By
Richard C. Vara
Aug. 12, 2022
Houston, Texas—Every year people descend on the “Space City” to show off their love of comics. At Comicpalooza you will find a lot of people paying tribute to their favorite characters; however, what you will really find are a lot of talented and creative people. Over 50,000 fans of anime, comics, and manga attended the convention.
Photo by: Richard C. Vara
Houston hosts the largest pop culture event in Texas. In fact, Comicpalooza is the largest comic and pop culture convention in the southern United States. Comicpalooza started in 2008 in the lobby of the Alamo Draft House Theatre and has become larger every year since. It has grown so much that it had to move out of a theatre lobby and into the 1.2 million square foot space of the George R. Brown Convention Center. It is a multigene convention that welcomes various comic, anime, and manga enthusiasts as well as all cosplayer fans. Cosplayers spend days creating elaborate costumes to show off at the event. One cosplayer spent a year building his Space Marine costume from the video game “War Hammer 40k.”
Photo by: Richard C. Vara
Roxy Perez spent two weeks putting together her Raven costume from the D.C. Comic “Teen Titans.” Mrs. Perez even mixed and created her own makeup for her comic creation. Most of her costume was made by her own two hands. However, other pieces such as her purple wig were ordered online.
Photo by: Richard C. Vara
Others come to see celebrities such as film and television star Terry Crews or the legendary rock star Alice Cooper, who attend the 2022 event. Mr. Cooper is well known for his 1975 hit ” Welcome to My Nightmare.”
Photo by Richard C. Vara
In this video report, I explore the sights and talent that can be found at Comicpalooza. You can watch the full interviews from Comicpalooza by using the links in the description box of the YouTube video.
Creativity is a powerful force that causes people to work on costumes for a year or have their bodies painted for hours in front of thousands of people. They even braved a three-day comic convention in 100-degree heat. Either way, the passion and love that people have to become their favorite heroes for a few moments in life is truly inspiring.
