Calling all cosplayers, fandom fanatics and casually curious nerds.
Central Texas Comic Con is back this weekend for the third year in a row. Hosted at the Base at Extraco Events Center, the Central Texas Comic Con event will bring several celebrity guests, multiple gaming tournaments, various workshops and panels, cosplay contests and more than 100 vendors and artists.
“My favorite thing is just seeing people’s faces light up when they first enter the convention center,” said Clayton Afinowicz, community outreach coordinator for Central Texas Comic Con. “That feeling, especially when someone has never been to a show before, it’s almost like capturing lighting in a bottle.”
Afinowicz said he expects crowds at least as big as those in 2023.
“Attendance was down across the board for those first years after the pandemic, but it has clearly bounced back,” he said. “The last I heard, our online ticket sales were roughly about where they were last year, if not a little bit more.”
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Afinowicz said last year’s event sold around 500 tickets online and close to 4,000 more at the door.
For those who do purchase tickets, the event will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 for a day pass and $35 for a weekend pass. Free passes will be available at the door for children ages 8 and younger.
Although there will be fewer celebrity guests this weekend than there were at last year’s event, Afinowicz said the event will offer more interactive attractions for the entire family.
“We are a family environment, and we have something for all ages,” Afinowicz said. “We’re going to have Bingo and Bluey mascots in attendance on Saturday. Fans can come up, meet them and they can get professional photos done.”
The event will feature local vendors, including Plus Waco Comics, a small independent comics publisher based in Waco, as well as artists from across the state. Attendees can also enter gaming tournaments and the cosplay contest to win prizes.
The event’s unofficial theme for guests this year is voice actors, Afinowicz said. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet voice actors from popular shows such as “Ed, Edd n Eddy,” “Demon Slayer,” “Dragon Ball Z,” “My Hero Academia” and “Tokyo Ghoul.”
Afinowicz said Comic Cons used to be niche events for comic, movie and science fiction fans, but shows are evolving to cater to fans of anime, gaming, horror and even sports.
“There is literally something for everyone, no matter your fandom, no matter your age,” he said. “The great thing about it is everyone is there for the same reason. They are celebrating their fandom and they’re letting their nerd flag fly in a judgment-free zone, so come dressed as your favorite character and enjoy the show.”
Kathleen Laundy, local cosplayer and professor of costume design at McLennan Community College, has attended dozens of comic con events over the last 15 years and can attest to the magic of cosplaying.
“If you are willing to have other people think you look silly, then everybody else there is willing to support you,” she said. “That’s why I love it.”
Although Laundy loved things like “Star Wars” when she was younger, she wasn’t pulled into the world of cosplaying until her husband encouraged her to use her professional skills to make costumes for Renaissance festivals and comic con events.
Laundy said some of her best cosplay ideas have come from her kids. Over the last decade, cosplaying became a way for her whole family to connect with one another. They have now won over a dozen awards from cosplay contests. Laundy said it’s something she takes seriously because making a costume can sometimes require hours of dedicated work.
“It requires blood, sweat and tears,” she said.
Laundy also said she understands why people with niche interests who are marginalized or bullied gravitate toward cosplay. One of Laundy’s sons is diagnosed with autism, and she said one of his favorite ways to relate to the world is to quote lines from his favorite movies, shows and video games.
“I’ve met a lot of kids who, once they’re in a costume with a mask and no one can see them, they’re free. It frees them to be that character that they identify with,” she said.
Comic con events have also allowed Laundy to meet lifelong friends and recruit multiple students to her program at McLennan Community College. She said this hobby has connected her to so many people she still knows today.
“I think the people who go to cons, especially the people who dress up, are this very accepting group of people that are all fans of similar shows or video games and that brings them together. Then you have instant friends.”