This weekend nerds of all kinds flocked to Baltimore, MD for this year’s Baltimore Comic Con. This year’s event was bigger and better than previous years. The convention switched to a new area of the Baltimore Convention center to accommodate the growing number of attendees, vendors and guests.
The great thing about Baltimore Comic Con is that it truly is a comic convention. Nearly all the guests at this year’s show are comic artists, writers, and creators. Notable guests this year included Gail Simone, Walter Simonson, Frank Cho, Dan Parent, Fred Hembeck and many, many others. This year’s Media Guest of Honor was Peter Mayhew (better known as Chewbacca from Star Wars). If you are a fan of comics this is one show you just can’t afford to miss.
There was so much to do this year at Baltimore Comic Con. Panels, Cosplay, meeting guests, shopping, and so much more.We tried to fit everything in, doing a little bit of everything. The panels covered a variety of subjects. There were panels topics such as creating your own comic, cosplay, specific series (such as Archie and Peanuts), and even discussions with creators about their work. On Friday we attended a great panel of sexism in comics called “Sexy of Sexualized”. The panel featured creators such as Marguerite Bennett (Batgirl), Christina Blanch (The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood), Gail Simone (Red Sonja), and Adam Hughes (Fairest) and more. The panel discussed the sexualization of female characters in comics. It was an extremely interesting conversation that covered a lot of different aspects of comics including writing, art, and even the role of the age of the reader when it comes to “sexy characters.” Overall it was a very interesting and important discussion (This writer is extremely glad there were several panels on gender and sexism in comics this year ath BCC).
We also attended one of the many panels on Cosplay. The panel we attended was called “Cosplay on a Budget” and hosted by cosplayers Lucid and Han Pan. They gave tips on how to save money when cosplaying. They were energetic and shared many stories of the great savings and unique ways they have been able to save a lot of money on both of their extensive cosplay closets.
Speaking of Cosplay, you can’t expect to to go to a comic convention and not see people cosplaying. This year
there was an amazing selection of costumes. People of all ages and skill levels came out to the convention dressed up as superheroes, cartoon characters, and characters from movies. All of the attendees seemed to be having fun either posing for pictures or taking them. There is nothing better than seeing someone’s face light up at the sight of their favorite character come to life. By far the most impressive costumes we saw over the course of the weekend were the gigantic Robo Godzilla and Mothra. These two cosplayers just seemed to be stuck in the same places for hours, always with a group of con goers surrounding them taking pictures. They were certainly very popular.
By far, the greatest part about Baltimore Comic Con is how truly family friendly it is. Each day there was an event directed towards kids almost every hour. Children could experience the convention and comics with programing directly tailored to them. A great way to keep the kids happy all day! The amount of children and families cosplaying together certainly warmed our hearts. Not only was it adorable, it is a great way for kids and parents to have a great experience together. Probably the greatest sight to be seen at the convention was the little kids getting excited over the cosplayers. One little girl saw a Poison Ivy cosplayer and got excited because Poison Ivy is her favorite. The little girl spoke to the cosplayer as if she was actually Poison Ivy. That type of excitement and innocence is an attitude that Baltimore Comic Con seems to want to preserve with it’s family friendly atmosphere. It strives to foster a love of comics in children from a young age. And that is awesome.
Baltimore Comic Con was a fantastic show this year. There was so much to do and so much to see. Even though it is a small convention, there is no shortage of things to do. The positive and friendly energy of the show makes it perfect for everyone. We are certainly glad we went this year and will always return.
Make sure to check out of Gallery of amazing cosplay from this year’s con!
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