Armageddon
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Armageddon

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“We’ve been going for eight years now. We were the first event of this size and this type in Melbourne,” explains Armageddon director and general geek-stuff lover, Scott Liston. Since its first expo Armageddon has grown an illustrious reputation as a convention that bears minor resemblances to Supanova and Oz Comic-Conwith its heavy sci-fi guest list, but with a twist: it’s more fan-orientated. “[When] all the other events started to pop-up, I took a step back, looked at everything and thought: ‘You know what? The shows need to be different. There’s no use in us copying each other and doing the same stuff.’”

 

“So I started looking at what type of show would I would to attend as a fan. What do I want to see? What am I into? And, you know, I’m into everything,” adds Liston jokingly, later explaining how his taste ranges from Star Wars to Marvel comics and to Superman and Doctor Who. “What do I want to hear about? What are the discussions that I want to [listen to]?” With these questions in mind, Liston realised what he really wanted from Armageddon was a convention that wasn’t wholly guest-centric, a convention that focused on the fans, just like his con-going days.

 

“I used to be an attendee at conventions,” says Liston, detailing his experiences with nostalgic charm. “Events like this [Armageddon, Supanova, etc]  have only been around 12 years. In Australia, there wasn’t anything prior to that. It was all one-day conventions dedicated to Star Wars or Doctor Who, etc. [Though] they’re a lot more personal and enjoyable,” if you’re a hardcore fan, Liston noted that they weren’t that inclusive. “Something like Armageddon is about including everybody into it and nurturing the next generation of fans. It isn’t about the [just] the celebrity guests. It’s about fans coming together and enjoying themselves, learning something and having fun.”

 

This notion was the principle behind the foundation of the Fan Stage at Armageddon. A literal platform that allows fans and new geeks to discuss and share their ideas and knowledge about all things con-going. Whether this is through Melbourne Costume Group’s panel Costuming 101: Whats it all about?, where we hope they divulge the secrets behind their sublime costumes, or Doctor Who, Star Trek and Star Wars fans battling it off for the title of most-knowledgeable in The Fan Club Trivia Challenge.

 

“It’s all [informative entertainment] panels, fan club panels, etc,” explains the vehement Star Wars fan. “A lot of exhibitors are giving panels in their areas of expertise. Millennium Collectables are doing one on how to look after your autographs [because] the celebrity guests are there [and] people are buying their autographs – what do they do with them? Do they know how to look after these things that they’ve bought? Do they know to maintain their value? [Because], as you know, autographs are a big business worldwide.”

 

Armageddon will also include an introduction to the comics universe with Fan Panel Comics: Where do I start? Four of Australia’s biggest comic book retailers, All Star Comics, Classic Comics, Gifts for the Geek and Kings Comics, will host it. It will be the second year that the panel will run, considering its appeal to all attendees, regardless of their comic book experience.

 

“They’ll talk about what’s the latest good read,” and explain where to start in the Batman series because “75-years-worth [of comics] can be a bit daunting.” Not only that, but some of the old back issues can fetch up to $75 or more per issue. That’s $2.50 per page. You don’t even pay that much when photocopying colour A4 at Officeworks; and you can’t expect a beginner comic book reader to pay that much. “People ask: ‘Do I have to start at the start?’,” continues Liston. “’No you don’t’ and they will chat about that sort of thing.”

 

Armageddon goes one step beyond, understanding the banality of long lines and waiting for autographs and photos – Armageddon are the only even that pre-sales their autograph and photo tokens, helping the expo run more smoothly for attendees. “The reason we went down that track is one: people can’t forge tokens, cause that is an issue in the industry, and [two:] it just eliminated the lines on site.”

 

BY AVRILLE BYLOK-COLLARD