Yes, that’s right. It’s time for The Emerald City‘s very own Comic Con.

And while it’s technically true that this important cultural event actually happens at the Washington State Convention Center, everybody who’s anybody knows that the real action happens up here, a short walk away from the center proper at our very own .

And to prove it, we’ve got ECCC themed events all week long just to entice you up the road, starting on Wednesday night with our release party for Emerald City Comic Con’s official beer (yes, that’s actually a real thing!), Fremont Brewing’s Dark Heron!

Then, on Thursday, join those happy mutants, the , for a viewing of the latest episode of their favorite show in the whole world, Critical Role!

And on Friday, things just get bananae up in here, with special guests from all over the pop cultural spectrum like , Espionage Cosmetics & Outsider Comics coming in for our back to back and by our friends and .

Then on Saturday, we follow very special Comicon episodes of our regular Saturday Morning Magic & Gamers of Color events with Critter Crawl 3 – now in 3D!

And the ECCC madness just does not stop! Because on Sunday (…Sunday! Sunday!) we’ve got Special Guests and Judge Zedd running the worlds first (I can’t back that up. But it sure sounds good, doesn’t it?) Dungeon Crawl Classics Tournament! I can’t imagine how that works but apparently you can actually win stuff so come on down and get your swag on.

And then, after that, we just flip the script, and do it all again. Or something like it. Seriously, it’s crazy around here these days. As always you can learn more about these and all of our upcoming events on our very own Events Page. And if you’re any where in our little Emerald City and need to come find us, just follow the yellow brick road (we call it East Pine, you call it anything you want to).

Another Emerald City Comicon has come and gone but this one was extra-special for an important reason – it was my first! I’m foreign to Seattle just like the horse of a different color isn’t native to Oz. Living here for just over a year, I’m mostly familiar with the wacky Seattle sights and ECCC weekend is no exception. Short of going to the convention center itself, behind the counter at Raygun Lounge might be one of the best places to experience the con. I was granted a front row seat for the nerdtastic conversation and costumery that punctuates any good Comicon.

Curious newcomers and returning friends descended on the Lounge Thursday evening for a multimedia trivia contest hosted by Raygun regular Andrew & his friends. Special guests from Comics Chat with Gat, the Nerdhole, and A Podcast For All Intents and Purposes took turns hosting rounds and stumping teams with obscure knowledge. Eight teams participated during the event and prizes were raffled off between rounds. After the dust settled our first place team was Alternative FAQs, second place went to Ronald Raygun Lounge and third place was claimed by Indiegogo presents Wendigo: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go: A Tale of Vertigo.

Friday night was a more low key gathering featuring a Queer Comics Mixer hosted by Northwest Press. Sharing the space with our monthly Hearthstone tournament, everyone enjoyed another exciting raffle of prizes and plenty of good times. The easy-going vibe from Friday night was a nice lull before the main event on Saturday – NW Nerd‘s annual costume contest! The Lounge was transformed into a cosplay runway where all the best ECCC costumes strutted their stuff for the masses. Prizes were awarded for a variety of categories pitting fantasy and sci-fi characters against each other for the top spot. Check out the highlights on the .

After a super hectic weekend of comics and community building I have to say ECCC is a blast – and I haven’t even been to the Con yet! I am already looking forward to our next big weekend celebrating Sakuracon April 14th-16th. Stay tuned to our events page for info about parties dedicated to anime and 20 successful years of this unique convention.

That’s right, we’re just a short walk from the convention center and we’ve got food, drinks, swag and events all weekend long to make it worth your while when you do. We’ve even got espresso from 10am on if you want to coffee up on your way down! It’s glorious around here these days, I tell you. Just glorious.

And it all starts on Thursday, March 2nd with our annual Comicon Trivia Night hosted by all of your favorite nerdlebrities from a podcast for all intents and purposes, nerdhole & .

Then, after your amazing first day of the con on Friday, March 3rd, come out for our Queer Comics Mixer with the editors of the Northwest Press and Jetspace Magazine!

But our (if not THE) biggest party of this year’s comicon is definitely going to on Saturday, March 4, when takes over hosting duties for our massive annual cosplay contest & all night party!

On Sunday, March 4 we recover from hangovers with our Geek Girl Brunch.

And on Monday, March 5 we’ll be OPEN ALL DAY from 10am – 10pm for all of your last chance gaming, comics and pop cultural needs on your way back out of town.

To learn more about any of the events I listed here (or the bunch, like our Comicon Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering and Android Netrunner tournaments, that I didn’t!) head on over to our Events Page and see what we have for YOU this very special Emerald City Comicon weekend!

Come on up and see us!

We’re just a short walk away from the Convention Center through Seattle’s premiere Capitol Hill neighborhood. Not only do we have food, drinks (including a beer and cider bar), a tabletop game library and a retro arcade for you

but we’ve got great events for you all weekend long!

Starting with on Friday Night! Across the Board Games, , Skulldug and Sindicate Lager team up to bring you a fun, friendly, welcoming night of party gaming. This is a GREAT way to get to know people and start your con right.

Then, Saturday, at noon and 4pm. We give you your first chance anywhere to draft Magic’s exciting new Dragons of Tarkir set. Drafts will be 2 Dragons 1 Fate, cost $15 per person, run in three round swiss style pods of 8 and have generous prize support. This is a GREAT way to give the new set a spin and come out with some high value cards.

Then, on Saturday Night, come and join the creators of and their special guests from throughout the comics industry for our 2nd Annual , a meet and greet benefit for Gay City.

And finally, to help you recover from the Rat Queens Social Club and the Pink Party, our BFFs from Queer Geek are hosting a special Comicon edition of their monthly Boardgame Meetup for you to meet people, play games and have a GREAT Emerald City Comicon experience!

So come on up and see us! We promise that we’ll have something fun and engaging for you to do see and experience every day that you are here from noon until at least 10pm every night (later on Saturday 😉 ).

Whew!

You know it’s busy around here when the last event update was a season ago and the monthly update comes out two weeks into the month! Be that as it may, we’ve got a lot coming up for you so let’s dive right in!

First up, we’re thrilled to be hosting our first poetry reading since the , and Western Snowmelt Tour!

After that, it’s all about the Dragons of Tarkir.

We’ll have Prerelease Events on Mar 21st & 22nd ($30 buy in, events at noon and 6pm, preregistration is now open in-person or over the phone) and Release Drafts on March 28th (Noon & 4pm, $15 buy in, registration opens on day of event).

But the big news around here in March is always Emerald City Comicon. Which means that we’ll have very special episodes of both our monthly Party Games Night and our Queer Geek Boardgame Meetups for you. We’ll also be running our booth at the entrance of the North Galleria for Games on Demand. And we’ll be hosting our Second Annual Rat Queens After Party as a fundraiser for Gay City.

So come on out and see what we’ve got going for you! We’ve got open gaming tables, a well stocked game library and a calendar full of great events for you when you do.

See you soon,

-Eric