My dog eating an In N Out Double-Double

It's taken longer than our usual sedimentary pace to wrap up and reflect on this astounding convention. When you go to a convention a month, they start to blur together, but Mythos Con was a monument, and hopefully a milestone on a new road to Cthulhuoid hegemony.

From soup to nuts, this show was the dream and brainchild of Adam Niswander, with the bittersweet undertaste of a last wish. Adam's health has been fading, but he's worked like a man possessed to bring together the greatest gathering of Lovecraftian writers, editors, artists and fans in history. And for the most part, it came together beautifully, even if the latter group failed to show up in the numbers expected.

Mythos fandom is a rarefied sub-ghetto, but its passionate intensity has made small gatherings like Portland's Lovecraft Fest into magical events supercharged by the shared love of cosmic horror. Even if the con lacked the hoped-for masses of consumers––and there were a lot of factors keeping them away, from the economy and post-Xmas fatigue to the cost of the hotel and the fact that Arizona objectively sucks––the excitement was more than just contagious. It was inspiring and revelatory.

Panels spoke to the whole spectrum of Lovecraftian entertainment, from gaming and films to comics and high literary criticism. Scholarly titans like Robert Price and S.T. Joshi dropped old school weird knowledge, while cool kids Wilum Pugmire, Kelly Young, Peter Atkins and Ramsey Campbell kept it from feeling like school. We were thrilled to finally meet some of our much-cherished colleagues like Matt Cardin, Lois Gresh and Michael Cisco (whose readings should come with a Thorazine chaser) and very sad to miss friends who had to cancel, like Michael Shea and the inimitable Weston Ochse.

For us, Mythos Con was an acid test of our New Millennium Mythos line, and we think we passed. An early debut of our new book, The Womb Of Time by Brian Stableford, met with high praise and brisk sales. We sold almost everything we brought, and Adam and I got to hold an audience hostage in our first panel together. (Apologies to W. Paul Ganley, who had to play third wheel at our solipsistic love-feast.) We were delighted to initiate a strategic alliance with Arkham Bazaar, who should soon begin carrying Perilous Press titles. And we were proud to dedicate ourselves to doing whatever it takes to bring this convention back next year.

If you love the Cthulhu Mythos, you're probably a black sheep even in the fandom circles in your community. If, like us, you're frustrated by the obscurity of this thing of ours, there is now a slate of outstanding events that offer the chance to connect with the best of new Mythos fiction, and to take a hand in shaping its future. If events like Mythos Con are to continue––and Yog knows they deserve to––people need to get out and attend them.

And buy us drinks.