by Michael Roberts
New Orleans demonstrated their love for comic books and geek culture this past weekend at the New Orleans Comic Con with decorative costumes and a bustling convention hall.
The convention, located at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, had something for fans of all types with opportunities to meet and get autographs from a wide range of TV and movie actors. Collectors could find comic books from all different eras and meet several different artists and writers from the industry. Several classic toy vendors and gaming vendors were also in attendance with some rare offerings.
My favorite part of the show was the chance to get to buy merchandise from artists Rob Guillory and Kody Chamberlain, both of whom are Louisiana residents. Both guys were gracious about signing my books and were generally nice people.
A close second for my favorite moment was taking pictures with some of the many fans who dressed up in costumes. As a big fan of X-Men comics as a kid, I had a blast posing with an entire family who came as several of the characters from the book. I also found a couple of other favorite characters from Marvel Comics as seen in the picture here. As you can tell, the fans who dressed up went all out to make elaborate costumes.
Several fan clubs were also in attendance representing everything from the Ghostbusters to Steampunk and vampires to Star Wars. Probably the most entertaining group was the Krewe of Chewbacchus, who will make an appearance in an upcoming Mardi Gras parade. A group of costumed characters that included Star Wars characters, an Avatar character, and various retro robots paraded around the convention hall with their large X-Wing complete with R2D2.
As you may be able to tell, I had a geeky good time, and we are all looking forward to New Orleans Comic Con 2012!
