“WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, 70,000 CREDITS REWARD” for this cute tiny fugitive from space justice.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the eleventh edition of the Indiana Comic Convention at the Indiana Convention Center in scenic downtown Indianapolis. ICC 2025 was another opportunity for fans to look at walls covered with old comics, build lightsabers, buy 3D-printed knickknacks, overstock on Funko Pops, respect the anime fandom whose population dwarfs us older generations, and navigate those vast crowds. This year the showrunners occupied more square footage than ever, and last year’s edition was by no means dinky. Geek life had more space to thrive and sometimes enjoy some breathing space in between some of the narrower alleys of thriving pop-culture commerce…

Convention joys are many and varied and all around. You can appreciate the efforts and imaginations of the cosplayers who toiled to recreate and embody their favorite characters from the pop culture spectrum, as we illustrated in our costume gallery. Or, as we described at length in Part Two, you can meet actors and other celebrities, get their autographs, have your photos taken with them, attend the panels where they answer questions about their works and careers, or simply gaze upon them from a safe distance where your nervous system won’t overload at the mere thought of meeting them up close.

For some, it’s cool just immersing yourself in the main exhibit hall — a magical world of whimsy the size of multiple football fields and filled with IP-based merchandise, antiques, arts, crafts, games, toys, and vibes. It’s the nexus of our temporary realities, a three-day safe harbor from the “real” world and all its problems — the burdens, stresses, horrors, letdowns, sorrows, infuriating disruptions and abject drabness. Here we can connect with like-minded aficionados in celebrating the mass-media universes and multiverses where stories and inspirations thrive for our entertainment, meaning, uplift or escape. Community can feel positively transcendental in a place like this.

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