This year’s Boston Comic Con drew tens of thousands of comic and pop culture fans from the New England area and beyond this weekend. Cosplayers and fans braved the overwhelming heat (Friday and Sunday were in the 90s with high humidity) to enjoy the gathering of comic writers and artists of both mainstream and indie comic books, popular media guests, and unique and pop culture vendors .
As I mentioned last year, the entry process was streamlined to allow guests to enter fairly quickly, and the show-runners definitely made use of as much space as possible, though it still seems as if the event has outgrown the Seaport World Trade Center venue, most notably on Saturday, when the largest crowd made navigating the vendor floor difficult. Despite the ongoing space issue, the con made some great additions this year, including moving the café and refreshments upstairs and adding a “cos-space,” where you could not only find some great cosplay gear, but you could also make use of cosplay repair items!
Even more impressive to see were the diverse artists and writers that were included in this year’s con. Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Rafael Albuquerque (Blue
Beetle, Batman/Superman) and Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn) all boasted consistent autograph lines (Conner and her husband, Jimmy Palmiotti, had a line that ran the length of the front part of the hall), and it was nice to see Ming Doyle (Constantine) as well as many other diverse writers and artists.
Adding to the feeling of a more diverse atmosphere, I was pleased to see a unisex bathroom centrally located on the first floor, as well as booths for Ladies of Comicazi (raising funds for LadiesCon 2016 and Geeks Out! And for families coming to Comic Con, there was Kids Con on Friday, when an area of the first floor was set aside for face painting, storytelling, balloon animals, and other kid-friendly activities. It was great to have a place to entertain younger kids after navigating the vendor floor.
The media guests this year were bigger and better than the previous years, including William Shatner (Star Trek, Better Late Than Never), Gillian Anderson (X-Files, The Fall) , John Barrowman (Torchwood, Arrow), Elizabeth Henstridge (Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD), Caity Lotz and Ciara Renee (Legends of Tomorrow), Ben McKenzie (Gotham), Danielle Panabaker and Robbie Amell (The Flash.) Most panels were free (with the exception of the VIP Shatner and VIP Frank Miller panels), but the most popular ones required a reserved ticket through an online system that got mixed reviews as far as efficiency. While I did have a hiccup trying to get CW Universe tickets, I had no problems getting tickets for John Barrowman or Gillian Anderson, and the con allowed a “stand-by” line to form in case a ticketed participant didn’t show. The panels were entertaining, especially John Barrowman, who regaled the audience with tales of a nude beach in P-Town and talked at length about his many writing projects, all while sporting a Zapp Brannigan dress with a pair of white pumps. Gillian Anderson confirmed the probability of a new set of X-Files episodes as well as the next season of “The Fall,” coming, as she said, “in the Fall.” Ms. Anderson got the audience clapping when the panel moderator made a mis-step by characterizing Dana Scully as a “damsel in distress.” “I think you better back up,” she commanded in a dry tone, “Dana Scully was no damsel in distress.” Ms. Anderson auctioned off a “sweaty” fan-designed t-shirt to raise money for Child Reach International, raising a whopping $1250 from one lucky fan to help prevent child trafficking. Keeping with the diversity we saw this year, both panels had excellent sign language translators for the hearing impaired, and during the question and answer session made a point to take questions from audience members who were deaf or hearing impaired.
After the panels, I had a chance to roam the floor and find in addition to the comic, Tshirt, and Pop! vendors there were some pretty unique vendors, including a booth where you could could make an action figure of yourself. Emerald 3D of Quincy, MA had a full-body scanner that could make an image that was then made into a mini-you! There were 3D puzzles, Anime Mystery Boxes, special cosplay props, and more.
But the best part of Boston Comic Con is always the people it attracts. These are die-hard comic fans, people who know the difference between movie Harley Quinn, Arkham City Harley, and Batman Animated Harley—and Harley Quinn was definitely the most cosplayed character this year, so much so that it became a game to count them. Joker and the Suicide Squad weren’t far behind. But there were many amazing cosplays, fans who were thrilled to become the character of their dreams for a day or two or three! I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
This year’s Boston Comic Con took a huge step forward in terms of offerings and diversity, so much so that a recent report by Bleeding Cool that it had been bought by Invicta’s Fan Fest has raised the question of whether or not the great changes will continue through next year. Let’s hope so, because despite the space crunch it was a great weekend.