Comic Con

The little dude and I went to Comic Con yesterday. We hadn't been in a few years because we've been out of town or busy but this time we were around -- at least for the Friday session. So we went. It was good to go without the husband, actually, as we could take our time and wander instead of being rushed around and then leaving early (he doesn't do well with crowds and he's not nearly as into the geeky/otaku stuff as we are). Much more relaxing. We had a lot of fun and spent too much money and I think we both wish we could have gone another day (but today we're hosting a D&D game at our house, so that's out anyway).

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I did the last time we went on a Saturday as we didn't see as many amazing costumes, but I did get a few. One guy I really loved -- pretty sure he was doing something from Tokyo Ghoul (which I haven't read/seen but know the basic storyline) but he had the best hair. He looked perfect. If it was a wig, it was a good one. He wasn't the best costume that I saw -- that might have been the guy dressed as Aquaman (though I didn't manage to get a picture of that as he was in a crowd) but I just liked his whole vibe. So I had to ask for a picture when I ran into him the second time. I imagine he was thinking, yeah, okay, old lady. But whatever.

I regret not bringing a wheelie bag to cart around all the stuff we bought. Mostly it was the Bleach manga box set that killed me. They were half price from the publisher and we couldn't resist. It's going to be little dude's November book allowance in one go. But, man, that sucker was heavy. I thought my hand was going to fall off. But they did throw in a My Hero Academia bag, a bracelet, and a poster, so that was a bonus.

We also found DVD sets of all of Nisekoi, which we'd been looking for. Forbidden Planet has season 2, but not season 1 and for a pretty pricey price. We got them for £5/£8 each. Deal! And we found Kamisama Kiss on DVD as well...bit more expensive, but little dude really wanted them. But another deal on Bakuman, which I didn't even know was made into an anime. We haven't even read that one yet, but it's been on our list. And, finally, the indulgent purchase that we shouldn't have made...the limited edition Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun set with the anime + the soundtrack. The anime is still on Crunchyroll, so we really didn't need to buy it, BUT it is our fav show of all time. So...

Also met a few TokyoPop authors and bought some manga from them. Hadn't planned on it originally, but one of them was offering chibi portraits for only £5 and little dude really wanted to get one done. It was adorable and well worth it. So we bought some books as well. The books look good. And interesting to me personally as I didn't think TokyoPop was doing a lot anymore. I remember when the Twelve Kingdoms (not manga, but a novelisation) came out in English years ago and what a surprise it was. A violent one, at that. Anyway, will have to look into what they are up to now.

Other than that, randomly found a stall in the Asian section that was selling Korean face masks so YAY! They have a subscription service and I may have to do it...I bought one of their boxes and they threw in a makeup bag and some other stuff. I actually tried one last night and it was good. Am I jumping on a bandwagon? I don't care. I like them.

Anyway. Rambling post. I really enjoyed going to Comic Con with the little dude. Wish I'd thrown together a cosplay for myself, but as we only decided to go on Tuesday, I was happy we were able to throw something together for the little man. We only bought one thing (some glasses). He went as the steampunk version of himself...not a character or anything, but just steampunk in general. He looked awesome, especially considering that it was random bits (literally, we made a bandolier out of the hubby's old leather laptop bag strap). He was so proud of himself.

And I--man, it was just so nice to be surrounded by people who are into the same stuff that I am. Like, you don't feel weird. It's normal there. I miss that in my life. That I could be walking around and see people dressed up as somewhat obscure characters and go, hey! Elias and Chise! And they smile because you're sharing something. When I post photos on Facebook, other mums and friends comment on it about how fun it all looks, but it's from an outsider perspective...like they are viewing it as tourists do...not understanding any of it, but thinking oh, that looks kinda weird but cool...how strange it all is. Whereas I feel at home.

As an example...at one point, while little dude was standing in a crowd trying to win a raffle prize from Crunchyroll, I collapsed onto the ground near some 20-something. Oi, my feet hurt. I'm not even sure what she was dressed as, but she had great blue hair. We had a nice chat. We weren't into the same fandoms as far as I could tell, but we talked about the stuff we'd seen and bought and the costumes and...it was nice. We were speaking the same language. It didn't matter that I'm probably twice her age or that we weren't into exactly the same stuff.

Or when little dude was trying out the new Super Smash Brothers game at a big stand and I got into a gaming discussion about different platforms, etc. with the guy that was supposed to be timing them and the guy was so into talking about it with me that little man wound up getting an extra go. And I'm old school -- I don't really play on console systems. But I can talk about game theory and styles and hold my own.

Anyway, it was a good day. Even if the husband did get annoyed because we didn't get home until nearly 7. It's a pity that the Excel centre is way over in East London and we live in the West. He's a bit of a grumpy bastard when he hasn't had enough sleep. But I wouldn't have cut it short. Little dude had such an awesome day and I didn't want to leave until he was ready to go. Me too.