It was three days of community and fun at the Palais de Congrès for the annual Comiccon event. A record number of 62,000 people came, plenty in costumes, ensuring that there was a little something for everyone no matter what their fandom is.
This reporter spent her time talking to as many people as she could about how people felt to be back after the pandemic hiatus. The general consensus was that people were initially nervous to be in large crowds, but very quickly realized how much they missed the energy, the friendships, and the community itself.
Popular events included the Masquerade, which was so full that many were turned away at the door. Autographs by Kevin Eastman, the creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, drew a long line that stretched across the Palais. People of course queued up to get autographs from genre celebrities including Ted Raimi, Katherine McNamara, Bruce Boxleitner, Grace Van Dien, James Marsters, Noelle Hannibal, and many others.
Panels with Bonnie Wright and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter) were well attended, as were the different events held such as speed dating, burlesgeek performance, and the orchestral performances. A journey to the fifth floor revealed all kinds of workshops and smaller panels, as well as a chillout room for cosplayers to repair their costumes and take a break from the attention.
Plenty walked out of Comiccon loaded with purchases, from legendary boardgames to comics to new cosplay gear to all kinds of art. Some left with tattoos as there was a tattoo booth in the exhibition hall.
In the exhibition hall, there were cosplay sections set up for Vikings, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and Dr. Who where people who came dressed (and those who weren’t) could put on costumes and take pictures.
Another section of the exhibition hall was dedicated to Indie games and 8-bit games like Pong, Duck Hunter, and your general retro Atari experiences.
All in all, everyone seemed to be having an incredible time.