Wizard World St. Louis 2015 was, as every Comic Con is, absolutely fantastic. The sheer diversity in the choices of the cosplayers, seeing months worth of intricate work–it’s an inexplicable feeling.

Now, if you’ve never been to a Con before, it’s quite an experience. Let me walk you though the whole process. When you initially show up to the center where it’s held, you see hordes of people walking around in their costumes and it is at that point you know you’re in for so much more inside.

Walking around inside the Con is overwhelming, to say the least. There’s so many things to look at, so many booths with stuff to see; it seems like everyone wants to see the same the thing you do, like you’re always in someone’s way. But don’t worry, no one will say anything, everyone has the same feeling you do.

The booths are quite an experience, you’ll find nearly anything you’re looking for. I saw ice cube trays in the shape of the Death Star, because well, why not? You’ll see the widest range of shirts, going from punny to villain cereals to hoodies with a character head as the hood. You’ll find replicas of swords from games and animes you’ve always wanted; I fangirled so hard when I saw the Kingdom Key!

And as if all that stuff wasn’t enough in itself, you’ve got booths with absolutely beautiful prints covering nearly every nerd’s interests ever. Star Wars, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, LOTR, HP, etc. Literally anything you could want. And everything I’ve just described, doesn’t even begin to cover it. There are booths with everything you could want or need: coffee cups, jewelry, metal photos, posters, shirts, toys, comic books, vintage toys and comic books, anything! I found a pair of earmuffs that, rather than being furry, had Princess Leia buns. What.

Oh, and did I mention that if you see any prints you like, it’s likely that the artist is at the Con and will autograph it for you?

Once you’ve finished looking at the vast amounts of booths, should you ever actually finish, there are the panels. Panels are sort of like a Q&A session. Some of them are strictly informational, with a single speaker and a short Q&A at the end, while others are solely question-based. You never know what you’re going to see at a panel, and that’s what’s sort of fun about them! Last year, I saw Karen Gillan sing a girl Happy Birthday and, during the same panel, talked about what it was like to shave her head for Guardians, and shortly after she was asked to hum the Doctor Who theme song. She obliged.

There are a ton of different kind of panels, including informational panels; I attended one that was about how to make a living in Nerd Culture. It was really interesting! Most of the speakers were local, but one speaker helped work on The Hobbit making props! He had a tent as well, where he sold replicas of his work (I saw his Smaug piece and was absolutely astounded). You can check him out on his twitter, @WetaWorkshop.

There are panels all day long, and I can guarantee you, there’s at least one you’d be interested in, but probably many more. You’ll probably end up having to sacrifice one thing for another because they overlap!

The variety in panels is astounding. There was a How To Draw Superheroes, a falconry one, and there was one for the LGBT community of cosplayers! There’s even a speed dating panel! Well, actually, four of them. And according to them, they’re responsible for a handful of marriages and quadruple that in engagements!

Hey, where better to meet someone with whom you know you’ve got similar interests? Exactly their point, I would think.

The next, and in my opinion, most important thing you need to know about attending a Con: ATTEND THE COSTUME CONTEST. This is an absolute must. You will see so many costumes you didn’t see while you were out walking around beforehand. At least, in my experience. And bonus, this year before the contest we got to see a live band, Critical Hit (get the pun?!), play some very well known video game music. When they began ‘To Zanarkand’ from Final Fantasy X, my heartstrings played along. Check them out, seriously, they were one of the most spectacular parts of the day: @CritHitBand.

And I cannot forget to add that during the band’s set, the audience got to see an artist live paint an orc from Warcraft. But not just any artist, we got to see Rob Prior, @Prior2art, who paints with both hands. Did you read that? This man paints WITH BOTH HANDS. I had no idea who to watch, the band or the artist. The violinist and cellist were absolutely stunning, and the artist was painting with such emotion. I couldn’t help but watch the artist; the way he moved his hands and the way the color flowed through his brush as if it were his limb and not really a brush at…it was truly mesmerizing. He did this really fantastic piece of an orc from Warcraft and I talked to him after; he told me he’s going to send it my way.* I cannot even begin to explain it because I could not do it justice.

*That’s a lie, but I wish.

Alright, so now that you know just how exciting the experience is whether or not you’ve decided to cosplay or not, let me explain to you the amazing works of art you’re going to see there. Honestly, this is my favorite part of the entire experience; it was so awesome getting my picture taken with Nathan Fillion last year, but more often than not, when someone asks me about Comic Con, I talk about the costumes.

You need to check out the photos below to really experience it for yourself, but it’s breathtaking, honestly. A woman this year was Queen Elsa and was covered in what I thought was glitter, but rather was GLASS. I don’t know how she did it. She said she spent upwards of 1000 hours working on it. Could you even imagine??

One group cosplayed as the Clue members: Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock, and Mrs. White. Another group dressed as Scorpion and Sub Zero and came out on stage fighting, flipping, and doing a fake fight scene, complete with Raiden who called their fight. A family came dressed as multiple Deadpools. One group came as the Ring Wraiths, complete with the Witch King and his giant helmet. If only there were a Nazgûl…

Well, last but not least, I have to give special mention to one of my favorite costumes of the day. Anyway, I probably scared this poor girl when I saw her; I didn’t even form a complete sentence. I’m 99% sure my exact words were “I LOVE-” and “THE HEAD.” Seriously.

Amanda Lynn Bryan as Luna Lovegood
[Credit: Raechel Odom]

Can you now see why I freaked out? I’ve seen quite a few Luna cosplays, but never have I seen one with a lion head. The only thing that would have made this better is if she had cast a spell to make it roar, so basically it’s perfect.

Check out some highlights of the Con in the gallery below.

{All photos courtesy of Raechel Odom]

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