This morning (Saturday, Sept. 7) my son and I, along with a couple of friends, went to Salt Lake City’s first Comic Con. Like most experiences, it was a mixture of good and bad. Bad: We stood in line for two hours in the hot sun to get into the Comic Con. Especially for those in heavy costume, it was a long, sweaty, draining wait. Once inside, we recovered with the help of some lunch and lemonade. Good: While in line we saw some amazing costumes, talked to a lot of people, and made some new friends. Good: the booths and displays were great. The artwork was incredible, and may I say again, the costumes were amazing. Bad: I missed seeing two of my favorite authors (Lisa Mangum and Heather Ostler) at their booth by five minutes, and when we stood in line to get into their panel discussions, the line was cut off right before us. The line to get in to hear William Shatner was so long there was no hope of us getting a seat. It wound the entire length of the building and back again. We just weren’t prepared for the number of people there. The mind cannot comprehend 50,000 people all in one place unless one is squirming through a mass of them. Good: I met a very talented artist — Heather Heurer — who was very friendly and willing to talk to us and tell us about her artwork and the story behind some of her paintings. In fact, I was impressed by how friendly everyone was, in spite of the press of the crowd and how tired they had to be after three days of being there. The artists, authors, celebrities, and vendors smiled, shook hands, and talked to people. They were friendly! What struck me the most about the whole experience was how much fun everyone had dressing up, from little toddlers in their Batman costumes to adults dressed as Jedi, Dr. Who, Wookies, dinosaurs, The Hulk, Spiderman, pirates, Star Trek officers (lots of them), fae, and hundreds of other fantastic favorites. Yes, they knew it was all make believe, and they were spending a lot of money for a hot, crowded day, but they were willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy the experience. For example, my new friend, Rachel, spent hours on her costume. She bought an old, very ornate wedding dress, dyed it sage green, made a jaunty little hat to match, and presto, she was a beautiful Steampunk lady. She received many compliments, and many people stopped and asked if they could take her picture. It was like going to a gigantic costume party. So, did I have fun? Yes, I did. Am I going next year? You bet. And I’ll wear a costume.
Carol Nicolas 