Wizard World arrived here in Philadelphia the first weekend in June. For those not in the know, it’s also called Comic Con.
The first time I went to Comic Con was back in 2009. My husband is a huge superhero, comic book, and graphic novel fan, and he was excited to introduce that world to me.
We have gone every summer since then. Always the two of us. Always buying more stuff than we need. We have a good time each year and look forward to the next one.
As anyone who’s been in proximity knows, people dress up at Comic Con. Some are mainstream costumes like The Joker and Superman. Some costumes are more obscure like Harry Potter or Doctor Who’s minor characters. Some of the best ones are characters that I do not recognize at all.
One of the neat things about a convention like this one is the range of activities and booths that they offer. They have an “Artists Alley” where different artists sit and actually create work there on the spot. They have vintage toys for collectors and new toys for kids. They have t-shirts and key chains and souvenir mugs and pens and stickers and pretty much anything else you can imagine.
So this year, we decided it was time for our 4-year-old-daughter to experience her first “Con.” She got dressed up in her new Wonder Woman costume and off we went.
We took the train into the city, and that was new for her as well. She was calm and collected, and if not for her costume and size, she would have looked like any other commuter. She took it all in and enjoyed the adventure.
Once there, her little legs kept up with ours as we walked into the Philadelphia Convention Center. Her eyes got wide, and she adjusted her costume and strutted her stuff. She got a lot of attention, and she lapped it up. She did twirls on-demand, smiled for pictures with various characters and enjoyed herself immensely.
I know my husband is elated that she is interested in something that he has liked since he was probably just a little bit older than her. He had been happy to introduce that world to me—but he was even happier to introduce it to her.
It was so great to see that world through her eyes. She was light and giddy. She saw a Batman who had a big belly and was walking with a cane and walked right up to him and said, “Hi Batman!” She did not notice that he was any different from anyone else. At Comic Con, your imagination lets you see what you want to see. In many ways, it’s like being a kid all over again. Or for our daughter, it was a place that allowed her just to be her, in a world of whimsical imagination.
