Changing of the Con

My son, Benjamin, dressed as McRee from the video game OverWatch.

Two of the many cosplayers at the convention, one dressed as Supergirl and the other as Rey from Star Wars.

Ah, it didn't used to be this way.  Conventions of this type were more often centered on comic books, illustrators, writers, and discussions of popular literature, movies and TV.  They were centered on getting the signatures of favorite writers, artists and creators; maybe even get the chance to talk to them.  There were many comic vendors, with people looking to fill in gaps of their collections, or find rare gems, like the first appearance of so-and-so.  And often, it was exciting to meet somebody new, somebody selling their own independent comic or book.

But times, they are a-changin', and so are the Cons. In the last decade or so, the largest growth area at conventions has been in the attendance and now domination of cosplayers.  These are people who meticulously dress up as a character from popular fiction.  And they range from characters in video games (like Benjamin as McRee), comic books (the young woman above as Supergirl, which also represent the very good recent TV show), and movies (the young woman above dressed as Rey form Star Wars).

Some cosplayers bring more than one costume to the convention, and change into different characters during the day.  I saw one woman start as a character from the Japanese anime Sailor Moon, and then later come back out as a character from Frozen.

This is not a terrible thing.  It never is when people are expressing themselves, meeting new people and having fun.  Benjamin had a blast meeting other characters from OverWatch, and in shouting his character's catch phrase, "It's High Noon!"

The cosplayers, however, are not readers, at least for the most part.  Many of them have read little about their own characters.  Often times, they are most interested in characters for their ability to display their uniqueness,  It may be what they have the materials for, how physically suited they are for that role, and how much they will stand up and be noticed for their portrayal.  This only requires a superficial knowledge to acquire the "look".

Some cosplayers are a little bit more serious about going beyond the look, and may improvise lines or interactions to show a greater depth of knowledge, and to immerse more into the world of their character.

But they don't really read.  There were only a couple of vendors, out of fifty or so, that had any depth of comics.  I saw some of them, but even I didn't buy, as I was trying not to go too much into the hole for the experience.

There were a few more than that, something between six and ten, that were authors selling their books.  I don't think any of them had a spectacular day.  Most of the attention at our own author's table was from middle-aged women, who might have been there with children or grand-children.  Others came by who wanted us to know they were budding authors and either hoped to publish soon, or had stuff they wanted us to consider.  But young readers, like I needed for my young adult novel, History of the Trap?  They were few and far between.

Overall, I got the impression that there were more people who wanted to write than wanted to read.  Not really a sustainable proposition.

I don't really mind the cosplayers.  They are expressing themselves, making friends, being creative in their own way.

But I do miss the days when the book and the art were the thing.  When writers and illustrators ruled the con.

Sigh.

Maybe for the next con, I'll try to attract attention by wearing my own costume.  Since there doesn't seem to be many popular manatee characters, I might try George R.R. Martin.  That way when people bombard me with questions about when I'm finishing Game of Thrones,  I can say, "Yes, I'm trying but I have writer's block,  I just had to get out this other story inside me, History of the Trap, written under a pen name, before I could concentrate on Westeros.  Check it out!"

Yeah!  There's a plan!