Nerds are taking over Seattle Convention Center March 6-8, 2025. Here are some highlights and things to know before you go to make the most out of your experience at Emerald City Comic Con.

Two Buildings.
The set up is changing once again. ECCC is utulizing both the Arch and Summit Buildings of Seattle Convention Center. The Arch Building is where you’ll go for big celebrities: Main Stage Panels, Celebrity Photo Ops, and Autographs. Summit Building is home to the Show Floor, which takes up two levels, Artist Alley, as well as panels and interactive events.

Main Stage Reservations.
Brand new this year for ECCC is Reservations for Main Stage panels. Starting February 18th, you’ll need to log in and pick what panels you’d like to attend. You must have a valid ticket attached to your account, and you cannot make reservations for multiple people. Popverse members get a three-hour head start on everyone else. VIP ticketholders don’t have to participate in this process, but you do have to be there at least 25 minutes before the panel starts or you’ll lose your spot. If you do secure reservations, make sure you’re there with plenty of time or you could lose your spot. If you don’t get a reservation, there will be a standby line to fill any remaining seats.

Activate your badge.
If your badge is shipped to you, activate it right away on the website listed on it. Save yourself time and do it before you go to the con. If you’re picking up your badge on site, they’ll tell you do activate your badge before you enter.

Celebrity Guests.
This year’s celebrity line-up features some great names. John Boyega is the headliner thus far. Some of the reunion panels include: Firefly (Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite, Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher) , Dragon Ball Z (Sean Schemmel, Justin Cook, Chris Sabat), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia), Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy), and Once Upon A Time (Lana Parrilla, Sean Maguire, Rebecca Mader), among many others.

Bookish Fun.
Clearly, literary events are some of my favorites. This year brings two big names with special events. TJ Klune will be celebrating his newest book with a ticketed brunch event Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Cassandra Clare is also doing a ticketed panel Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Both of those tickets include books. These two authors will be signing books throughout the weekend, but you’ll need to register for a free ticket to participate. There’s no date listed at this time for those registrations.

ECCC is bringing several other authors to the event. Some of the big names include Terry Brooks, Peter V. Brett, Chuck Wendig, Chuck Tingle, Kendare Blake, Silvia Moreno Garcia, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Hawley, and Travis Baldree. This is also a great opportunity to discover debut and newer authors at panels and their subsequent signings at Third Place Bookstore in the Writer’s Block.

Other bookish panels to look for include the return of Battle of the Tropes, which is always a great time, but I might be a little bit biased since I’ve hosted it for the last couple years, and a new one I’m trying out, Warrior Women of Fiction. Emerald City will also host its first ever poetry slam.

ECCC Prom.
This year’s theme is grunge, so break out the flannel and get ready to rock the night away. Emerald City is partnering with 107.7 The End to celebrate Seattle being the birthplace of grunge with live music from Negative Creep (Nirvana Tribute), Outshined (Tribute to Chris Cornell & Soundgarden), and Jar of Flies (the ultimate Alice In Chains experience). It runs from 8-11 p.m in Ballroom 2 on Level 5 of Summit Building. A valid Saturday ticket is required to attend, as well as guests must be at least 18 years old.

Get a tattoo.
Flaunt your fandom permanently by heading over to the Tattoo Pavillion. This area is run by Marc Draven, who is the first tattoo artist licensed by Lucasfilm LTD and he was endorsed by the one and only Marvel legend, Stan Lee.

Cosplay Central Crown Championship.
You’ll see a lot of cosplays running around ECCC, but if you want to see the best, head to the Cosplay Central Crown Championships Saturday night on the Main Stage. It runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m., with cosplayers competing for a spot at the USA Final.

This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. ECCC 2024 featured 900+ panels over the four-day convention, and drew 90,000 fans.

What are you most excited for in 2025?

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