Aaron Malkowski (left), Talia Buchman, Garrett Fagundus and Emily Jacobson walk around the Hazel and J.W. Ruby Community Center at Mylan Park dressed up during the annual WVPopCon on Saturday morning.
People dressed as Pikachu and Storm Troopers made their way to Mylan Park Saturday for the 8th annual West Virginia PopCon. PopCon is the brainchild of Jon Hayes. But by way of Comic Paradise Plus, a shop in both Morgantown and Fairmont, Tyler Wells has been involved with the convention for two years.
“Of course each year has grown piece by piece, but I can tell you from the past two, three years I have had involvement in it, each year grows,” said Wells.
This year hosted the most vendors the convention has ever had, even with a date change. Wells said there is a little bit of something for every kind of fan.
“If you’re into whatever. It could be anime, it could be overall just regular cartoons, could be comic books,” he said.
Wells said the PopCon is unique to the area, given most would not see pop-culture events happening in small areas. He said as the years have gone on, popular culture conventions have popped up in Huntington, Buckhannon, Parkersburg and other areas in West Virginia.
“You can actually put on, with time and dedication, a really, really good con. But it takes a lot. This is not just something that happens overnight,” he said.
Planning and connections started the day after last year’s convention. Wells said PopCon is a networking opportunity for people to meet other businesses.
“Maybe you want to be a professional cosplayer, maybe you’re really big into gaming or something like that. This can be your next stop. This can be your place where you meet that next group that you can be a part of,” said Wells.
Wells said he’s loved watching PopCon grow over the couple years he’s been involved. He said it’s remarkable how many people come out to enjoy the convention.
The convention will continue today from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wells said today is a good day to come and buy things, given many vendors don’t want to go home with what they brought.
“The thing is about comics is, you can go and buy anything offline today…for somebody that’s coming into a comic book store, they’re looking for an experience. They’re looking for a connection. They’re looking for that community,” he said.
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