SEATTLE—Emerald City Comic Con, the region’s largest celebration of geek and pop culture, returned last weekend for its 21st year with what may be its biggest celebrity lineup since the pandemic.
The convention spanned from Thursday, February 29 through Sunday, March 3, opening each day at 10 a.m. with events lasting until passed midnight in various downtown Seattle buildings including the Seattle Convention Center Arch Building, the new Seattle Convention Center Summit Building and many nearby hotel conference rooms.
Each day, while exhibitors showcased their wares, from comic books; to art; to a variety of merchandise, throughout the 248,450-square-feet Artist Alley, and 573,770-square-feet Show Floor, panels, demonstrations, classes, and more ran non-stop through the building’s new 62 meeting rooms.
Separate to the massive show floor, artist alley, and literary block activities included workshops, karaoke, a full-fledged arcade, miniature painting, a Japanese-inspired maid cafe, a Star Wars Experience museum, non-stop board games, card games, and tabletop role playing games, drag queen BINGO, performances including live music, puppet shows, and a live acted Rocky Horror Picture Show, foam weapon fighting, dramatic productions, standup comedy, drawing and crafting classes, panels encompassing all things nerd culture, and much, much more.
We miss you already, Emerald City 💚 Mark your calendars for next year: March 6-9, 2025 ✨ Subscribe to our newsletter for the most up-to-date event news: https://t.co/jiLCbavJAf pic.twitter.com/eYrIihorDy
— Emerald City Comic Con (@emeraldcitycon) March 4, 2024
On Saturday night late-nighters could even attend a prom-style dance and an after party held at Spin ping pong bar just a short walk away from the convention.
Making its first appearance this year was the Tavern, a 21 and up hangout spot with beer, wine, food, live entertainment, and a space where people could meet, play games, or just hang out.
Featured guests included, but are not limited to: Chris Evans (Captain America in the MCU films, Scott Pilgrim), Christina Ricci (The Addams Family, Yellowjackets), Billy Dee Williams (Lando in Star Wars), the voice cast of Adventure Time, the case of Critical Role (who also voice many characters in video games, anime, and other projects), the cast of Twilight, Christopher Lloyd (Doc in Back to the Future), the voice cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Elijah Wood (Frodo in the Lord of the Rings), Sean Astin (Sam in the Lord of the Rings), Jodie Wittaker (Doctor Who), Maggie Lawson (Psyche), esteemed horror writer/director Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel (Haunting of Hill House), authors Terry Brooks (the Shannara series) and Veronica Roth (Divergent), Tom Kenny (voice of Spongebob Squarepants), Timothy Omundson (Supernatural), and many others including a list of prolific comic book writers and illustrators.
What’s up #Seattle! The Cullen fam is back together for a Twilight Cast Panel at #ECCC ✨ pic.twitter.com/GphJlkIQEk
— Emerald City Comic Con (@emeraldcitycon) March 3, 2024
Many of these celebrities held panels discussing production stories and upcoming projects and offered the opportunity for fans to get autographs and souvenir photographs throughout the weekend.
Also featured during the convention was Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs who sat on a panel about book censorship and literary criticism and had his own booth on the show floor.
Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) began its run in 2003 when Mukilteo comic book retailer, Jim Demonakos, organized a one-day event at Qwest Field Event Center. The event broke even at 3,000 attendees and has since grown to a multi-day spectacle, hosting around 100 thousand attendees a year. It relocated to the Washington State Convention Center, and neighboring hotels, shortly after being acquired by ReedPop in 2015.
“For me, ECCC has always meant home – it’s my hometown and the first event I ever worked on, seeing it turn 20 makes me feel equal parts proud and old,” said Kristina Rogers, ECCC Vice President. “We’ve built a home away from home for tens of thousands of people over the years and celebrating 20 years in Seattle Convention Center’s brand-new Summit building is the start of a great new chapter for us.”
The first comic book convention, New York Comic Con, was held in New York City’s Workman’s Circle Building in 1964. In the 1970’s comic book conventions rose in popularity, springing up in almost every major American city (and one in London). Currently the largest comic book convention is held in San Diego, San Diego Comic-Con, bringing in over 140,000 attendees from all over the world annually.
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