Dragon Con’s lifetime membership program cost: $250 in 1993, now $4,500

Credit: COURTESY

Credit: COURTESY

Now 51, the veterinary practice manager plans to return yet again to Dragon Con this Labor Day weekend with several cosplay outfits planned including Florence Pugh’s cultist character in the 2019 horror movie “Midsommar”; Gold Dust Woman, an ethereal made-up superhero character based on the Fleetwood Mac song; and a crew member from the quirky 2004 Wes Anderson cult classic “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.”

“It’s always such a blast,” Bateman said. “I look forward to it every year.”

Bateman is one of almost 1,200 people over the past three decades to purchase an Eternal membership, guaranteeing free registration for as long as they are alive and Dragon Con exists. (The membership is not transferable but adults can purchase them for minors, which has happened about 20 times.)

About 600 of the Eternals attended Dragon Con last year, representing less than 1% of 72,000 attendees.

“We initially looked at it as a way to build ambassadors who could promote the show,” said Pat Henry, one of the original co-founders of Dragon Con, which started in 1987.

Credit: 1993 ADVERTISE

Credit: 1993 ADVERTISE

The first 50 Eternal memberships were handed out for free to friends and family of the cofounders. Harry Wise was the first person to actually purchase one in 1993 for the 1994 Dragon Con. Wise declined to comment.

Sid Kuhn, the sixth person to purchase an Eternal membership, said he has met Wise a few times over the years: “He’s a super cool guy, but pretty reserved.”

Dragon Con doesn’t heavily advertise Eternals. “Word-of-mouth does a great job,” said executive director Rachel Reeves. “We have some very vocal and knowledgeable Eternals that do a lot of education on their own. It’s always up for sale on the website so it isn’t a secret, but we let fans decide when and if it is right for them.”

Since 1993, the cost of an Eternal membership has gone up significantly faster than inflation. With inflation, that $250 investment would be $560 today. Instead, the cost is eight times that amount today at $4,500.

But the popularity of the Eternal membership has not waned. That’s in part because Dragon Con itself, which drew a mere 8,000 people in 1993, has grown exponentially. It has more topic tracks, more celebrities and more parties swallowing a massive portion of hotel real estate in downtown Atlanta than ever before.

Credit: DRAGPOMC

Credit: DRAGPOMC

“The program isn’t set up to be a profit center,” Henry said. “We only raise the price when it becomes too popular. We don’t want it to get too big.”

The last price increase was in 2022 from $4,000 to $4,500. Dragon Con has sold 62 new memberships since then.

Zan Bowden, who calls herself “Eternal Zan” and dons a special tiara with that nickname to every Dragon Con, calculated that she paid off her 2006 $500 Eternal membership in 2015 and has now saved more than $1,000.

Ultimately, the financial savings are not really a major part of the equation, Bowden said, because she can easily spend 10 times the entry fee any given year on travel, hotel room, food and sundry items. (The early advance entry fee this year was only $115. A five-day pass goes for $175, with extra fees for most workshops and some other events.)

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Dragon Con has always prided itself on its egalitarian spirit. So the perks Eternals receive are relatively modest.

Back in the 1990s and 2000s, registration lines on opening day tended to drag on for hours so Eternals were able to get their badges via a fast-moving VIP line. But the registration system has become far more efficient in recent years, so that benefit is less of a draw now, Bowden said.

Dragon Con also organizes a private party for Eternals on Thursday night with free food and drink that draws 50 to 100 people including the occasional celebrity like Garrett Wang of “Star Trek: Voyager,” Virginia Hey from “Farscape” and Joey Fatone of NSYNC fame.

Credit: ZAN BOWDEN

Credit: ZAN BOWDEN

Yet Eternals receive no special VIP access to panels, the Walk of Fame or any other event. And while the Eternal badge used to feature a specialribbon, the new version is “more subtle,” Bateman said, “and doesn’t make a huge impact.”

Gary Holbrook, a 45-year-old Athens resident who purchased an Eternal membership in 2013 for $2,000, said it’s the camaraderie among Eternals that matters, not any particular perk.

“I love that they try to not to make this a first class/second class citizen thing,” he said.

For Bateman, who has been to nearly every Dragon Con and has saved nearly all her badges from years past, “it has a certain cache to it. I know it’s silly, but it makes me feel better. I get all this respect and regard.”

And she plans to keep attending Dragon Con as long as she is physically able.

“Even if I die,” Bateman said,” I expect people to carry my picture around and mention my name. I will haunt the con forever!”

If you go

Dragon Con, Thursday, Aug. 28-Monday, Sept. 1. 5 p.m. Thursday-5 p.m. Monday. One-day passes start at $35, five-day passes are $175, several locations downtown including AmericasMart, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and the Courtland Grand Hotel, dragoncon.org