Comic-Con 2012: Long Lines and Steampunk at the Masquerade

On Saturday morning, the exhibit hall was a bit more sparse than usual. I blamed hangovers at first, but many people pointed out that thousands of people were in line for Hall H. Most of them were there for “The Hobbit” panel. I walked to an adjacent hotel shortly thereafter and spotted all the fans in that line, some of whom waited overnight for their chance to get into the giant ballroom.

It wasn't long before I passed another insane line. The official masquerade happens on Saturday night at the convention center. You can either get in line to be in the room where the event happens, or you can free up your day by just checking out one of the live video feeds hosted in other rooms of the convention center. People were in line for the 7:45pm event as early as 10:30am. People at Comic-Con are very committed fans.

The masquerade is well worth the wait for both the spectators and the participants. Some people plan their costumes and accompanying skit for the competition all year. It would be an insult to compare their creations to typical Halloween costume. There are often moving parts and carefully crafted props. Cosplayers spend countless hours laboring over their designs, and they'll often combine forces to register for the masquerade with a themed group!

Though they didn't enter the masquerade, two huge steampunk-themed comics groups made a splash in the exhibit hall. The recent steampunk trend has seeped into so many facets of pop culture, and costuming is no exception. The cosplay groups took popular characters from the DC Comics and Marvel universes and altered them to fit the genre. Characters such as Batgirl, Huntress, Rogue, Forge, Green Arrow, and so many more were transformed into Victorian-esque visions. They stopped traffic on the convention floor and ended up posing for photos at the rear of the convention center.

Tomorrow, I'll be spending as little time as possible in line. I'll be focusing in on Small Press and Artists' Alley to creator owned books and new art to love.