On the last day of Wizard World Tulsa I actually got to the
convention kind of early, partly because I was terrified I would sleep past my
check-out time at the hotel so I woke up super early and grabbed breakfast
downtown. Afterwards I walked around to see more of the city until the convention
started. Downtown Tulsa is very walkable.
(All photos are my own. Please let me know if you'd like to be credited as one of the below cosplayers. Thanks)
On Saturday I kind of broke down and bought more stuff than
I was originally planning to. I bought a
Deathly Hallows necklace after eyeing them several times at Gillygoods
Emporium. By Sunday, I was all in, like
a gambler with an addiction. I didn’t go
buck-wild but I did get a very cute Game
of Thrones meets Pokemon t-shirt
from Tee Turtle, a Black Panther t-shirt because he is my favorite Avenger, and
a Dumbledore Funko Pop figurine. I know,
I know….stuff I didn’t need but it was there….and I was there so….enough said.
While I was buying I did come across some of my favorite
cosplayers of the whole con. I mean
c’mon! These ladies of all ages were just killing it. The teen cosplaying as Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim was so shy and sweet, her
mom so excited I was asking for a photo.
I mean, this is what fandom is all about, right?
Around noon I headed back to the assembly hall to see
“Behind the Voice with Nintendo’s Charles Martinet”, I figured it would be good
way to take a seat, chill a bit and wait for the coffee I had to kick in. What I didn’t expect was Charles’s boundless
enthusiasm and positivity. Charles is
the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, in every version of the Mario
Nintendo games. Charles is so super
likeable and upbeat, he answered audience questions and championed the idea of
doing what you love, because then you’ll never work a day in your life. He made this jaded little 32 year old heart
of mine grow in size because it’s never too late to pursue what you love, and
you never know where opportunities will arise.
The last panel I sat in on was “Diversity in Comics; Illegal
Alien Icons” with DC writer and university professor Jai Nitz talked about
Mexican representation in the DC Comics world.
This was one of my favorite panels because it felt like Jai was talking
directly to me. Jai is bi-racial, white
father and Hispanic mother, just like me!
Jai looks completely Caucasian, just like me and his family can be
traced in Texas, by way of Mexico, by way of Spain, just like mine. So when he traced the appearance of Hispanic
characters like El Dorado, Vibe, and the recent Jaime Reyes version of Blue
Beetle, I was like, “man this guy is in my head”. I love Blue Beetle because it takes place in
El Paso, TX where all my family is from.
Jai wrote and updated the originally white character El
Diablo into a Mexican character for DC Comics and now has seen that character
reach mainstream through both the DC Lego game and also the upcoming Suicide Squad movie.
I really have to commend Wizard World for hosting panels
that address the growing need for representation and gender equality in our
fandoms. Sometimes I feel conventions
are just sort of fluff entertainment and nothing of real consequence, so I was
ecstatic to see Wizard World Tulsa address real life issues that I think about
constantly.
Shortly after, I then sat in on Kids Costume Contest as the
last part of my day before heading back home and yes, I’m female so I did
“awwww” at all the teeny tiny Vaders, Links, and Buffy the Vampire Slayers but
I was insanely proud of the girl dressed as Leonardo with her pigtails whipping
back and forth. Girl, don’t let anyone
hold you back in being whoever you want to be.
Supporting each other, letting our mutual love of our heroes
propel us even further in better people, and teaching a new generation in
believing in themselves and giving them to the confidence to be whatever they
want to be. This is what fandom is all about.
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