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'Seattle's just a great comic book city': Here's what you missed at Emerald City Comic Con 2022

caption: Philadelphia artist Lauren Walsh sells artwork at Emerald City Comic Con, including her happy Gelatinous Cube, Woubble.
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Philadelphia artist Lauren Walsh sells artwork at Emerald City Comic Con, including her happy Gelatinous Cube, Woubble.
Jason M Burrows for KUOW

Emerald City Comic Con brought thousands of fans, artists, creators and celebrities to the Seattle Convention Center over the weekend.

Soundside Producer Jason Burrows was there, and brings us this audio postcard.

Like countless other events, Emerald City Comic Con was forced to adapt to because of Covid.

In March 2020, the convention was postponed to later in the summer due to rising case numbers. The rescheduled in-person event was cancelled and a virtual event was held instead.

A smaller Emerald City Comic Con returned in December 2021, but now, the gathering is seeing attendance numbers almost at pre-pandemic levels.

It's a welcomed return for Canadian comic book writer Jim Zub.

"I have missed the energy. Seattle is a great city," Zub said. "The show's always so well done. And it's a really good balance between the general pop culture stuff, but with a nice comic book and art focus."

"Honestly, I just think Seattle is a great comic book city," Zub added. "They're into it. They like the books. Don't get me wrong, the movies are great, the TV shows, and all the pop culture related stuff is great. But I'm here for the comics. And so many people here in Seattle are too. They love the books. They want to talk about the specific stories and the art, and that is really special. As amazing as it is that this stuff goes into the wider pop culture sphere, it is great to still be making comics and have people appreciate those for their own medium."

The weekend was like a homecoming for many, but for others, it was their very first time in the Emerald City, like Brooklyn-based comic artist Sunny Sponder.

Sponder showcased some sugar-inspired craft creations at his booth .

"When I decided that I wanted to be an artist alley artist, I wrote down a list of everything I love," Sponder said. "And one of the lines was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so I had to figure out how to make art out my favorite cereal. I made these cinnamon pins."


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