Wizard World Comic Con - 2016...

This weekend, I went to the Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia. I decided to order tickets in advance online. This year, I would be going with five other people: Tony, Anthony, Amanda, Paige and a last-minute guest. Alex was supposed to come with us, but, he cancelled at the last minute, so, we asked Paige if she could find someone. Paige, feeling the pressure to NOT end up with her mother coming with her, convinced a friend to come along instead.

Highlights of this year's Comic Con in Philadelphia include:

• Chris Hemsworth, THOR,
• Chris Evans, CAPTAIN AMERICA,
• Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, BACK TO THE FUTURE
• John Cena, Seth Rollins, WWE
• Stanley Tucci, Dr. Abraham Erskine - CAPTAIN AMERICA,
• Billy Boyd, Peregrin Pippin Took - LORD OF THE RINGS,

There were, of course, many, many other people of note in attendance and a whole list of panels and other events included in the cost of admission and a great many paid events that we could go to if that was the sort of thing we wanted to do.

This year, with a large crowd in tow, transportation was an issue. After some debate, we decided that all six of us could fit into Tony's car. Amanda and Paige wanted to dress up for the event, but, decided against it on the day of the event. My guess is that they wanted to see how far over-the-top costumed convention goers actually go, before they commit to going in costume themselves.

We arrived in Center City around 10:00am. As we got close to the convention center, Amanda, Paige and her friend spotted their first costumed convention goers. They were amazed and excited. Then, there were more costumed convention goers.

We got out of the car at 12th and Arch and Tony went off to find parking. While we were waiting, we saw something resembling the Ghostbusters' car parked across the street -- complete with Ghostbusters in full regalia,

When Tony came back from his own parking expedition, all of us headed in. Staff members guided us upstairs and back towards the Broad Street side of the Convention Center. There, we found the main entrance of the convention. On the left side of the entrance are the booths where ticket holders can turn in their tickets. On the right side of the entrance are tables and chairs set up for the convenience of convention goers.

We turned in our tickets and headed inside. Even before we get inside, we spied someone dressed up as a dinosaur and a whole host of superheroes. Once inside, Tony decided to run through the convention hall and not stop for anything. Tony is infamous for spoiling a good time with this sort of behavior, but, after a minute of this, I decided that it would be best if we split up and go our separate ways. After trading phone numbers, we split up.

Paige and her friend went off to find Doctor Who -- they're into the newer Doctors. Amanda went with Anthony and Tony and I went in different directions. I went around the outside, but, this year there were no exhibits around the perimeter. I passed through the area set aside for the guests. This year, the guests were set up in tents in the back half of the convention space.

I worked my way forward, following a zigzag path through the vendor stalls and through artists alley. Early on, I spotted Zane Wylie and his carved human skulls. I was tempted, but, I wasn't sure were I would put such a thing and the prices were a bit higher than I was willing to pay. So, instead, I asked Zane if I could take a picture and he was nice enough to allow me to take a picture.

Around 12:30pm, we all gathered for lunch. I didn't really plan for such a large group and I wasn't sure what to do about feeding the crowd. Since we were already on the Broad Street side of the Convention Center, we decided to cross the street and get some food at McDonalds. We got our food and brought it back to the Convention Center. The seating area set aside for convention goers came in handy as we could sit down in air conditioned comfort, enjoy our food and share geeky stories.

After lunch we went back into the convention hall. Amanda went with me this time. Amanda spotted a nice piece of costume jewelry early in the morning, but, in the mad scramble with Tony before we scattered, she lost track of the booth. We wandered around in circles for a bit and eventually we stumbled upon the wayward booth.

Afterwards, I wandered over to the Comic Con souvenir booth and picked up a magnet for Mom. Later, I found a Doctor Who inspired pendant for Mom at another artist booth.

At 2:30pm, we were all done. Amanda calculated that we had walked about five miles. We met the others back at the seating area. Anthony, having been up all night the day before, had run out of gas. Paige and her friend had scored a Doctor Who poster and plenty of pictures of costumed convention goers dressed as various incarnations of the Doctor. Amanda picked up a box with an assortment of items within. Tony came away with a finely crafted blade. Anthony succeeded with his main mission of finding the dealer he met last year who specialized in combining individual issues of comic books into conveniently packaged sets.

All things considered, we had a good time. If the others decide to go back next year, then I'll plan to bring our own food and water and make different arrangements for transportation as all of the convenient parking spaces were already full. I'm leaning towards some sort of taxi service.

Although, we weren't really interested in such things, I heard from a co-worker, who was interested in such things, that if one wanted an autograph form Chris Evans, then one would need to obtain a VIP pass. I didn't really care, but, my co-worker was somewhat annoyed.