Thoughts on Cyprus Comic Con 2019
Now that I’m finally at home, I can actually sit down and write something properly, rather than trying to update blog posts in a boiling hot chicken costume. And I can actually write down some actual thoughts without having to write on my phone.
Okay, first things first, April probably wasn’t a great choice because of, uh, April showers. Cyprus’s weather is always weird in April, but I guess the organizers wanted to catch the pre-Orthodox Easter rush, as well as people visiting over UK Easter? Maybe? I don’t know. But really, it didn’t make that much difference because it was still boiling hot when the sun was shining. The event could have been done in May with less chances of rain and similar temperatures.
The venue was the same as the 2017 CCC, but with a different layout. Unfortunately (and it’s not really the fault of the organizers), the Kratiki Ethesi (Κρατική Έκθεση – literally “National Exhibition”) is an old, run down exhibition area and is insanely dusty and kinda dirty. There’s only so much the hired help can do, but it’s also the only real place (in Nicosia at least) big enough for the amount of traffic they expected. Still, it didn’t seem as big and busy as last year – maybe because it rained on the first day.
There was a ton of stuff to do, and the outdoor stuff was great – especially the fighting and weapons stuff! Music was pretty good too. The main hall with all the stores were a bit repetitive with everyone selling Funko Pops, but the gaming area at the back was nice. Not only were there games to try and play (like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, VR and a local developer) but there was an ongoing Smash Bros tournament with a very excited announcer, several other tournaments on both days and, a place to try VR stuff and a nice little vintage arcade section. The community groups hall was a little bit bare though and, cosplay area aside, the space felt a little wasted.
I think the biggest issue though was that the Artists’ Alley area was kinda ignored. Actually, the special guests were kinda ignored as well (aside from their workshops and stuff) but the Artist’s section was the furthest away from the entrance. Traffic always flowed from the entrance into the first hall that had all the shops in it and would drift towards the rear exits where the gaming stuff was. Then traffic would sort of lumber past the Community Groups section (which didn’t have much in it), then trickle through to the food area. The Artists’ Alley was just off from the food area, but not many people seemed to go in there compared to the other halls. So the artists all displaying there felt kinda lonely, especially since the majority of them had spent fortunes on getting prints and merchandise made.
There were two huge improvements though.
Firstly (and not as importantly) the food and drink were way, way better. Last time there was limited choice but this year, there was a huge amount of choice of food to eat and frankly it wasn’t too expensive. €5 for a burger, €4.50 for a hotdog, or the cheaper options from the 3 large fast food chains. Drinks were standard prices but whoever convinced Sprite to give away free drinks for the entire day is a fucking genius. I mean, I would have preferred free water, but holy shit having people giving out free cold drinks is amazing.
Secondly, despite the delays (can’t be helped with workshops and stuff), the Cosplay stuff was a lot better organized. Sure, we had to wait a bit, but we had a big space to get changed and it was all quite simple. Still, I’m a bit upset about who didn’t win the amateur masquerade. Pretty much everyone said that the lovely Kahjiit should have won some sort of prize, because her costume was amazing and she was in character all day. Sadly the judges didn’t seem to get a lot of the gaming references. Sure, Gang Beasts might be a bit niche but HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THAT KAHJIIT HAS WARES IF YOU HAVE COIN?
Oh well.
You were awesome, Kahjiit lady. So were all the other cool gals and guys who posed with us.
Anyway, overall, Cyprus Comic Con 2019 was pretty fun. Hot work though, and I’m bloody exhausted.