Minions Life at the Comics Convention

Ever wonder why there isn’t a game about being a minion? Most games have you running errands for random people all the time, but it is never said that you work for someone else. You battle the world of evil -or for it- and not once has someone mentioned this reality.

It gets even better when you realize who is a minion in stories. Link is Zelda’s minion. R2D2? Minion. Mario? Does he ever beat up Bowser in his own volition? No, he waits for the princess to be kidnapped, and then works to fetch her. If given the choice, Mario would wrather go play tennis or golf with King Bowser. Likely all the gold Mario collects is given to Peach as a reward. MMO’s have you constantly doing quests for some other guy, and not just you randomly deciding you want a root beer from the land of Azeroth.

A minions life is to make sure that everyone is taken care of, most especially the master. They do chores, grab lunch, heft heavy objects, and all in the name of someone else. Is it any wonder that the volunteers at the Emerald City Comic Con are called minions?

The green shirt, and small cape design on the back were everywhere. The minions worked hard to make sure everything was ok. They were all volunteers for the job, working under someone who was paid to make things work. I’m not saying the guy getting paid didn’t deserve it, I am saying the volunteers were obvious minions.

They spent a great deal of time making sure that lines were not too long.

The guy in that picture was pretty confused. I was taking a picture of him holding a sign, and sort of not doing what his job needed: For everyone to keep moving.

In fact, one woman on the outer side of the convention was simply yelling it.

“Keep moving! Do not Stop!” was what she yelled the entire time. I of course stopped to take a picture of her. Oh, and it took me three tries to get that picture.

This job has a very real reason for existence. The Cyanide and Happiness guys sat down to autograph works, and a line that cut half the room in half was formed. The minions worked quickly to get the line into three separate lines, so people could walk through. Then they began to talk to people at the back of the line about coming back later. This was all done within a few minutes of some random guys sitting down at a booth.

If it wasn’t for these minions, the entire ECCC stay would have been next to impossible to deal with. This is just the minions work for controlling lines, there were minions at booths chatting about random stuff. For example, I had a wonderful chat with the girl who ran the tabletop library.

She talked about how the library worked, and even showed me one of the games. She was not paid, and even signed up to be at this booth. This was her first year at the ECCC, but she was happy to be there.

Whole families sign up to be minions. In fact, when I was at the area for speaking with the sages of Whose Line Is It Anyway, I got to interview a minion.

She was there to show people how to get in line, and answer questions. In fact she was doing this as I was interviewing her. It wasn’t just her alone though, she was part of an entire family that signed up to help out at the convention. The rest of the family was at the floor below holding up signs, and telling people to keep moving.

They were the type of family that adds super heroes into nativities. Since there were more girls than boys, Wolverine had to change a bit. They were here for the love of comics, and conventions.

As a reward, the minions were given their own lounges at every building.

There were sandwiches and food prepared for them. This lounge was found in a quieter section of the convention, so the minions could talk and hang out in peace. I just realized that was a board game on the table.

There were also full passes to minions that volunteered enough time. The T-Shirt allowed them into places few others would see. It meant dealing with celebrities, and exhibitors. It also meant being let in early to check everything out before the giant crowds arrived.

After things were set up, and before opening, minions could be found playing the arcades, chatting with exhibitors, and hanging out. This was their chance to see, and enjoy everything without crowds. I just realized we should have given a few of them a chance to snag a T-Shirt from us.

There were times when the minions were plentiful, and things moved smoothly. Other times the minions were having to fix so much that other things fell through the cracks. One of the exhibitors I was chatting with said that she had several minions offer to help, and then suddenly had other people grab them for extra duties. It was during the busiest time of the convention, and the minions seemed stressed.

Although I have spoken mostly about the minions in green shirts, I should point out that these were not the only ones there. The Sheraton where my booth was located had janitors, food preparers, and their own minions. These minions dressed in suit and tie, and talked about electricity, or where to get supplies.
Every exhibit and booth had their own forms of minion. This included wives, daughters, and girlfriends to fix it mechanics and food runners. We all chatted with each other to make sure each booth was well taken care of.

As I said earlier, many videogames have you playing a minion without saying it outloud. Being a minion is hard work, and doesn’t get a lot of pay. Yet, whole families come to volunteer their time to see the shows. It takes hard work, and fast thinking to keep lines moving, and exhibitors happy. It also means meeting new friends, and talking about things you enjoy. There are needs for minions, and the show couldn’t be done without them. It takes a special type to be a minion, and we are thankful for them.