Salt Lake Comic Con is the “Greatest Comic Con In The World”, according to Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee. After my wife and I attended our second SLCC last weekend I would have to agree with him. Sure the crowd was crazy (120,000+ fans for the three days, with 90,000+ for Saturday alone), but not unbearable and we did get to see all of the panels and vendors we wanted to.

As the third largest comic con in the country, Salt Lake Comic Con keeps getting bigger and better. SLCC 2014 had more celebrities (including Stan Lee, Hulk Hogan, Sam Witwer, Cary Elwes, Bruce Campbell, Danny Glover and Jon Heder this weekend) and panels (my favorites are obviously the Star Wars panels) than either of its two previous cons. And with a recent study by estately.com establishing Utah as the nerdiest state in the union Salt Lake Comic Con should only continue to grow.

Luckily, my wife and I pre-registered so when the doors opened we were able to go right in. We hit the vendor floor first to see if there were any must-haves before we went to some panels. I love the new Gentle Giant Jumbo Star Wars action figures and we did find a Boba Fett with the card signed by Jeremy Bulloch. My wife tried to convince me to spend the $175 to buy it, but in the end I just couldn’t do it. Some call me cheap. I call me fiscally responsible. After buying a few 3.75” action figures we decided to hit some panels.

Our first panel was with Sam Witwer moderated by Bryan Young from the Full Of Sith podcast. Sam talked about a variety of things, including his roles on Battlestar Galactica, Being Human, Smallville, and of course as Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Starkiller in The Force: Unleashed video game. He actually seemed genuinely excited to be in Salt Lake and was very appreciative of the fans.

One of the coolest things about Salt Lake Comic Con is the Kid Con section. It is meant for kids, but I think the adults have just as much fun there. Once again at this con we were able to see the Star Wars 501st Legion, the Lego Builders amazing Lego display, the R2-D2 Builders Club, and my sons got to hold some boa constrictors and tarantulas. New to this comic con were three Batmobiles, a Star Wars landspeeder, Han Solo frozen in carbonite, Superhero Training, and a Lord of the Rings stage complete with Smaug and Gollum.

During the Star Wars Roundtable panel my wife told me she wants to watch all six Star Wars movies again to get ready for Episode VII next year. Since she is barely a casual fan this was really exciting to me. But it got better during the Full Of Sith podcast live recording when my wife told me she thinks we need to go to Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim next year! I should have had to talk her into going, but she was trying to convince me. How could I say no? Salt Lake Comic Con creates miracle, I guess.

My wife, kids, and I really had a great time at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, and we can’t wait for next year’s, especially since Episode VII will only be a few months away. I’m also excited to go to Star Wars Celebration in April 2015. Thanks to Skywalking Through Neverland letting me recap SLCC 2014 and I hope to go more in depth in 2015.

About the Author

Ryder Waldron is a lifelong Star Wars and Disney fan. He uses Star Wars to help teach oral hygiene in his dental practice. He also enjoys listening to Skywalking Through Neverland.