Outside, the rain is coming down
because, well, it's Seattle. Inside the Convention Center, the freaks
are out. This place is HUGE, I can only compare it to the comicons
I've been to in PDX, and this is at least double any of them.
The aisles are jammed right now Friday
at noonish, and there's still people trapped out in cars trying to
find parking.
There's Spider Man, and a female Thor,
and some Star Wars stormtroopers (because this isn't just about
comics)(or, let me get back to you on that idea)(that is, comics are
tied into so many movies and, for example, there is an on-going Star
Wars comic series, published by Dark Horse) that I'm not even sure
what 'comics' means to people any more. If you've seen the Batman and
Avengers movies, and loved them, does that make you a comics fans?
There's a panel about this, called What
We Mean When We Say “Comics” on Saturday.
A Captain America, and in separate
group, a female Captain American—a sort of sexier asian version.
Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Actually,
there are more than a few Poison Ivys (Ivies?) and Catwomen.
Interesting to wonder why.
Plus tons of nerds, male and female
alike, wearing superhero t-shirts—most iconically Batman and Green
Lantern.
There's a ten year old boy dressed as a
Predator, with his mom in fishnet stockings, dressed as a sexy mom.
A group of, I think, Game of Thrones
characters, the young women in a blonde wigs and long flowing gowns,
the man in—wait, maybe they're Lord of the Rings elves? Lady
Galadriel and crew?
Deadpool is popular, especially
(weirdly?) among young teens. Isn't he kind of too creepy and violent
for young teens. Or is that exactly why he's so popular with them? Or
because he's funny (? kinda?).
A young couple dressed as Battle Star
Galactica pilots (also an on-going comic series).
An ECCC staff member in little tight
black dress and fishnets because, if you're not allowed to wear a
costume on the job, you gotta at least still look fabulous.
But a lot of regular nerds, like me, in
jeans and t-shirts.
Another young couple dressed in
old-school Star Trek costumes—Spock and an asian Uhuru. Actually,
of all the Star Trek costumes, it warms my heart to see that most are
from the original series.
And Lara Croft.
Another Poison Ivy.
And the Harley Quinns! Why is she also
so popular? Is there something about being uncontrollably attracted
to a psychopathic boyfriend (the Joker) that all women can relate to?
And Rorshach, from the Watchmen. I've
seen three already. I'm glad to see he still resonates, meaning, I
hope, that an uncompromising attitude still resonates, and a belief
that the truth is important.
There are three (three!) Exibition
Halls, filled with booths, with la folle squeezing around each
other in between. Some booths are big, like the Dark Horse one,
featuring their logo and artwork looming over everything, which I'll
end up using as a landmark when trying to find my way around all
weekend.
Also, surprisingly (yet why should I be
surprised? It's a comic, just online) here's TheOatmeal.com's booth,
with lots of Blerch swag. He's got his business plan down: Offer free
online content, which is good and funny, and then offer merch for
sale based on it.
Also, at one booth, you can get a
fifteen minute massage from Deadpool.
And here's Jason, the owner of Floating
World comics in PDX, my local comics retailer, at a booth featuring
some indie comics that he publishes.
And a young teen girl dressed as a My
Little Pony, with a tail and purple horn. Make that two, here's a
pink one.
And lots of people dressed in steam
punk attire—leather top hats and bowlers for the guys, corsets and
skirts for the ladies, seemingly all of them with futuristic glasses.
And just, you know, young women wearing
wings.
Lots of bad guys. Two Face, more than a
few Jokers.
The whole Emerald City ComiCon is sold
out! First time ever, I'm told. How they determine this I don't know,
since a lot of the ComiCon is just walking around the Exhibit Hall
and buying shit. Maybe we've actually maxed out the number of people
allowed by the Fire Code?
Should we be here? Not far from
Seattle, the Osso Mud Slide has recently taken out a whole mountain
village—26 confirmed dead, 90 missing as of this morning (later
lowered to 30). isn't it weird to be here cosplaying while people are
dead? I don't know. Isn't it weird to read comics whiel out
government is officially occupying two countries and unofficially a
few others, and people are dying because of it? Is this too escapist?
one of my uneasinesses about comics in
general is creators' seeming unwillingness to take on contemporary
issues like this, though maybe those kinds of creations wouldn't
sell?
Another of my uneasinesses: this is a
pretty white bread event. There are some people of color, but not a
lot, and my first panel attendance, “Self Publishing” the room is
full of white folks, though at least there are people of all ages.
Plus some guy (I think—no boob bumps
visible) dressed (and completely covered) as some mechanized armored
warrior, though I' not even sure where it's from, though the time and
car put into the costume is amazing.
And Dr. Who makes appearances, in
various incarnations, the most popular being the one with the
multi-colored scarf.
This is 'costume play.' Or, rather,
“cosplay.” This is a thing. A huge thing. People get into this.
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