys-Davies’ line for photo op and autograph.
Thanks to the Hero Initiative, they brought in some great comic creators: Kevin Nowlan, Christopher Priest, Howard Chaykin, Barry Kitson, etc. Friday wasn’t as busy as Saturday, so this is a great day to get all your comics signed and maybe talk to the creator and their works.
SATURDAY
Typically, Saturday is the biggest and longest show day. There’s a lot of walking around and most of the celebrities will work the Saturday shows. This is also usually the day for fans to hear the celebrity guest speak and do a Q&A with the audience.
Danielle Panabaker was the first speaker in the main ballroom. Since Manu Bennett cancelled, Dan Fogler was moved to his spot, followed by Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden, and then Ray Park.
With so many panels all taking place at the same time, you had to really choose what you were interested in and love and find the room. The printed schedule (probably printed months in advance), had some changes, so you had to really rely on MNFF’s phone app to get the latest information. However, I found it was just easier to look at the signs at the door to each panel for the most accurate information.
Saturday is also the day that most of the cosplayers come out to play, partly because of the Masquerade Costume Contest taking place later that day.
SUNDAY
Sunday was known as “Family Day”, so you did actually see a lot of parents and their kids in costumes. Sunday is usually the best day to go shopping.
There were only two celebrity speakers for Sunday, John Rhys-Davies and Summer Glau.
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Bob Ross |
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Thor: Ragnarok with Leeloo (Fifth Element) |
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Bloodborne, Punisher, Wolverine, Borderlands (Moxxi & Zer0), and Harry Potter |
Yeah! Nice pics! Great atmosphere!