History teacher J.D. Sweet attended Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), held Thursday, March 2nd, through Sunday, March 5th. It was his fifth time. He is an avid comic collector, and was on the lookout for key issues of Silver Age comics, “Those in which there is a ‘first appearance’ or a major character dies,” he explained.

ECCC is the third largest comic convention in the country, only behind those of San Diego and New York. Last year, the con attracted 88,000 guests over four days. This year, it was expected to have even more. Celebrity guests included Stan Lee (Marvel), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), and Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things). There were also hundreds of comic guests participating in Artist Alley, who could make you custom, one-of-a-kind drawings.

Junior Skye Southern went to ECCC for the past three years, but sadly had to cancel her trip this year at the last minute. She especially liked to see all of the new cosplays. “The little kids dressing up are always my favorite,” she said, “as well as seeing your favorite characters doing mundane city people stuff.”

Southern’s entire family enjoys going to the con and they have a lot of good memories from it. One of her favorites is when her little brother saw a very detailed Batman cosplay in an elevator. “”My brother didn’t stop talking about it for at least a week, but I’ll admit, it was pretty awesome.”

Sweet liked meeting all the artists, too, and even having some of them recognize him from previous years, but his favorite memory was meeting Stan Lee last year.

This year was the 15th anniversary of ECCC. It was so packed, almost as bad as some halls at CK. Many cosplayers wearing unique costumes wandered around and took pictures with guests, The show floor was crowded with merchants selling comics, collectibles, and toys of all sorts. Panels were filled, with some having standing room only in the back, as actors and comic artists alike shared their secrets. People filed through photo op and autograph lines, barely even getting a chance to smile at their favorite celebrity.

“She patted me on the head…” said senior Bekah Arvila, referring to her brief encounter with Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.

Overall, the convention was a huge success, drawing more guests than last year, because of all of its amazing guests, panels, and activities. There are already plans for next year’s ECCC, from March 1st through 4th, 2018.