While comic book conventions generally happen year round, the spring generally feels like the start of “comic con season” for me. Various local cons have their events, celebrities do their tours, and it all leads up to the largest event of the year, San Diego Comic-Con. Of course there are other conventions outside of this time frame, most notable of which is New York Comic Con, but no one can deny the impact that SDCC has on the comic book and pop culture worlds.
And thus we come to one of the staples of comic cons. A source of joy and pleasure for most, and a cause for controversy for others: cosplay. Casual cosplayers might just BUY their costumes at places like Party City, while the most hardcore of them will spend months and hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars building their own costumes just to show off for a weekend. Though, being fair, those who spend that much time on their cosplay probably wear it more than once in a season.
Harrisburg Comic Con, in Harrisburg, PA, is no exception. In its second year of operation, Harrisburg Comic Con grew like a weed and had to be moved from its initial location of the famous Harrisburg Farm Show and Expo to a larger locale. This year we saw the old Boscov’s space at the Harrisburg Mall repurposed for the convention. Two floors filled to the brim with games, vendors selling their wares, and of course, cosplayers. Check out the gallery below! Click the images to enlarge.