VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The 2023 Tidewater Comicon is back and bigger! What started from a free event in a hotel has grown into a large weekend fun event for all ages. Take a look at the local cosplay, the fun and the fantasy from this past weekend in Virginia Beach.
Comicon is a convention for comic book fans! It's a celebration of movies, books, videogames and more in a space where geek culture meets pop entertainment!
According to con-goers, this is a space where thousands from the community can gather and freely express themselves.
“You can definitely be yourself and other people aren't looking at you like, 'what are you wearing' because they're wearing the same thing," said Skylar, cosplaying as Himiko Toga.
As you walk around, there's so much to see! From 3-D cartoons, asian-inspired foods, to handcrafted pieces on display. Some comics are widely known, and others are getting their debut.
“Tell me about this superhero that we're looking at right now!” said Lauryn Bass.
“Hey, this is the newest superhero on the scene—in my opinion the coolest superhero. His name is drip, d-r-i-p, which is an acronym that stands for 'Do Right, Inspire People'. We take this superhero here and we go to schools all across the country and we do anti-bullying assemblies and motivational speaking,” said Jason Lewis, 2-Land Writer.
Whether you're a first-timer or vet, conventions take a lot of preparation. For some cosplayers, costumes are a multistep process.
“It took a while– the wig in particular– because I have two wigs stacked together and then styled. So, the wig.. honestly it might've taken 6 hours, ha-ha," said Hailey "Esnon" Owings, cosplaying as Eda Clawthorne.
If that isn't enough, the cherry on top are celebrity panels. Attendees can sign up to get a chance to hear from their favorite stars or voice actors.
All of this and more was jam packed in just two days! To make things easy, most attendees show up for the same reason.
“I decided to come have a good time," said Chris Daily, puppeteer cosplaying as ghostbusters.
For more information on how you can participate, visit tidewatercomicon.com.
