The Road to Eclipse Con 2017

Ah, the total solar eclipse. It’s a rare occurrence that, for whatever reason, can be viewed at its best in my hometown of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. We’ll be witnessing the moon moving between the Sun and Earth in a shiny spectacle any other. Isn’t just amazing that we get to observe such a beautiful event in such perfect conditions?

Who cares? I wanna buy some comic books.

But yeah, in all seriousness, I’d like to thank nature for providing my humble hometown (alliteration, people) with such a tourist-happy event. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having a comic book convention.

In case you weren’t aware, yeah—Hopkinsville, Kentucky is apparently the best place to see the solar eclipse on August 21st. And yeah, that’s pretty cool. Hopefully, I’ll enjoy it and really get something out of it. However, I have to be real with you people: I’m a VERY materialistic person. I love entertainment, after all! And because of this, I’m mostly excited for Eclipse Con, the comic book convention blessing our lowly town.

I have been to a comic convention before (something I’ll get to later), but this will definitely be the biggest one that I partake in. Of course, since I like comics so gosh darn much, I figured I’d talk about a comic book convention. Just sort of, “Why not?” kinda thing. I mean, this is a halfway comic-related blog, and Eclipse Con will be cool.

Also, I really wanna boost my SEO.

Hey, I never said I wasn’t vain!

But anyway, I suppose I should first go over some general Eclipse Con stuff. You know, just some general thoughts. First off, I’d like to thank the City of Hopkinsville for turning the solar eclipse into a gigantic corporate franchise empire so that we even have this con in the first place.

Secondly, let’s look at one of the most glaring aspects of this con: Why is there a $15 per person per day entry fee? Like, what? I’ve only been to one other con, but it certainly didn’t have an entry fee. I think the key difference here, though, is that A) this event is to raise money for the local Boys and Girls Club, and B) they know they’re going to have a crudload of people show regardless so why not have an entry fee. However, I don’t see why people renting the booths wouldn’t have been the way they raise money. All I know is that many people will be spending $15 less on merch! (Or maybe not. I’m rather inexperienced with cons.)

Next up is something pretty cool, at least for me. There’s this local music, movies, and games shop called Oddball Media and Music in town (and in Clarksville) that my friend’s family owns. It’s where I buy all of my Nintendo 64 games. (PlayStation 2 games, on the other hand, I buy at Game Xchange, because that is the way of the “invisible hand.”) Anyway, they’re gonna have two booths at Eclipse Con, which is pretty rad. Oh, and by the way, this ain’t no paid promotion. I just write what I feel like writing about, and I highly doubt that ANYONE would pay me to write about them. I literally pull in tens of readers each week. Ah, the life of a blogger just starting out. This is a passion, people—it sure isn’t a gosh darned moneymaker.

Anyway, there’s something else that’ll be at Eclipse Con that I’ve been DYING to talk about. Given the content of my website, I want you to guess what it is. Alright, fine, I’ll tell you.

THERE ARE GOING TO BE ARCADE GAMES AND PINBALL MACHINES AT ECLIPSE CON 2017.

Yep, I’m pretty excited. Like seriously, arcade games in Hopkinsville has been my dream for so long, ever since Godfather’s Pizza closed. (That was truly a sad moment for us all.)

On one hand, I’d really like them to all be set at a quarter per credit so I can play the games the way they’re meant to be played. On the other hand, I have limited resources to stretch across all of Eclipse Con, so freeplay would be nice, too. I’m predicting that it’ll mostly be pinball (if there’s any video at all), and the selection will consist entirely of classic games, because everyone loves to ignore the existence of modern games (and they’re expensive, I guess). The only modern games I expect to see are pinball machines, because that’s super hip right now. It also has to do with the fact that companies like Jersey Jack Pinball are absolutely killing right now, but you know what I mean.

I guess I should address the talent that’ll be at the con, too. I don’t know who they are, and I don’t particularly care. I guess having that Steven Universe gal is cool, but I don’t watch that show. I just wanna buy some merch, people.

So yeah, comics and arcade games—it literally could not be a more perfect combination for a guy like me. However, I’d like to touch on one last thing before we move on to the comics that I’m looking out for. Do I personally think we’ll ever have a comic book convention in Hopkinsville ever again?

Well, yes and no. Eclipse Con obviously exists in the first place because of the influx of people that will be entering Hopkinsville, so they may not do this again next year because we’ll be back to our normal numbers. I can completely understand Hopkinsville not being viable for a con outside of these extremely special circumstances. However, I also see them (whoever “them” might be) holding another convention next year to test the proverbial waters. Sure, we won’t have any big talent at the next hypothetical con, but if people still attend it, I see Eclipse Con becoming an annual thing. That best case scenario would be, in a word, wicked. Let’s all cross our fingers, I guess.

Now that I’ve gone over what I think about Eclipse Con 2017, I figure I should tell you what comics I’m on the lookout for. Knowing me, they’re all…Spider-Man books. I don’t have very broad horizons.

First up, we’ve got The Amazing Spider-Man #267: “The Commuter Cometh.” It seems like a pretty funny Peter David story, so why not. Then, I’ve got two J. Michael Stracynski stories: Vol. 2, #36 (“Stand Tall”) and Vol. 2, #38 (“The Conversation”). I’ve barely even attempted to scratch the surface of Stracynski’s run on ASM, but these two stories seem like some of the best of his tenure. (Those two are the 9/11 story and “Aunt May finds out that Peter’s Spider-Man” story, respectively, just in case you were wondering.) I’m also looking for Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1. While this may seem completely random, I want to pick it up because it seems to perfectly portray Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson’s relationship in the days before “One More Day” destroyed their marriage and the ASM continuity. Last but not least, I’m also on the lookout for The Amazing Spider-Man #655 and #656: “No One Dies.” From what I’ve read, it’s a great emotional story surrounding Peter’s inability to always protect those he loves, no matter how much he wants to. It’s also a high point in Dan Slott’s run, and I’m particularly fond of Slott’s writing.

So yeah, that’s what’s going on for me with Eclipse Con. This article was kinda rushed, so I’m thinking about taking a little break on comic posts after my ASM Vol. 4, #31 review. Anyway, I’ll catch you all on the proverbial flip-side. I’m a little busy right now.

Here's the flyer for your enjoyment, folks: