Nerds spend weekend in fantasy land at Comic Con
Novi – — Harry Potter, meet the Mad Hatter. Queen Elsa from "Frozen," say hello to the Dragon Queen from "Game of Thrones." Hey, Transformers, do you know the Imperial Stormtroopers?
Long before Hollywood was overrun with comic book superheroes, Comic Con was the original mashup site of TV, movies, video games and fairy tales.
During the annual Motor City Comic Con that ended Sunday, fans of fantasy, horror, anime and science fiction mingled at the Suburban Collection Showplace.
Celebrities also were present, but the real stars were the fans in costumes modeled after their favorite characters.
"I loved all the (Batman) movies," said Tony Kovacs, who was clad cowl to toe in a Batman suit.
The three-day convention, expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, was equal parts pop culture spectacle, trade show and geek fest.
Never was being a nerd so much fun.
Among the dozens of celebrities to meet were William Shatner; Robert Englund, who played Freddie Krueger; and Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn on "The Walking Dead."
The convention center burst with merchandise as vendors hawked comic books, DVDs, memorabilia, T-shirts, paintings and action figures.
John Cantwell, of Melvindale, scoured the massive floor for anything related to Pinhead from the "Hellraiser" series.
"I looked all over. They're hard to find," he said.
Some attendees had paid a small fortune before attending the soiree. The money was spent on their elaborate get-ups.
Doug Sherman, of Utica, was dressed like a Spartan, but not of the Michigan State variety. He was a gladiator from the "300" movie, with helmet, boots and trunks, all gold, or at least the color gold. The realistic replicas cost $800.
"I've always been fascinated by them," he said about the inhabitants of Sparta.
Others labored for months over their creations.
Kovacs fashioned his Batman suit by sewing blue Spandex, adding plastic guards to his arms and legs, and topping it off with a cape and cowl.
He looked more like the lumpy Caped Crusader from the campy 1960s TV series than the muscular figure from recent movies.
Kovacs said it was fun to be someone else for a few hours. He also liked the attention. Several convention-goers had snapped his photo earlier in the day. "It's pretty cool," he said.
Not all the costumed visitors were modeled after specific characters.
Cantwell wore a red shirt, red pants and a red cape. He called himself the King of the Red Planet.
Red Planet, like Mars?
Yes, he allowed, he was from Mars.
FDonnelly@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @francisXdonnell