Starcom 2016
It’s summer time, so that means it’s time for conventions! Just like last year, we had the chance to check out Starcom for their second edition this year. Starcom aims to provide a day where you can take a breath and relax, and slowly stroll through all the merchandise. The focus of Starcom is mainly Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Comics, and it took place in the International Convention Center in Ghent, Belgium.
From the start of the convention it was already clear that it was bigger and busier than last year. A lot of people were standing in line, and it also looked like more (good) cosplayers were present than last year. There was nice music playing and there were also some iconic cars displayed like KITT, The A-Team Van and even Bumblebee.
The convention floor itself was quite a bit bigger than last year. Last year there were two main rooms, but this year it got expanded quite a bit to offer more dealer stands and sitting opportunity. Also a big plus was that every activity happened on premise. Last year, a couple of events took place in another building than the convention floor and this wasn’t announced very good, so not a lot of people knew about it. Now, there was a special room with a nice stage and a bar that hosted all the events like geek comedy, the cosplay competition and even some adult events like superhero burlesque and hentai dub.
As far as the dealers goes, there was a fairly good variety in merchandise. There were a lot of comics, retro games, Funko Pop figures but also some more specialized merchandise like taxidermy, American candy and Star Wars light sabers. All in all the offer of vendors was bigger than last year and it varied quite a bit more, which is of course positive for people who don’t really know what they’re looking for.
Just like last year, food accommodations were also present. There was a pizza stand outside (even though this probably wasn’t that hygienic to eat because the ingredients were out in the hot sun all day…) and a bar inside where you could buy sandwiches, hot dogs and some pastries. There was also a nice variety of drinks and beer which can be very refreshing on a hot day.
As expected, there was also a gaming zone which provided some nice distractions from all of the dealers. Here you could play some iconic games like Tekken, Street Fighter or Mario, and there were even some retro arcade machines present where you could play a game.
Like we said, this time Starcom had a separate room and stage for their events. This provided a very nice separation from convention floor and event floor. There were also quite a bit more events than last year, almost the whole day was filled with stuff to see and do there. There was a Star Wars Afterparty, a podcast by a Belgian comedian, a Q&A session with Ewoks, a live performance by Sabrepulse, open mic geek comedy, cosplay contest and another live performance by Wake Self. Then it was time for the adult events (which by the way, they didn’t check for age even though it explicitly said 18+). There was a superhero themed Burlesque show, a Q&A with Toshio Maeda (an erotic manga artist) and then a hentai lip dub panel, which sounds as weird as it is.
Conclusion
Starcom 2016 was a big hit in our books this year. The advice and remarks we gave last year were followed up and taken care of nicely, like having all events on-premise and offering more events altogether. There was a good balance between dealers, relaxation and gaming, and you could also go outside to relax in the beautiful park and enjoy all of the cosplays outdoors.
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