Another record breaking year for attendance at the 2017 Denver Comic Con. Thousands of people waiting outside for over an hour in line just to get inside. Many were there to see some of their favorite actors/actresses on the screen. Some of the more notable people were Lou Ferrigno, best known for playing the Incredible Hulk; Michael Rosenbaum who portrayed Lex Luthor on Smallville and “Weird Al” Yankovic. It really is amazing to see so many people light up at the chance to meet their favorite star! From young to old, you could see how much fun they were all having at the event. For me, it’s nostalgia. The chance to rewind the hands of time and go back to the days of my youth. Following the map provided by the staff, I followed it over to where the comic artists and talent were at in hopes of finding a few of my personal favs and EUREKA! I found just that. Row P had everyone that I could ever want to meet. The very first booth I stopped at was that of Humberto Ramos of DC & Marvel comic book fame. Ramos has been a comic book penciller and cover artist since 1993 and is mostly known for his work on Impulse, The Amazing Spider-Man and his very own series, Crimson. Alongside that, he has also created many interiors, as well as covers for both Wolverine and Spider-Man. I have to say that being able to watch these artists as they sketch is something that I could do all day long. I love seeing such raw talent right in front of my eyes. Knowing that these hands are what created many of the comics that I personally love. Breaking away from Humberto’s booth, I managed to find another couple of my favorite artists, Mark Morales; inker for DC and Marvel comics and Matteo Scalera of Image comics. Again, all I can say is, it’s very surreal to be surrounded by this much talent, also very rare as well.
Taking it all in, so many people came dressed in cosplay. This year, Denver Comic Con attempted to break a world record for the largest gathering of characters in cosplay. Unfortunately they fell just slight of breaking that record, but goodness, you should have seen some of the outfits the fans had put together. Many were unique and all were fun! The aisles were full of patrons by the noon hour and I made my way over to check out the sights at the ActionLine Studios booth. Matt Campbell and Ron Root are the founders of this art studio, fueled by their passion for concept art and storytelling. Through their books, you can learn how to recreate some of your favorite characters from Beyond Oz or Mythica. I don’t know about you but if you are anything like me, you will find these books to be of great use to you for understanding the concept of how to create your own images or recreate those of your favorite pencillers. By breaking down each step along the way, from beginning to end, you can see the different layers as they pull together to display the final image. When you have it laid out that way, drawing becomes that much easier for the average Joe.
Walking through the eminence set up of booths, I went on the search of collectible figurines. Most people will wait all year for this comic con to procure one of a kind pieces that are only released at certain events. Some are rare, some are not, but all seem to have such realistic features and interchangeable parts. One of the shops that caught my eye was ePlanet Toys, they had everything a girl could want, from an Optimus Prime collectible figure to Legos and a whole wall of amazing colorful socks!!! Unfortunately I didn’t bring nearly enough for everything I wanted to get, one hardly can to a place like this but luckily, I did find out they have a local storefront here in Denver located I-25 & Arapahoe and, if you mention you read about them in this article, you can get 10% off your next big purchase at their location. So if you want to add to your collection, now might just be your time!! I have to say, my sock collection just doubled overnight… so much fun in one place.
Overall this year’s comic con was a hit. How could it not be? With hundreds of thousands of fans, dressed up and getting to live out their dreams of superhero fame, it all just leads to a good time for everyone involved. I happened to enjoy myself thoroughly and hope you did as well! If you happen to see yourself in one of the photos we snapped, feel free to share and thanks again for the read!
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Stay tuned for more coming to you from Xposer Magazine
-Bella
Saturday Photos
Photos by John Root
Sunday Photos
Photos by Teddy G