Under-dressed at Comic Con

Pictured above is me eating dinner while refusing to take off my Batman mask. (Photo by Nancy Karazsia)

When I was younger, there was nothing more I enjoyed more than donning a black cape and putting on my plastic Batman mask. As soon as the mask wrapped around the contours of my face I was transported to a world where justice laid explicitly in my hands. I was the hero that Gotham deserved. But as time past my cape became layered with dust and has since remained buried deep in the back of my childhood closet. In recent years, with the revival of the Dark Knight series, I often think back to my childhood and to those long summer afternoons where Gotham's future depended solely on my intervention.

With the recent success of comic book franchises it comes as little consequence that comic conventions have garnered success across the United States. On March 13 through 15, Indianapolis hosted their own Comic Con and, having never gone to a comic con before, I decided it was time that I should experience my first convention.

I opted only to go to the Saturday event, and as I walked in the convention proudly with the Superman emblem displayed across my chest, I realized I have walked into another world.

The main foyer of the Indianapolis Convention Center hummed with an audible roar as superheroes from all ages and genders walked from one room to another.

To my right, Spiderman posed for a photo opt and to my left, the clash of lightsabers buzzed in symphony as two opponents danced in time to the motions of a choreographed fight.

Every interest from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to an incredible likeness of the recent deceased Spock (Leonard Nimoy) greeted stares not as a way of condensation, but as a manner of respect. Everyone bided for attention and remained each other's equal, bonded together by their passions.

In every room, a different event took place, highlighting interest levels from "bad superhero movies," to "nerd speed dating." As an academic curiosity, I almost signed up for the latter, but the event would not start until late in the evening.

One of the main attractions for the event was Carrie Fisher, also known as Princess Leia from the original Star Wars trilogy. Upon hearing this information, I thought back to my youth and the countless hours I have spent watching and re-watching the original trilogy over, and over again. I rushed quickly to room she was in, but to my disappointment, I saw the line to meet her stretched to roughly the size of a football field. Knowing my time was limited, I decided instead to explore the rest of the attractions.

In the end I saw comic book artists, a model of a rancor, and Captain America's shield, and comic books spanning the walls of each seller's station. But, it was not the memorabilia, it was the people that made the Indianapolis Comic Con interesting. As I headed towards the door I saw a man and his son enter. From his appearance, his son was no more than the age of four and on his head he wore the same Batman mask as I once did when I was his age. As he past me, the child's eyes gazed forward and a smile broke across his face as he said, "Look Dad, there's more Batmans in here just like me."

Grant is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 19. He can also be reached via email at gkarazsia@gmail.com.