Unconventional Conventions

Photo by Donna

Due to the myriad of film and television productions that have been produced and filmed here in New Mexico, an interesting advantage has started to creep into the local comic book and sci-fi scene! Albuquerque has been lucky enough to have had three conventions this year catering to fans of comics, science fiction, manga, anime and horror. 

The Albuquerque Comic-Con held this past January had over 10,000 fans descend on the HIlton Hotel, the Comic Expo presented at the convention center also had huge crowds, and the Sci-Fi Expo had over 5,000 fans purchase tickets to mingle with some of their favorite stars.  Celebrities that attended some of these events were Ray Park (X-Men, Star Wars: Episode 1), Daniel Logan (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Dean Stockwell (Compulsion, Quantum Leap), Sean Patrick Flanery (30 Days Until I'm Famous), Norman Reedus (Boondock Saints), Walter Koenig (Star Trek), Edward Furlong (American History X), Charisma Carpenter (The Expendables), Dean Haglund (The X-Files), Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars: Episode 3, The Revenge of the Sith), Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon),  and Peter Mayhew (Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope), amongst a host of others. 

On August 26th-28th, the local literary convention, Bubonicon will have a variety of guests from the science fiction genre, many of whom live here in New Mexico.  Some of the authors attending include George R.R. Martin, Ben Bova, Diana Gabaldon, Jane Lindskold, John Jos. Miller, and Melinda Snodgrass, among others. 

If you are a fan of comics, sci-fi, manga, anime or gaming, the library has a variety of books and movies to check out to help you prepare for the next Albuquerque Comic-Con which is to be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in January 2012. 

Some titles you might find interesting include:

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves

Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks

Star Wars, Episode 2:, Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore

Star Wars, The Clone Wars, Character Encyclopedia

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (DVD)

Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace,  (DVD)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (DVD)

The Nit-Pickers Guide for X-Philes by Phil Farrand

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice, Book 1 by George R.R. Martin

Mars by Ben Bova

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold

Wild Cards, Vol. 1

The Edge of Reason by Melinda Snodgrass

The Very Large Array: New Mexico Science Fiction and Fantasy

Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What they Mean by Douglas Wolk

A Career Guide to Your Job in Hell edited by Robert E. Vardeman and Scott S. Phillips

Unsafe on Any Screen: Cinematic Sleaze and Cheese by Scott S. Phillips

Fans of Dean Stockwell who missed him at the Sci Fi Expo might want to stop by the Albuquerque Film Festival, which runs August 18-21!  The Quantum Leap star will be making another Albuquerque appearance this weekend to receive the 2011 AFF Dennis Lee Hopper Award. Also, Michael Madsen, who appeared in Frank Miller's Sin City, will also be on hand-he's won the 2011 AFF Maverick Award.