POUGHKEEPSIE – A gymnasium outside Poughkeepsie was temporarily transformed into a makeshift convention hall this past weekend, to host the second annual Hudson Valley Comic Con.
About 5,000 people showed up, each forking over $25 admission, while also portraying their favorite superhero or villain.
They came from galaxies far, far away, and closer to home
The facility became a sea of leotards, laser blasters and helmets. Visitors mingled through a labyrinth of 180 vendor booths, offering everything from vintage comic books to licensed figurines, video games, autographed prints, and delicious treats.
Pop culture conventions have been popping up throughout the nation, modeled after larger lucrative shindigs held within major cities. The industry is called Fandom, an alternate world where outcasts, oddballs and geeks of every stripe can feel welcome
The general vibe is kind of like Halloween – without all the calories. Semi-famous authors, artists and film stars from the trade offered signatures, photo ops, and career advice to aspiring artists. Other more obscure local creatives, many self-published, also appeared.
Trekkies, Star Wars, Spider Man, robots of all shapes and sizes, Rocky Horror, Rick and Morty, plus plenty of middle aged fat guys wearing school-sized backpacks, are among the myriad creatures spotted parading and posing around the family-friendly all-ages event.
Dylan Pisani, 23, one of the five organizers, said this was the only show of its kind for at least 100 miles.
“There’s nothing within two hours of here that runs,” Pisani said. “They’re honestly all over the place now, but they’re so popular, and people want to go to as many as possible, so the more the merrier.” The Poughkeepsie native now lives in Wingdale.
Recruiting members at nearby tables were representatives of the Rebel Alliance and the Evil Empire – competing factions from the Star Wars sci-fi fantasy genre. Mid-Hudson News spoke with the squadron leaders of both factions, learning that many of them moonlight for the opposite side.
“We don’t really have anything against the Empire, in fact a lot of our members are also members of our sister organization, the 501st Legion (Empire of the Hand), who do the bad-guy costumes,” noted Dan Decker, speaking on behalf of the Rebel Legion Echo Base, which serves New York and New Jersey areas with 133 members.
“It’s all relative,” agreed Gerrit Overeem of Goshen, a storm trooper with the 100-strong Empire City Garrison. He said the organizations frequently work community and charity events, raising money for the Goshen Food Pantry at the Great American Weekend. The elaborate costumes, which are hand-made, cost over 1,000 of your Earth dollars to build.
Meanwhile, off in some far-flung corner of the astro-turf galaxy, proudly stood a nerdy-looking bunch from USS Henry Hudson (Star Ship NCC 1611) the official Starfleet Command Q1 Star Trek Fan Club of Poughkeepsie NY. Their otherworldly demeanor seemed out-of-place, which – like they say in outer space – is quite illogical.
Logan Ferguson Stacey, 7, had his own ideas for future aspirations. “I want to be a real Power Ranger,” he said. “I have to grow up to a Lego Builder, and then when I’m done, I can be a Power Ranger. They can do lots of cool things, like fighting bad guys.”
Local Author C. L. Schneider of Highland, who writes epic and urban fantasy books for adults, said that promoting her self-published books is tough work. Writing since childhood, she finished her first novel as a teenager, then picked up her career again after the kids were grown. “I love the Comic Con atmosphere; it’s impossible not to have a good time,” she said. “It makes a big difference when you can meet your readers in person.”
