Since the first time Phillip and I attended Tucson Comic-Con a few years ago, the event has expanded to take over most of Tucson Convention Center and the adjoining Tucson Arena!
It now spans 3 days full of activities, including panels, fan group meetups, an art zone with free classes, scavenger hunts, costume contests, plus a grand ballroom dedicated to all kinds of gaming – giant board games, a free play arcade, puzzle competitions, role-playing games, and more.
There’s a long hallway lined with cosplay and fan groups’ tables, plus a whole separate section just for the Star Wars ones!
Justice League Arizona was there spreading the word about the volunteer work they do. They had also built photo backdrops to make it look like you were scaling one of Gotham’s walls or posing next to Krypto the dog.
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Downstairs in the Exhibit Hall, there are hundreds of vendors, artists, makers, and pop culture enthusiasts.
With all that going on, you might need a break, and there’s a designated Inclusive quiet zone, a room where you can escape the sensory overload that can accompany this type of event.
Vendors + Exhibitors
Here are just a handful of the individuals, organizations, and small businesses you can find exhibiting at Tucson Comic-Con…
Artist Alley
A pretty large swath of Tucson Comic-Con’s Exhibit Hall is dedicated to its Artist Alley, where you find smaller tables populated by individual artists and makers with their original work and one-of-a-kind items for sale.
Madshell’s Puppetworks (shop / IG): Self-described “Cosplay for your hands!” Very fun lil’ puppets, puppet clothing and accessories in the tradition of Puppet Pie (who we’ve been fans of since meeting founder Stacey Gordon during Phoenix Comicon)!
Making It Nerdy (shop) String art, wood burned signs, magnets, and coasters for fans of reading, sci-fi, Dungeons and Dragons, and other nerdiness.
DesertDayCrochet (shop): Crocheted plushies and tapestries. Lots of cute stuff, but also, if you happened to be looking for a creepy crochet girl from The Ring, she has that too.
Siblings Maxx and AJ enjoy having table space right next to each other. They both create fan art, but each in a different style and medium. AJ Velde (a.k.a. AJooples) is a textile artist, whose work includes a lot of creative hand embroidery, as well as prints of their embroidered pieces. Maxx Velde is an illustrator, and you can find his imaginative cartoon creations on posters, stickers, and keychains, as well as in his book E is for Extant.
Coy Creative: High-quality, whimsical jewelry that’s often inspired by cactus and monsoon rains.
Ate Kei’s Filipino Treats: American treats infused with the flavors of the Philippines, like pandan, ube, chili mango, and malunggay. Ate Kei herself (Kei Ann Mandanas) was there explaining the different flavor profiles and showing photos of the plants they’re derived from.
Making Friends: Custom puppet friends made from fur, foam, and feathers.
MadeItMikayla (shop): “Plants and positivity” in the form of clothing, keychains, stickers, magnets, jewelry, as well as Spammie, the adorable Spam Musubi buddy she created.
Bad Sissy Crochet: A menagerie of amigurumi crochet creatures in different sizes from plushies to keychains!
More from the Exhibition Hall
Wini’s Wares: Family-run business selling pop culture themed wood cutout wall art, coasters, and collectibles. They’re also officially licensed through U of A to sell Wildcats gear.
Quality Patch: Creatively-designed Pokemon-inspired fabrics, available by the yard or as merch, like button-down shirts.
Cactus Brick – Arizona organization for adult LEGO builders that often brings elaborate custom builds to conventions like this.
Food + Beverages
In addition to snack bars and coffee carts around the convention center, a whole row of local food trucks park right outside the Exhibit Hall.
Our favorite dish was the Puerto Rican Plate from DC Jumbie Latin Caribbean Soul Food truck! It features a choice of tropical grilled chicken or slow roasted pork (pernil), plus yellow rice with pigeon peas, sweet plantains, and a green salad dressed with their signature sofrito sauce as dressing. It was all excellent!
Other food trucks/booths we spotted outside convention center that weekend included Fiesta Filipina, You Sly Dog, Quesadillas + More, Chonky Cat Noodles, La Cocina Mexicana, Sarge’s cheesecakes, and Churros El Rey.
Panels
This year’s lineup of panels included spotlights on special guests, interactive trivia and games, and discussions on cosplay and other topics of interest to fan communities.
I’ll just mention a couple here…
Puppeteer Dave Barclay
One special guest was Master Puppeteer Dave Barclay, whose craft and performance skills helped bring characters to life like Yoda and Jabba the Hut. He has also worked on The Dark Crystal, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Labrinyth, Fraggle Rock, and Little Shop of Horrors, among many other projects.
During his Sunday morning spotlight panel, he spoke about growing up with parents who started their own puppet theatre in London and how he learned the art form from them.
He shared stories from his career, like how he got involved in working on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and unexpectedly became one of Yoda’s chief puppeteers. And how he and his team on Roger Rabbit found ways to make real-life objects interacting with animation feel real.
If it sounds like a fascinating life story that would make a great read – it is! Earlier this year, Dave Barclay released his autobiography My Life With Animatronics: Movies, Puppets and Beyond. I’d recommend it to anyone who is a maker/builder/tinkerer or who enjoys hearing about creative people’s path through life.
We stopped by his table and were able to chat with him and his son for a few moments as he signed the book. They were both so congenial that it felt like Phillip and I could’ve continued to have a long conversation with them over tea.
Queer Cosplayers
Speaking of tea, we attended a panel called “Beyond the Rainbow: Queer Cosplayers Spill the Tea.” The panel included (from left to right) Andie Ruiz (a.k.a. Captain Azzar), Freddy Prinze Charming, Sarah Magnuson (Sereblade Creations / Mathematica), and Madame Askew.
The panelists began by introducing themselves, how they identify, and their favorite brunch dishes. Prompted by questions from Madame Askew and the audience, they shared stories about past cosplays they’ve done, how they feel they’re perceived, experiences they’ve had cosplaying, and how they’ve navigated tricky situations.
I was surprised at how much of the panel was devoted to safety. Unfortunately, the world can be a dangerous place for people who don’t fit traditional gender stereotypes – whether or not they’re in costume. The panelists shared important things to keep in mind.
Safety tips for gender non-conforming cosplayers:
- Be aware of your surroundings!
- Find your people. There’s safety in numbers, and you don’t have to navigate challenging situations alone. Connect with likeminded people at groups like the Tucson Steampunk Society (three of them are on the board).
- Pick your battles. There’s no shame in removing yourself from a threatening situation.
- Be out and outspoken if/when you can. Be a safe space for those who can’t.
I would say that the “being a safe space” should also be a goal for allies. One of the panelists suggested simply complimenting gender-bending cosplayers, as a (small) demonstration of allyship.
Despite delving into some serious topics, the panel as a whole was full of joy and humor. It was a celebration of people being themselves and expressing their fandoms in whatever creative ways they imagine.
