#comicbookconventions — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #comicbookconventions, aggregated by home.social.
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Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 3 of 3: Con Life Before and After Nicolas Cage
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis -- a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI “art”, and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we’re mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries... ...concluding with anything and everything involving neither celebrities nor cosplay. Meeting Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage may have been the sensational headline news, but he's not all we saw during our two days onsite. […] -
Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 3 of 3: Con Life Before and After Nicolas Cage
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis -- a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI “art”, and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we’re mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries... ...concluding with anything and everything involving neither celebrities nor cosplay. Meeting Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage may have been the sensational headline news, but he's not all we saw during our two days onsite. […] -
Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 2 of 3: Nicolas Cage and Friends!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis -- a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI “art”, and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we’re mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries... Rare are the opportunities when a Midwest comic-con signs a guest who's such a significant household name that local news outlets treat it as a major headline event. Usually our cons are relegated to a Thursday morning sidebar to the effect of, "Looking for something to do this weekend? Lee Greenwood will be performing at the Fieldhouse, here's a list of fifteen different farmers' markets, our state parks are still pretty, and Hoosier Comic Expo is bringing in three Yellow Rangers, a canceled stand-up comic, and...uh, sorry, those are the only names we recognize and our Google's broken." Not so this time: ICC waited till a mere week before showtime to announce they'd scored Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage's Very First Appearance at an American Convention. This became a BIG DEAL. For once our journalists had something to write about besides sports. […] -
Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 2 of 3: Nicolas Cage and Friends!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis -- a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI “art”, and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we’re mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries... Rare are the opportunities when a Midwest comic-con signs a guest who's such a significant household name that local news outlets treat it as a major headline event. Usually our cons are relegated to a Thursday morning sidebar to the effect of, "Looking for something to do this weekend? Lee Greenwood will be performing at the Fieldhouse, here's a list of fifteen different farmers' markets, our state parks are still pretty, and Hoosier Comic Expo is bringing in three Yellow Rangers, a canceled stand-up comic, and...uh, sorry, those are the only names we recognize and our Google's broken." Not so this time: ICC waited till a mere week before showtime to announce they'd scored Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage's Very First Appearance at an American Convention. This became a BIG DEAL. For once our journalists had something to write about besides sports. […] -
Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 1 of 3: Very Tiny Cosplay Sampler!
It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in scenic downtown Indianapolis, and by "scenic" I mean "overcrowded with more construction equipment than a Tonka Truck factory". ICC 2026 was a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI "art", and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. The showrunners added still more square footage to their dominion, on track to match Gen Con's imperial sprawl if they can keep up the pace for another 20-30 years or so. Apart from a few bottlenecked aisles, geek life had ample elbow room to thrive and sometimes enjoy breathing space in these hallowed halls of pop-culture commerce. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we're mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries. Up first: mandatory cosplay pics! We regret ours is such a measly collection, but: (a) we spent a lot of time in lines; (b) we tend to gravitate toward characters we recognize, and our recognition rate drops as the youngsters insist on liking different shows and comics than we do; and (c) everyone walks so fast and we're old and tired and it's all hot and it hurts an' stuff. Even if we don't capture them all on our own devices, we really do appreciate the cosplayers who brighten everyone's experience. The jazz-hands photo ops and other sights will be shared in the other chapters. We regret we can only represent a fraction of a sliver of an iota of a fraction of the total costumed wonderment that was on display this weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun. Enjoy! Corrections are humbly welcomed for any we didn't recognize or might’ve misidentified! […] -
Indiana Comic Convention 2026 Photos, Part 1 of 3: Very Tiny Cosplay Sampler!
It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the twelfth edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in scenic downtown Indianapolis, and by "scenic" I mean "overcrowded with more construction equipment than a Tonka Truck factory". ICC 2026 was a fun opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, avoid AI "art", and scratch their heads at the inexplicable comeback of the 19th-century rubber-duck fad. The showrunners added still more square footage to their dominion, on track to match Gen Con's imperial sprawl if they can keep up the pace for another 20-30 years or so. Apart from a few bottlenecked aisles, geek life had ample elbow room to thrive and sometimes enjoy breathing space in these hallowed halls of pop-culture commerce. Rather than dump all our pics into a single omnibus entry, we're mercifully splitting them into a trilogy of galleries. Up first: mandatory cosplay pics! We regret ours is such a measly collection, but: (a) we spent a lot of time in lines; (b) we tend to gravitate toward characters we recognize, and our recognition rate drops as the youngsters insist on liking different shows and comics than we do; and (c) everyone walks so fast and we're old and tired and it's all hot and it hurts an' stuff. Even if we don't capture them all on our own devices, we really do appreciate the cosplayers who brighten everyone's experience. The jazz-hands photo ops and other sights will be shared in the other chapters. We regret we can only represent a fraction of a sliver of an iota of a fraction of the total costumed wonderment that was on display this weekend. We’re just an aging couple doing what we can for happy sharing fun. Enjoy! Corrections are humbly welcomed for any we didn't recognize or might’ve misidentified! […] -
C2E2 Photos 2013, Part 6 of 6: Robots, Games, Misfits and Honorable Mentions
The miniseries finale! The show-stopping conclusion! Our final batch of C2E2 2013 photos! Not including pics we took at panels, which I'm saving for separate entries! Otherwise it means we might finally move on to other subjects eventually! But not yet! Exclamation is an energy! For my cousin the Transformers fan: Transformers unite for a logo photo shoot. […] -
C2E2 Photos 2013, Part 6 of 6: Robots, Games, Misfits and Honorable Mentions
The miniseries finale! The show-stopping conclusion! Our final batch of C2E2 2013 photos! Not including pics we took at panels, which I'm saving for separate entries! Otherwise it means we might finally move on to other subjects eventually! But not yet! Exclamation is an energy! For my cousin the Transformers fan: Transformers unite for a logo photo shoot. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 5 of 6: Actors and Creators Who Made Our Day
Continuing our coverage of last weekend's fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2"), this episode covers the sci-fi actors and comic book creators we met this year. With one exception, all of these were folks we'd never met before. My wife wanted to meet a few veterans of the Star Wars saga; I wanted to meet writers and artists responsible for great works. Highest priority on my own list: British music journalist turned comics writer Kieron Gillen. His two-year run on Journey into Mystery turned Kid Loki into one of the funniest, most heartbreaking characters in the Marvel Universe. His creator-owned Phonogram (two miniseries and counting) is a sharp fantasy mixing music, magic, and the people who live for both. Current gigs include Iron Man and Young Avengers, which both tend to rise to the top of my weekly reading pile. Also: my favorite photo of the weekend. If you haven't read at least one of his books, you're what's wrong with comics. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 5 of 6: Actors and Creators Who Made Our Day
Continuing our coverage of last weekend's fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2"), this episode covers the sci-fi actors and comic book creators we met this year. With one exception, all of these were folks we'd never met before. My wife wanted to meet a few veterans of the Star Wars saga; I wanted to meet writers and artists responsible for great works. Highest priority on my own list: British music journalist turned comics writer Kieron Gillen. His two-year run on Journey into Mystery turned Kid Loki into one of the funniest, most heartbreaking characters in the Marvel Universe. His creator-owned Phonogram (two miniseries and counting) is a sharp fantasy mixing music, magic, and the people who live for both. Current gigs include Iron Man and Young Avengers, which both tend to rise to the top of my weekly reading pile. Also: my favorite photo of the weekend. If you haven't read at least one of his books, you're what's wrong with comics. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 4 of 6: Geek Culture Settings and Artifacts
As we continue our coverage of last weekend's fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2"), we pause the cavalcade of costume photos and momentarily turn our cameras in other directions -- starting with our surroundings. According to the Chicago Tribune, over 53,000 of us packed into McCormick Place over three days to share our common interests without fear, to celebrate the characters and stories that made a difference to us even when no one else got them, to encounter extraordinary sights beyond the purview of humdrum everyday life, and to buy cool stuff in person instead of from the distant comfort of our isolated world surveillance caves. Every geek convention has its prerequisite components. And as any comic book collector knows, everything cool needs its own logo. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 4 of 6: Geek Culture Settings and Artifacts
As we continue our coverage of last weekend's fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2"), we pause the cavalcade of costume photos and momentarily turn our cameras in other directions -- starting with our surroundings. According to the Chicago Tribune, over 53,000 of us packed into McCormick Place over three days to share our common interests without fear, to celebrate the characters and stories that made a difference to us even when no one else got them, to encounter extraordinary sights beyond the purview of humdrum everyday life, and to buy cool stuff in person instead of from the distant comfort of our isolated world surveillance caves. Every geek convention has its prerequisite components. And as any comic book collector knows, everything cool needs its own logo. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 3 of 6: Costumes from Marvel, Image, and Other Comics
Continuing our coverage of C2E2 costumes and other notable sights from April 26-27, 2013. Disclaimers are same as before. Corrections are always welcome. In this installment: comic-book characters! At last, Marvel fans can thrill to the sight of Juggernaut versus Deadpool, no holds barred. Meanwhile, the tenth Doctor Who looks on and laughs as if he's above such tomfoolery. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 3 of 6: Costumes from Marvel, Image, and Other Comics
Continuing our coverage of C2E2 costumes and other notable sights from April 26-27, 2013. Disclaimers are same as before. Corrections are always welcome. In this installment: comic-book characters! At last, Marvel fans can thrill to the sight of Juggernaut versus Deadpool, no holds barred. Meanwhile, the tenth Doctor Who looks on and laughs as if he's above such tomfoolery. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 2 of 6: Costumes from Screens Big and Small
Continuing our coverage of C2E2 costumes and other notable sights. Disclaimers are same as before. Corrections are welcome. Many of this year's superhuman costumes were based on their filmic counterparts rather than the print versions. I wasn't surprised to see Bane number among this year's popular choices. If nothing else, the Dark Knight Rises version is warmer and less revealing than his original luchador ensemble. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, Part 2 of 6: Costumes from Screens Big and Small
Continuing our coverage of C2E2 costumes and other notable sights. Disclaimers are same as before. Corrections are welcome. Many of this year's superhuman costumes were based on their filmic counterparts rather than the print versions. I wasn't surprised to see Bane number among this year's popular choices. If nothing else, the Dark Knight Rises version is warmer and less revealing than his original luchador ensemble. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, part 1 of 6: Costume Contest Winners and the Doctor Who Milieu Revue
As I type this, the fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2") its wrapping up this year's three-day run, April 26-28, 2013. C2E2 dreams of becoming the Midwest's answer to the fabled San Diego Comic Con, or any of the large-scale comic-book conventions that all your glamorous coastal cities hold and monopolize to a sickening, sybaritic excess. Not that we easily dismissed, frequently deprived, flyover-state residents are bitter. My wife and I missed the first year, but have attended every year since then. I'm there for the comics; my wife's there for the entertainment. Our respective hobbyist enthusiasms enable a sort of synchronized synergy so that neither of us is bored all weekend long. This week I'll be sharing photographic souvenirs from our C2E2 experience, divided into media categories, to be apportioned and shared as quickly as possible. Many of them are costume pics, but not all of them. Several attendees may find themselves strolling through backgrounds as living, walking, oblivious Easter Eggs. Four caveats for first-time visitors to Midlife Crisis Crossover: 1. My wife and I are not professional photographers, nor are we worthy of press passes. You'll notice that right off. These were taken as best as possible with the intent to share with fellow fans out of a sincere appreciation for the works inspired by the heroes, hobbies, artistic expressions, and/or intellectual properties that brought us geeks together under one vaulted roof for the weekend. We all do what we can with the tools and circumstances at hand. 2. Though two of us took the photos, Midlife Crisis Crossover is written and cobbled together by this one old guy, who suffers from the continuing distractions of a full-time job. I plan to post our results as quickly as possible, but they won't be instant. If any C2E2 attendees out there are searching desperately for pics of themselves or of other specific costumes they saw, I'll gladly check our files and, if we actually caught you on camera, will cheerfully move you closer to the front of the line, or at least let you know which installment will be yours. We didn't catch everyone. Despite DC Comics' insulting expectations to the contrary, McCormick Place is kind of big and was filled with many, many people this weekend. Oversights happen. 3. We didn't attend Sunday. Sincere apologies to anyone we missed as a result. 4. Corrections and comments are always welcome. I like learning new things, especially when I'm trying to write about characters and series that are beyond my particular geek foci. Onward! * * * * * This year C2E2 had a separate costume contest each and every day. Friday's was a smaller affair, but Saturday's had a large corporate sponsor, bigger prizes, and (coincidentally?) fancier entries. Winners were selected in five different categories, along with a Grand Prize winner who took home $250.00 in American cash. The Grand Prize winner: a living embodiment of the TARDIS console. Not quite "The Doctor's Wife", but circuit boards and working LEDs served as fascinating accessories. […] -
C2E2 2013 Photos, part 1 of 6: Costume Contest Winners and the Doctor Who Milieu Revue
As I type this, the fourth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition ("C2E2") its wrapping up this year's three-day run, April 26-28, 2013. C2E2 dreams of becoming the Midwest's answer to the fabled San Diego Comic Con, or any of the large-scale comic-book conventions that all your glamorous coastal cities hold and monopolize to a sickening, sybaritic excess. Not that we easily dismissed, frequently deprived, flyover-state residents are bitter. My wife and I missed the first year, but have attended every year since then. I'm there for the comics; my wife's there for the entertainment. Our respective hobbyist enthusiasms enable a sort of synchronized synergy so that neither of us is bored all weekend long. This week I'll be sharing photographic souvenirs from our C2E2 experience, divided into media categories, to be apportioned and shared as quickly as possible. Many of them are costume pics, but not all of them. Several attendees may find themselves strolling through backgrounds as living, walking, oblivious Easter Eggs. Four caveats for first-time visitors to Midlife Crisis Crossover: 1. My wife and I are not professional photographers, nor are we worthy of press passes. You'll notice that right off. These were taken as best as possible with the intent to share with fellow fans out of a sincere appreciation for the works inspired by the heroes, hobbies, artistic expressions, and/or intellectual properties that brought us geeks together under one vaulted roof for the weekend. We all do what we can with the tools and circumstances at hand. 2. Though two of us took the photos, Midlife Crisis Crossover is written and cobbled together by this one old guy, who suffers from the continuing distractions of a full-time job. I plan to post our results as quickly as possible, but they won't be instant. If any C2E2 attendees out there are searching desperately for pics of themselves or of other specific costumes they saw, I'll gladly check our files and, if we actually caught you on camera, will cheerfully move you closer to the front of the line, or at least let you know which installment will be yours. We didn't catch everyone. Despite DC Comics' insulting expectations to the contrary, McCormick Place is kind of big and was filled with many, many people this weekend. Oversights happen. 3. We didn't attend Sunday. Sincere apologies to anyone we missed as a result. 4. Corrections and comments are always welcome. I like learning new things, especially when I'm trying to write about characters and series that are beyond my particular geek foci. Onward! * * * * * This year C2E2 had a separate costume contest each and every day. Friday's was a smaller affair, but Saturday's had a large corporate sponsor, bigger prizes, and (coincidentally?) fancier entries. Winners were selected in five different categories, along with a Grand Prize winner who took home $250.00 in American cash. The Grand Prize winner: a living embodiment of the TARDIS console. Not quite "The Doctor's Wife", but circuit boards and working LEDs served as fascinating accessories. […]