Alexandra Kingsley

I’ve gotten used to either huge cons — like Dragon*Con — or teeny, fan-based cons that are more of a social gathering than anything else.  So Wizard World Philly, a solid in-between sized con, was a bit weird for me.  Sure, there were celebrities, and cosplayers, and awesome dealers’ booths, but having them all squeezed into one room, instead of spaced out among multiple hotels, was claustrophobic and odd.

It’s not that Wizard World was a terrible con; it wasn’t.  But there just wasn’t enough space.  As a result, I didn’t get near as many photos as I wanted to.  There was nowhere for the cosplayers to pose!  (There were also some truly bizarre “safety” rules in place, like blocked fire exits.  The convention center is not my favorite place in the world.)

Josh was mostly in charge of my camera, though, and while we missed getting a pic of the amazing trio doing Ultraman, Owlman, and Wonder Woman from Morrison’s JLA: Earth 2, he did snap a shot of a truly awesome classic Batman and Batgirl with a sexy girl Robin. (I initially was totally wrong in thinking this costume was store bought.  See the comments below for Renata’s description of how she made it.)

It was nice to get to a con before D*C, where I could shop (and shop and shop), dress up a little, and meet some cool creators.  I spent some time hanging out with the guys of South Fellini, and I think I managed to convince my library to include them in this year’s Graphic Novel Event.  They also caught me in costume reading their comic, Moon Girl!

Other than that, I took it pretty easy at the con.  We didn’t make it to any panels, but we did get some cool pictures of me in costume on Saturday.  Technically, this is the first time I’ve done an actual costume for a con, even though this hews closer towards clothes than a true spandex and tights superhero cosplay.  But I had a lot of fun making the individual pieces (the Robin badge, the Batarings, the belt) and pairing them up with a Robin red dress, grey tights and green boots.

I stocked up on cheap trades, pins, and a few Bronze Age single issues.  You can see all my con purchases here, but the true highlight for me was finding a vintage holographic Batcopter ring for fairly cheap.

I know it’s hard to see in this photo, but the ring is really awesome!

I’ll definitely attend WW Philly next year, but only because I live here.  It really wouldn’t be worth it to travel to it.  It did, however, convince me to make more of a season out of it, and at least make it down to Baltimore Comic Con before the blowout of D*C in September and NYCC in October.