I attended Boston Comic-Con August 12th to August 14th. I had been to Comic-Con in the past years alongside my father and sister. I met celebrities and bought comics, took pictures and had pictures taken. I also spent the weekend with the like minds who normally are told to stop referencing Doctor Who or “grow up, it's just Star Wars.” For Comic-Con weekend, thousands of people attend in their element and are able to be who they really are without judgment. Here is my complete run-down of the con

We arrived at the North Shore Hotel in Danvers, MA on the Thursday before Comic-Con. After bringing our bags to the room, we went out to dinner at the North Shore Mall. The attraction to the shopping center was the Lego Store. I described experiencing the store as the same feeling that Jack Skellington had in The Nightmare Before Christmas when he entered Christmas Town to my sister, Olivia. Prices were the equivalent as anywhere else. They offered a system that could make three custom mini figs. A plan for Monday after the con was made there.

We woke up on Friday, got into our costumes, and headed down to the city. The heat was almost unbearable. I had brought along a few comics to get signed, to keep me entertained while sitting in the hot Boston sun while wearing a Matt the Radar Technician cosplay. Yes, I cosplayed as a Saturday Night Live skit – it became one of the most talked about costumes of the convention. We were in line for roughly two and a half hours (but it felt like four). Eventually, they opened the Con and we went straight into the air-conditioned haven recognized as the Seaport World Trade Center.

Aforementioned was an uneventful day. We had walked around the floor, looking and pricing things out. I did not get any artist signatures that day, but I did buy a print from a local artist of Matt the Radar Tech. I ran into a friend, Jackie. She met up with us occasionally during the weekend. All weekend I was stopped and asked for pictures. The Con had set up a room dedicated to cosplay. We met unusual cosplayers – my favorite being the Pokemon Go themed Schuyler Sisters from Hamilton. My sister entered the Kids Cosplay Contest as Rey, the Jedi from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My sister did not win the contest but, she was able to enter and show off her costume. As the day progressed, we all grew thirsty and searched for water. Nothing was found. At the end of the day, I went to the panel featuring Scott Snyder, the writer of Batman, and the artist of five years, Greg Capullo. After the panel had ended with 12% battery on my phone, we went back to the hotel.

Saturday, the weather was much more bearable. The high was around 75, which was almost freezing when compared to the 95-100 degree weather of Friday morning. However, on Saturday, we were among the first in line, despite getting there around 7:15, which sounds early for something opening at 10:00, but this would be the biggest day, so it made sense to be early. As we waited, the sky was cloudy and threatening rain, but nothing of the sort happened.

Inside, the crowds were large and lines were long. My dad stood in line to meet William Shatner of Star Trek, while Olivia and I waited until late afternoon to get our autographs. Today we bought a few toys and comics including the BCC variant cover of Harley Quinn #1. The day went on and more photos were taken. I took a few photos as well and a video of Harley Quinn who did the iconic voice perfectly. As we walked around with Jackie, an announcement was made that they would be starting a new line to meet Karen Gillan. Karen Gillan is a former companion on Doctor Who. I made my way to the autograph area. I met the first companion from the episode that got me hooked in the first place. During this, I noticed the line for Jenna Coleman, my favorite champion of also of Doctor Who, was short. Noticing this, I texted Olivia and we met near a booth to check in to make our way over to the line. While I waited, I ran into an amazing cosplayer as the Joker. They recited a monolog from The Killing Joke in a voice that sounded like something between Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger. Once we had it organized, we went over and met another actress from the longest-running sci-fi series. Not long after meeting Coleman, I went to have my reprint of Star Wars #1 signed by Howard Chaykin, the artist. When I asked him what it was like working at Marvel back in the 70's, he gave the best possible answer – saying that it was a job that involved “a lot of drugs and a lot of drinking.” The day continued on and as the evening began I discovered a comic vendor, treating myself to classic Silver Age comics, before leaving.

The last day's line was both good and bad. We were the first ones in line, even though it was about two hours until the con opened. Typical for a Sunday, I guess. The sun beat down on us once again, but the wind was able to keep it to a comfortable level. As the first ones in line, when they opened the gates, we were told to be the ones to “set the pace” for the crowd of almost a thousand people. And so, we held up our arms, showing the wristbands we had been issued on Friday, and entered the convention for the last day.

I had planned on Sunday being the day I went and bought as many comics as I could. I also planned to get the artist/writer signatures, meeting Marv Wolfman (Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths), David Lloyd (V for Vendetta), Mark Waid (All-New Avengers, Kingdom Come), and Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther). Wolfman explained that it was so much better working in the comics industry back in the 1970s-80s, as they had “more freedom” to write, whereas now it was all editorial mandates. I pillaged dollar and fifty cent bins of comics, picking up some issues I'd been looking for for a while, as well as whatever caught my eye enough to be added to my ever-increasing collection. Mid-afternoon, I went over and jumped in yet another celebrity line, this time to meet Gotham star Ben McKenzie. He almost wrote out the autograph to “Zack,” but fixed it when we both realized his mistake. He was perfectly fine with it, joking that “you paid for it, why wouldn't you want it to have your name?” We had a good laugh, and we parted ways after a conversation about his series. I went right back to work, picking up comics and a small blind-boxed statue of the DC Bombshells Flash. My bag was becoming heavy, and the sleeplessness and rush of the weekend was finally hitting the three of us. After making a final purchase of a Star Wars mystery box, we left the Seaport and went back to the hotel for the last night.

All in all, this was yet another great year at Boston Comic Con. It's a single weekend in late summer where people from all walks of life, of all ages and races and backgrounds, come together and discuss their favorite stories, meet celebrities they admire, and just be themselves. It's not often in these days that people can all meetup and unite just to hang out and be nerdy. There's a rise of these events in recent years, but what I have noticed is that in Boston, it's still about the fans. They have ticketed panels, but you get those online before the show – you don't have to miss time at the convention to stand in line to maybe get a wristband to maybe get into a DC Comics panel. It's a large, yet also small, intimate show, where we all gathered and wandered, meeting new people and making a great weekend out of it. I'm already saving out the dates for next year.