​Convention Commotion

FM Comic-Con 2016 a draw for big names and big fun

By Ben Haugmo

The 6th annual Fargo-Moorhead Comic-Con is coming up, bringing with it vendor and attractions to suit fans of all ages.

The guest of honor this year is comic book artist Robert Atkins, who has worked on publications like Deadpool, GI Joe, Spiderman, and others. Atkins has accepted commissions in advance for FM Comic-Con, so attendees can pick up their physical prints at the convention, and get them signed if they so desire.

Also featured this year are psychic Tiffany Johnson, a vendor room with a large Lego display, an artists’ alley, panel events, costume contests for both kids and adults, and much more.

Tony Tilton is a television director, comic artist, filmmaker, and fan, who has helped to organize ValleyCon, a pop culture convention held in the fall, now in its sixth year. Comic-Con was conceived in 2011 as a means to thwart the dry spell of events that followed ValleyCon.

“I got involved helping to run things in ValleyCon 7 while I was in high school,” said Tilton. “I had a semi-professional background even at that time because I grew up in theatre, television and film with my parents. I went into the service, and when I came back I was asked to help with ValleyCon again because a lot of fans don’t really have a background in running an event, and I had some of that event experience in dealing with hotels and things like that. So I got involved again and I ran it for ten years, from ValleyCon 12 through Valley Con 19. Then I left again for a while, took a break. Came back for Valley Con 27, and I’ve been running it ever since.”

Tilton first attended ValleyCon 3, after which he soon began to collect comic books.

“I had Spiderman #20 and up in my collection, and I had every X-Men from #90 on up with all the new X-Men and everything else. I had a huge Batman collection back to about Batman #50, which is pretty big. Batman’s always been my guy.”

Guests of past FM conventions have included famous figures such as Kevin Sorbo, Walter Koenig, and George R. R. Martin.

Comic-Con and ValleyCon are sponsored under their parent company, Red River Valley Science Fiction and Fantasy. They also receive sponsorship and promotion from Paradox Comics-N-Cards in downtown Fargo.

Rich Early, the founder and owner of Paradox, got his start at ValleyCon.

“The first thing I ever did that was in any way businesslike was buying a table at ValleyCon 20 in like 1991 or 1992, before (Paradox) was even open,” said Early. “I paid $40 to have an eight-foot table and I sold comics there. I was probably 20-21 years old. This was literally one of the places that my business was born at, because I remember selling some comics for the very first time and going, ‘This is pretty cool!’”

Early believes the value of events like Comic-Con lies in how they allow fans to gather in a safe and accepting environment without fear of judgement.

“The local cons are awesome, especially now,” said Early. “Back then, there was nothing. If you were kind of nerdy, you were definitely an outcast, you were definitely kind of on the fringes, so on and so forth, whereas today there’s a huge amount of acceptance. I think it ties into a lot of stuff. It ties into the idea of identity; everybody wants to be able to express their own identity and not be judged for it no matter what their race, orientation, or beliefs are. That’s what being a nerd is all about.”

IF YOU GO:

Fargo-Moorhead Comic-Con

Baymont Inn & Suites, 3333 13th Ave S, Fargo

Saturday, February 27 at 10 a.m.; Sunday, February 28 at 5 p.m.

Tickets available at the door, $7 for adults and $5 for kids per day, or $10 for adults and $7 for kids for both days