Your cousin does Schlock Mercenary?? That's one of the more famous web-comics out there!

Yeppers! Does this add to my geek cred?

It has been fun watching the evolution of Howard's strip. Early on it was an amateur effort, and frankly I didn't take the comic seriously. Well, as you can see by his present work, Howard is definitely a professional.

I would love for him to make an appearance at a local conference. If you know of a con that would be a good fit for him, pass it along.

Not only is Xenolith my cousin, but he's pretty much the ONLY cousin on my Dad's side that I've kept in touch with (owing, no doubt, to the fact that all the REST of my Dad's "nieces and nephews" were very nearly his own age instead of mine).

--Howard

You might as well add this to the "Geeky" category (but I'd stay away from "Creepy Japanese Things"...).

Point to Ponder: If one were to stay away from "Creepy Japanese Things" as a topic, could that be considered exclusive or elitist behavior? Or, *gasp*, potentially racist?

Is there even an SF con in Duluth? Despite my less-than-stellar experiences with a con in the Cities, I might be persuaded to drive up from Fairmont for one...especially if you have Howard there.

There is/was a game convention at UMD every year, but I have no idea if it's still going (spotty advertising every year). Collector's Connection at the mall has a collectables show a few times a year.
Unfortunatly, there's just not enough interest in Duluth to support a regular con of any good size. Most everyone up here is content to drive to msp to get their geek on.

So what is the best geekfest convention in the cities?

It depends on what you're looking for...
Personally, I go to MiniCon every year - it's about gaming, ALL gaming!
Other cons (that I know of) are:
MarsCon
Anime Detour
MiniCon
ConVergence
ConSpiracy
Arcana
FallCon
ConVivial
Minnesota Gamer's Con

Doh! Got my fave con wrong (that's what I get for posting right after getting up).
Con of the North is the gaming con! Duh!