Emerald City Comic Con Returns with Sparks of its Former Glory

The Evergreen Echo

Finish up your cosplay and grab your favorite comic books—Emerald City Comic Con is back! ECCC is a time-honored (and super nerdy) Seattle tradition, held at the Seattle Convention Center on March 5-8 this year. Attendees will be preparing for four days of panels, screenings, fan meetups, cosplay contests, after-dark partying, and perusing the wares of Artist Alley, where local artists come together to hang out, create, and sell fun products.

So let’s talk shop! How did ECCC start and what is it all about? What can you look forward to this year? And how can you support our local artists strutting their stuff at the con?

ECCC History:

The very first Emerald City Comic Con took place in 2003. It was created by Jim Demonakos, a Washington resident and owner of The Comic Stop, formerly the largest comic store chain in the Pacific Northwest. Back then, it was held at Lumen Field and lasted just one day, but the spirit of the original event lives on through the expansion and growth of the convention—namely the focus on local artists and the nerd scene here in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest.

In the words of the Con: “ECCC is more than just a convention; it's a third space, a community, and a home for us to gather every year to be the geeks (or normies) we were meant to be.”

Fun fact: ECCC also once had its own mascots, the Emerald City Crusader and Crusadette, who had a limited comic book run in the 2010s. These two heroes used to run around Seattle, protecting the city from monsters and villains alike. While the Crusader and Crusadette aren’t around much anymore (I choose to believe that the Kraken living in the Puget Sound is our protectress now), you can still find the Crusadette flying around on the con’s logo, and there’s a wayward Funko Pop or two of the characters still floating around online. 

“It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.” ~the dog, probably.

Courtesy of ECCC

Connections at the Con:

This year, ECCC is bringing us its usual splendor, with some exciting celebrity guests, a thriving market space, and thousands of local and international guests to make new friends with and get your geek on! Among the exciting guests are the voice actors of Critical Roll, Cary Elwes, Pom Klementieff, Kyle MacLachlin (Twin Peaks, Portlandia), Chuck Tingle (if you know, you know), and Kristen Schaal (What We Do in the Shadows, Bob’s Burgers). The panels and screenings this year center community building, such as a Speed Friending event, Friendship Bracelet Making, and a plethora of fan meetups. These kinds of events are so enamoring for many—the stereotype of a friendless and introverted nerd is no more! This is the year of connection, and ECCC aims to deliver. 

We here at the Echo are excited to bring you reviews, interviews, and thought pieces on the goings-on of the con. So stay tuned to read more and to catch up with some of your local nerds. 

• Sidebar

  Prior to 2020, regular con-goers highly regarded ECCC as the unofficial Convention Season Kickoff due to its timing so early in the year. Fans from all over the country made the flight out here to preview the latest from their beloved franchises and publishers long before industry-shaking announcements were presented at San Diego Comic-Con. Along with ECCC, Seattle began PAX (out of a little comic called Penny Arcade), GeekGirlCon, Crypticon, Steamposium (RIP), Norwescon, Sakuracon, and more, playing host to plenty of geeky conventions large and small for nearly every niche. ECCC is rapidly regaining the lustrous status of yesteryear as it is finally held in a building large enough to sustain a con of its caliber in the 21st century: The Summit Building (ok, there’s some spillover in the Arch Building too). 

  So, yeah. It’s kind of a big deal. Enjoy!

Support your Local Artists!

One of the most exciting and special parts of ECCC is the amount of local love. This event started as a way to uplift the geeks of the PNW, and though it has grown in size and brings in people from all over the globe, there is still a focus on the local community. We will be keeping our eyes out in particular for the local vendors around Artist Alley, and we’re excited to highlight some of these folks who are repping the Emerald City at the Comic Con. Remember to give your love and support to these fabulous locals! 

Whether you’re attending ECCC this year or not, we hope you enjoy our on-the-ground reporting and perhaps you’ll learn about some of our homegrown nerds doing cool things around the Emerald City.