After a brief hiatus, Jim Jarman’s popular DEFCON sci-fi and comics conference will return to the convention scene in Tulsa next month. DEFCON 7 will open its doors to the public at noon on Friday, August 1 and close at 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Tulsa Convention Center. This year’s special celebrity guests will include Peter Mayhew (Star Wars’ Chewbacca), Igor Jijkine (Douchenko from the latest Indiana Jones movie), Johnny Bosch (the Black Power Ranger), Tom Morga (Jason/Michael Myers) and Admiral Twin and other bands - although this is just the short list of guests expected to attend this year’s event.
Jarman began the DEFCON series in 1994, with a show that boasted names like Archie Goodwin, Bart Sears and Adam Kubert. PTD caught up with Jarman in mid May and asked him about the origins of the DEFCON series.
“What prompted me to begin DEFCON was my own personal interest in comics, sci-fi and gaming,” Jarman said.
“I’d traveled to many states to attend conventions and had such a great time with all my friends and thought with my experience in the comic industry (Jarman is the owner of Tulsa’s Wizard’s Asylum comic and gaming shop) that I was ready to bring that experience to Tulsa.”
“During the 90s the comic craze was everywhere - but there was no large convention in the area. Comic fans were forced to drive or fly hundreds of miles before they could attend a show that had 1,000 people, let alone vendors, guests and events to match the crowds. Conventions had given me so much entertainment that I wanted to start my own convention, a major convention, a convention the area could look forward to and be proud to call their own.”
“Thousands of fans have loved DEFCON and I’m very pleased to be able to host this event again. I’m especially pleased that I am able to work with TCC promoting education not only from comics, but in the class room.” Tulsa Community College (TCC) is one of the major sponsors of this year’s show.
DEFCON 2 was held in 1995 and featured Walter Koenig, best known for his role as Chekov in the original Star Trek series and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. DEFCON 3, in September 1996, was headlined by Robert Beltran - Chakotay from Star Trek’s Voyager franchise - and sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson. DEFCON 4 featured appearances by Star Trek’s George Taki (Sulu) and writer Timothy Zahn.
For a couple of years, the format switched to MINICON, and focused on Anime art and Oriental culture - this year’s DEFCON marks the return of the larger, original format.
Jarman admitted that preparing for a show the size of DEFCON isn’t easy - that first convention in ‘94 was in planning for two years. This year, Jarman says the biggest challenge has been one of “temporal” logistics: “The hardest part is fitting everything into three days. Each year we listen to suggestions from the fans and try to include as many of them as possible. We have so many different events going on that three days and more than 70,000 square feet of space just doesn’t seem enough for everything.”
Considering Jarman’s ambitious plans for DEFCON 7, that isn’t hard to understand. Tucked into the Tulsa Convention Center will be nearly 100 vendors, two Anime rooms, two movie rooms with non-stop movies, venues for live bands, dance, rave and karaoke, art classes and contests, areas for playing card games, video games and LANs, role playing games and more. Events during the three-day convention will include several auctions (one for charity), costume contests, Casino Night - and did I mention it: more contests! DEFCON will also feature panel rooms and artist’s galleries for the show’s special guests, with Q & A and signings daily.
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