KamCon - Re-capping a first-ever convention appearance

Let me start with a little background here. I bought my first comic book when I was 11 years old. I used money that was supposed to buy lunch at a track & field event, and instead went across the street to a pharmacy and bought X-Men (90's Blue Team) issue 9 from a spinning rack. That was the beginning of my fandom. I never learned what a comic-con was until I was in my late teens... and I was much older than that when I finally attended my first one. That milestone occurred in Victoria, BC when a friend invited me to one to help him run his table for his self-produced comic. I was already deep into my career with the Navy then. From that day, I was hooked. I loved conventions. I loved the atmosphere, the people, the sights, the merchandise, and most importantly: the creators.

I dreamt for years of being behind my own table at a convention. I thought when I was in school for Concept Art with VANAS, I was on my way. But alas, I just wasn't good enough to make the cut in the industry. So I turned to writing. And 2024 was my year. KamCon was the venue. Milestone achieved.

The doors opened on Friday October 4th, and I wheeled in two big plastic totes on a dolly. I located my table, a six foot plastic one with two comfortable gray chairs, and I went to work setting everything up. KamCon is a small but steadily growing convention aimed at the Table-Top Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) community, as well as board games, video games, pop-culture, etc. There were two authors in the Artist Alley areas: Evan Parrott, and myself. We were side by side, and quickly became friends on Friday night. We talked at length about our work, our journey, our experiences, and more... and every time we stated something, the other would reply "I do that too!"

Soon the doors opened to the public and people started flying in. Friday was much busier than the organizers intended, but it was sure welcome. A steady line of people stopped to chat, look at books, and take one of the free teaser handouts I created for Cloudbreakers: Vallen. But sales were slow, or not at all. I decided that was likely due to hesitation from people not wanting to spend much money on their first day, and turned my attention to my secondary reason for being at the convention as the crowds started to slow.

Part of what makes KamCon amazing is their "learn to play" area where people familiar with TTRPGs can volunteer to run games for the public to try. That's how I got to know the organizers and made a name for myself with them in 2023. I am a huge fan of the Fallout franchise from Bethesda, and Modiphius Entertainment in the UK makes a TTRPG version of the game. I had learned to play it years ago in Victoria, so I volunteered in '23 to run games. To do so, and differentiate myself a bit, I created a customized setting for my players by attempting to answer one of my favourite questions since discovering the games: what happened to Canada?

In Fallout, the world has been annihilated by nuclear war and the survivors eke out a desperate existence among the wastelands of America, contending with psycho survivors and irradiated creatures and monsters. But all the games are set in the USA. So... a quick google map, some Photoshop work, and a lot of creativity later? Fallout: The City of Two Rivers was born! Fast forward to 2024, and even though I was manning a table for my books, I was also running the Fallout game again. This year, I expanded the lore immensely, added new creatures and new factions, and away we went. The admittedly insane schedule for the weekend looked like this:

• Friday 4th, Table from 5pm to 7pm. Fallout game from 7pm to 11:30pm.

• Saturday 5th, Table from 9am to 7pm. Fallout game from 8pm to 11:30pm.

• Sunday 6th, Table from 9am to 5pm. Close of convention.

Was it long days? Yes. Absolutely. Do I regret it? No. Absolutely not. I made new friends and I now have three new books signed by their authors to add to my library. I bought incredible artwork from talented artists. I bought a wicked KamCon branded baseball jersey and had the artist that designed the Cthulu logo on it sign the shirt. I bought an absolutely insane dice tower that I am currently painting to look like Nightcoat from Legend of the Sunlight Prince. And most importantly... I received probably the most moving compliment ever when a player who sat in on my Fallout game on Friday brought his wife by to meet me on Saturday. The conversation went like this:

Attendee - "Hon! This is him. This is the Fallout guy!"

Me - "The Fallout guy! Haha. Awesome. Hi, I'm Kenton." (shaking her hand)

Attendee Wife - "Oh man. It's awesome to meet you! He hasn't shut up about you since he got home. Sounds like your game was amazing! We both love Fallout."

Me - "Awesome! I'm glad you had fun. Thanks! That means a lot."

Attendee - "Dude... seriously. Me and all my friends have been calling you the Matt Mercer of Fallout."

And that was where my jaw dropped.

For those unaware... Matt Mercer is a highly successful voice actor and the renowned Dungeon Master of Critical Role, the insanely popular streamed Dungeons and Dragons group whose campaign became the story behind the Amazon Prime animated series The Legend of Vox Machina. I was floored by that compliment. I almost want to have it tattooed on my chest! After they left, I had to explain my game to my new friend Evan (the other author) and then demonstrate a range of the character voices I used in the campaign that likely earned me that moniker. What a blast.

On Sunday night I proudly unloaded my gear and played show and tell with my family. The whole weekend was an absolute whirlwind, and I would not have traded it for anything. I achieved a milestone in my life and my journey with sharing my creativity with the world. I made new friends. I made a name for myself. And I slept until 10am on Monday. I didn't sell enough books to recoup my costs, but for a first convention with a relatively unknown name, I have to say it was a rousing success. I learned important lessons, and next time will be bigger and better.

Thank you, KamCon. Thank you Kamloops. Thank every single one of you in my life who believed in me, cheered me on, supported me, came to see me, bought my books, and more. This is only the beginning.