Granite State Comic Con from Eli on InkLink on Vimeo.

MANCHESTER, NH – With the resurgence of comic book-inspired movies and TV shows, it seems that it’s once again cool to be a nerd – and this was made abundantly clear at this year’s Granite State Comicon in Manchester, which took place Sept. 16-17 at the Radisson Hotel!

Below you’ll find unbelievably cool cosplay, scenery, and stories from Granitecon 2017. Enjoy!

Lucky Grim of Lucky Grim Creative poses as Angela from the comic series Spawn –she happens to have won the regional Eastern Championship of cosplay at New York Comicon. She will be competing for the international championship at Los Angeles Comicon in late October.

The 501st Legion and Rebel Legion, two Star Wars cosplay groups, came out to show off their impressive collection of gear and gadgets.

Together, the 501st and Rebel Legion are headed by CO Erich Chafer. Chafer said that though they love displaying their costumes and creations for fun, they were also raising money for the Peter Mayhew Foundation: specifically, hurricane relief.

Star Wars fans come in all ages, shapes and sizes – here we see Kyle Brunco, 7, at his second comic convention ever. His mother, Jamie, says that the startlingly accurate cosplay has achieved recognition and gotten the whole family invited to big Star Wars premieres like Rogue One.

Mackenzie Fannon, 11, cosplays as the character “11” from Netflix’s Stranger Things series. Her mother, Tammy (who’s also a cosplaying member of the New England Brethren of Pirates), says that she’s brought Mackenzie to three conventions so far, and her daughter’s costume has even been retweeted by Milly Bobby Brown, the actress who plays “11.”

Sadie Fijalkowski, co-owner of Feature Presentation, constructed this representation of the Byers’ living room set from Stranger Things. She and her partner Brandon Berry (who also cosplays as Captain Jack in the New England Brethren of Pirates) have worked on various movie recreations, including the demonic attic set from the ’80s horror-gore flick Hellraiser.

“It’s on a different level, another world of cosplay,” said Fijalkowski. As happy fans filtered in and out of her creation, she smiled. “Why wouldn’t you want to immerse yourself?”

The New England Brethren of Pirates are a boisterous group of dedicated cosplayers and set-builders. You can find them voyaging just about anywhere a pirate would fit in, from comic conventions to booze cruises in Portsmouth. Today, they’re displaying Brandon Berry’s (better known as “Captain Jack”) home constructed boat’s wheel, which attendees could climb aboard and hold while pointing and yelling “Land ho!”

When asked for reason behind the costumes, member Tammy Fallon replied: “Where else can you dress as a pirate and get away with it?”

Like the 501st and Rebel Legion, the Pirates were benefiting a charity of their own: Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD).

Bethany Smith (Gaia) and Brandon McCrae (Captain Planet) of Newport enjoy Granitecon, their first convention.

Of Leominster, Massachusetts, Cub Seidt and C.Lilith came out to represent AMC’s The Walking Dead. C.Lillith said she spent six hours working on Carl’s mutilated eye. When asked how many conventions they’d attended, Seidt said: “A lot. We have a problem.”

Steve Rylek says he has been cosplaying as Stever Rogers’ Captain America for 30 years. The suit, which is handmade with the help of a seamstress, consists of leather and includes his grandfather’s World War II belt and Airborne Division patch. Rylek says it took 40-50 hours to produce the costume, and has used it to perform in parades and fundraisers following September 11th.

Tatiana Alves (Princess Jasmine) and Jessica Lasorsa (Enchantress) say they met at Canobie Lake Park during “Screeemfest.” Alves says she even gets requests to bring her Jasmine costume to events and parties.

To learn more about what you missed at Granitecon, check out their website.

To see more pictures from the event, check out their Instagram.