Oklahoma City’s collective nerd culture was able to tear itself away from the premiere of Stranger Things 2 for at least two days to come together for the strangest thing the Metro has ever seen: an actual corporate comic-con that was pulled off with little to no controversy, pleasing just about every attendee who traipsed, cape and sword in hand, through the doors of the Cox Convention Center.
With a celebrity line-up that included Val Kilmer as the main headliner, the crossover event was heroically organized, utilizing the entire space as a whole instead of spreading events all over the place, keeping the celebs, the vendors and most of the entertainment on the ground floor. Believe me, when you’ve been to enough of these things, stuff like that truly makes a difference.
Even more so than previous cons I’ve been to over the past year, many of the Oklahoma City cosplayers have been taking back the artform and culturally adapting it to their own backgrounds, creating such inventive characters like this Indigenous Wonder Woman and Super Mario Brother, two highlights that I would've personally awarded as the best, if I gave out awards:
For many years I’ve wanted my own personal Klingon Bat'Leth—for home protection, of course—and even considered giving a Patrick a call see there was someway I could write it off on my expense report. Instead, I leave it to you, Santa, to bring me this hand-made, fire-forged weapon of alien death. Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam!
In true Oklahoma fashion, within ten minutes of opening on Saturday morning, the line to meet the Pizza Hut vendor was longer than the line to meet Val Kilmer.
There’s nothing better than taking the day to step away from the computer to...pay $50 to come to the Cox Convention Center to play video games in front of a computer.
Speaking of computers, no one knows real geek culture like the VR Suite set up by….State Farm Insurance. Try the “Save 35% on Home Insurance 360 Simulator.” It’s unreal, brah.
Lonely? In Japan, many young men have turned to legally marrying their dakimakura, or Japanese love pillows. For only $100 bucks, you can bring the same machine washable romance to your own bedroom, but careful, don’t wake mom, you crazy kids!
Everything going on in this picture is still a hundred times better than anything in The Force Awakens.
Taking a well-deserved meal-break at the Champions snack-bar, I ordered the Super Nacho ($7.00) and a drink ($5.50) and was met with the surliest attitudes this side of a dollar theater concessions stand. I couldn’t blame them, however; I mean, you try to decipher what that dude who refuses to take off the Gamorrean guard helmet while various soundtrack scores are blasting in the background is trying to order, bless the bastard. You'd be a touch irritable too.
Either way, everything was pretty terrible.
More cosplay I loved, including a super obscure moment from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child.
By the time I hit the original art of Audrey Hepburn tattooing Marilyn Monroe--art that was better suited on a t-shirt at the Old Paris Flea Market--I knew it was time to leave. And then head over to Old Paris, of course. Wanna come with me?
“No thanks, I’d rather stay at home a clean myself,” my Japanese love pillow tells me before I gently kiss her and bid this year’s Wizard World Oklahoma City 2017 a fond nighty-night. Sew you next year. ¡Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler.
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