One-on-one with Iacon One's Malin Huffman

Many of the Transformers fans know about the bigger and more well known fan conventions such as Auto Assembly and BotCon. However, there are other conventions for Transformers fans to attend as well. One of the newer ones that will be taking place this year is Iacon One which is being put on by the Stasis Lock Group. The event is shaping up to be one of the best conventions of the year and to learn more I contacted Malin Huffman. Mr. Huffman was kind enough to agree to do an interview and fill us in on Iacon One. Here is my interview with Malin Huffman.

: Before I start with the question I would like to thank you Mr. Malin Huffman for agreeing to do this interview. I know you are a busy person and it means a lot to me that you were able to take some time out of your schedule to answer my questions. Thank you very much.

Malin Huffman: Thank you, for helping us get the word out about Iacon One.

: When and how did you become a fan of Transformers?

Malin Huffman: My interest dates back to 1984... my first Transformer was a (red) Bumblebee and that was pretty much it - I was hooked. As a child who loved robots, the toys were great, but what kept my interest and particularly rekindled it when Beast Wars came along were the memorable characters. There's no age limit on enjoying the TF mythology

: When and how did the Stasis Lock Group form?

Malin Huffman: The SLG was born specifically for the purpose of producing Iacon One. I wanted a name that sounded like a professional organization, perhaps a law firm or a trade organization, but with a wink and nod to fandom if you know what it means.

: Currently how many members belong to the Stasis Lock Group?

Malin Huffman: It's really me and Phil Zeman, the editor-in-chief and founder of ASM, (who have provided such great coverage of Toy Fair for collectors over the years.) Other friends have pitched in and lent support which has been invaluable - helping recruit guests, organize our art contest, provide graphics for the web site and advertising, etc.

: How did the Stasis Lock Group decide to put on the Iacon One Convention?

Malin Huffman: I had worked on BotCon/OTFCC in various capacities for several years, culminating with OTFCC 2004 when I managed quite a bit of the operations at the show. After that, I took a bit of a break from fandom, but Phil and I kept talking about doing some kind of fan project, and with the Beast Wars 10th anniversary, celebrating, and specifically a convention, felt right.

: How much of your personal time have you put into Iacon One?

Malin Huffman: It's a big time sink, definitely. The cliché 'labor of love' probably applies. Between work, music groups I'm involved with, and Iacon One, it's a busy year.

Lots of things about a convention take longer to come together than you ever think they will, or should. And there's plenty of cool ideas that just had to be shelved (for now, anyway) for various reasons.

: What can the fans expect at Iacon One?

Malin Huffman: First and foremost, Iacon One is a fan-driven event, a celebration. We're trying to make 'a show WE'd want to go to' - interesting guests covering different areas of fan interest, (including several we haven't announced yet!) Some obligatory 'cool stuff' fans can buy. Reasonable pricing, accessible timing and location.

And providing a venue where fans can get together and just - enjoy being fans. I think that's really important to keeping your interest in the hobby alive, especially if you're not around other fans much in day to day life.

: In your opinion how do you think Iacon One compares to other Transformers Conventions?

Malin Huffman: Well, we're trying to incorporate elements that have been well received in the past with our own new ideas. There's more different conventions out there now than ever before, and that's great for the fan community. There's room for variety. I think our plans are pretty ambitious, in a lot of ways I'd compare us to BotCon 2004 - a fan show as opposed to an official marketing show, with great guests and good organization.

: Do you see Iacon One as becoming an annual event? And if so why?

Malin Huffman: If the fans enjoy it and support the show (tell your friends!), it's definitely a possibility. I think there's a niche for the kind and scope of event that Iacon One represents.

We'd also like to do more specifically for charity. This year we have a charity auction and a portion of our general proceeds will be donated to the Hasbro Children's Hospital - but we'd like to do more, to be a fan organization/event that gives back to the community.

: In your opinion how have the fans reacted so far towards Iacon One?

Malin Huffman: In general, people have been very positive, very supportive. Hopefully that translates into attendance!

: There have already been a number of big announcements, including the announcements that Bob Budiansky and Venus Terzo as guest, concerning Iacon One. Are there any new big announcements concerning Iacon One in the near future that you can tell us about now or will we have to wait?

Malin Huffman: Definitely more announcements and details on the way in the coming weeks... some of it we've been holding off on revealing because it's more fun that way! A couple of things I'll mention here..

There will be a Saturday evening event after the main convention wraps up, featuring our Beast Wars guests (that's right, "guests" plural) to celebrate the BW 10th anniversary. Attendance will only be open to pre-registrants.

Something we've already announced, but I want to call out again, is our Beast Wars-themed convention exclusive souvenir accessory set. We've teamed up with unicron.com to produce this set with all new molded parts, designed from scratch, and I'm very excited about it. The accessories interact with Beast Wars toys, I've been examining samples, and I think every Beast Wars fan will want them! We'll be offering a sneak peek at the contents in the near future, so stay tuned...

: Once again thank you for doing this interview. I am looking forward to hearing more news about Iacon One. I am also looking forward to doing this again.

Malin Huffman: Any time. One last thing, a reminder, we're offering a discount on pre-registration for attendees and dealers through May 1, so sign up early at www.iaconone.com! We'll have a couple more pre-reg incentives, in addition to the Beast Wars event mentioned above, as a thank you for signing up in advance - it's really important, everything involved with a convention is costly, and the stronger the pre-registration response, the more cool guests and activities we can continue to work on adding between now and the convention dates. And with that, I'll close for now, but I hope to see lots of the Seibertron community at Iacon One!

View All Interviews