Where the heroes hang out: Comic Con brings thousands to Crown center

Thousands of people from all walks of life descended on Fayetteville last weekend.

They came in all sizes and shapes, all ages.

But this wasn’t a sports match they were attending at the Crown Expo Center. It was the 10th edition of Fayetteville Comic Con.

They dressed as their favorite characters and were proud to show off those masks or full-blown costumes. On one aisle at the convention center was Batman; on another, Spider-Man; on the next, a “Star Wars” stormtrooper or a member of the Power Rangers.

And you couldn’t miss the roughly 8-foot-tall Chewbacca.

Many observers would say these costumed do-gooders and evil-doers are geeks.

But the “geeks” would say they are bigtime fantasy fans.

On Saturday, the second day of the three-day gathering, Keith Gibbs, president and CEO of Fayetteville Comic Con, estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 would attend the convention.

“We’re a fan-run show for fans,” said Gibbs, who has been associated with Comic Con since 2016. “We’re not a big, multistate, big-city show. We pride ourselves on being a community over commodity.

“What I appreciate about these is just looking out behind me now in this room and seeing how many people are having a good time.”

The experience

Comic cons are much more than a celebration of comic books and a place to find that rare and probably expensive book to help complete a collection.

Other pop-culture items are on display, including movie and character posters; anime items; DVDs; T-shirts; artists’ works; jewelry; toys; stuffed characters; and magnets.

There are booths that celebrate movies, TV shows and horror icons.

The 2-6 wrestling academy provides Fayetteville area talent for wrestling matches during the convention that are always a crowd pleaser.

The characters

Of course, there are also the people visiting the booths.

On Saturday, they included Victor and Lorianne Rivera of Fayetteville. Victor, who was dressed as Dr. Oak of the Pokemon franchise, is retired from the military. His wife, Lorianne, a student at Fayetteville Technical Community College, was in a Spider-Man costume.

“We like everything,” Victor said. “I suffered from PTSD, and this is the only crowd that I can tolerate being around. We love the costumes, the vendors and everything. It’s great.

“I enjoy the wrestling. I know last year, the kids beat up the good guys and they played along with the kids and it was great.”

Victor said the pair have been attending comic cons since 2010 and have been to all 10 held in Fayetteville.

“I like the kids and everything,” Lorianne said. “They’re so cute. It’s really nice.”

Lorianne was wearing a costume for the first time at a comic con on Saturday.

“I usually don’t get dressed up,” she said. “I always wanted to. I just didn’t have the confidence to do it. Now it was just like, ‘Why not?’”

Austin Craig was the fan in the Chewbacca outfit.

Craig, who is 5-foot-10 and said he goes to 20 to 30 comic cons a year, said the stilts did not bother him as he towered over everyone on the convention floor.

“I’ve been doing this for about a year and a half,” he said. “I’m obsessed with ‘Star Wars,’ so Chewie is just a joy that I bring to others.”

Joining him was Spencer McCoy as a stormtrooper.

“I’ve been doing it six years,” McCoy said. “I like kids, the interaction with everybody. They welcome you with open arms.”

“Star Wars” fan Greg Spata of Benson was costumed as an X-ring pilot who was walking around with a Mouse Droid.

“It moves around and causes trouble,” Spata said of his droid. “I modified this one a little bit to make it kind of a surprise for con guests. When I press the button, the top opens up, and Yoda comes out. The kids love that. It’s very interactive.”

Spata, a consultant who works with computers, said the droid was 100% 3-D printed and took about four months to put together.

“It’s a lot of trial and error,” he said.

In addition to attending comic cons, Spata said he is a member of the 501st Legion, the world’s largest costuming group. Members make costumes based on “Star Wars.” Spata said the group does a lot of its work in hospitals and orphanages and for charities.

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Never too young

Likely the youngest in attendance Saturday was Ayha Crank. At 3 months old, she came with her mother, Deya Crank, and was dressed as Yoda.

Deya Crank was attending with a friend, Chance Gregg, who serves in the Army.  Her husband, also a serviceman, could not attend because he was working.

“I like everyone dressing up,” said Crank, who was attending her first Comic Con.

Gregg was dressed as a Jedi with clothes he purchased at Walt Disney World in Orlando. One thing was missing from his costume, though.

“I still want my own light saber, so I’ve got to go back to Florida sometime,” Gregg said. 

Gregg was impressed with the atmosphere.

“Everybody is just super chill and dressed up,” he said. “There’s always something to do. You never know what’s going to be around the next corner.”

If you’re in need of a suit

Michael and Lauren Enroch, who live in Carrboro, ran a booth called The Bat and The Cat Cosplay and Props. The pair were married two years ago with a “Star Wars”-themed wedding.

Michael said the pair decided to “do something Batman and Catwoman for a comic con.”

“When I’m passionate about something, I go way overboard,” said Michael, who chose a Superman suit on Saturday. “So, I decided I wanted a really good Batman suit. I started shopping and found out how much they sold for and decided I needed to learn how to make them myself. And then I spend a lot more than that just learning how to make one.

“It turned into a nice little side source of income. It kept growing and growing to the point where I was able to walk away from my job in mortgage and banking. There’s just a lot less stress in superhero making.”

Michael said a basic Batman suit can cost from $900 to $2,000 before you put a cape on it, depending on the fabric and pattern. He said the Superman suit he was wearing would cost about $2,000 minus the boots.

Michael said all his sales come from social media.

“I think I have met one person out of all the cons we’ve been to that actually bought a suit,” he said. “Everything I do is custom ordered.”

Fayetteville Comic Con origins

CEO Gibbs joined Fayetteville Comic Con in its second season. Michael and Pamela Chaudhuri founded a one-day show in 2015.

“It grew so fast (in) record single-day attendance, we decided to bring it back the next fall for a two-day show,” said Gibbs, whose day job is designing and building pharmaceutical and bio-tech manufacturing facilities. “I had met and befriended Mike as part of the convention community, and he brought me over to the team to help execute his vision. When (Mike and Pamela) relocated to Alabama, I took over.”

After five successful annual shows that were held in the fall, Gibbs said Fayetteville Comic Con decided to go to a twice-yearly schedule in 2020. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We did a virtual event that year (2020), our first online offering, to make sure that our fans still had some content,” Gibbs said. “Then in 2021, we were actually the first comic convention back in the United States after requirements were lifted.”

Fayetteville Comic Con kept its schedule of two shows in 2022 and plans its second show this year on Oct. 14-15.

Gibbs had helped with comic cons before coming to Fayetteville, He said he worked at one in New York City for several years. It is considered the most attended fan convention in the country, attracting 200,000 fans in 2022, according to Wikipedia.

“I got involved working comic cons, but I realized my daughters both wanted to go for the full weekends, which means that I had to buy them passes as well,” Gibbs said. “But then I found out by volunteering, I could get free passes for each shift. So, I just started working the entire weekend so the girls could come with me for free.”

Becoming CEO of the local show was a natural fit.

“As a project manager by training, it kind of falls into my comfort level, all the managed chaos,” Gibbs said. “It’s scheduling and logistics.”

The local organization tries to keep costs in line so that single-day passes stay in the $25 range.

“You know, that’s cheaper than the movies, cheaper than other stuff.”

A tribute

Fayetteville Comic Con always supports a community charity, Gibbs said.

“Every show that we do, we try to make it a little different, partner with a local charity or statewide charity,” he said. “In this case, it’s the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to give people hope.”

This year’s show was dedicated to the memory of Jason David Frank, an actor and mixed-martial artist who committed suicide at age 49 in his home in Texas in November. Frank was most known for his role as Tommy Oliver in the live-action TV series “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” that premiered in 1993.

“This event is in tribute (to Frank) as a way to recognize that there’s always somebody out there to help you if you are facing your own demons,” Gibbs said.

Several of Frank’s friends, family and co-workers were invited to the spring show. At the time of his death, Frank was working on a movie based on the Power Rangers, “The Legend of the White Dragon.”

Among those who attended was Aaron Schoenke, the director who co-wrote the movie with Frank and also was a co-star. 

“He loved it. He was passionate about it,” Schoenke said. “This (movie) was a much more mature, adult theme. He really is acting his range. He’s really going to blow a lot of people away. He has this really wonderful vulnerability in his acting.”

The film is scheduled to be released later this year, Schoenke said.

Frank’s daughter, Jenna Frank, was a guest for the first Comic Con-Cert on Friday night at the Crown Theater.

At the con’s roots

Among the comic book creators on hand to sign autographs last weekend was Mike Grell, a writer and artist who created Warlord for DC Comics and revamped DC’s Green Arrow with his acclaimed three-issue limited series “Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters” in 1987. Grell also developed titles such as Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer.

Grell said Green Arrow, who made his first appearance in 1941, is probably his most famous work, attributing it to a television version.

“Green Arrow never had his own title until I did it,” said Grell, 75, who began his comic book career in September 1973 when he drew a backup story in Adventure Comics 435. “The Longbow Hunters was so well received that it got its own series. I can’t tell you how many issues I did exactly, but I wrote it and did occasional tours on interior art and did the covers for them.”

Grell will celebrate his 50th anniversary in comics on Sept. 23. He said he started attending comic conventions in 1973.

“I’ve been to all of them,” he joked. “People used to ask me where I lived, and I said the airport and the Hyatt. “

He now tries to limit his attendance to one per month.

“My days of having every weekend on the road are done,” he said.

Sometimes the cities can blend together.

“I’m fairly sure I’ve been to Fayetteville before, but I’m not so sure that it wasn’t Fayetteville, Arkansas,” he said.

Grell said he never tires of greeting fans and meeting other artists.

“I like the energy. I like the art. I like walking around the room and checking out other artists’ work, getting inspiration,” he said.

And forget about retirement.

“Retire from what?” Grell asked. “I told my wife I’ll retire when they pry my pencil from my cold, dead fingers. And maybe not even then.”

Family of vendors

One retailer on hand Saturday was Joe Martinez of Pop-Up Comics, who came from Sterling, Virginia.

“I’ve been coming down here for almost five years now,” said Martinez, who goes to about 30 shows a year. “It’s like a big family. That’s why I like it. … I like the shows like these that take care of the vendors.”

Martinez enjoys the interaction with fans.

“I might make a few hundred dollars, just enough to cover a couple of tables,” he said. “I’m happy. I’m not getting rich, but I’m happy doing it.”

Vendor Thomas Helms did not have to travel very far. He owns Angry Comics, a shop on Bragg Boulevard that opened in 2013.

He said he has been to all 10 Fayetteville Comic Cons.

“We do a lot of the smaller comic-focused shows,” Helms said. “This is where we debut a lot of our new inventory. We’ll kind of like save it up for the shows and then take it back to the shop afterward.

“We actually meet a lot of people that are local to Fayetteville that still don’t know that we’re here. It just gets us a little more exposure, and we make some money too.”

Sometimes he buys more than he sells.

“We just did a show at Charlotte Comic Con three weeks ago. I came back with more books than I left with,” he said.

Helms said Fayetteville Comic Con holds a special place in his heart.

“It’s local, and that’s our biggest reason to participate, is that this is something that Fayetteville has,” Helms said.

Gibbs said he appreciates local patrons’ support as well as that of the pop-culture community in other parts of the state and region.

“The convention community shares a fan base,” Gibbs said. “We all support each other’s shows and advertise to make sure that we get an annual roundup to make sure that everybody gets as many opportunities to geek out as they can.”