2026.04.13: Nostalgia Con... Was It Worth It?
this was my first time attending, and short answer: no, it was not. i partially assisted my friend who vended there and they barely made table. the convention was riddled with dropshipping and entirely markets itself for autograph-shopping.
the venue itself, while being one of the best buildings you could hold a convention at in houston, was weirdly cramped and pushed all the way to the very end of the hall where you had to enter and exit through 2 small doors. if you've never seen the george r. brown convention center, there's usually a 9 foot roller door to easily transport trucks, crates, or hefty luggage through. most events like comic palooza and anime matsuri will take advantage of this, but instead those spaces were reserved for the 3 other events that were held on the same weekend. it's like it's trying to hide that it even exists, or like the reservation was last minute.
my theory is that they blew their budget flying in big names and everything else such as the vendor choices and yardspace. that's probably why there's vendors selling home decor featuring generative ai back to back.
i can't in my right mind recommend going even as an attendee, as it runs short on cosplayer/enthusiast presence or paneling. you'll be bored for all 3 days amongst families just looking to burn the day.
while the convention itself was about only good to get my steps in, i still made my own fun. i took pictures as jax because george r. brown has some of the nicest skylights for photography. i met sean chiplock as well, the guy who voices kiyotaka ishimaru and shin from dorohedoro! oh, and kinger i guess.
