O Comic Con 2016 is in the books. For those of you who don’t know/aren’t in the Omaha metro area, this is only the second year for the event. It started strong last year, and it came back bigger and better this year. As before, I went all three days, and I found plenty there to warrant the trip each time.

For those unfamiliar with the area, O Comic Con isn’t actually in Omaha. It’s actually not even in Nebraska. The convention has been held both years just across the river from Omaha at The Mid America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and I absolutely love that venue for the event. There’s free parking, the building is a great fit, and the staff members are friendly.

The guest list was exciting, and pretty impressive for such a young convention. Wrestling fans who may have been excited to meet Mick Foley last year had a chance to meet Jack “The Snake” Roberts this year. Futurama fans who geeked out over meeting Billy West and Maurice LaMarche last year, had Lauren Tom to look forward to this time out. Also, TV stars like J. August Richards, Michael Coleman, Veronica Taylor, Trace Beaulieu, and Frank Conniff were there for photo ops, autograph signings, and some Q&A panels. In the future, I’d love to see more guests specifically from the world of comics, though that’s not to say we were without them. Phil Hester was a great guest, and those familiar with Sun Bros. Studios of the Kickstarter comics fame (Chinatown, Monkey Fist, Apocalypse Man) will be happy to hear the Sun brothers themselves came out. They had some great informative panel discussions, and were altogether friendly guys.

I was happy to see quite a bit of a growth on the expo floor this year. Not only were there a lot of great local (and not so local) artists whose work was well worth checking out, but there were a lot more comics for sale this year. I think specifically Legend Comics & Coffee (my favorite place in Omaha) and Krypton Comics brought a wider array of merchandise, and I was happy to see that. Between collectibles, vintage books, and trades, I’m a little surprised I got out of there with any money left.

When it comes to events like comics conventions, the crowd always has an impact on the feel of the event, and the fans who came out to share their various corners of geekdom were great. The people were friendly and enthusiastic, their costumes were creative and impressive in ways that made simply going to people-watch worth the price of admission. I already can’t wait until next year.