Ace Comic Con 2018
A New Challenger Appears
A new challenger has entered the arena as Ace Comic Con came storming into Gila River Arena located in the heart of the West Gate entertainment district in Glendale Arizona. Ace Comic Con ran from January 13th through the 15th bringing with it a line up normally reserved for the likes of a San Diego or New York Comic Con. Headlined by Celebrity guests the likes of Chris Evans (Captain America), Tom Holland (Spider-Man Homecoming), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) Sting (WWE Hall Of Famer) and Hulk Hogan (WWE Hall Of Famer ) Ace Comic Con quickly looked to establish its self as a forced to be reckoned with in the Phoenix convention scene.
The moment you stepped through the doors of the Gila River Arena you could feel that Ace Comic Con was different than anything routine Phoenix Comic and pop culture convention attendees are accustomed to. The Main show floor was split in two by a big stage and giant black curtain that reached from the rafters of the arena to the floor, separating the panel area and the main vender area. The main concourse was filled with some of the biggest creators in comic’s history. Walking the short loop around the arena you could find the likes of John Romita Jr., Adam Kubert, Mike Zeck, Mark Bagley and Bob Layton interacting with fans and signing autographs as beverage venders walked around selling ice cold beers and sodas to convention attendees.
Unlike other conventions Ace wanted to make sure you didn’t miss a minuet of the great panels that where taking place on the main stage. If you were standing in line waiting for your photo op with your favorite celebrity but wanted to see Spawn creator Todd McFarlane interviewing the legendary Stan Lee on the main stage, Ace made sure you didn’t miss out by broadcasting the panels on tv’s around the arena and on the jumbo tron. This made sure no one missed a minute of the action no matter what you were doing.
Like most conventions, Ace wasn’t without flaws that had some attendees frustrated and rightfully so. Line management needs to be a big focuses for Ace moving forward as poor management of the celebrity photo ops and autographs lines lead them to wrap around the main vender floor causing overcrowding and frustration for the vender and the attendee when trying to complete a transaction. Another weak point of the convention was the lack of programing. Ace ran with a quality over quantity approach when it came to content. I found that there really wasn’t enough going on to satisfy convention attendees who purchased a 3 day pass and even found myself only showing up for the panels I wanted to see and then leaving again until the next panel started. Unless you had a panel or autograph time you were really looking forward to, the convention was easily concord in a few hours.
Ace Comic con was a nice change of pace and a breath of fresh air in a somewhat stale Phoenix convention scene. The ability to pull in quality big name guest on both the media and comic book side of the industry is already having a clear effect on the other conventions in the area forcing them to step up their game and upgrade the quality of the guest they are trying to retain. Despite the few short comings Ace Comic Con is a convention I hope returns for many years to come and I for one will be attending as long as they are.
4.5 out of 5