His First Con

A week or two after his last birthday, Ledger wanted to have a little talk. I was a bit concerned, unsure of what heavy topic he wanted to discuss. Turns out it wasn't anything heavy at all. He said that he loves playing different video games so much that he wishes he could dress up like the different characters and walk around pretending to be them. 'Is there any way I can do that, dad?'.  Well, son, you are in luck! There are these little things called 'conventions' and you are allowed to cosplay at them! Well, he was thrilled that such things exist. 'Wow, really? Can we go to one?' Of course, son. I have been to dozens before! He's never really been interested in superheroes or comic books, so I figured he would never want to go to a convention. Turns out I was completely wrong! He doesn't want to go as a superhero; he wants to go as a video game character! I did a little digging and realized that there was actually a comic book convention scheduled for the next weekend! What luck!

He picked out the character he wanted to be, and we made quick work of assembling his costume. He decided on a character from the game Regretevator (I have no idea, don't ask me). So we made a list of what he needed to create the costume, then headed to the craft store to see what they had. We got a shirt, some paint, and everything else we found and ordered online. We worked together to paint the shirt and made it looked like what the character wears and assembled it all together when everything arrived- just in time too, the last parts didn't show up until the day before the convention! He was super pumped with how it turned out- just like it looks in the video game! He was really excited to wear the costume and play the part of the character, but he had one lingering reservation: what if no one else knew who he was dressed as? He figured there would be a ton of different superhero costumes, but maybe he picked a character that was too obscure. He was concerned that he would only get blank stares or confused looks.

Saturday we drove down to Kalamazoo, about 45 minutes from home. As we walked from the parking lot to the convention center, his worries were put to rest. Even before we got inside, someone from across the parking lot pointed at him and yelled out 'You're from Regretevator!' His face lit up he excitedly waved back at them 'You're right!' they shouted back 'That's so awesome!'. We basically could have left right then and there, and he would have been glowing for a week! Over the course of the afternoon he was recognized eight to ten times, with one person even asking if they could take their picture with him.

The actual convention and booths? Eh, he said they were fine, but in reality, he wasn't actually interested in any of that. This was all about getting to be the character for the day and he absolutely loved it! We did check out all the different booths, seeing the cool artwork and toys. He found a plush alien that he liked, as well as a handful of enamel pins from The Amazing Digital Circus. I found a super good deal on an Avatar Banshee toy, so I was pleased. Overall, we both had a great time and are already making plans to go to the Grand Rapids Comic Book Convention in the fall!

(more pics)