Why I Love Comic Conventions

I love comic conventions! Megacon, Collective Con, Wasabi Con and Tallahassee Comic Con – I wish my wallet would permit me to go to these events more often. For a lot of people, going to comic conventions is either an experience or a performance, and I’ve been in both positions. As an experience, a convention is like a huge exploration into this crazy event and you know you’d better have a camera ready because you’ll want to take pictures. As a performance, comic conventions are mainly about cosplay. 

Cosplay is defined as dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game.

According to my own friends, cosplay is described as one of the most expensive hobbies someone can have – believe me, they’re right. The one time I cosplayed a character from a TV show I liked, I was dishing out money to get the look as spot-on as I could, and I was only paying for half of it. My friend who helped me, an experienced cosplayer, did a lot of the harder work such as wig styling, body paint and makeup to make me look perfect. All in all, that convention was a blast, but cosplay fees plus ticket costs and all the merchandise I ended up buying didn’t sum up to something I personally wanted to do again. However, simply going and seeing these passionate cosplayers put in the effort and the finances to visualize and create their amazing costumes with wigs, contacts and skin colors to embody their characters is amazing. Something about seeing them all confidently flaunt their looks at the con is like watching a huge crossover episode of all your favorite movie, book and video game characters all congregated in one huge place.

Comic conventions are an amalgamation of creative energy and opportunity. They’re opportunities to meet celebrities, talk to renowned artists and talk one-on-one with prestigious art universities as well as up-and-coming businesses and entrepreneurs. I’ve played arcade games designed by video game graphic design students from Full Sail University and watched people test out their university’s remarkable 3D virtual reality roaming experience. I’ve picked up Ringling University’s free comic book drawn and produced by the illustration students. Comic conventions are spaces for art and expression, and with so much talent overflowing the vendors’ booths, it’s hard to not become overwhelmed. 

At a huge convention like Megacon, my spending is capped at $100, but seeing as my favorite portion of the comic con is Artist’s Alley, it’s always hard to pick through all the options. When I was still new to cons, I was giddy to buy cool t-shirts, necklaces, wallets, purses, bows, swords and goggles, but I actually have a lot of those things now and a lot of those commodities all seem vaguely the same no matter which con I go to. So, what is a commodity unique to each vendor and always ever-changing? Art. The artists, in my opinion, are the most gleaming and wondrous part of the con. So many people to meet, so many art styles that grow better and better each year and so many choices! Originals, prints, stickers, badges, magnets, jewelry, plush dolls and figurines – there’s truly no end to the talent always displayed in the Artist’s Alley. A few of the best works from my all-time favorites, Chasing Artwork, Bon_appeteats and lisaveeee, are shown below.

I’ve amassed an enormous collection of artwork from various comic cons, big or small, and their many artists, ranging from the nervous first-time vendors to the artists who are so big they have their own panels. 

Conventions are expensive events that require a lot of planning and even more if you plan on cosplaying, but if you’ve never been to a comic convention before, go once. Go once and tell me you didn’t just see some of your favorite characters walking right next to you, tell me you didn’t just find the most perfect piece of art to hang in your dorm as soon as you get home. You might find yourself with a new hobby and an event to mark on your calendar year after year.

• art
• artists
• cosplay
• FSU