The convention was expected to draw about 30,000 entrants before ending tonight, Wizard Entertainment spokeswoman April Wiggins said. And, yes, some of the old expectations hold true about the participants, many of whom were lavishly costumed as their favorite characters.
"There's definitely a pecking order," Jon Vigile, 26, of Norristown, said yesterday. "There's guys like me who collect comics and have a couple nerdy T-shirts. Then there's that dude dressed like Two-Face over there."
Sean Murphy, 24, of Morrisville, already has a handful of convention appearances under his belt. Portraying a DC Comics character with an elaborately stitched black-and-yellow top piece, complete with leggings and a rag-doll wig, he said his biggest thrill was fans recognizing his likeness and taking photos.
"I think there's definitely skill levels," he said about the costume scene. "Newer people, they'll come next year and have improved."
For those who still harbor images of white men in their late 20s seeking mint-condition issues of Spider-Man to pore over in their parents' suburban basement, the convention was not entirely affirming.
Sue Wisler, 42, of Souderton, and Sheri Cavanaugh, 50, of Sellersville, have been coming to Wizard World in Philadelphia since it started here.
"Of all the people here, about 5 percent are women," Cavanaugh estimated. "And of those, about 95 percent are girlfriends. The other 5 percent are Sue and I."
Sitting alongside other comic artists shopping their works, Darius Corry, 24, and Chris Clarke, 23, two students from the historically black University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, were working on sketches. They are on track to become the school's first graduates with a sequential-arts major.
