St. Louis Comic Con Review: A First Timer’s Wizard World Experience

Maybe you know a “geek.” Maybe you know several “geeks.” Ladies and gentlemen who dig stuff like science fiction, fantasy, and most of all, superheroes, comic books, and graphic novels. For these folks, comic book conventions (known colloquially as comic cons) are the culmination of their pop culture beings, where actors and actresses from their favorite films and TV series make appearances, where the authors of their favorite comics come and draw art and sign autographs.

For years, cities around the country have been hosting annual comic cons, to the delight of their denizens. St. Louis, however, has had no such luck, and folks hoping to attend one were forced to migrate to Chicago, Philadelphia, or any number of cities to attend – all while clamoring for an event to be held here in the Gateway City.

This year, though, Wizard World heard the pleas, and from March 22-24, America’s Center hosted St. Louis Comic Con 2013.

And there was much rejoicing.

But what about those of us who aren’t completely into the comic book/graphic art/science fiction/fantasy scene? What if I’m just a moderate fan? you might be wondering. Was there anything cool for me to see?

Absolutely!

Unlike a lot of my friends, I’m not a hardcore comic book/graphic novel fan. I think I have maybe four in my collection. Growing up, I was much more interested in sports, so I spent more of my time reading Sports Illustrated and memorizing baseball stats. While I do enjoy science fiction (especially Star Wars and Star Trek), I’ve never been into the fantasy realm, so going into Comic Con, surrounded by ultra-knowledgeable people, I felt almost… uncool.