Over the weekend, Dallas Comic Con went down in Irving. Throngs of people wonderfully embracing their comic book geekdom journeyed to Mecca just off 114. Now, there are people who like comics (like me). And there are people who love comics. And love dressing up like characters in comics. I wasn’t blind to this fact, but when I saw this line wrapped around the Irving Convention Center on Saturday, I almost instantaneously turned my car right back toward home.
After talking to a tiny Asian woman dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi, I learned that my media credentials were waiting for me inside and with her Jedi power, I could bypass the line. And once I was in, all I could mutter in Keanu-Matrix fashion was “whoa.” After about an hour, my head finally got wrapped around what the hell was going on. I expected a crowd. I didn’t expect hordes. And my conclusions began to draw from my Saturday excursion.
- I’m often been told that gays love their comics, but my gaydar was clearly on the fritz while my nerdar was on overload.
- Bears — straight and gay — have a clear love affair with comic books.
- Despite the thick crowds, comic con peeps are the nicest and most polite in the world. I never got bumped without an apology.
- Patrick Stewart is a big draw. I didn’t bother once I heard it was a two-hour session. Truth be told, I wasn’t going to bother anyway.
- Stan Lee is a god. The line for his 4:15 photo op was out of control.
- Not a lot of buff superhero wannabes.
- There really are conversations at length about characters and the outfit chosen based on which timeline they appear.
- I never heard the word “clusterfuck” so many times
in one daywithin a four-hour span. - Whoever went as Storm from the X-Men, should be cast in any future movies.
- I never found my old Marvel lunch box from my elementary school days.
- The sheer excitement and joy by everyone at this place was really a cool thing to see and be a part of — I would totally go back.
Below are photos from the event. While we’re waiting for our slideshow software to kick in, you’ll have to click through each.
Thanks for the pictures and article.
I think it’s all great. I wish more people would dress up in such outfits in regular life. I had a boss who would always wear a major league baseball uniform to work. There’s so little guys can wear other than a suit to dress up, and going around dress as a sailor (problematic when it comes out that one is not actually being in the navy) is too much, there’s just so little we can do. Women can wear make up, jewelry, high heels, etc etc, what can guys do? I would like to go to the store dressed as a Jedi, but that basically is dressing like a monk (or Dracula) and, well, I don’t want people thinking I’m actually a religious monk.
I heard the lines for the media guests were super long, especially for Stan Lee, Patrick Steward and last minute guest Summer Glau.
Glad you had a good time at DCC. I’m dressed as Darth Vader in 2 of your pics, any chance I could get a bigger copy of them ?
>I never heard the word “clusterfuck” so
>many times in one day within a four-hour span.
That’s because it WAS a clusterfuck, for most attendees. If you weren’t from the media, it was a nightmare. The organizers were in way over their heads.