By Teresa Peschel: The Harrisburg Comic Con on August 26-27, 2023 was our second comics convention and it was overwhelming. Our first was purely by happenstance. We were visiting my mother and that weekend, the Dover DE comic con took place. I’d enjoyed what I’d seen there and so here we are.
Harrisburg Comic Con takes place in part of the immense Farm Show complex in north Harrisburg. Despite its size, it was still dwarfed by the building we were in.
We arrived soon after they opened at 11:00 a.m. We’d tried to buy tickets online — before the Thursday 9:00 p.m. deadline — but were unable to. So we stood in line with everyone else.
Inside, we were greeted by row upon row of booths. It was crowded with regular people and an amazing array of cosplayers. Despite this being a comics convention, I recognized very few of the cosplayers as being Marvel or DC characters. Dear Daughter, a dedicated gamer and manga and anime fan, identified about one third of the cosplayers. Maybe. I recognized maybe five percent. Ghostbusters, Stormtroopers, Princess Peach, and The Penguin and so forth. You know. Characters everyone can recognize.
Not being up on popular culture, I didn’t recognize any of the headliners either. But other people did!
As you’d expect there were multiple booths dedicated to comic books. There was also every possible ancillary product, including marshmallows, a chance to get filmed in three dimensions, dragon statuary, get service with a smile, and a chance to upgrade your game room. At one booth, you didn’t have to talk to the author if you felt shy.
We spoke with Jarred and Matt of “You Have to Watch This” podcast about a possible interview about Agatha Christie films. Maybe they’ll email me. It could happen.
I also got to cross light sabers with Sarah B. of Life of Cosplay.
None of this sounds like it has anything to do with science fiction, fantasy, or genre-adjacent horror, but it was there. We always attend an event like this looking for indie authors and we found plenty. They’re all genre or genre-adjacent and willing to stand on their feet all day Saturday and Sunday. For you indie authors looking to build your fanbase, shows like this can give you a feel for whether or not the buying public will take a chance on your writing.
Let’s meet the authors and one artist. [Photo gallery and conclusion of report follow the jump.]
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