It’s starting to feel a little repetitive to say that this year’s Awesome Con in Washington DC was bigger and better than the year before but it’s no less than true than in years past.  Now in its fourth year, Awesome Con’s main hall filled up even more of that giant hall in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown DC and the star powers of the guests increased.  How many other conventions can say they secured both Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who let alone conventions that are less than five years old?

The line for Capaldi and Coleman less than half an hour after the convention opened on Sunday morning.

It’s true that Awesome Con continues to have growing pains.  More than a few con-goers were unhappy on Sunday when it became clear that autograph and photo op lines for the Doctor Who duo were a bit of a mess.  The demand was clearly too high and the people running it were unprepared for the volume.  The panel even ended up being delayed nearly two hours to try and accommodate the rush.  Awesome Con Founder Ben Penrod took to social media the next day to issue an apology and explanation; something that Awesome Con has always been very prompt about.  Like Penrod says in the post, they’re still learning and they never make the same mistake twice.  (Anyone remember the badge fiasco of 2014?  That hasn’t happened since.)  I’m always impressed by a convention that not only immediately owns up to their mistakes but also demonstrates that they’ve learned from the experience. Continue reading →