Excitement is in the air at Casa Isabella because Saintly Wife Barb and I are just a little over a week from experiencing the big fun and sheer joy of Pensacon 2022. My favorite convention takes place Friday, February 18, to Sunday, February 20.
The Pensacola Bay Center is the primary convention venue, a frankly magnificent building. That’s where you’ll find the circular Artists Alley, celebrity autographs and photo ops, the large vendor floor and ticketing. There are also lots of places to get food and drinks on the same level as the Artists Alley. I’ll be located on Artists Alley as well, but we’ll discuss that in a bit.
Pensacon is too big for just one building. Other official venues, used for panels and other presentations include the Rex Theatre, the Pensacola Cultural Center, Voices of Pensacola, UWF Historic Trust Bowden Building and De Luna Event Space.
Most official events and activities take place from 1-8pm Friday, 10am-6pm Saturday and 10am-5pm Sunday. To help you keep track, you can download the official Pensacon app on your smart phone. Trust me, it will come in handy.
Pensacon always has a large and varied guest list. As someone who is writing a book on shark movies, I’m especially looking forward to meeting Richard Dreyfuss and Jeffrey Kramer. The former is one of my favorite actors (with Jaws being but one of his many terrific movies) and the latter was the deputy in Jaws. Other guests include Steven Butler, Thom Zahler, Tara Reid, Wendy and Richard Pini, Jim Shooter, Adam-Troy Castro, Rob Paulsen, David Gerrold, Mike Grell, Donal Logue, Michael Golden, George Takei, Marti Kristen, Giancarlo Esposito, Mark Maddox, Jim Cummings, Kim Rhodes, Joey Fatone, Kelly Yates, John Barrowman, Judge Reinhold, John Rose Bowie and dozens more. If you want to meet all your favorites, make your plans well in advance. There’s so much to do and see at Pensacon.
As I mentioned above, I’ll have a table in Artists Alley. At this point, all I know for sure is I’ll be signing comic books and other things I’ve written or have been involved with. I charge a modest $10 per signature, $15 if you’ve brought someone from one of those grading companies to witness the signature.
Saintly Wife Barb are debating whether it’s cost-effective for me to bring items to sell. With DC Comics having foolishly allowed my Black Lightning trades to go out of print, the only other Isabella comic book I have in good supply is the exclusive limited edition, signed and numbered reprint of the first Misty Knight appearance. This came out a few years back and only 1500 copies were printed. I’ve been selling these for $10 each, but that price won’t remain in effect much longer.
Another possibility: the Funko Pop Black Lightning figures. I have the two complete sets I needed for myself and the Black Lightning archives. But I also have some additional figures I might bring to the convention to sell. I will likely be selling those at $25 each and will sign them for free.
If there’s something in particular you’re looking for, and I have extra copies beyond my file and archives copies, let me know. I’ll bring it to the convention. You can e-mail me with your requests.
Pensacon itself is all the reason one needs to come to Pensacola on that weekend, but the city itself offers more reasons. Especially in the area of dining.
Many of the area restaurants will offer themes that tie in with the Pensacon activities. I’ve dined in some pretty nice eateries that adopted themes like Harry Potter (without the transphobia), Suicide Squad, Star Wars and more.
If you’re flying in to Pensacola, from the moment you arrive at the Pensacola International Airport, you know the city loves Pensacon. For that weekend, it’s the Pensacola Intergalactic Airport and the gates are designated as Star Gates. Posters and signage related to Pensacon are plentiful. Talk about putting out the welcome mat.
A couple of final notes. If you are an editor, publisher, promoter, movie maker and so on who would like to meet with me to discuss my working with you, I’ll be happy to accommodate you. Please e-mail me to set this up.
The same thing applies to podcasters, YouTubers or anyone else who wants to interview me during the convention. If I can fit you into my schedule, I will.
I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at Pensacon 2022. I hope you’re among them.
That’s all for today. I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2022 Tony Isabella
Stay safe, Tony. I hope you all have a great time!
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