SEATTLE—Emerald City Comic Con falls somewhere in the middle of the nation's nerd-convention spectrum. You won't find hotly anticipated film and TV premieres or modern, mega-huge celebrities, but the show still draws massive crowds of costumed nerds and geeks eager to pick through exclusive merch, attend compelling panels, and meet the likes of David Tennant, Felicia Day, and Wil Wheaton.

I made my way to this year's ECCC in downtown Seattle (making it the nation's most convenient comic convention for me, at the very least) and brought my camera to show you some of what you could expect.



Sam Machkovech



























































The above gallery focuses on attractions and merch options available at this year's ECCC, along with one photo from a panel: one of the four panels that Ars' own Annalee Newitz spoke at. This one in particular saw Newitz and her sci-fi peers talk about how to build fictional worlds in the future—including a nuanced look at how futuristic settings offer an opportunity for "critical distance," and how that differs from the idea of prophecy.

The below gallery, meanwhile, is but a tiny sampling of the cosplay on offer over the course of the show, ranging from the obvious to the niche.























































Listing image by Sam Machkovech