What You Should Know About Going to Your First Keystone Comic Con in Philadelphia

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Raise your hand if, when you think ‘Comic Con’, you get a mental image of Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. (Obviously I can’t see you, but I am assuming there are plenty of hands raised out there…) Now, I know it’s bad to generalize, but come on. I’ll admit that’s the vision I had before I actually went to Keystone Comic Con. (For clarification’s sake, there are a few different Cons that make their way through the City of Brotherly Love. The one I went to is Keystone Comic Con 2019.)

Before we go any further, you need to understand my personal level of familiarity with comic books, superheroes and all other things nerdy pop culture.

Do I read comic books? No. I can’t stand that the words aren’t in straight lines, like a normal book. (I have the same issue with graphic novels. Sorry not sorry.)

Do I love superheroes? If having a slightly unhealthy crush on Mark Ruffalo counts, then yes. Otherwise, I have a passing knowledge and have seen some of the movies. I can recognize most of the big characters by sight, except for Hawkeye and Falcon, which I always mix up. (Two birds too many, in my humble opinion…)

Do I like other nerdy pop culture things? Yes. I love Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. (Just in case you were wondering: Best Harry Potter Book is The Order of the Phoenix. Best Lord of the Rings Movie is The Two Towers. Best Star Wars Movie is Return of the Jedi.) Basically, I probably fall into some middle ground of not being an encyclopedic fan, but having some foundational knowledge.

Which gets us to the true question of this post – Is Comic Con for people like me?

Short Answer – Yes

(Again, remember, Keystone is a smaller event than the huge ones in NYC and San Diego, so experiences may differ. But, I imagine that they are at least somewhat comparable.)

For those, like me, who have no idea how these events work, let’s talk about the three main groupings of things to do at any given time – walk the exhibit hall, attend a panel, or participate in some sort of activity. The schedule is packed all day with simultaneous activity options, so the time just seems to melt away until six hours have magically gone by. (Seriously, we arrived a little after 10 AM and left around 4 PM.)

Keystone Comic Con Philadelphia – Exhibit Hall

Walking the exhibit hall was the part of Comic Con that I was originally the most skeptical about. I had envisioned rows and rows of booths full of comic books (or other things I don’t care about) staffed by men that made me slightly uncomfortable. (I’m not saying this was the kindest assumption, but I’m also not going to lie.) I was worried about getting bored quickly and not wanting to interact with anyone.

Thankfully, both of those closed-minded assumptions were wrong. There were some booths selling comics (which I skipped), but there were plenty of other types of booths with kind, friendly people working them. You could buy jewelry, toys, figures, books, games and too many other types of things to list. My personal favorite were the artists selling their own works. I loved talking to them about process and inspiration and they were so willing to explain it all, even if I couldn’t name the character in their piece.

There were also booths focused on all different kinds of fandoms and interests. I saw Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Superheroes, Harry Potter, Disney, Broadway, and plenty of others. Did I see more Superheroes and Anime booths than anything else? Probably, but not by an overwhelming amount. My only embarrassing slip-up was when I thought I understood the Star Wars joke being made on a t-shirt vendor’s product, only to make a fool out of myself when he had to explain it in an exasperated tone. So my advice is to keep your commentary to yourself. (Or don’t care what other people think of you and brush off their attitude. Your choice.)

Comic Con Philadelphia – Attend a Panel

All three days of Keystone were filled with panels featuring a range of speakers, from celebrities to creators to local organizations. We only attended one panel (more on that below), but there are plenty of options if panels are your thing. (I had more fun walking the exhibit hall than sitting listening to panel presentations.) We also didn’t attend one of the featured events, so we were just able to walk in and get a seat. I imagine for the more popular ones, you might need to wait in line beforehand.

Keystone Comic Con Philadelphia – Participate in Activities

Besides booths selling products, some booths are also interactive. I got my picture taken with Darth Vader at one. Alex sat on Thanos’ throne at another. Some have video game consoles set up. Others have space to play board games. Keystone also had a wrestling ring set up so some (allegedly) professional wrestlers could face off. I find wrestling to be disturbingly loud and more boring than comic book booths, but it was there for those who do care.

The most popular (and expensive) activity is to meet and greet with celebrities and other guests. Depending on which event you attend, prices and options obviously vary, but this is a huge part of all of these events. Originally, the fact that Tom Holland (aka Spider-Man) was doing a meet was what peaked our interest in attending. Once we found out the exurbanite prices to either take a photo or get an autograph (or both), we disregarded that plan. (I don’t know what the prices are at other events, but over $500 for a photo and autograph is not worth it to me. If it is worth it to you, more power to you.)

However, some research into a Tom Holland meet revealed that there was an even more important cultural figure meeting at Keystone Comic Con for a far more reasonable fee. Pay $30 to take a photo with Scott Patterson, aka Luke from Gilmore Girls? Absolutely. Sign me up.

Now, usually I am very skeptical of meet and greets. Meeting Jesse McCartney in 2014 made my inner preteen die of excitement and, while he was very nice, there wasn’t much time to actually talk to him and the staff refused to let me get my Dreamstreet CD signed. (Seriously, I have an original Dreamstreet demo and I couldn’t get it signed by their, then unknown, leader singer.) However, I haven’t been to one since.

(As I didn’t do any other celebrity meets at Keystone Comic Con, I hope that all of them are like this, but I can’t make that guarantee.)

Keystone Comic Con Philadelphia – Meet and Greet with Scott Patterson

If you’re familiar with Gilmore Girls (which you should be), then you already know all about Luke. If not, then just know that Luke is the grumpy diner owner secretly in love with super mom (and main character) Lorelai Gilmore. Scott did signings and meets all three days, but we went to the 11 AM signing on Saturday. Although the line was only about fifty people (or so), the excitement was palpable. Watching people walk away from him was my favorite part as you could see the genuine excitement written all over their faces.

Because I had only paid to get a picture with him, I wasn’t sure how much facetime I would actually get as chitchat usually happens while they are autographing. However, both he and the staff member working with him, were patient, kind and ensured everyone got time with him. Even those of us who only took pictures. (They even let us check the photo, which I really appreciated. Is there anything worse than paying for a photo only to look terrible in it? I think not.)

We chatted about coffee and how everyone wishes that he had a fake diner set up for photo ops. (Seriously, that would be the best idea ever.) He was congenial, laid back, and funny with everyone who approached the table and his Obama-like habit of giving robust answers to questions made for both a good meet and a good panel.

We also attended his panel later in the day and it once again proved what a nice guy he is and that he cares about the fan experience. He insisted on spending almost all of panel time answering questions and was openly comfortable with the fact that the questions would either relate to Gilmore Girls or coffee. (I imagine he probably gets asked the same bunch of questions at these type of events, but you would never know it by his demeanor.)

As previously mentioned, I can’t guarantee that all meets are like this, but Scott Patterson only made me like him (and love Gilmore Girls) more because of the kindness and care he showed towards all the fans.

A Note on Gender

Another thing I was nervous about was the potential ratio of men and women at this type of event. (Men can be creepy, sorry for the update.) Especially with the talk of sexism in gaming and other fandoms, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, there were plenty of other women there and I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any point. (Which is not to say that incidents don’t happen or should be overlooked – I’m just reporting my own experience.) I also was a happy to see a large sign at the entrance about Keystone taking respect and consent seriously and also that gender neutral bathrooms were clearly marked. Such markers set the expectations for the event and help to ensure that people know that inappropriate behavior won’t be tolerated.

Conclusion

As someone who was a skeptic about going to Keystone Comic Con, I can unequivocally say that I’m happy I went. I feel confident saying that a wide range of people attend and that, no matter who you are, you’re welcome there too. While this was not something that was originally on my list of new things to try during the summer, I’m glad that it became a surprise addition.