Minneapolis Comic Con: 3 Days of Nerd Bliss

I’ve never been to a convention like Comic Con. Mainly because most of them take place in Las Vegas, California or New York and I couldn’t justify such a trip just for a convention.

But from May 2 through May 4, I got to experience a Comic Con right here in Minnesota, in downtown Minneapolis. And it was so much fun. My only complaint during the trip was the shocking amount of potholes that litter the roads of Minneapolis.

First, there is a lot to take in at these things. People dressed up in costumes, comics, toys, collectibles — there was even some guy selling bootleg DVDs of random TV shows from the early 90s. Let me break this down by each day.

Day One

The wife (Gina) and I got to the Minneapolis Convention Center right on time to get our 3-day wristband passes. Already, I saw people dressed like Chewbacca, Storm Troopers, Ninja Turtles and Star Trek characters.

Well, as soon as we entered, right away there was the DeLorean from “Back To The Future.” The car itself, Flux Capacitor and all. Well, we had to get our photos taken in it (the money went to Michael J. Fox’s charity). And we were trying to be strict with our money.

Yeah, there was a Hoverboard too. How awesome is that?

Then we ran into my old friend, the Rev. Bacon Martini, whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. He appeared like some ghost out of the mist. It was odd.

We wandered around, and it was insane. The costumes were more than plastic Halloween costumes you can buy anywhere. These folks invested a lot into their costumes, and they did not disappoint. Like this Storm Trooper:

And for those who think it’s all comics and stuff like that, there was also crazy music memorabilia.

And this poster selling for more than $400, which I’m 99.9 percent sure is fake, because I’m pretty confident Zeppelin and Hendrix did not perform a concert with Dylan, especially in 1966.

Anyway, we got our photo taken with the Capt. Kirk, William Shatner. It was quick in-and-out, but IT’S CAPT. KIRK!!!

Oh, and the police box from Doctor Who was there too.

Day 2

This was the big day. The wife dressed up as Shiva from Final Fantasy. Her sister had a Star Trek outfit, so I decided to get a $20 Bane mask from “Dark Knight Rises.” That, with Khaki pants and a long-sleeve shirt. I was not impressive, I thought.

But a shocking amount of people took their photos with me. I was flattered and baffled all at the same time.

While Gina and her sister ran around, I went to a panel featuring Gilbert Gottfried. He was fun to see, plus it allowed me to rest my feet.

At this point, we were pretty burnt. But we did decide to get a photo with Ernie Hudson, of “Ghostbusters” and “The Crow” fame.

Day 3

I’m not going to lie, we almost skipped on the third day. Our feet were sore and we were exhausted. But we had to pick up a drawing that artist Tom Cook made of Shaggy for us.