My wife and I have just a few days left until we take off for tiny, action-packed Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago 2012. Even though this will be our fourth WWC, we’re still preparing and weighing our options. I, for one, have my comics want-lists to update and mull over. Do I really feel like rooting through countless musty longboxes for single issues I’ve been missing since childhood? Do I really think this will be the year I find Steelgrip Starkey and the All-Purpose Power Tool #5 and achieve closure with Alan Weiss’ underrated working-man sci-fi miniseries at last? Or should I aim instead for the bargain boxes stuffed with $5 trade paperbacks, 90% of which are Marvel Ultimate comics?

Then there’s the matter of autograph pricing (is Scott Bakula’s autograph really worth three Amber Bensons?), autograph materials to bring along for the actors (which season of Buffy or TV’s Angel was really Juliet Landau’s best?) as well as for the comics creators (must dig out Hourman #1…or was there a more apropos issue?), and the little things such as emergency snacks and note-taking supplies. Lots to do, lots to put off till the last minute because that’s when I do all my best thinking, unless you count everything I’ll forget because of the time pressure.

Right I’m stumped by the single hardest question of them all: what do I bring for Stan Lee to sign? So many classics are holding a reality-show competition in my head called Stan Lee’s Next Top Item-to-Autograph. Competing fiercely and unfairly in this brutal mental are the likes of Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, the only Marvel Masterworks hardcover I own; an ancient Spidey paperback from the late ’70s that collected his classic Harry Osborn drug story; one of the three Who Wants to Be a Superhero? items I’ve had autographed by that show’s able-bodied contestants; Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1; DVDs of any of the Marvel films in which he blessed the heroes with a cameo; and more more more more more.

While I moderate this fight scene between possessions in my head, please enjoy this cursory retrospective of sights and souls from our first three WWCs. There’re plenty more pics where this came from, but we’ll have plenty new material to bring home this weekend.

2010:

Our first WWC after an eleven-year absence was made possible by a combination of happy factors, chief among them being the two of us suddenly realizing that hey, maybe we could see whatever happened to the old con.

One of the friendliest, most beloved guests that year was John Schneider. Whether they knew him from Smallville, The Dukes of Hazzard, or his recording career, his fans maintained one of the steadiest lines all day long He seemed to weather it just fine.

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The best-dressed comics pro is always DC kids-comic auteur Art Baltazar. (Runner-up: Ben Templesmith.) It’s not just his wardrobe that’s classy; Baltazar brings plenty of comics for kids to check out, and not just his own works and products. (Runner-up in that category: Archie’s own Dan Parent.)

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Not everything was whimsical and wondrous in the house. 2010 was also the year that WWC tried playing up to the Illinois setting and invited a very special surprise autograph guest at the last minute: former governor and future convict Rod Blagojevich. When his name was announced over the PA, the crowd united with a sustained chorus of boos. Somehow Blagojevich attracted a line anyway. People paid actual money to stand near him, endure his presence, and allow him to touch and sign one of their belongings. As if Wizard Entertainment hadn’t already had more than its share of PR issues.

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2011:

2010 was such a blast, we felt an encore was in order.

One of my wife’s highlights was meeting Ray Park, a true gentleman who was honored to spend a real moment with each and every attendee. Too many are the high-profile stars who spend the entire weekend with their eyes glued to the table in front of them while they dutifully sign, sign, sign their way to writer’s cramp and ennui. This extraordinary treatment of Park’s fans meant a longer wait in line. Those whose motives were pure didn’t mind in the end.

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Costumes are always a major attraction for us, too. I appreciate the effort that fans dedicate into such stylish creations. I try to be humble and not too pushy when asking to take their photos, but my wife tends to have greater success because she looks a lot cuter and a little less imposing.

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Also, sometimes there are impromptu dance numbers. Star Wars costumes are a common sight. Waldo clones, less so.

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1999:

My best friend and I had attended local Star Trek conventions in Indianapolis before attempting our first comic con. They were nothing like this. The size of the exhibit hall alone was overwhelming, as were the stands and booths that packed nearly every corner. I spent the first hour on sensory overload and had trouble forming complete sentences when I had the pleasure of meeting people whose work I respected.

The first table I approached was Tim Sale, best known for Batman: the Long Halloween, who at the time was promoting the sequel, Batman: Dark Victory. He didn’t seem to mind my dithering at all.

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Much younger and quieter than I expected: Preacher‘s own Garth Ennis. He looked so harmless!

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I waited over an hour in line to meet Kurt Busiek and George Perez, the powerhouses behind Marvel’s Avengers at the time, who were signing for a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund fundraiser. (To be fair, their colorist Tom Smith was there, too.) Perez was friendly as all-get-out then; when I met him a second time in June 2012 at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis (on the complete opposite end of Illinois from Rosemont), he and I had shed many a pound over the years, but he was as friendly as ever.

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(This was not the worst photo of me from that year, when I weighed a lot more than I do now. How I wish it were the worst of the lot.)

Giant inflatable Ripclaw welcomed you to land of dreams and imagination, a few years before he and the rest of Cyberforce lowered their profiles and all but disappeared from comic shops.

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As far as I can remember, we’ve never posted our WWC 1999 photos online before, or even composed a writeup about it. I have a few more pics on hand from that experience, capturing young professionals of the time such as Starman‘s James Robinson, Deadpool‘s Joe Kelly, and JLA‘s Grant Morrison. They were all shot in the 35mm standard film of the time, and are now archived in one of my wife’s scrapbooks. I owe very special thanks to her for allowing me to scan bits of those pages for this walk down memory lane, especially since we couldn’t find the duplicates. We may have the negatives, for all the good that’ll do us in this day and age.

Fun trivia I just realized as I was perusing the pages: according to the badge she saved, our first Wizard World Chicago experience occurred on Saturday, July 17, 1999. Five years later to the very date was our wedding day. Funny timing, that.

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My wife and I may have different goals and preferences at conventions, but one of our stronger common interests (besides a wish for better concession stand food) is a love of seeing other fans in costumes. All that inspiration, sartorial effort, and fashion derring-do enlivens and enriches even the most jaded, crowded, bizarrely laid-out of conventions. Of all the photos that we two snapped last weekend at Wizard World Chicago, these are my personal favorite costumes and scenes for random reasons.

Exhibit A: Pennywise is every nightmare you ever had. Bloodied nurse stands by, waiting to do her job after It is finished with you.

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Axel from Kingdom Hearts II. I’m a sucker for characters from the first two Kingdom Hearts games.

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Loki seems much more at peace without his half-brother or large green assailants around.

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Sherlock Holmes is perhaps as simple an outfit to assemble as a Doctor Who ensemble (which once again increased their presence this year). However, my wife and I have watched the first two episodes of Sherlock over the past two weeks, the first of which I’d like to watch two or three more times, and were delighted to see our first such fan, post-viewing. In the other corner, the only episode of Doctor Who we’ve ever stomached was played for us at a 2000 sci-fi convention where a team of fans were onstage submitting it to an amateur MST3K treatment. The episode was wretched; the commentary, differently so.

Advantage: the esteemed consulting detective.

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Victor Zsasz, one of the two most memorable Bat-villains to emerge from the 1980s Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle Detective Comics era.

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Static and Robin, the Boy Wonder. Fans of Static are 200% okay by me, especially if they’re so old-school that they call him “Static” and not “Static Shock”. Come to think of it, I should’ve tested this guy.

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Milk and Freeze. A carton of hate and a cylinder of spite.

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The Axis of Arachnids! Variant Spidey-costumes include New Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Spider-Man 3 black Spidey, and Flipside from 2099.

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I rarely see classic Hulk villains at cons. Carl “Crusher” Creel, a.k.a. the Absorbing Man, shows up on their behalf, and even brings along his old ball-’n'-chain.

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Hulk interview Storm. Hulk ask incisive questions. Hulk good journalist. Hulk ask flying weather lady for opinion of Halle Berry. Hulk hope for candid, catty answer. Wish Hulk luck!

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Google says this is Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler. Please correct this ignorant old man if I’ve trusted Google in vain. I’m not the best at identifying anime characters and always appreciate assistance. I like learning about new things.

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Green Arrow. Solemn. Brooding. Equipped. It works.

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Edward Scissorhands was the only Johnny Depp doppelgänger I noticed all weekend. Usually you can count on at least one Captain Jack Sparrow to make the rounds and meet the quota.

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Moon Knight, a welcome change of pace from the 6,000 Bat-characters on hand. (Additional Bat-representation will be included in a forthcoming entry.)

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We conclude with Finn, a tiny Jake, Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline with the Axe-bass, because iiiiit’s ADVENTURE TIME!

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My wife and I may have different goals and preferences at conventions, but one of our stronger common interests (besides a wish for better concession stand food) is a love of seeing other fans in costumes. All that inspiration, sartorial effort, and fashion derring-do enlivens and enriches even the most jaded, crowded, bizarrely laid-out of conventions.

Careful readers will note I’ve just reused the intro from Part 3. Not much has changed since then. We like costumes. Here are more. Please enjoy some.

X-Men are usually a staple, but this team has taken an uncommon direction in presenting the original X-Factor lineup from 1986, when Beast, Cyclops, and Iceman reunited after Jean Grey’s second resurrection. Angel was off-camera to the left, engaged in conversation. Leave it to billionaire playboy Warren Worthington III to find time for brokering deals.

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Cyclops #2, and extra credit if you recognize Dust, a Muslim X-Woman from recent years.

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After we returned home and reviewed our photos, I was shocked to realize we hadn’t captured a single Wolverine. The closest we came was Miss Wolverine below (neither X-23 nor the MC2 Wild Thing, the most well-known in-continuity Wolverine lady analogs), who brought her friends She-Hulk and Storm.

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In addition to She-Hulk (as well as Hulk and Moon Knight from Part 3), the Avengers were also represented by WWII Captain America. Curiously, military costumes were otherwise in short supply in all the areas we walked.

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Also bringing weapons: Harley Quinn in her classic ensemble.

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The classic ensemble allows freedom of movement, convenient product branding, leisurely comfort, and a badge of honor when forced into inter-company mash-ups, as witnessed here moments before delivering a finishing move to Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat.

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This version more closely resembles Harley from DC’s New 52 reboot. The costume looks great here (despite the missing headgear), but I’m still bitter that Secret Six had to die so that Harley’s Suicide Squad could replace it.

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Video game fans might prefer the Harley variant from Arkham Asylum, pictured here with fellow nogoodniks the Red Hood, Calendar Man, Ra’s al-Ghul, and our old pal Victor Zsasz from Part 3.

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On the other side of the law are Batgirl, Nightwing, and sometimes Catwoman, depending on her mood and whether or not the local museum has any new cat-based jewelry exhibits. (While I’m thinking about it: considering the obsessive nature of Julie Newmar’s portrayal in the 1960s series, one wonders why Gotham curators and jewelers of the time didn’t simply abstain from exhibiting anything remotely feline. Catwoman would never have robbed again.)

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Bane refuses to fraternize with the other DC villains beneath his notice, and instead attempts to make friends with black Spider-Man. If only the muffled mask allowed the pleasure of intelligible conversation instead of turning him into Charlie Brown’s gym teacher.

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Sticking with tradition are the classic Bat-villains of yore. If you can name at least three, you’re normal.

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Poison Ivy may have been too new to be included in the Batman TV show in its heyday. Hopefully someday she’ll have the chance to appear in a live-action film. Done right, I mean.

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Even Andrew Garfield’s new Spider-costume appeared on the con floor, here accompanying his non-friend Juggernaut.

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Mexico offers a different take on super-heroics: LUCHADORES!

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Competing in this same category: the original Pitier of Fools! The man who put the “Club” in “Clubber Lang” and the “ab” in DC Cab! The one, the only, America’s favorite gymnastics instructor and stale cereal salesman…Mr. T!

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Every entertainment convention has its mandatory costumes. You’ll almost always see at least one Jedi, one Vader, one remote-control R2D2, one Superman, one Batman, one Captain Jack Sparrow (a recent addition to the ranks), one Star Trek crewman over age 50, one scantily clad booth babe you should really stop staring at, one steampunk couple, one Victorian England dress, one Doctor Who, and at least two Ghostbusters.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen an entire Ghostbusters squadron, all quoting movie lines in unison like Christmas carolers chanting “Deck the Halls”.

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We conclude our costume programming with this happy drunken orc, who will probably have cousins attending this weekend’s GenCon here in Indianapolis. If you’re there, be sure to raise a flagon and try not to stumble backwards into someone’s booth full of fragile artwork.

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The miniseries finale! Rather than cut back to three hours’ sleep per night, I decided early in the process to pace myself and set aside some photo sets for the conclusion, rather than trying to post hundreds in the space of a single day.

Winning in the category of Best Fan-Made Inanimate Object was, for me, Lego Order of the Stick. I have a hard time getting into webcomics, but Rich Burlew bypasses this prejudice by reprinting his stick-figure fantasy-comedy in paper editions, so he gets a pass.

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We photographed several actors from a distance for value-added entertainment. Some didn’t really care, and would even offer free photos if you asked with utmost humility. In some areas photos were forbidden to keep throngs of amateur paparazzi from suffocating each other and ruining everyone’s weekend. In more than a few areas it wasn’t discouraged at first, and then later it totally was, as “No Photos in This Area” migrated from one table to another as stars came and went. For example, at one point early Saturday, The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal looked like this:

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Later that afternoon, Bernthal looked more like this:

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That tenacious volunteer wasn’t the only hard worker at a thankless job. I’d like to offer very special thanks to our good friend Last-in-Line Guy. When autograph lines snaked around other lines, when lines changed location or dissolved altogether, or when Q&A seating lines threatened to crush each other in heated civil war, this man and his fellow soldiers were right there in the fray, doing their best to make sense of it all, point you in the right direction, and be honest with you when your day was about to be ruined by an unexpected line-capping.

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During the entire Stan Lee ordeal, which was orchestrated entirely by unwritten procedures (my least favorite kind! How did they know?), this particular gentleman aided my wife more than once by orienting her in the right direction and sifting through the aimless crowds to discern the exact places our objectives required us to be. Thank you, Best WWC Volunteer Ever, for helping our Stan Lee experience actually happen.

Bernthal’s costar Norman Reedus was intermittently present but generally flocked whenever he was in the house. On the other hand, Reedus’ Boondock Saints costar Sean Patrick Flannery was a little more accessible. I’ve never seen Saints, but my wife recalls him well from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

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Without all those Ghostbusters holding their town hall meeting in the lobby, we had a better view of the ECTO-1 and the Notorious V.I.G.O.

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Kevin Sorbo may have been a nice fellow to meet, but the only work of his that I own is a copy of a forgotten basic-cable movie called Prairie Fever that my mother-in-law once gave me as a near-random Christmas present. I previously met one of his costars in that film, Felicia Day, at another con not too long ago. When I mentioned it to her, I think I unwittingly unlocked some repressed memories of a not-awesome experience. Rather than risk doing the same for Sorbo, I left it at home.

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Also from the strongman department: frequent con attendee Lou Ferrigno, a regular at the Hyatt across the street around breakfast time.

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I…have no idea. Little help? Has anyone out there fought a villain called the Horned Juggler?

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Most folks know Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks. I didn’t learn she was also in Winter’s Bone until after the con. I wish I’d researched better beforehand — a great film that reminded me of places I know and fear in our own state.

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Lego Clerks vs. Lego Gundam. The crossover to end all crossovers! Special three-minute feature presentation! Even less if Silent Bob isn’t wearing his Mallrats utility belt!

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Eureka star Colin Ferguson had one of the healthiest lines all weekend. We’ve never seen the show, but we had to acknowledge the fan base turnout.

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Classic heroes, modern flourishes. For the traditional super-hero fan.

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Clik here to view.James Hong wasn’t the only Blade Runner vet in attendance. Sean Young also appeared on Saturday, including in her own Q&A. We actually skipped most of the scheduled Q&As because the crowds were more insane in that section of the convention center than anywhere else, because we had no shortage of activities on our plate, because we’re terrible at thinking of original questions, and because sometimes we’re terrible at feigning patience while listening to others’ lame or inappropriate questions.

Thus we conclude our five-part series and bid farewell to that overstimulating weekend at last, having had a few days now to readjust to an everyday life in which I’m not surrounded by people who share 20% or more of my interests. Despite the scheduling hitches, my complete failure to locate Tom Peyer’s alleged table, the literal miles of walking, the experimental new layout that turned parts of Artists Alley into an unfortunate wasteland, and the concession-stand pizza I never want to eat again, I’d call the event a success in our book.

Until our next convention, then! And, Lord willing, our next Wizard World Chicago. Thanks for reading. Image may be NSFW.
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(Special thanks to those fellow fans whose moments added the right touch of je ne sais quoi to the whole shebang — that one couple we met last year who knows who they are if they know who we are; Jenn in James Hong’s line; the Green Power Ranger; the nice lady who traded photographer duties with me at Amber Benson’s table; the father of two with the positive Lou Ferrigno anecdote; and the wonderful gentlemen in front of the conference center across the street who were selling Italian sausages and brats precisely when and where we needed them most.)

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This weekend our fair hometown of Indianapolis hosted the 45th edition of GenCon, one of America’s oldest and largest gaming conventions. When I was a kid, it was hosted up Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which I remember because once per year TSR’s Dragon Magazine would include a free GenCon event schedule as an insert, several pages long. I was in the upper years of elementary school at the time, but as a precocious fan of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and other TSR games, I thought that a gathering of RPG fans would be a unique experience. I fell away from RPGs after junior high after all my friends moved away, and never really returned to the hobby. For me 2003 was a little too late for GenCon to relocate here, but we outsiders can find entertaining sights and activities among the massive crowds. At the very least, my past allows me to get more jokes than the other non-gamer commoners.

Attendance in 2011 was in excess of 36,000. This is no gathering of a dozen sweaty guys in a single hotel conference room. Not only does GenCon use just about the entire convention center (including the recent expansion made possible by the demolition of the old Hoosier Dome), it also requires additional gaming space in several adjacent hotels. If your interests and gaming specialties are diverse enough, you could tally up miles’ worth of steps all over downtown Indy on your pedometer by the time your four-day weekend is over…if you could afford to take that much time off work, and also owned a pedometer.

This was my third GenCon, having missed the last two due to scheduling issues. I’m still hesitant to pay extra to participate in any real games, but I certainly wasn’t bored this year. I’ll outline some of our activity options in some other installment because I’m exhausted after conventioneering two weekends straight and I’m running out of time tonight. For now, please enjoy some samples from GenCon’s 27th annual costume contest, as well as costumes proudly worn throughout the grounds outside of competition.

About that contest: some of those photos weren’t the greatest. I deleted many, kept many more than aren’t worth keeping, and will still have to keep pruning. The ballroom was poorly lit even with every house light fired up, but was kept dim throughout the contest. Flash photography was forbidden, largely to ruin the day for most of us with inadequate cameras that blur everything when the flash is turned off. Worse still, my wife and I were roughly back in row 10, which was hardly ideal (albeit still in the front third of the ballroom, better off than several hundred other attendees fared — the smart Costume Contest audience members start lining up at least two hours early). We did what we could with the location, technology, and limitations at hand. It’s something we enjoy doing, to show our appreciation and awe for those with the flair for this particular aspect of the scene. This installment features some of our better shots and their better costumes, but we regret a fair amount of greatness that we missed nonetheless.

One more disclaimer: as an old man, my knowledge of anime and MMORPGs is woefully sketchy. If you catch me misidentifying anyone, please don’t hesitate to call me out. I like learning, I like giving credit where it’s due, and I have no problem owning up to my own ignorance, which will only worsen with age if someone doesn’t stop me here and now.

Onward, then:

While contestants are organized backstage, pre-show entertainment is usually provided each year by DDBD, a belly-dancing troupe. This, like cosplay, is another hobby that’s best left to other people besides me.

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Overall winner of the shebang was this looming Tauren warrior from World of Warcraft. On the right, if my hasty notes can be trusted, is someone from Tsubasa who won the Anime category.

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Winner of the Science Fiction/Super-Heroes category was Lady Mechanika, from Joe Benitez’ creator-owned Aspen Comics series of the same name.

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The winners of the Fantasy category were a duo. Rusty the Gnoll (unsure which specific fantasy game — gnolls aren’t unique to one) posed with the photogenic prowess. His dwarven partner proved more elusive.

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Champions of the Group division: steampunk Ghostbusters, successfully merging two of the mandatory convention cosplay types into a single victorious, Victorian hybrid. Their inspired motto: “Who ya gonna telegraph?”

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A special prize was given to the overly tall Arkham Asylum version of Bane, hopped up on the Titan drug and ready to flatten you if you can’t master the mystical Zen art known as “sidestepping”.

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Also receiving a special prize: Kaylee’s fancy dress from the Firefly episode “Shindig”. That shared moment between Kaylee and Mal remains one of my favorite non-funny moments of the entire series.

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Dr. Girlfriend from The Venture Bros.

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Zelda, a character even aging NES owners like me should recognize.

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Alternate take on Zelda, Twilight Princess style. She even sang for us, but the song escaped me — something pretty about shining a light or somesuch.

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Marian Hawke from Dragon Age. Photos of anyone who wouldn’t hold still looked not unlike her weapon there. Prime example: one contestant as a guy from a Resident Evil death squad spent his onstage moments performing some nifty tumbling and stomping and dodging of imaginary fire. He refused to hold still for a single second. At such a distance and without permission to use a flash, our cameras totally hated and rejected him. Sorry, guy.

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Lilith Sahl from Trinity Blood.

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Inquisitorial Guard from Warhammer 40K.

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Gary and Walter from The Muppets, alongside good ol’ Captain America. Gary also received a special award as the longest-running entrant (every year since 2000). Kudos!

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Vash the Stampede, from Trigun.

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Captain Hook Gaston, the Evil Queen, Hades, and Jafar represent for Disney Big Bads.

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Ichigo from Bleach.

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Also armed with a sword of sorts: Darth Revan from Star Wars: the Old Republic.

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Deadmau5! The only musician costume in attendance.

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It took me some time to convince my wife that, yes, Uncle Marvel was a real comic book character, and yes, this costume is uncanny in its accuracy. If you’ve ever had the chance to read the original Captain Marvel comics by C. C. Beck, Otto Binder, and other writers from the 1940s and ’50s, I strongly recommend them over the humorless travesty that the “Shazam!” mythos has been for the past twenty years. Yes, I sincerely do prefer good ol’ Dudley here to that mess.

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To be continued!

[In our next episode: more costumes, maybe a little more blurriness, the three media guests, and lots of something called League of Legends, which I'd never heard of before today.]

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My wife and I present more of our Costume Contest and non-competitive costume pics from GenCon 2012 in Indianapolis, as we personally witnessed on Saturday, August 18, 2012. Same disclaimers apply as in episode one regarding photo quality. Neither of us is a professional photographer, unless someone wants to PayPal us a tip in exchange for a copy of the original file for any of these pics. Then we’ll consider ourselves professional photographers. Until that impossibility happens, we’re just two fans sharing our experiences with a lovable, enthusiastic crowd.

Drow knights, either from Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons, or one of their descendants.

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Darth Talon, from John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s erstwhile post-ROTJ series Star Wars: Legacy.

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Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man 2099, and Peter Parker. And to think, Spidey 2099 was worried that no one would recognize him. Even before my son and I played and loved Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, I already had (and still have) my complete run of the original Peter Parker/Rick Leonardi Spider-Man 2099 series (not the later issues after David left, though — meh). Consider yourself identified and appreciated, good sir.

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Zot the Wizard, from a board game called Red Dragon Inn. As a longtime fan of the works of Scott McCloud, I find this name problematic.

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Q in his judge’s robes from “Encounter at Farpoint”, one of the very few openly Trek fans in evidence.

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A nurse from Silent Hill, apparently a video game set in a world where health care costs are carefully controlled and all the medical professionals in America quit their jobs except Dr. Nick Riviera.

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Lady Captain America works just as hard for the troops, but for half the paycheck. BOOOOOOOOOOOO.

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Flo, live from Progressive!

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INTERMISSION.

We’ll now take a momentary break from costume pics to allow readers to fetch snacks, visit the facilities, check email, return other people’s calls, and unwind for a few minutes. For those of you who are comfortable and have no needs at the moment, please enjoy this brief summary of the media guests on hand.

Wil Wheaton, Internet columnist and hardy survivor of child stardom, had the longest line of them all. He was last to arrive because he stopped on the way to pick up a copy of Netrunner, then tweet a photo of himself with it. We have a photo of him taking said photo, but this one sums up the just-this-guy ethos that’s kept him from turning into a geek diva.

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Nichelle Nichols was as sweet and lovely as ever, but had a surprisingly short line, possibly because she’s no stranger to cons. We’d met her years ago, so we stood aside to allow others their chance.

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Wes Bentley was a last-minute addition to the lineup, substituting for canceled guest Kristin Bauer, costar of a vampire show we don’t watch. Bentley, the costar of The Hunger Games and Best Picture winner American Beauty, had no line that Saturday. I like to think that all four-day attendees mobbed him on Friday and wanted to give us Saturday-only schlubs a chance. Much appreciated.

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Of all the participants in Authors’ Avenue, my wife had her sights set on meeting one: Michael Stackpole, the man responsible from some of her favorite X-Wing Rogue Squadron novels. I bought a digital copy of his newest novel, the super-hero noir In Hero Years…I’m Dead, which I hope to read if someone ever buys me an eBook reader for a gift. Impulse convention buys are doubly fun when you don’t think them all the way through.

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END INTERMISSION. And now, back to our show.

This satyress was in charge of line-forming for author Paul Genesse and held us at bay until he packed up at 11 a.m. and gave up his booth to the incoming Mr. Stackpole.

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I believe that’s a Poison Ivy variant, but I’m not sure who Lady Purple Stabby-Fingers is. At left is a member of Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts 2. At right is a trio from the hobbyist collective called …And Sewing is Half the Battle, who dressed and performed their own rendition of The Scarlet Pimpernel. When we arrived home and uploaded our photos from cameras to PC, I was flabbergasted to discover this was the best shot we had of them. I wanted to spike both cameras on the ground and stomp them to bits.

Fortunately, thanks to the miracle of the Internet, a previous offstage performance by the same three sartorially superior players is available for online viewing. Once again the day is saved, thanks to YouTube!

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Alas, the name of this fairy-style character is forever lost in a mishmash of several costume-contest notes that couldn’t be matched up to specific photos.

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One of two Deadpools we caught. They should totally have fought it out for ‘Pool supremacy.

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A quiet moment and some candy shared between one of a few Sailor Moons and one of several thousand Doctor Whos in the house. (Seriously, the Who North America booth was filled with Whovians poring over the Who-merchandise and Who-supplies. With such a hardcore fandom willing to represent for it, I’m beginning to get the impression that perhaps it might be a not-bad show.)

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Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover from the MMORPG League of Legends. I’d never heard of LoL before GenCon and had some reading to do when I came home. Regretfully, I have to abstain from MMOs because I’m well aware of how many hours I’d spend on them per week if given the chance. It’s for the sake of all my other hobbies and family that I have to say no.

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Swain and Lulu, also from League of Legends. I don’t think they’re sheriffs.

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If I’ve done my math right, I believe this is an entire League of Legends class reunion. I’m not sure how many years have passed since graduation, but they look younger than ever.

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To be continued!

[In our next part: still more costumes, including a few low-quality samples of competitors who appear to be vibrating at the speed of Barry Allen.]

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Thanks very much to those of you who’ve been enjoying, sharing, and starring in the photos that my wife and I took at GenCon 2012 last weekend here in Indianapolis. Rest assured the city always gets a kick out of your presence, and I’m not just referring to tourist dollars. (Seriously, everyone left and took all the pizzazz with them. Bring back our pizzazz! WE NEED IT.)

Please enjoy this last hurrah of cosplay fun and outright fashion victories. Newcomers may refer back to entry #1 and episode 2 for your “Previously On: GenCon 2012 Photos” recap. All previous disclaimers regarding quality and old-people ignorance apply as before.

Local variety band il Troubadore aren’t always representing for Trek in their live performances, but you have not experienced “American Pie” until you have heard it in the original Klingon.

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Steampunk Wonder Woman.

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The first Harley Quinn we ran across. She had the Arleen Sorkin voice down, too. In fact, I’m wondering whether or not this was the same Harley we saw at Wizard World Chicago the weekend before.

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Billing himself as Gumshoe the Orc Shaman, I’m fairly certain this was the guy’s own World of Warcraft character, not necessarily a cousin of Shrek.

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JAWA! Somewhere in my house is my old collection of a few dozen Jawa action figures, plush toys, and vehicles. In my old apartment, I used to have a Jawa diorama atop my entertainment center. I may need to add one of these new organic models to my collection.

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The Red Skull plots to overthrow the GenCon staff, institute an evil new order, and burn all copies of any WWII strategy game that allows the Allies to defeat the Axis.

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Two more Harleys, a Riddler, a Robin, and an Ivy. At the rate that Harley costumes of all versions are catching on, their ranks will threaten to outnumber the convention Ghostbusters and Doctors Who before too long. On the other end of the spectrum, plain white Jedi knights and Trek crewmen have definitely been on a downswing in 2012.

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The emcee introduced Gandalf here as “the Jägermeister Wizard”. Either I missed out on a YouTube meme, or I stopped reading The Book of Lost Tales, Part One a few tales too soon. Maybe you just had to be there, and you had to be drunk.

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The remaining photos would, in a crueler world, exist only as unpublished outtakes. The issue wasn’t costume quality in any of these cases. If your costume looked like the product of ten hasty minutes with cardboard and a couple of markers (or more likely, if your “costume” was just a character T-shirt and matching ballcap), I probably wouldn’t have pointed my camera at you in the first place. In a few cases it was camera issues on our end. In most cases, we were daunted and stymied by the task of taking photos of moving targets from Row 10 in a darkened ballroom without permission to use flash.

I’ve decided I have the unmitigated gall to shrink these down for flaw minimization purposes and share them anyway, because I was impressed by the diversity of works and characters that were represented from all walks of life and hobbydom. An amazing amount of effort and craft were put into many of these, and I’d love to be directed toward better shots of many of them. Also, in a few cases, I’d greatly appreciate it if someone could educate me on character names.

Left: The emcee’s intro reached my ears as “Delarosa from ‘Homestar’.” I’m 105% certain I misheard. Looks great, but my attempts to ID her ended in multiple dead ends.
Right: General Baggy, mascot for Battle Foam, company specializing in storage for game miniatures.

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Left: I thought these were Heartless or Nobodies from Kingdom Hearts. My son says I’m wrong.
Right: My failed notes say, “Kath of the Shadows, ‘Song of Ice and Fire’”. Most likely wrong. Haven’t read any of the series. Looks cool anyway.

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Left: Battletech Clansmen. They got into a fight onstage and stopped paying attention to us. Presumably part of the act.
Right: Master Chief and…we don’t have an XBox, so I don’t know his buddy. Assistant Master Chief? Major-Chief? Apprentice Chief? Just plain Chief? Or does he get mad when you call him Chief?

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Left: Aayla Secura. I didn’t say there were no Jedi around.
Right: Not sure, but if we apply crossover math, green top plus tiny hat equals Steampunk Poison Ivy. Am I close?

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Left: Beauty and the Beast, personal interpretation. Remember, Walt Disney didn’t write the story and doesn’t own it. CG ballroom gowns are not mandatory.
Right: Professor Oak, Nurse Joy, and Chansey perform a pretty amusing Pokemon skit.

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Left: My notes say “Stalkers, Guards of the Pits”. My eyes say stilts are always a neat trick, and I predict within two years, plague masks will be the new steampunk goggles.
Right: Bellatrix LeStrange. On her way back to her seat, she shrieked from the camera-hating darkness, “I KILLED SIRIUS!” Spot-on.

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Left: My takeaway was “dragon poetess”, due to her open-mic poem recital.
Right: Battle Armor Haldir from Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers was another of the costume contest’s special-recognition winners. Mild coincidence on our end: Craig Parker was at Wizard World Chicago last weekend, except as part of a trio signing for fans of his TV series Legend of the Seeker. I felt sheepish having him autograph our copy of The Two Towers while ignoring his costars, so we ended up bypassing their shared booth.

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Left: I’m pretty sure these were from Soul Calibur. If I’m wrong, they’re from Dragon Age. In a barely related note, “Caliber Dragon” would be a great name for a comic book.
Right: This one made it into my notes as “Dragon Age old lady”. I distinctly recall she referred to herself as an “old lady” in third-person, so I can’t be too far off.

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Left: An original Darth with co-opted elements of Vader and Maul. Plus a mace.
Right: Musical guest Dan the Bard entertains us troops outside the Exhibit Hall before opening on Saturday.

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Left: I wrote down “Triangle Head”, but this is actually Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill series. I was one dimension off.
Right: Alex Mercer from Prototype.

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Left: Wizard paparazzo.
Right: Wizard paparazzo’s target: Wil Wheaton and his newest acquisition, the coveted Netrunner. Wheaton’s version of the moment was tweeted seconds later. (This isn’t a costume pic, but I couldn’t resist.)

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To be concluded!

[In our final chapter: GenCon objets d'art and other less-sought-after sights.]

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Let’s face it: costumes are the real reason to attend a sci-fi convention. Celebrities are okay. Talented writers and artists are nice to meet if they’re not terrible people. Panels, Q&As, and fan club meetings are great opportunities for great minds to hang out together. There’s also something to be said for wandering the dealers’ room for new hobbyist purchases, whether new items you’ve never seen or vintage collectibles you could never afford. My wife and I even attended an interesting lecture on nineteenth-century forensics, which drew comparisons between the original Sherlock Holmes stories and later historical developments in the field.

When it comes to Internet recaps, though, costumes are the main attraction. They celebrate our favorite characters, they showcase the creativity and inspiration of dedicated fans, they enliven the dullest moments of any convention, and they help distract us from garish hotel carpeting.

Among the best of this year’s bunch: a pink samurai, hanging out for a moment here with one of Indianapolis’ own Naptown Roller Girls.

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Naturally, standard Trek characters were out in full force, such as Q and his companion from the Enterprise crew.

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For fans of the original series, an old-school classic-Trek Klingon made a rare con appearance, courtesy of the local chapter of the Starfleet Command fan club.

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Also patrolling the premises: Bukai the Dragon Ranger, from the Super Sentai sixteenth iteration, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Or, y’know, “the Green Power Ranger!” to you Americentric rabble.

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For anyone who feels left out because they don’t recognize any of these costumes so far, I present…TV’s Velma! If I have to explain who she is, you should consider buying at least one screen-based object for your house or shack.

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Friday night opening ceremonies included a color guard performance by assorted sci-fi personalities, as well as musical numbers and tributes and such.

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If you didn’t bring your own costume, you could either buy shirts and accessories from the dealers’ room, or visit the very special NASA exhibit, which included a simulated astronaut’s uniform available for try-ons. You, too, could feel what it’s like to be among those brave pioneers who come as close to infinity-and-beyond as NASA’s shoestring budget will stretch nowadays. Unfortunately the suit wasn’t made for guys like me who are too tall to be horse jockeys. I couldn’t even wedge my head inside the helmet. My wife, on the other hand, fit just fine and totally stole my planned photo op. Good for her. Not that I’m bitter.

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Also part of that NASA exhibit: a genuine moon rock from the planet Moon, the only object in the entire convention that had its own security guard on duty.

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In addition to costumes and costume accessories, available products and goods in the dealers’ room included Trek action figures of years past, tons of Doctor Who paraphernalia, Japanese snacks, Trek pet toys, and these residents of the Island of Misfit Board Games. If I’d panned left, the shot would’ve included a game I once owned as a kid, The MAD Magazine Game. Good times.

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We conclude here with an encore appearance by Messrs. O’Reilly and Hertzler from Part One, returning for the grand finale in a special souvenir photo taken with this writer and his aforementioned wife.

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And a fun time was had by all, especially the two Klingons who were mesmerized by my Hawaiian shirt.

The End. Thanks for reading!

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From a purely photographic perspective, our family found 2012 far from boring, to say the least. It wasn’t without its share of trials, tears, and terrors, but it’s my fervent hope that the memories of those invigorating events caught on camera should outlast the emotional scars of the uglier incidents for years to come.

Some of the following subjects are from photo parades previously shared here on MCC. Some are from events that occurred prior to MCC’s inception on April 28, 2012. Some of these are sneak previews of photo parades that have been held in reserve until the conclusion of the 2012 Road Trip series, which is not represented in this gallery since it has its very own de facto home page.

That being said: the lighter side of 2012 from my limited vantage point appeared as follows. Enjoy!

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To learn more about MCC photo collections from 2012, visit your local library for further reading that doesn’t exist, or check out these past entries:

* Indy 500 Festival Parade 2012 Photo Gallery
* Metropolis Superman Celebration 2012 Photo Gallery
* Threat Level Milquetoast: Visiting Indiana Beach Without Kids
* Indiana State Fair 2012 Photos: Sandwiches, Sculpture, and a Surprise Celebrity
* Wizard World Chicago: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five
* GenCon: Parts One, Two, Three, Four
* Starbase Indy: Parts One, Two, Three

Legal disclaimer for the record: though the above-displayed “2012 in Pictures” gallery is entirely comprised of photos I personally snapped, all other galleries on this site are the collaborative efforts of myself and my amazing wife, to whom I owe ongoing credit and endless gratitude for any number of contributions and general above-and-beyond support in 2012.

See you in 2013!

[Special thanks to the WordPress.com Daily Post, whose Weekly Photo Challenge was directly responsible for today's topic, which aims to complement and expand upon my previous MCC 2012 in Review.

Today is also Day Seven of the seven-day WordPress.com Daily Post's "Just Do It!" Weekly Writing Challenge, in which WordPress bloggers were dared to post-a-day for seven consecutive days. This visual retrospective is lucky number seven, the show-stopping finale. Thanks for visiting!]

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Clik here to view.This year my wife and I are gearing up to attend our third consecutive C2E2 comic-book-’n'-entertainment convention up in Chicago, happening April 26th-28th, 2013. We missed the inaugural year in 2010 due to a schedule conflict, but I’ve made a point of prioritizing it on my calendar ever since. I rather like the idea of someone attempting a Midwest version of the San Diego Comic Con.

Most people in our hobbies are familiar with the longer-running Wizard World Chicago con, whose present incarnation emphasizes its celebrity autograph show while casually including some comics on the side. Though C2E2′s 2013 guest list implies that their entertainment-guest budget has been exponentially increased, they nonetheless attract a much wider lineup of comic-book writers, artists, and fans as well. C2E2 has one major advantage in my book: the major comic companies — Marvel, DC, Dark Horse — have sided with C2E2 over WWC, appearing each year at the former while having sadly eschewed the latter for years.

* * * * *

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Clik here to view.C2E2 is nowhere near the size of San Diego, but obviously dreams of being such someday. It presently uses only one section of Chicago’s enormous McCormick Place convention center, which has plenty more room to offer if Reed Exhibitions decided they needed some value-added sprawling space. 2012 attendance was pegged at 41,000, up from 32,000 in 2011 and well above its 2010 debut of 27,500. San Diego could still beat up C2E2 and steal its lunch money, but I’m eager to see it keep growing.

The following photo collection, to be curated and presented here in two parts, was previously shared elsewhere online at the time, but never on a site I could call my own…until now. Midlife Crisis Crossover wasn’t created until a few weeks after C2E2 2012; thus it’s my pleasure to present to you, the Viewers at Home, this retrospective of our first C2E2 — chiefly, pics of some of the most interesting costumes we witnessed. For the average con attendee, the costumes are one of the most fascinating, creatively engaging aspects of the convention experience.

(Not that it was all about costumes. Your humble author and his even humbler wife were each allowed a moment to strike our own poses courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.)

Even type-A cynics who have no time for super-heroes know these guys. DC Comics may have forced them into new costumes two years ago, but fans dressed in the classic versions will outnumber the usurper togs, guaranteed.

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Cyclops and Jean Grey represent for the Marvel side, during a brief time frame when neither of them were dead.

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Fan conventions are never all about super-heroes. You can always count on a few Ghostbusters, one or more Indiana Jones, the occasional stray Captain Jack Sparrow, and an increasing number of Doctor Whos. Leave it to Jedi Masters Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, and Saesee Tiin to keep the Force alive.

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Two of my favorites that year: Marvel’s classic mismatched buddy-hero team, Power Man and Iron Fist.

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Fans who enjoy the CW’s Arrow are likely unaware that, in his advance years, Oliver Queen later had a son who followed in dad’s super-heroic footsteps. Connor Hawke wore the Green Arrow mantle for several years while his dad was dead, but was eventually sidelined after his resurrection. As far as I know, poor Connor ceased to exist after DC’s New 52 reboot.

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Another couple of favorites: Hawkman is tough to pull off in a crowded atmosphere because of the constant risk of wing damage. His companion is G’Nort, one of the most incompetent, mentally unaware Green Lanterns of all time. As comic relief, he ruled. He now resides with Son of Green Arrow in post-reboot limbo.

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From the world of video games, meet King Mickey from the Kingdom Hearts series, one of my son’s childhood favorites. (The first two games rank pretty highly with me, too. The final boss battle in KH2 remains one of the most stressful yet successful moments in my entire gaming history.)

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Lest anyone think it’s all about American media, rest assured that anime/manga fans show up in droves. Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop is but one of a pantheon. I’m sure you know her companion. Oh, and whatshisname the droid, sneaking into the shot like a tiny, jealous diva. Squint hard and you’ll spot at least one Ghostbuster as a veritable buried Easter egg.

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To be continued!

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Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

The following photo collection, to be curated and presented here in two parts, was previously shared elsewhere online [in 2011], but never on a site I could call my own…until now. Midlife Crisis Crossover wasn’t created until a few weeks after C2E2 2012; thus it’s my pleasure to present to you, the Viewers at Home, this retrospective of our first C2E2 — chiefly, pics of some of the most interesting costumes we witnessed. For the average con attendee, the costumes are one of the most fascinating, creatively engaging aspects of the convention experience.

Last time we focused on some of the good-guy costumes we encountered. Now it’s the bad guys’ turn. Darkseid, Shredder, and Dr. Doom bid you welcome and insist that you submit or else.

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Like the World’s Finest team we saw in part 1, traditional Penguin is another classic for viewers young and old.

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If you only know of the Kingpin from the film version of Daredevil, this one may be lost on you. This is a dead-on recreation of John Romita’s original design, complete with superfluous cane and trademark cigar that in today’s world would earn him an instant PG-13 rating.

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We’ve been told Electro will be one of the villains to appear in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel, to be played by Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx. It’s a safe bet that Foxx will not be sporting the Steve Ditko headgear, but I had to award bonus points to this gent for the LED faux-electrified grip.

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Mojo is an otherdimensional tyrant and TV executive who tangled with the X-Men a few times back in the late ’80s and was designed by an intermittent but influential artist named Arthur Adams. Sebastian Shaw was the character Kevin Bacon played in X-Men: First Class, except without his traditional Inner Circle retro-England garb correctly worn here. Now I don’t have to imagine what a Mojo/Shaw team-up would look like, but I’m not convinced it would last long before egos clashed.

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Another one of my favorites from this year: Black Adam, longtime arch-nemesis to SHAZAM!, a.k.a. Captain Marvel.

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I’m neither a Doctor Who fan nor a hater, but I’m guessing people like old-school Daleks. Behold, then!

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To this day I have no idea what this was supposed to be, but I had to commend him for staying in character. He shambled around, hunched over and jabbering nonsense. If you tried to approach him, he recoiled. If you took his picture, he made happy animal sounds. (I hope he was just playing a character, anyway…)

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Dieters of the world, beware one of your several thousand sworn enemies: free samples of addictive Japanese fruit candy! Do you dare negotiate with their giant-sized living spokesmodel?

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This is an Uglydoll. They had a booth at the con. They seem mostly lovable.

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Rather than an ending in which the bad guys win, we’ll conclude here with a couple of surprise hero types: a Tron warrior and a Na’Vi from Avatar, each representing for movies as counterbalance to all the comic book folks.

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I have more 2011 pics if the public demands an encore, including photos some of the comic-book creators I met, but I tried to winnow down the collection to a manageable size, plus I omitted several blurry shots. That hideous red carpeting did us amateur photogs no favors.

Gentle reminder: C2E2 2013 will be held April 26th-28th at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center/ Plenty of tickets are still available! Rest assured MCC will do its part to share the experience. (Expect a C2E2 2012 retrospective before then, too.)

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We’re now two weeks away from this year’s C2E2, the fourth installment of Chicago’s up-’n'-coming comic-book-’n’-entertainment convention that hopes someday to achieve the size and reach of the San Diego Comic Con if enough of us Midwesterners support it.

Every C2E2 has plenty of activities for the hobby enthusiast: entertainment guests signing autographs; popular comic book creators speaking at panels, holding Q&As, and likewise autographing for fans; aspiring young creators gathering in Artists Alley and hoping to sell you on their own proud efforts; comic-shop owners and SF collectors selling vintage back issues, rare toys, and bargain-box oldies by the pound; booths representing the major comics publishers, including Marvel and DC; and — most noticeable of all — fans attending in costume, resplendent in their creativity and/or audacity.

Part 1 of MCC’s C2E2 2011 retrospective has a much longer intro with more information about the con and its history. As with that two-part miniseries, the following photo collection, to be curated and presented here in three parts, was previously shared elsewhere online last year, two weeks before Midlife Crisis Crossover was born. (Someone should remind me sometime to tell the story of how C2E2 was indirectly responsible for MCC’s creation in the first place…) For the sake of bringing my works under a single, unified creative banner, it’s my pleasure to present to you, the Viewers at Home, this memory parade of our second time at C2E2.

We commence with the wider-appeal characters first to stress that the ‘E’ in “C2E2″ stands for “entertainment”. Comics are a major part of the proceedings, but there’re more to most comics fans’ interests than graphic storytelling alone. Exhibit A: the outlandish stylings of Effie Trinket and Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games.

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Our Hunger Games heroine, Katniss Everdeen, was a popular costume at each of the major cons we attended last year.

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Though he was a comic character first, most folks know Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer from the underappreciated Disney adaptation, starring Academy Award Winner Jennifer Connelly, former spy Timothy Dalton, and the creepy mayoral candidate from AMC’s The Killing as the Rocketeer.

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Zuul and the Ghostbusters, just hanging out as if their differences were settled and no streams were ever crossed with explosive, marshmallow-liquefying results.

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A cluster of Death Star employees, no doubt happy with their workplace environment and little suspecting that their health insurance will ultimately be a complete waste of money.

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A Return of the Jedi Biker Scout hangs out with Colonial Marines from Aliens, swapping stories and complaining about their grisly fates.

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Most obscure of this lot is the Shogun of Harlem from the obscure 1985 martial-arts cheesefest Berry Gordy’s the Last Dragon. I saw it in theaters when I was twelve. To this day, I’m still not sure what to think of the movie or the costume. This won the Saturday costume contest, partly for originality and partly because he yelled and overacted a lot onstage. Yelling and overacting are surefire winning moves in many convention costume contests.

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Representative ape from Planet of the same. In their alt-future, purple is the new armor.

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Three Disney Princesses and one Warrior Princess hang out with one truly lucky Stormtrooper…by which I mean he has slightly better odds of survival than those doomed Death Star henchmen.

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To be continued!

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Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

[T]he following photo collection, to be curated and presented here in three parts, was previously shared elsewhere online last year, two weeks before Midlife Crisis Crossover was born. For the sake of bringing my works under a single, unified creative banner, it’s my pleasure to present to you, the Viewers at Home, this memory parade of our second time at C2E2.

Part One focused on movie-based costumes. For this installment, our focus is the attending majority who support Marvel and/or DC Comics. Some were more inspired by Marvel films than by Marvel comics, but wouldn’t exist without the comics’ success in the first place.

In a rare moment of Big Two detente, WWII Captain America costars in his own special inter-company crossover with the grim-’n'-gritty 1980s version of Green Arrow, the first version of the character to retire the trick arrows and fight crime using only traditional, pointy, frequently lethal arrows…except in this photo, because C2E2 has strict weapons policies. Armed WWII Cap will be fighting to defend the both of them, then.

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On the lighter side, Smallville‘s own Green Arrow was a little more mannered and a lot more charming than the ’80s incarnation. I’ll be curious to see if any Arrow fans appear this year in shirtless regalia.

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Fans of DC’s animated universes will recognize the Joker’s pal Harley Quinn, and Starfire from Teen Titans.

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Steampunk versions of established characters is a costume subgenre gaining popularity at cons. Such alt-universe flourishes will guarantee your costume will resemble no one else’s, and since you devised it yourself, no one can tell you you’re doing it wrong. Here, Steampunk Rogue and Steampunk Polaris represent for a hypohetical team of Steampunk X-Men.

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X-Force was later shaken up and reformed after the con, so now all we have are recent memories. Front row: X-23 and Deadpool. Back row, left to right: Dark Beast, Domino, Archangel, Thunderbird, giant-sized Lockheed the Dragon for some reason (he’s usually housepet-sized), Wolverine, Cable, and Just-Out-of-Frame Lad.

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Two X-Force members also posed with other X-folks, not just their color-coordinated teammates. Left to right: classic Juggernaut, movie Wolverine, classic Magneto, original Gambit, original Rogue, ’90s Cyclops (give or take a decade).

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Frequent Spider-Man foes the Black Cat and the Rhino show off their ill-gotten gains, taken from the First National Bank of OldMoviePropVille. Caught unintentionally in the background are the Invisible Woman and possibly Captain Jamaica.

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The illusionist known as Mysterio has yet to be allowed in any of the live-action Spider-Man films, but kids who enjoyed the 1990s animated series might remember him. We assumed his helmet had air holes and we weren’t oblivious to muted cries for help.

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At the end of the Saturday costume contest, the Dark Knight was more than ready to take out the trash…or, preferably, to hunt down the evildoers responsible for this wanton abandonment of litter.

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To be continued!

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