It Has Begun!!!

Lake Charles, LA

It’s convention season again, and my alter ego, the Discount Dark Knight, will be in attendance at a few conventions this year.  He has a little contest going on over on his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/discountdarkknight, so feel free to check it out if you’d like.

The first event that DDK will hit is Louisiana Comic Con.  It will take place at the Bossier Civic Center in Bossier City, LA.  Louisiana Comic Con looks to be a pretty cool event, especially for a first year event.  Guests include author Greg Burnham, illustrator Marcus Williams, comic artist Rob Guillory, anime voice actress Trina Nishimura, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake of old school WWF fame, and the lovely Mary Kate Smith, best known as a contestant on TBS’ King of the Nerds Season Two.  Of course, there are tons of other artists, celebs, and cosplayers attending, so be sure to check out the convention’s website at http://www.louisianacomiccon.com.

The second convention on my hit list is CoastCon in Biloxi, MS.  Although it’s one of my favorite conventions, it has been a couple of years since I last visited this wonderful event.  CoastCon will take place March 20-22 and I’m positive that it will be a great event.  This year guests will include Battlestar Galactica alum Aaron Douglas, Tony Amendola who has portrayed a multitude of characters in film and on television, author James S.A. Corey (Daniel James Abraham and Ty Franck), anime voice artist Tiffany Grant, cosplayers Destine Magique Cosplay, and other artists, authors, and gaming gurus.  Hopefully I will be able to attend this year.  To find out more about CoastCon, visit http://www.coastcon.org.

One event that I will be sure to attend after Louisiana Comic Con is CyPhaCon in Lake Charles, LA on April 17-19.  It’s the best convention in the Lake area and one of the fastest growing conventions in the Gulf South.  It’s a little convention with big aspirations, and they always go above and beyond for their guests and attendees.  This year is their fifth anniversary and to celebrate, they’re bringing in Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel from Game of Thrones), anime voice over artist and actor Chuck Huber, Larry Nemecek, who knows just about everything there is to know about Star Trek, and cosplay guest Marie Doll.  Also in attendance will be the Suzaku 7, an epic anime band that has played the convention before.  They do not disappoint!  CyPhaCon is still adding to their lineup, and it looks to be a big year for this convention, so check them out at http://www.cyphacon.org!

Late last year I blogged about my reasons for skipping over Wizard World New Orleans, so my only major event this year might be Comicpalooza in Houston, TX.  I won’t nail down any plans just yet, but you can definitely check out this event http://www.comicpalooza.com.

Whether or not I make it over to Houston for Comicpalooza, I definitely plan to attend Bayoucon in Sulphur, LA June 19-21.  This event has bounced around venues over the years (all of them were in Lake Charles at various locations) but this time it will take place at the West Cal Arena & Event Center in Sulphur.  Guests for this event will include anime voice artist Todd Haberkorn, Michael Koske, a featured Walker from The Walking Dead, and stuntman/actor/cosplayer John Mangus.  Hopefully Orion’s Envy will also be returning.  As of right now, Bayoucon has not had a lot of updates or additions to their website, http://www.bayoucon.net, but hopefully my favorite green ladies will be added to the mix soon enough!

Last year I attended the Houston Con in Houston, TX in August.  The website for that particular convention has been very quiet (their Facebook page, too), but the bunch over at http://www.thehoustoncon.com were very quiet last year as well until right before the convention.  When they did speak up, they did so loudly and proudly.  The Houston Con was one of my favorite conventions last year and I hope they return.

I’m also going to attempt to attend a few other conventions this year that I’ve never attended before.  MechaCon and Louisianime are on my “to do” list and hopefully I’ll get to them this year.

I’ll be sure to post reviews of all of the conventions I attend this year and will definitely post photos.  If you’re attending any of these events this year, let me know and maybe we can meet up and chat for a bit!

Thanks for reading.  I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, but now that the new year is a few weeks old, I’m ready to blog my brains out!  See you all very soon!