​ValleyCon re-animates for its 42nd year

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

The landscape of nerd and geek culture has changed a lot in recent history, Tony Tilton and I realized. Tony, the longtime chairman of ValleyCon, recalled that back in his childhood his television only had three whole channels and the cultural phenomenon known as Star Wars had just been released in theaters. Things like reading comic books and watching science fiction were fringe hobbies that were likely to get you picked on.

Fast forward to the present and not only are Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, Superman, and the Avengers universally-recognized cultural staples, but with the advent of everything from dish and cable television to streaming media to home video gaming systems, geek culture has become more mainstream than ever.

Some science fiction and fantasy franchises are the most popular programs currently, and Tilton pointed out that various superhero movies have seized billions of dollars worldwide, when all he had back in his day was Superman with Christopher Reeves. And ValleyCon has been with us and growing for a lot of that cultural evolution.

ValleyCon had its humble beginnings with a comic convention started by Rudy Sigmund of a comic book store called Fantasy Collector. As the ranks of geek culture grew over the years, so did ValleyCon. Tilton performed as chairman for the first time at ValleyCon 11 when he was in high school. From there he chaired at ValleyCon 14 (which featured their very first famous guest, Nichelle Nichols aka Lt. Uhura from the original Star Trek series) to the 19th.

After that he joined the Navy. When he returned, he was approached years later to bring newfound television and production experience to the convention, and he has chaired the event from ValleyCon 26 until now. At its 42nd year, the event is now the largest convention of its kind in the area, other than Convergence in Minneapolis.

A lot will be going on at the convention, and like every year, they have a number of special guests showing up. Among them will be award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Christie Golden. She has written seventeen novels and sixteen short stories in those genres as well as horror, including seven Star Trek: Voyager novels, a number of fictional works based off of the Star Wars universe and various Blizzard Entertainment franchises, as well as a number of original fantasy novels. She has also released work under the pseudonym Jadrien Bell. Her current project is the Final Dance fantasy series.

Also showing up will be RJ Haddy. Watchers of SyFy may remember him as a contestant from season two of the station’s award-winning series Face Off, which pitted various aspiring makeup artists’ skills against each other. Haddy was a finalist and fan favorite that season. On top of that, Haddy has done makeup work for a number of Hollywood movies and projects including Batman & Robin, There’s Something About Mary, and Contact.

Acclaimed actor Jeffrey Combs is considered by many to be a modern-day Vincent Price. Combs first shot to fame with the 1985 cult hit Re-Animator, a darkly comic take on a classic HP Lovecraft tale concerning a medical student named Dr. Herbert West who discovers a chemical agent that can re-animate the dead with horrifying results.

Tilton pointed out that Re-Animator revitalized a flagging horror genre in the 1980s when the public was losing interest in slasher films, tired of seeing “psycho killers going after teenagers,” as he put it. The film’s blend of macabre humor and charismatic acting led to a renaissance for independent horror films. Combs has shown up in a number of features such as Peter Jackson’s 90s horror-comedy The Frighteners, the remake of House on Haunted Hill, and has played more aliens than any other actor in the various Star Trek television series. Add to that work doing voiceovers in animated features and he has a rather solid résumé.

Besides these three, there will be a number of other guests, among them many aspiring local artists and writers trying to get their work noticed by a larger public. The numerous vendors at the convention will be selling all kinds of games, movies, and collectibles, some of which can’t be found anywhere else.

There will also be a number of workshops on everything from writing to stage makeup, and in the evening there is usually partying for the older members of the fandom. Tilton points out that the convention has always been geared towards bringing in potential new fans and that everyone is welcome, from the most die-hard fan to a casual watcher of the sci-fi channel.

It’s a relatively inexpensive event and most of the events are listed on their website, so if you feel like it, feel free to come and let your geek flag fly!

IF YOU GO

ValleyCon 42

October 14, 3:30pm to October 16, 4pm

Baymont Inn, 3333 13th Ave S, Fargo

Ticket info: http://www.valleycon.com/