My five year old son and I checked out the AwesomeCon, Washington DC’s first comic convention this weekend at the Washington Convention Center. We saw toys, comics, pop culture celebs, and of course lots of fans in costume. Check it out!





I thought my son would be less likely to be afraid of the people in costume if we were in costume as well. That and I love any excuse to get into costume. So I busted out my Kung-Fu suit, and my son donned his ninja jumpsuit and we high-ya’d our way through the crowds. He did alright with all the cosplay. He was a little too shy to get his pic taken with too many fans, but he loved shouting “Daddy! I see Batman!” etc when we saw his favorite characters. This was the first one in DC, and we went right when they opened. There was a healthy percentage of people in costume, and almost everyone else was wearing a comic related t-shirt (like a weathered 60s era Avengers shirt). It was fun spotting other attendees on the metro and at lunch afterwards, it was like recognizing brothers in a secret fraternity. Of course my son and I were dressed as ninjas, so we just looked for the people that nodded knowingly. I know where you just came from…

I saw tons of guys with their young children, and almost every kid I saw was in a superhero costume. I was a little anxious bringing my son, the comic cons of 20 years ago weren’t really the place for a small child. But things have evolved quite a bit in the last two decades and this was a much more family friendly affair. I’m really glad I convinced my son to dress up, and he really liked seeing the other kids dressed up, and felt like he fit in. There were several activities geared just for kids, including a childrens’ book author doing a reading, a create-your-own-superhero workshop, and a kids costume contest. We had to rush back to a tee-ball game and the Metro was horrendous (1.5 hours for 45 minute trip) so we couldn’t attend these, but we’re coming back next year, and hopefully we can hit one or two of these activities. At first, he didn’t see much for sale that interested him. So I started looking for toys.

I was looking to buy him his first comic book, but from his three foot tall perspective, it was fanboys thumbing through endless comic boxes, and he was not impressed. We found a couple of toy dealers, and he quickly found a second generation Transformer in one of the boxes below the table that he had to have. I was eyeing the dealer’s mint condition Grimlock and Slag ($160 and $100 respectively), but did not find the G1 Ravage I was seeking. My son was very happy with his Transformer, and he warmed up to the atmosphere a lot more once he had his own toy.

I wasn’t sure what to get my son for his first comic book. I have some TMNT in my collection, but it’s the gritty Eastman and Laird era. Everything else I collected typically fell into the Image revolution. I have Spawn, Shadow-Hawk, Savage Dragon, Trencher, etc and those aren’t appropriate either. He’s just now discovering comic books, and learning to read (he’s in kindergarten). I struck gold with the Marvel Masterpieces #1 for $1. (Original cover price $3, score!) He loved pouring over each picture looking at all the lush paintings of each of the Marvel super heroes and villians. There are no words to read, just cover-worthy oil paintings of many favorites. He loved going page by page and asking me if the character was a good guy or bad guy. If you know any titles, commonly found at cons, that are great for beginning readers, leave a comment below. The Dirt Boss Transformer was clearly his favorite haul from the show.

I thought DC’s own convention got off to a great start. They had some respectable celebs (Ernie Hudson, Phil Lamarr, Billy West) I’m proud I got to say I got to go to the first one. It was a great idea keeping the price at $15 a day (or $25 for two) and the kids for free. I’m anxious to see how the word of mouth grows the community next year. I think the family friendly atmosphere was the sticking point for me. I haven’t hit a con in a long time, and it was both familiar and fresh. I am planning on hitting the Baltimore Comic Con in September, and I have a new cosplay costume in mind. But I’m not telling you what it is.

Info can be found at AwesomeConDC.com get on their mailing list to be informed about upcoming shows.

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