Hey fellow Nerds and Geeks in the Nether realm errrr I mean Netherlands. It's time to gather our forces and come together to celebrate all that we love at THE comic con in our small country ..... DUTCH COMIC CON (DCC). On March 25th and 26th, in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, the largest edition YET of Dutch Comic Con will be held. When I say large I do mean LARGE.Three Stages, Four halls filled with comic books, merchandise, collectibles, figurines, gaming, tv shows, special guests ... and a lot more that I can't come up with right now.  

Games, games ow and .. games

  Comicbooks they go together with games like PB&J or to keep it in Dutch terms a patatje mayo. Whether it's videogames or a tabletop games, it's there at the Dutch Comic Con.During the Dutch Comic Con, compete in the various tournaments in the Gaming Area. If you think you got what it takes, sign up for the Gaming Stage, Esports Tournaments, Video Games or Retro Games. If you think you can beat one of the pro players of the Eredivisie's E-Division, Bryan Hessing (Heracles), Lode de Boo (FC Utrecht), Daniel Kuipers (Willem II) and Danny Hazebroek (Excelsior) will be there the whole weekend to test your skills in 1 vs 1 battles. Get the highest score against one of them and you'll be going to a home match of their team.Even if you're not the competitive type, there is still stuff to do and see at the Gaming Area. Nintendo will be there with the new Nintendo Switch for you to play Zelda and 1-2 Switch on, as well as a bunch of 3DS games.Head over to the  Game Stage; you'll find Yarasky Gaming, attend a Q&A with the voices of the Assassin's Creed twin Jacob & Evie Frye, and get a crash course game development with a motion suit.Board games never grow old! At the Game Area there are tables set aside for 999 Games and Enigma Distribution. You'll find Star Wars Destiny, PotionExplosion, Star Realms, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and Yo-Gi-Oh! There is even a life size version of the game Camel Up. 

Love & Fashion

There is this perception by the general public that nerds and geek have a hard time finding love and well have a hard time finding their fashion sense as well.The Love Doctor is in, to assists in your match making. Sign up for the comic con speed date. Who knows you might be going home with someone to play co-op with.As for fashion, well most Con you to have a big hall filled with merchants, so you can get that t-shirt of your fave comic book character or that wig to add a final touch to your cosplay costume. During 2017 edition of Dutch Comic Con their adding something extra ... a catwalk. On this Catwalk you find the latest comic popculture inspired fashion. Something different than you Batman shirt. 

Going Back to College

 Want to learn new skills? Drop by DCC college. They'll teach you skills that are essential in life like .... lightsaber skills.Get trained in the various ways of the Jedi. Starting of with lightsaber control with ShiiCho *be Yoda* all the way to the lightsaber master skills of Mace Windu, Vaapad Style. That too active for you? Yeah, I get it, well just take a seat and attend the lecture on 'The Way of the Jedi'. Go on young Padawan, get to know the Force.When a galaxy far far away is not you're thing and you can always go to the Shire. On Sunday Phil Mathison will attend DCC.  He's the author of 'Tolkien in East Yorkshire 1917-1918'. Mathison will take you on a visual journey through the places that inspired Tolkien's Middle Earth.Being a geeky girl myself I'll probably be attending a talk by Sam Maggs about Geek Girldom. You know, maybe get some tips and tricks for the a lady living the nerdy life. Which is what I am doing to the fullest. -It's something a hear on a regular: 'Kim you háve got the be the Geekiest Nerd I know'. Ah gee uhm, Thanks, I guess?-.If you are more creative there are several workshops that show the latest cosplay making techniques as well as the newest development in 3D printing. 

A Comic Con's Bread & Butter

A Comic Con isn't a Comic Con without:

• Cosplay
• Comic Book (artists)
• Writers
• Stages with special guests
• Special screenings
• and Actors

DCC has all that too. There is a special Artist Alley, where you find international comic book artists like; Steve Scott (Batman, X-Men), Rodney Ramos (Marvel, DC), Gus Vazquez (X-Force, TMNT) a.o.  Also book authors like, Sam Maggs, Zen Cho, Vic James, my childhood favorite Paul van Loon, a.o. Next to the many cosplayers walking around, and entering the contests, there are cosplay groups present like; 501st Dutch Garrison, Ghostbusters Dutch Division, The Flying Dutch, Dutch Tardis. Updated info can be found right, here.Now on to a thing that kind of makes or breaks a Con for a lot of people the international guest (mainly actors). Their here, the whole weekend.

• Dirk Benedict (Face, The A-Team)
• Lennie James (Morgan, The Walking Dead)
• Sean Maguire (Once Upon A Time)
• Alexander Ludwig (Vikings)
• Gates McFadden (Star Trek)
• Ian McNeice (Doctor Who)
• Simon Fisher-Becker (Doctor Who, Harry Potter)
• Hugh Mitchell (Harry Potter)
• Virginia Hey (Farscape)
• Stefanie Joosten (Quiet, Metal Gear Solid V)
• Victoria Atkins (Evie Frye, Assassin's Creed Syndicate)
• Paul Amos (Jacob Frye, Assassin's Creed Syndicate)
• Jason Liebrecht
• Elizabeth Maxwell (Ghost in a Shell)

There are still some spots available at the Photobooth go here and reserve your spot before it's gone. 

Alright Already, just Go!

I think, I've written enough to convince you to get a ticker, for Saturday or Sunday or hey why not the whole weekend.Bring a big wad of cash, a duffle bag for the stuff you'll be getting, and your funloving self, and join your fellow geeks and nerd at the Dutch Comic Con on the 25th & 26th of March.We'll be there too! If you see us, come say hi, have a light hearted chat, tell us which house you are in (The Arcade team is a mix of Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor) or a discussion about your fave fandom. We'll be seeing ya!For more information and to buy your ticket to the Dutch Comic Con 2017 please visit their website: www.dutchcomiccon.com.