Guarding the front door were Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Blake Belladonna from RWBY.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: in March 2017 my wife Anne and I attended the inaugural Hall of Heroes Comic Con in Elkhart, Indiana. Under the same ownership as the nearby Hall of Heroes Museum (which we’d visited the year before), HoHCC was a two-day convention contained entirely in Elkhart’s historic Lerner Theatre, a beautiful 94-year-old venue for live plays and other cultural events. The organizers made creative use of the available spaces and had the assistance of a bevy of friendly volunteers. Initial response from fans statewide and beyond was so overwhelming, they earned themselves an encore presentation, this year in a much warmer September as opposed to that wintry March.
Before we narrate any further, once again we lead off a new convention miniseries with the mandatory cosplay photos. For logistical reasons (a bit more on that in Part 2) we were only able to attend Sunday this year, traditionally a less crowded and activity-filled day at comic cons. That means we fell far short of our usual goal of catching at least 5,000 different cosplayers in one day. To be fair, we never meet that goal, but I like to think it’s nice that we have goals. In the meantime, quite a few fascinating folks caught our eyes…
V, he of the infamous Vendetta. Meanwhile, a volunteer sneaks Ghost Rider’s motorcycle past us.
Lego Scarlet Witch, an ideal hero for a world in which nearly every character has the super-power of magical Lego-kinesis.
Deadpool and trusty unicorn pal on their way to — wait for it — a ‘pool party. Bonus points for the chimichanga hat.
A stylish Catwoman, a.k.a. MissChibiArtist, one of the fine artists in attendance.
One of many helpful volunteers sporting a sound-effects suit that reminds me of my Doctor Who shirt. I was shocked to learn this is actually available from Kohls.
A dancing wizard, trying to bring da noise AND da funk all by his lonesome.
…and that was nearly it for our Sunday until shortly after 1:00, when a Cosplay Parade was listed on the schedule at the Main Street Stage, part of this year’s much-needed and smartly planned outdoor expansion onto Main Street Elkhart. We assumed we’d find cosplayers in a single line, marching in formation to…somewhere? What we found instead: COSPLAY DANCE PARTY! Because why not.
While a DJ in a Mandalorian helmet spun some tunes, fans got down with their bad selves. Let’s see C2E2 match that.
Like a classic masquerade ball minus the upper-class privilege or tragic horror ending.
More Mandalorians, blowing off steam after a hard day at the office.
Buddy Christ, Alice, Star-Lord, Rick, an Imperial officer, Batman, and Gwenpool jump on the line. (We’ve actually met Batman before. Hi, Shane!)
Riddler, Scarecrow, Green Arrow, Joker, and Penguin were like, “Uhhhhh, we were told this would be a parade?”
“Look, guys, I don’t know, just roll with it!” shrugs Malcolm Merlyn.
Spider-Man and an anime furry make room on the dance floor for Li’l Super Saiyan Goku.
Without Joker or Ivy around, Harley Quinn finds a new partner in a Warcraft Orc. Hijinks ensue!
As always, these folks were a fraction of the available talents in attendance. We left before the official costume contests began, but hope folks had as fun a time as we did, especially considering how humdrum our outfits were by comparison.
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 