Fans of comic books, gaming, cosplay and more gathered in the District this weekend for the seventh annual Awesome Con to enjoy what’s described as a “celebration of geek culture.”
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center was occupied by a range of folks in cosplay — from little kids to seasoned adults — dressed up as comic book characters and milling in and out.
There’s a character named Spider Punk? I’m ‘gon learn today! Anthony here talks about him. @WTOP @AwesomeCon #AwesomeCon pic.twitter.com/oOr2yCiTls
— Liz Anderson (@PlanetNoun) April 28, 2019
Others enjoyed the arcade, panel discussions and numerous wares on display in the exhibit hall.
“This is the third year I’ve gone, actually,” Sean Cunningham of Cupepper, Virginia, said. “My dad and I — the last three years — we’ve both gone.”
Cunningham has been into comics for about 15 years. His dad’s also into comics.
Elsewhere in the convention, a group of friends from Northern Virginia and Maryland had a blast.
“We go to a lot of conventions. It was around the area, so we were like ‘let’s try it out,’” said Alicia Marcia.
And Zoey Hansen said she loves “how it doesn’t matter what fandom you’re into, because everyone here is into something and there’s always someone that you can talk to and have a good time with.”
It was the first Awesome Con for Jazmin Davis of Maryland.
Davis enjoyed “seeing my two friends and my girlfriend do Dance Dance Revolution — well it was a form of it — so it was really cool.”
Daniel Diaz missed out on a competitive fighting game tournament this year, but there’s always the future.
“Next convention I’m going to get into the Super Smash tournament to see how many people I can beat up,” he laughed.
