For those who love pop culture or anime, the Indiana Comic Convention had something for everyone while it was being held March 16-18.
Comic Con is a well-known convention across the United States for comic readers, sci-fi enjoyers and movie watchers alike. Within Comic Con, there are two distinct areas within the convention center: Artist Alley and Celebrity Row.
Within Artist Alley, there are a variety of things to expect. There may be comic book illustrators with their works, independent artists with prints of some of your favorite characters or small businesses there to promote their niche-audience products like the coffee brand with a Merlin backstory, Merlin’s Munchies Coffee Company. This year, comic artist Gavin Smith attended Indy’s Comic Con as a vendor like he had years before.
As a Hoosier from Peru, Indiana, Smith said he has been a comic illustrator for the past 14 years and some of his most notable works involve “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Star Trek” and “Godzilla.” However, he did not start drawing for these licenses until four years ago.
“It took me 10 years to get there,” Smith said. “I literally did indie comics for 10 years before I got offered a property that my mom had heard of, and that’s kind of the litmus test.”
Smith left Indiana temporarily for his education, heading to Dover, New Jersey, to attend the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art for three years and has been back in Indiana since. For Smith, Indiana Comic Con is more than something to do on an off weekend — it is a chance for people to put a face to his name and work displayed at his vending booth.
“Coming out of that small of a town and coming here, and there are people here and they’re kind of walking around, they see this, and I don’t think they realize I’m from here — grew up here,” Smith said. “And they’re like, ‘Oh yeah. See? He’s a real person too.’”
In Celebrity Row, you can find Hollywood celebrities or voice actors for animated shows offering autographs, meet and greets and photo-ops — for a fee. Autographs can range from $40-$100 depending on the celebrity’s niche. The celebrities also participate in panels free to attend for those with convention admission, occasionally hosting reunion panels of actors from movies or shows. This year, a few of the panels included people from “Twilight,” “Star Trek” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach.”
People attend for all different reasons: art, meeting celebrities and cosplaying. Christian Darby, a student, Comic Con attendee and vendor’s assistant, attended Comic Con to don his cosplay: Swatch from indie-game “Deltarune.” Of all of the conventions Darby has attended, he said Indy’s Comic Con is one of the friendliest he has been to. Darby also encourages people to attend a convention just to see if they like it.
“I’ve been to a few conventions around town, but I think this one has a generally positive atmosphere,” Darby said. “People are friendly. People talk to you, even if you don’t know anything about them. It’s nice.”
Whether it is to have fun or advance a business, Indy’s Comic Con is a place where people go to be themselves. For Darby, it is to celebrate the art of others as well as the art of cosplay. For Smith, it is a way to celebrate his dream of creating for a living.
“I’m the guy from Indiana, small-town Indiana, that does this,” Smith said. “It’s like, if I can do it out of small-town Indiana, it is not impossible to create for a living.”
Indiana Comic Convention will return in June of next year, according to its website. Additionally, WeebCon and Gen Con will be happening over the summer for those who may not want to wait a year to get a chance.
