We were so lucky to have a correspondent document Dragon Con for us! Enjoy the lovely Anna on her con journey! ~Roni 😀
I received a text from my boss Saturday morning: “Is Dragon Con this weekend? There’s a lot of freakiness going on in Midtown.” In response, I texted her this picture of me.
This year marks my fourth Dragon Con, the largest science fiction/fantasy/anime etc. convention in the world! With the first Dragon Con having been held in 1987, Dragon Con is just a few years younger than I am, but attracts guests from all age groups. It is held in Atlanta, GA every year on Labor Day weekend in 4 downtown hotels, and seems to get bigger each year. For some of us who live in this city, it is a huge nerdgasm that we have been waiting for all year. For others, it is that time of year when all the wookies come out to play and block traffic. Either way, I think everyone still finds it entertaining.
Got my program, got my badge, ready to go!
There are 3 main reasons I go to Dragon Con.
• The Cosplay
• The Walk of Fame
• The Art Show
• And I guess really there’s a 4th…the Vendors, because I admittedly love to buy things.
There is so much to do at Dragon Con, it’s hard to see it all! Spanning 4 hotels, there are panels, workshops, table-top gaming rooms (that’s right, an entire hotel basement full of people playing card games like Magic or full table top versions of Dungeons and Dragons that goes on for the duration of the Con!). It is a non-stop nerd and geek show with tons to do, but since I can’t describe it all, I’m going to focus on my top 3.
The Cosplay – where everyone can be a star!
I’d like to add, that if anyone recognizes the participating cosplayers please let us know, so we can tag them. 🙂 ~R
This kiddo, dressed as Kratos from God of War, jumped up and down and yelled “Deadpool, Deadpool, Deadpool!” almost dropping his swords as he ran over to take a photo with his favorite antihero!
His sister was apparently more interested in my costume, and begged her mom to take a picture of her with me. Look at her pose, rocking that Thor costume!
Harley doesn’t seem particularly interested in what Deadpool had to say.
Here are a few others. See if you can recognize them.
Joy & Sadness from the Disney “Inside Out” movie.
Optimus Prime, who was flashing lights and blaring ‘80s music while wearing a “Prime” license plate on his behind.
Wolverine. This guy did such an awesome job…my husband said some people are probably going to go home and say “Look! I got a picture with Hugh Jackman!” That’s our Lonster!!! ~R
Maleficent at the Walk of Fame.
…and is that a handsome male version of Sailor Moon?
Disney was also represented with Ursula and Ariel.
I also loved that employees at several shops decided to dress up as Minions!
Here are CVS employees, working the Con.
This Concierge at the Sheraton made me wait for him to put on his goggles and gloves before taking the photo.
This lady dressed as the Hannibal demon was pretty amazing (and steaming up in that costume, apparently! She took her mask off several times in order to breathe…art is suffering?)
Several individuals were dressed as fauns. She did an excellent job.
Some tied politics into their cosplay. Stormtrooper campaigning.
Ronald McDonald, the true Captain America. Banksy, anyone?
Ok, and if you’re an anime fan (and yes, I am!) then you might recognize a couple of these!
Studio Ghibli represented by characters from Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.
Fairy Tail series: Laxus Dreyar and Erza Scarlet.
Attack on Titan Series. Eren Yeager, complete with home-made sword dispenser.
Trigun Series: Vash the Stampede with Sailor Pluto!
Trigun Series: Nicholas D. Wolfwood. ::sigh:: my favorite character. SPOILER ALERT!
I stopped watching the series when I found out he dies.
These ladies were from “Love, Live!” but admitted to never watching the anime. “We just wanted to dress up!”
Mixing themes always creates something unique! This young lady is sporting a “Harley Quinn, Princess Leia mix.”
And even cosplayers need to eat and rest…
Now, onto The Walk of Fame – Celebrities made for a nerd!
The cast of BattleStar Galactica and several of the Lord of the Rings dwarves were present, as well as voice actors for various animated films and series. In the past, there has been representation from Futurama and Archer, and this year there was Space Ghost, Coast-to-Coast.
My husband, Miao, accompanied me this year because he ruined my autographed George Takei photo from a previous Dragon Con and promised to make it up to me by getting an autograph from our favorite Game of Thrones character….Hodor.
Did you know that Hodor (a.k.a. Kristian Nairn) is also a DJ in Northern Ireland? So awesome.
Next up, The Art Show – where science fiction and fantasy artists come to auction and display their work. This year, the auction benefitted the Lymphoma Society.
Here are a few of my purchases. Again, I like to buy things. XD
This super-cute sloth from Janelle’s Plushies. I asked if she only made sloths, since that’s all I saw at her stand, but she told me that she actually specializes in character plushies and makes special orders. However, at the art show, artists were not allowed to show fan art – only original work, “so I just made a ton of sloths.” She did also have a “monster skin” that was amazing….it was basically a hand-made ~ 3×5 foot rug made to look like a monster skin with the head attached (mimicking a bear skin rug) that you could throw on the floor. Pretty amazing.
I also purchased these pendants by Paulina Cassidy. She gave me a copy of her children’s book as well “Lullabye & Latimer.” Beautiful and whimsical illustrations.
There were so many wonderful artists. I do have to mention that I would have purchased from thelegendofawesome.com as well if I could have afforded it. Jamie Sichel, the artist, made fake hunting trophies out of comical monster heads. HA!
Here are a few other vendors represented.
http://www.frenchyandthepunk.com/ Folk Cabaret!
Zombie Squad. Zombiehunters.org
Anime Weekend Atlanta http://awa-con.com/ …another con I need to get to some day.
The Society for Creative Anachronism http://www.sca.org/ , bringing history to life.
And yes, there’s a con for that, too!
Netherworld is also represented here – quite possibly the scariest and most fascinating haunted house I’ve ever been to – it’s reputation as one of the Top 10 haunted houses in America is well-earned!
Atlanta is pretty wonderful with all these things going on, you gotta admit!
Fantastic job Anna! We here at NC hope to make it to Dragon Con soon enough!!! #NerdDreams
Enjoy Nerds!
~R
Anna, those are my babies, Kratos and Thor, that you have pictured above! They had so much fun this weekend. Thank you again for taking a picture with my little Thor. She loved your costume and practically drug me across the floor to snap the picture.
Aw! That’s fantastic! They are adorable, and such fantastic costumes! <3
That’s great!!! I’m so glad you found this post!
My husband actually found it and forwarded it to me. The kids saw the post this morning and their smiles almost swallowed their faces. 🙂
Hi! i’m the Joy from Inside Out cosplay! Really excited to find a photo online. Thanks for posting!