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| ©2002 Formerly BANDWIDTH: A Popular Culture E-Zine |
During trying times, a large gathering of people hit the Stony Brook 
University campus. 
No, it wasn’t a protest for or against the war. In fact, the only war of concern was the one fought in the stars and the only politics of concern were the ones put forth by federations of alien cultures looking to co-exist in a futuristic world; a world of magic, monsters and all things anime. Yes, it was the 22nd Annual I-Con, the Northeast’s largest convention of science fiction, science fact and fantasy.
Over the three days, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy several of over 13,000 hours of programming for that weekend including anime, video games, role play, or participate in a variety of panels. There were also plenty of opportunities to search for deals on various kinds of merchandise in short it was a no-brainer. This was an event not to miss.
Tthe I-Con attracted thousands of fans and guests from all over the science fiction medium to attend. Guests from TV and movies, including Keith Hamilton Cobb from Andromeda, Don S. Davis from Stargate SG-1 and Julian Glover ofStar Wars fame joined New York Times Bestselling author Anne McCaffery and Doom creator John Carmarck in greeting fans, signing autographs and taking part in 
various fun and educational panel discussions. There was a diverse lineup indeed with something for everyone to enjoy.
"We have been able to provide a greater variety of programming as a result of the extraordinary growth of science fiction and fantasy in all forms of media," said Brad Hausman, I-Con 22 Event Coordinator. "There are more movies, television shows, books and anime that there have ever been before. The current I-Con attendee is educated while having a great time enjoying a spectacular even encompassing two of the most up and coming genres, science fiction and fantasy. As science fiction and fantasy grow and expand into new universes, so does I-Con."
I, 
myself, did enjoy my time at the show. It was weird, yet fascinating to see so many people get into the spirit of the event and dress as their favorite characters from anime and television. The choice of panels and movies was very diverse. If you didn’t like one, there was always something else going on at the same time that could grab your interest.
However, this year, I felt something lacking in my favorite place at any convention, the dealer room. I have memories of walking home with bags and bags of goodies to commemorate my stay at the convention. This year, I bought only a couple of videos and a few DVDs. For a dealer room, there just weren’t that many deals going on. Padwolf Publishing was selling some high quality books at reasonable prices, Central Park Media was practically giving their tapes away and even Media-Blasters, known for being a bit pricy, were cheap in comparison to everyone else. Most vendors were selling items at the price we would pay if we saw these items in a store or shopped at Amazon.com. In fact, we would probably get these items cheaper in some stores. Why go to a dealer room when I can go anywhere else to get what I want? I would have also liked to have seen more major companies like New Line, Bridge Publications and Arx Publishing (they were there last year) there hawking their goods.
Other than those constructive criticisms, as always, the I-Con was a tremendous success. Where else can you unite so many different people for a day of fun and education? The I-Con was a great way to forget about the problems of the day and enjoy the excitement of the past, present and tomorrow. See you again next year.
Send comments and questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.
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