Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 14, 2014 19:51:43 GMT -6
The one-day Allentown (Pennyslvania) Comic Con drew in 4,000 visitors this past weekend, including a sizable cadre of cosplayers.
articles.mcall.com/2014-07-12/news/mc-allentown-comic-con-20140712_1_power-ranger-comics-costumes
Mandalorians join Power Ranger, Doctor Who at Allentown Comic Con
Mandalorians, Power Ranger, Doctor Who come to Comic Con.
Meet the Mandalorians.
Few but the most devoted "Star Wars" fans have likely heard of the fictional society of like-minded intergalactic nomads, who induct interstellar beings of all shapes and sizes into tight-knit family groups called clans.
They simply lack Darth Vader's star power.
But to devotees like Bob Crissman, 37, his son Austin, 16, and daughter Tara, 13, of Binghamton, N.Y., the Mandalorians they dressed up to portray reflect the community of comic and costume enthusiasts who flocked to the Great Allentown Comic Con at Merchants Square Mall on Saturday.
It's a safe place where people who share a love of comics and dressing up as their favorite characters can come together and show off their handiwork and admire the work of others without getting funny looks.
"It's an escape from everyday life," Crissman said. "We all want to be superheroes and this is a way of personifying that."
Crissman and his family, who have traveled to comics events up and down the East Coast, put several hundred dollars into each of their highly detailed homemade costumes. Austin Crissman said he gets a thrill every time a little kid gapes and points with glee at his family's outfits.
The day-long Allentown Comic Con featured table upon table of comic book collections, comic-inspired art, costumes and costume-related accessories, graphic novels, action figures and other gear prized by comics and costume aficionados as well as celebrity appearances and seminars.
Turnout was heavy. Organizer Christopher D. Wertz estimated the crowd to be at least 4,000. Parking was tight and throughout the morning a line of at least 100 attendees waiting for admission snaked down the sidewalk and into the Merchants Square parking lot.
Some were drawn by nostalgia, he said. Saturday's convention included an appearance by one of the original actors from the "Power Rangers" television show, for example. Others are comics connoisseurs or fans of the art form.
"For some it's about being themselves," he said.
The costumed included groups of teens portraying favorite Anime and graphic novel characters, middle-age hobbyists showing off their Doctor Who gear and young couples such as Joclyn Holman, 19, and Hunter Staehly, 20, who dressed as Lt. Surge and Misty from Pokemon.
"It's something we can bond over and not feel like little nerds together," said Holman, of Abington Township, Montgomery County.
The costumes ranged from revealing, skin-tight bodysuits to heavily layered suits of armor whose wearers looked uncomfortably hot standing in line to get in.
While less experienced than the Crissmans, Kirk and Jennifer Disla of Reading also made the event a family affair Saturday. They're not new to costumes or superheroes. They're planning to renew their vows later this year in Brooklyn, N.Y., at a "cosplay" ceremony in which all the guests have been asked to come fully dressed.
But Saturday, they were joined by son Kolin, 9, who dressed as Kid Flash to go with Kirk's Flash costume and Jennifer's Raven outfit.
Now they're all hooked.
"I just got up and said, 'I want to go this year,' " Kirk Disla said. "Now I'm going to try to snag tickets to the New York one."
scott.kraus@mcall.com
Twitter @skraus
610-820-6745
articles.mcall.com/2014-07-12/news/mc-allentown-comic-con-20140712_1_power-ranger-comics-costumes
Mandalorians join Power Ranger, Doctor Who at Allentown Comic Con
Mandalorians, Power Ranger, Doctor Who come to Comic Con.
Meet the Mandalorians.
Few but the most devoted "Star Wars" fans have likely heard of the fictional society of like-minded intergalactic nomads, who induct interstellar beings of all shapes and sizes into tight-knit family groups called clans.
They simply lack Darth Vader's star power.
But to devotees like Bob Crissman, 37, his son Austin, 16, and daughter Tara, 13, of Binghamton, N.Y., the Mandalorians they dressed up to portray reflect the community of comic and costume enthusiasts who flocked to the Great Allentown Comic Con at Merchants Square Mall on Saturday.
It's a safe place where people who share a love of comics and dressing up as their favorite characters can come together and show off their handiwork and admire the work of others without getting funny looks.
"It's an escape from everyday life," Crissman said. "We all want to be superheroes and this is a way of personifying that."
Crissman and his family, who have traveled to comics events up and down the East Coast, put several hundred dollars into each of their highly detailed homemade costumes. Austin Crissman said he gets a thrill every time a little kid gapes and points with glee at his family's outfits.
The day-long Allentown Comic Con featured table upon table of comic book collections, comic-inspired art, costumes and costume-related accessories, graphic novels, action figures and other gear prized by comics and costume aficionados as well as celebrity appearances and seminars.
Turnout was heavy. Organizer Christopher D. Wertz estimated the crowd to be at least 4,000. Parking was tight and throughout the morning a line of at least 100 attendees waiting for admission snaked down the sidewalk and into the Merchants Square parking lot.
Some were drawn by nostalgia, he said. Saturday's convention included an appearance by one of the original actors from the "Power Rangers" television show, for example. Others are comics connoisseurs or fans of the art form.
"For some it's about being themselves," he said.
The costumed included groups of teens portraying favorite Anime and graphic novel characters, middle-age hobbyists showing off their Doctor Who gear and young couples such as Joclyn Holman, 19, and Hunter Staehly, 20, who dressed as Lt. Surge and Misty from Pokemon.
"It's something we can bond over and not feel like little nerds together," said Holman, of Abington Township, Montgomery County.
The costumes ranged from revealing, skin-tight bodysuits to heavily layered suits of armor whose wearers looked uncomfortably hot standing in line to get in.
While less experienced than the Crissmans, Kirk and Jennifer Disla of Reading also made the event a family affair Saturday. They're not new to costumes or superheroes. They're planning to renew their vows later this year in Brooklyn, N.Y., at a "cosplay" ceremony in which all the guests have been asked to come fully dressed.
But Saturday, they were joined by son Kolin, 9, who dressed as Kid Flash to go with Kirk's Flash costume and Jennifer's Raven outfit.
Now they're all hooked.
"I just got up and said, 'I want to go this year,' " Kirk Disla said. "Now I'm going to try to snag tickets to the New York one."
scott.kraus@mcall.com
Twitter @skraus
610-820-6745