I probably will say this every year I attend, but this year’s PAX East was my favorite one yet. The showfloor was excellent, with an amazing selection of the latest titles from both big name developers and indie up and comers. The tabletop and freeplay areas were expanded upon, the panels were enjoyable and entertaining.

Throughout the weekend, and really every PAX East, there’s a feeling of respect and community that I’ve never felt at any other convention. I’ve never made more friends at any other expo or con as I have at PAX East, and year after year I manage to reunite with old friends while making new ones. All of us who attend owe a great debt to those who dedicate their time and energy to making PAX the best it can be year in and year out, including the Penny Arcade staff and the Enforcers, the most dedicated, helpful group of volunteers I’ve ever come across.

I always get a feeling of sadness when I pack my bags, wave goodbye to the BCEC, and leave Boston, and while the PAX experience on the East coast may be over, the memories, souvenirs, beta keys, freebies, new friends, and new favorite games are all things we can connect with and experience everyday. We really bring PAX home with us. And there’s always PAX Prime in the fall.

I hope that those of you attended the convention enjoyed yourself as much as I did. Check out some photos from my time at PAX East after the jump.

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PAX East is a week and a half away and if you’re going to the convention now’s really the time to start planning what panels you’ll be attending, which booths you absolutely have to check out, and which musical guests you’ll be rocking out to at the nightly concerts. Luckily, there’s a nifty app called Guidebook, and the guys at Penny Arcade have released an entire digital guide for PAX East, so you’ll be able to plan your entire weekend right on your mobile devices.

Download the app via the appropriate app store and once you’re in, search for the PAX East 2012 guide. It has everything you’ll need to successfully survive PAX East: the entire schedule of panels, concerts, and tournaments, map of the area including restaurants and bars to check out, a full list of all the musical guests, exhibitors, and shuttle schedules to the various hotels and venues. Within the app, you’ll be able to design your own schedule for the convention, add to your “to-do” list, and track the #PAX hashtag on Twitter.

There’s even a section detailing the Boston Indie showcase, a fantastic bunch of games that everyone, attending the convention or not, should check out, since they’re all mobile based.

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One minute I was just arriving in Boston, and the next I was packing up my bags and saying goodbye to PAX East 2011. And what a weekend it was.

From sampling the finest in upcoming videogames, watching some amazing concerts, meeting and making new friends, and bonding with old ones, this convention has got to be the best weekend of my year. Penny Arcade really puts together an amazing show, and it’s amazing that they do it twice a year, once on this coast and then over on their home turf of Seattle.

Not only was this the best PAX East ever (In my opinion), it was also the biggest. Head hancho Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade said that this year’s PAX had 69,500 attendees, up from last year’s 52,290 at the much tinier Hynes Convention Center.

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The second annual PAX East is this weekend, and while badges may be 100% sold out for the convention, you’ll find everything you need to know right here, since the team at The Flickcast will be there to report the latest, greatest, and best in gaming. Last year the expo was incredible, and this year should be no exception.

Along with the show floor, panels, nightly concerts, and everything else going on at the convention center, one of the great things about PAX East is all the meet ups that go on. Here’s some things to look out for this weekend if you’re attending.

PAX East Stitch’n'Bitch

Along with all the videogamers, tabletop lovers, card gamers, and other nerdy-types, a lot of attendees at PAX East love to knit, crotchet, and craft. If you’re one of those people, head up to the Handheld Lounge on Level 1 of the expo hall on Saturday from 1-3:30 PM for some crafting, lounging, and friends! Bring a current project or feel free to start something new, or check out what everyone else is doing!

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It’s that time of year again when we all gather together to see our loved ones… that’s right. The Con season has begun. Whether it’s SXSW, Toy Fair, C2E2 or Comic Con in San Diego, if you are a reader (or writer) of the Flickcast, it’s likely you are going to end up at least one, if not all, of the Cons this season. Our first one up on the east coast is Toy Fair. Now while Toy Fair isn’t open to the general public, we made sure to get in and get a peek at some of the hottest new toys of the season.

We got to take a peek at the new models for the Walking Dead action figures alongside our friends from MTV Splashpage as the legendary Todd McFarlane himself explained how the zombie bodies will literally explode in the customer’s hands. We can’t wait to see the final versions in action.

There was a plethora of Green Lantern merchandise that we were unfortunately unable to snag pictures of as well as the brand new Thundercats line which is coming out soon. We were able to sneak a few pictures though of some of the Mezco Green Lantern products though.

The video game world was represented strong with Sonic The Hedgehog, Halo, Deus Ex, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy and Little Big Planet. Activision also announced to the world Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure for the Wii where toys and video games come together in a very interesting new way. Check back later this week for a full post including video of the product in action.

Check out all of our pics from Toy Fair below and keep checking back this week for more from the show (including an appearance on this week’s podcast discussing it with Matt and Chris)!

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Ever since E3, Lost in Shadow is one of those games that I just had to try for myself before I made any decisions. Luckily, I was able to fight the crowds at last weekend’s New York Comic Con and secure myself a few minutes with this intriguing side-scrolling adventure, which I surely but quickly became enamored with.

In Lost in Shadow, you play as the shadow of a young boy that has been separated from his body for unknown reasons. By manipulating the physical world using his companion, a sylph, players traverse through the shadow world solving puzzles, collecting “memories” (these basically serve as hit points), and defeating any shadow beasts that may lie in the boy’s path, all in order to climb the tower where the boy’s body lies waiting for his shadow to return.

This game is so impressive because it really shows off the Wii in a variety of ways. With an easy to use control scheme that doesn’t rely too much on motion control and gorgeous art design, this game makes a big impression right away. When I took over the controls and started running around the starting level, I never found myself fumbling over the controls or forgetting which button did what.

Overall, my short time with Lost in Shadow was enough to more than sell me on the game. Be sure to check back here at The Flickcast for updates about Lost in Shadow before its release on January 4th.

Last week in ‘Countdown to …’ The Flickcast talked with Melody Severns, a veteran skater with the L.A. Derby Dolls who has worked on ‘King of the Hill,’ both ’The Simpsons’ TV show and ‘Simpsons Movie’ as well as being the founder of GirlsDrawinGirls, a group of over 90 active female artists.

This week, we change things up a bit as we talk all things ‘W00tstock,’ the definitive geek variety show, with both Paul and Storm (The Internet, Da Vinci’s Notebook).

For decades, geeks were ostracized, picked on, laughed at and punished by the sun’s harmful UV rays. But there is only so long that a people can be kept down before they rise up against their oppressors; and, indeed, the dawn of the 21st century has seen the ascendancy of geeks and geek culture.

W00tstock celebrates nerds, with 3 hours of geek and music, and features television host/special-effects artist Adam Savage (MythBusters), actor/author/blogger Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stand By Me) and of course, music-comedy duo Paul and Storm. W00tstock 2.4 is set to storm San Diego Comic-Con, with a special off-site show Thursday the 22nd at the Gaslamp’s 4th and B.

We wanted to find out what the Con is like from Paul and Storm’s perspective, what are some of their likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself and what sort of surprises w00tstock has in store at this year’s SDCC 2010.

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Last week in ‘Countdown to …’ we launched a new Q&A format, exploring what San Diego Comic-Con is like for the typical exhibitor. You know, those hard-working and creative artists that manage to secure a booth every year? This week, The Flickcast sat down with Melody Severns, a veteran skater with the L.A. Derby Dolls who has worked on ‘King of the Hill,’ both  ’The Simpsons’ TV show and ‘Simpsons Movie’ as well as being the founder of GirlsDrawinGirls, a group of  over 90 active female artists.

The group provides collaborative projects for its artists (such as book collections, group art shows, and opportunities to participate in charity art events such as the Pasadena Chalk Festival), in addition to promoting each member’s individual artistic endeavors through cross-promotion and marketing prints, original artwork and other art-related merchandise. You can find Melody and many of the girls at booth #5429, or look them up in the official guide under ‘GirlsDrawinGirls.’

Without further ado, let’s find out what the Con is like from Melody’s perspective as an exhibitor, what are some of her likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself and what she looks forward to this year at SDCC 2010.

The Flickcast: San Diego Comic-Con 2010 is less than a month away, what are you and your artist associates doing to get prepared as an exhibitor?

Melody Severns: Right now we are currently waiting with great anticipation for the release of our new book, ‘GirlsDrawinGirls: Vol. 3: Sugar and Spice.’  The book will be released along with our opening reception on July 9 at the Animation Guild’s gallery in Burbank, CA.

The book will also premiere at comic con.  I’m really excited about it.  We got stunt woman, and actress, Zoe Bell to write the foreword, and I’m telling you, this looks like our best book yet!

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Make no mistake, the love for San Diego Comic-Con is strong with all of us here at The Flickcast. In fact, we’ll be covering the Con like no one’s business next month. And yet, as much fun and eye-candy as SDCC can offer the attendee, I wondered, what’s it like for the typical exhibitor? You know, those hard-working and creative artists that manage to secure a booth every year? I decided to find out.

This week, I sat down with Cutter Hays, artist and writer of the Mouse Knight series and perpetual Comic-Con exhibitor (please visit him at booth #I-2; check the official guide under “Mouse Knight”). I wanted to find out what the Con is like from his perspective, what are some of his likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself, and what he looks forward to this year.

The Flickcast: Comic-Con is nearly a month away, what are you doing to get prepared as an artist and an exhibitor?

Cutter Hays: Oh, you know, playing lots of WoW, sleeping 20 hours a day and getting it on with my 20 year-old girlfriend. Actually none of that is true. My girlfriend is 22. No, okay – actually, I’m incredibly busy, under the gun hardcore.

One month ago, a UK publisher signed my books (all of them, the entire Mouse Knight series), signed contracts even.  They were going to be doing a special limited run of 200 of each of the first two books, numbered and everything – they were going to say “2010 Comic-Con” on them for collectability.  Then, two weeks ago, they wrote to say they weren’t going to be doing any of it this year for some reason (they declined to say).

This left me and my agent in a very bad spot. Not enough time to do it ourselves.  Fairly certain that was some kind of break of contract, but maybe not.  Who cares?  They flaked hard, last minute, and now its up to us. We’re in a time crunch from hell to get those same special editions (minus the hard covers) printed in time for Con and at a huge cost to myself.

Sucks hard, but…whatever. Definitely not the first time publishers have broken their word, it’s just too bad that it’s the rule and not the exception.

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Well, we’ve had a good week, but things are finally calming down after last weekend’s PAX East convention. We’ve been bringing you coverage of the show since Monday with details on Nintendo’s newest hand-held device, our first impressions on the upcoming Puzzle Quest 2 game, some of our favorite games from the show, and some info on some great new technology coming up in the near future.

With that said, there’s only one more element of the con that we haven’t touched on, which happens to be everyone’s favorite part. I’m talking about Cosplayers, of course! And there was certainly no shortage of them at this year’s PAX East. Inspired by their favorite videogame badasses, the attendees at this con were definitely dressed to impress.

There were some goodies, such as this guy dressed as Nathan Fillion’s “Captain Hammer”, and some less inspired. Check them out after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for future con coverage coming up in 2010!

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One thing I can’t get enough of are comic book conventions. I started attending eight years ago and haven’t looked back. If  you’ve never been (and are at all interested in comics) I encourage you to check out at least one if it’s within a reasonable distance.  I promise, you won’t experience anything like it as they have an energy all their own.

This passed weekend Wizard World delivered their comic convention to Toronto, Canada.  It was an inaugural event here in Canada but there were no shortage of attendees. While the list of guests was not as huge as I would have liked, there were some interesting names.  Firefly’s Jewel Staite, Battlestar Galactica’s Kandyse McClure and Luciana Carro, Buck Roger’s Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, and Caprica’s own Magda Apanowicz.

A couple very notable appearances were made by Bob Clark, The legendary Gorn Captain from Star Trek and a personal favorite Doug Jones, best known for his portrayal of The Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Jones, well known for his very articulate portrayal of movement in the roles he takes on also played Abe Sapien in both Hellboy movies.

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This past weekend, the gaming community from Ontario to Hawaii descended upon the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA for PAX East 2010, the first Penny Arcade Expo on the East coast. PAX Prime, a mecca for all things gamer, has been held since 2004 in the home of Penny Arcade, Seattle WA, so this was the first chance for us this side of the Mississippi River to attend this epic experience.

And what an experience it was. In between concerts by Jonathan Coulton and MC Frontalot and panels with geek gods like Will Wheaton there were tabletop games, demos of huge upcoming titles like Skate 3, Red Dead Redemption, or Dungeons and Dragons tournaments.

Whether you were looking for someone to play Rock Band with or you just wanted to connect your Pokemon with someone else’s Pokewalker, there was never a shortage of things to do at PAX East. And while this was the convention’s debut to our coast, it felt like home already.

While the convention may be over, our coverage at The Flickcast is just beginning. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the convention, or you went but didn’t quite get to see everything, keep an eye out for our articles on PAX East 2010 including some epic cosplay snapshots, our favorite indie games, and some of the newest gaming tech you need to keep your eye on.