"The Rantcor Pit" Makes Another Convention Appearance This Saturday!

Attending the North Texas Comic Book Show in Dallas on Saturday?  Look for Cole "JediCole" Houston and Eddie Medina of The Rantcor Pit as they host a poolside recording of an upcoming episode of the show!  

The North Texas Comic Book Show is held at the Doubletree Hotel in Dallas a few times a year and both Cole and Eddie have had a long association with the show.  Weather permitting, this special edition of The Rantcor Pit will be recorded before a live audience poolside at the hotel.  We will be opening the mics to a repeat of "Speed Guesting", a little something we had at the show recorded at G33K3 Con a few weeks ago.  Attendees will be invited to be a guest of the show and join the hosts at the table for two minutes at a time!  

In addition to the live taping of the JCU's Star Wars podcast, Cole will also be moderating a panel with Ken Kristensen, creator and author of Todd, the Ugliest Kid on Earth!  This panel will also take place poolside where you can meet the writer of this wildly popular Image comic that is reportedly on its way to becoming an animated series!  

If that was not enough, there is an open invitation to costumers and cosplayers to become contestants in the Chris Skiles Memorial Cosplay Contest, held in memory of a local costumer and fan who's presence was well known at this and other DFW conventions.  First prize is $100!  

And don't forget the dealer and vendor areas featuring lots of toys, comics, Hot Wheels, and other collectibles plus the original work of many local artists like Eddie Medina and You Are Here artist Bobby Blakey!  You can get your copy of Your First Year Here: You Are Here Volume 1 at Bobby's table for the show special price of $5.00!

Check out the show details below:

North Texas Comic Book Show
Saturday, April 19, 2014
9:30 AM - 5 PM
Doubletree Hotel Dallas Market Center
2015 Market Center Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75207
Admission - $10.00

Check out Convention Awareness Project - Texas for a full listing of other conventions of fan interest in Texas throughout 2014 by clicking here.

Discover the Texas Convention Scene at Convention Awareness Project - Texas

If you happened to be out in Grapevine on September 21 at the DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figure Show II and saw me there at the table of The JediCole Universe then you might have heard of the sister site, Convention Awareness Project - Texas.

You might also have heard that I was fresh out of postcards for the convention site.  Well if you are keen on finding out about every convention of fan interest in the Lone Star State in a one-stop-shopping kind of format then visit CAP-TX by clicking here.

The above link will take you to the 2013 convention list post, but the site often has spotlights on upcoming shows with interviews with the people who put them on as well as other feature articles, so be sure and check out the main page often.  2014 convention listings will begin to appear in November 2013 as well!

Convention Awareness Project - Texas reminds you...

You Can't Go If You Don't Know!

Three Pronged All-Con 2013 Pre-Show Coverage Begins...NOW

There are many things in my life that keep my Ever-Ticking Brain, well, ticking.  This website is certainly one, as is its companion site, Convention Awareness Project - Texas.  The of course there is the United States of Geekdom, my other podcasting home.  But once a year, for eight year prior, there has been a special annual event that has been a major part of my life.  That would be All-Con.

By way of a brief history of the show and my association with it I will share a few thoughts of what has come before to better illustrate what lies ahead with this incredible convention.  

Way back in 2005 a friend arrived at the weekend shop that Mrs. JediCole and I ran to tell us that he and his wife were part of a group starting up a new convention.  We were asked if we would be interested in selling in their Dealer's Room, which naturally we were.  To make a long story short, every dealer other than us (A Piece of the Action Collectibles at the time) backed out and left us the only dealer for the weekend.  As a result we brought nearly everything in the store out including some portable fixtures!

The next year we returned as dealers but decided to do more.  We offered to produce a game show, Geek Match Game, once daily for all three days of the convention.  All-Con graciously gave us access to their celebrity guests and the shows were a huge hit.  Sadly the next year another convention which we had been selling at as dealers for a decade was scheduled the same weekend as All-Con and my sole participation that weekend was two hours as part of the cast of VaderCast and their Fear Factor show.  The rest of that weekend I was at the other show.

After that we determined that we were going to make All-Con our just for fun show and not have to worry about running tables and selling.  Game shows and even the odd talk show became the order of the day and remain so to this day.  While some game shows have come and gone, others have proved ideal for the convention format and will be back for 2013.  In addition to all of that I have had the good fortune to be a judge in the Ms. Star Wars pageant during its first two years, a judge for the All-Con Costume Contest all but that one absentee year, and a co-host for charity auctions and the opening and closing ceremonies.

With over 200 events (panels, game shows, screenings, stage shows) all weekend, being able to say I am in close to ten percent of these still has me wondering how I manage to squeeze all of that into three days.  Frankly I don't know how All-Con squeezes so much into three days!  But that is what makes it my favorite convention stop every year!  From the universally approachable aspects like "how to" panels, to live readings by authors, to screenings of fan films and even "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog" to the more adults only aspects like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" shadowcast and the annual burlesque performance, All-Con truly is all-encompassing.

All-Con 2013's Theme: Fractured Time

In the coming days and weeks I will be writing extensively on the All-Con experience past (here and at the USG) and future (at Convention Awareness Project - Texas).  There is so much ground to cover and little time to do so before the show weekend itself.  I hope that these features will convince anyone who might be able to attend but has not in years past to give this incredible convention a try.  A glimpse at the 2013 schedule will reveal that there is literally so much going on at the same time in almost any given hour that you have to pick and choose what you want to do when.  And that is what a convention should be like in my opinion.

And should you make it to All-Con 2013 and happen to spot me at some of my events or just racing through the hotel, please say hello, I really do love meeting folks who have enjoyed my writing and podcasting over the years.    

"You Can't Go If You Don't Know!" Check Out Our Sister Site, Convention Awareness Project - Texas

If you have not already, especially if you live in Texas, check out my new website (launched in January), Convention Awareness Project - Texas!  (Click here to see for yourself.)

The Convention Awareness Project is a passion of mine, to provide the single most comprehensive resource for listing and showcasing conventions of geeky interest all over the Lone Star State. 

Why just Texas?  Well for one, that is where I am from.   And the primary reason is that, even concentrating on one state, I have to constantly add new conventions to my listings!  A few years ago I attempted a national list and after updating just the listings for October seven or eight times I decided it was an impossible task.  Just today I had to add two more shows to my Texas listings.  One was a show I knew about but did not have a date and locale until today, the other I found out about solely because I happened to drop by Bazinga Comics in San Antonio and was given that show's postcard! 

So there you have it.  If you live in Texas or travel here for shows, if you are a vendor, an artist, a small press publisher, or anyone who frequents such shows then you need to bookmark CAP-TX to keep track of every show out there.  There is no more thoroughly researched website for Texas comic, anime, gaming, figure/diorama modeling, toy, sci-fi, collectible, and literary conventions culled from dozens of websites.

But there's more!  Whenever possible I arrange interviews with the folks behind the shows to give you even more insight as to what makes the convention unique.  I do all of this because you can't go if you don't know!

The CAP-TX Website is Now LIVE!

Yes, it is true!  The official website of the Convention Awareness Project - Texas is now live and will have content added constantly over the next few days and weeks.  Find out more about the vibrant Texas convention scene right here!

The Convention Awareness Project will be the most comprehensive resource for comic, anime, toy, sci-fi, collectibles, fantasy, gaming, and other such conventions in Texas to be found anywhere online.  If it is a convention in Texas, it will be covered on the new committed site! 

Check out the CAP-TX site today.  It is a bit crude at the moment but I will be updating the template shortly after the main JCU site is updated.

Coming Soon - The CAP-TX Committed Website!

I have some exciting news for the ever-expanding JediCole Universe!  For a few months now the Convention Awareness Project - Texas has brought information on upcoming conventions of fan interest in the Lone Star State, complete with interviews.  While the project itself has had various incarnations over the years it has never been utilized to its full potential.  Until now! 

On January 1, 2012 I will be launching a committed web page for CAP-TX as your one-stop website for comic, anime, toy, sci-fi, gaming, steampun, literary, and other related conventions within the great state of Texas.  There are a myriad of sites out there that offer lists of upcoming conventions but no single site I've visited in preparation for 2013 had absolutely every convention in Texas on their list.  In fact it took a lot of searching to compile a list of upcoming conventions in the new year.  And each time I thought I had found them all, another website would have one or two more conventions listed!

The biggest difference between CAP-TX and other sites, however, will be the in-depth coverage of conventions before they happen!  As with the preview segments that have appeared on the JCU site, the Convention Awareness Project site will feature interviews with the promoters and creators of the conventions showcased throughout 2013.  I love that Texas is one of the most convention-rich states in the U.S. and the purpose of the new site is to celebrate that fact.  And to help other fans discover exactly what's out there.  Remember, "You Can't Go If You Don't Know!"

And now, by way of a preview of what to expect from the Convention Awareness Project website, I give you the most comprehensive list of conventions in Texas in 2013 to be found anywhere!  Click on the name of the convention to be taken to their website.  

December

28-30 IKKiCon VII (Austin, TX)

http://ikkicon.com/

January

5-6 North Texas Comic Book Show (Dallas, TX)

18-19 The Gray Ball (San Antonio, TX)

19 Eckman’s Toy Show (Live Oak, TX)

February

8-10 Ushicon 2013 (Round Rock, TX)

9 Texas Collectibles Expo (San Antonio, TX) 

9-10 Sci-Fi Expo (Irving, TX)

15-17 Con DFW XII (Addison, TX)

15-17 OwlCon XXXII (Houston, TX)

22-24 Furry Fiesta 2013: Time Travelers Ball (Addison, TX)

March

2-3 Staple! The Independent Media Expo (Austin, TX)

8-10 All-Con 2013 (Addison, TX)

15-17 RevelCon 24 (Houston, TX)

22-24 AggieCon 44 (College Station, TX)

23-24 South Texas Collectors Expo (Laredo, TX)

29-31 Anime Matsuri (The Woodlands, TX)

April

5-7 ChimeraCon 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

13 LeoCon 2013 (College Station, TX)

13-14 MAG Con 5 (New Caney, TX)

25-28 HAuNTcon 2013(Irving, TX)

26-28 Sun City Sci-Fi (El Paso, TX)

May

3-5 Dwarf-Con 2013 (Austin, TX)

3-5 Texas Frightmare Weekend (Dallas, TX)

17-19 Dallas Comic Con (Irving, TX)

17-19 Texicon (Fort Worth, TX)

23-26 GALACTICON III (Houston, TX)

24-26 Anime Odyssey 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

24-26 Comicpalooza (Houston, TX)

31-June 2 A-Kon 24 (Dallas, TX)

June

6-9 North Texas RPG Convention (Fort Worth, TX)

21-23 ApolloCon 2013 (Houston, TX)

28-30 Texas Comicon 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

July

5-7 Anime Overload (Austin, TX)

12-14 Delta H Con (Houston, TX)

26-27 Omnicon (McAllen, TX)

26-28 ArmadilloCon 35 (Austin, TX)

August

1-4 STARFLEET International Conference 2013 (Dallas, TX)

2-4 Space City Con (Houston, TX)

16-18 San Japan Sinister 6 (San Antonio, TX)

30-September 2 AnimeFest

29-September 2 Lone Star Con 3 (71st Worldcon) (San Antonio, TX)

September

21-22 South Texas Collectors Expo (Laredo, TX)

October

4-6 Fan Days (Irving, TX)

4-6 FenCon X (Addison, TX)

Realms Con (Corpus Christi, TX)

MonsterCon (San Antonio, TX)

Zombie Con 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

November

1-3 Oni-Con 2013 (Galveston, TX)

8-10 MillenniumCon 16 (Round Rock, TX)

22-24 WhoFest (Dallas, TX)

22-24 Wizard World Austin Comic Con (Austin, TX)

YuleCon (Fort Worth, TX)

The Convention Awareness Project - Texas listing is a free service provided for the benefit of conventions and convention goers.  All dates are as provided by the respective conventions' websites and are subject to change or cancellation without prior notice.  Conventions with no set date as of the publication of this article are featured in their typical month of production.  This list is for information purposes only.  I strongly recommend keeping track of the website of any conventions you may be interested in attending to watch for changes.  The JediCole Universe is not responsible for any cancellations or changes and has no direct association with or ownership of any of the events listed above.