By: Michelle Carr
A little over a week ago I was in complete and utter bliss. I found myself entirely immersed in the world that is Comic Con. Our impromptu trip to Lexington, Kentucky had quickly changed from a single day to a two day adventure. This happened once we realized that that some of our favorite people were hosting Q&As on the following day. We eagerly guided our children through the cosplay filled floor. Stopping every few steps, we introduced them to the things we adored growing up and well still adore now too. I don’t know what made me happier, seeing it all for the first time through their eyes or when they saw something they got excited about.
From retro games to Game of Thrones, everything can be found at Comic Con. It is literally the place where a nerd can feel free to be a nerd. And this nerd girl, dressed as a Joker loving Harley Quinn did just that as I posed not only with the Tardis but R2D2. We found all sorts of treasures from a ring with the number 42 on it (which I got nerd points for knowing the meaning behind it) to a rebooted Transformer that was a rare find. My son got to geek out in the retro game center. The guys there seemed genuinely impressed with his knowledge of the games they had there. (I am doing something right.) My daughter had us tracking down the moving R2D2 and Dalek so she could talk to them as well as the Disney Princesses so she could have her picture taken. We were completely “nerding out” so to speak and met many wonderful people. People who got it just as much as we did. We were definitely at home there.
But of all the crazy wonderful things I found there, the best moments were those spent with some of my heroes from my younger years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my all-time favorite shows. With the constant battle of good and evil, I feel this show helped give me the strength to say no to the things in my life that I believe were wrong. Helped me to make better choices as a young adult. After seven years of watching these characters grow on an almost weekly basis, I found myself very attached to them. Once the show ended, I continued to follow their story through the comic books. Here was my first opportunity to meet Eliza Dushku (aka Faith) and James Marsters (aka Spike) two of the badasses from the show whose character arc gave them the ability to be both villains as well as heroes. I had come prepared bringing a comic with both of the characters on it in hopes I could get both of their signatures.
We went through Eliza’s line first. She had brought her puppy with her and the little one rest calmly and cutely in her lap. When she saw my comic she became very excited. She said it was cute that she looked like a Pikachu coming out of the top of it. She quickly took a picture and then called James over who was set up in the station next to her. He stepped over to check out my comic and got a kick out of it as well saying “I look like a Bitch on this.” To which he immediately apologized once he saw the kids with us. He told us “I was just being me.” I quickly replied “And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Once we had finished talking to Eliza, we went to stand in James’s line. He offered to do photos with those who came through his line so we opted to do that as well. He joined his signature with Eliza’s and told my seven year old daughter, whose eyes were huge, that she had very good taste liking Spike. James was very friendly and for our time with him he made us feel very welcomed. I even told him at one point I was just in awe that I was finally meeting him after all these years at it was amazing. He smiled big and said, “Yea, I am all 3D right?” This made me laugh and feel far more comfortable. In the end I got to thank him for everything. It felt amazing having had the opportunity to thank both people for all they have given to us over the years.
Once it was all over, with the excitement of all our new experiences running through our heads, we packed the car full of our new nerd gear. Then we began our trip back to reality. Back to where it isn’t quite as acceptable to run around dressed as Spiderman. But through every single wonderful moment there, there were a few that held up higher above the rest. Those moments were the ones that I got to say thank you to a couple of my heroes for the joy and strength they had given me. Those are the memories I will cherish the most of all from this entire Con and hold them dear in my heart. Even though this nerd girl thought the “Bite Me” that James wrote on my comic was pretty damn cool too.
