Above photo of three GalaxyCon attendees by Elizabeth Brignac.
GalaxyCon 2024 Brings the Otherworldly Fun
By Mario Boucher
It was like landing on an alien planet. Darth Vader patrolled the hallways. Deadpool & Wolverine posed with fans. Thousands of enthusiasts of all ages enjoyed dressing up and attending panels and events related to science fiction, anime, and fantasy fandoms at Raleigh’s 2024 GalaxyCon at the Raleigh Convention Center on July 25-28.
The number of humans dressed in fantastic costumes covered all aspects of the science-fiction and anime worlds. Take Paige Trotter of Thomasville, NC, dressed as Ezra Scarlett from “Fairy Tail.”
After attending the show for the first time last year, Trotter became enamored with cosplay and decided to create her own costume and enter this year’s competition. “I started to work on my costume in February and finished just last week, so a solid six months using EVA foam and a whole lot of glue to put it all together,” she says.
Talented artists like Amy Thach of Ranelynn Graphics in Richmond, Virginia, displayed her detailed and striking 3D art. Walking past the art, you could see three different versions of a character like the Joker moving along with you, changing from Jack Nicholson to Heath Ledger to Joaquin Phoenix. “It started when I was with a friend at a convention a few years ago and decided to use my love of drawing to create something unique,” she said.
Thach draws each image separately and makes multiple layers for a 3D file. The print is small strips of each image. A film with ridges and adhesive is laid over the top of the print. The ridges block the view of one of the two or two of the three lines of the image based on the angle seen. It takes Thach about six hours to draw a simple image. But the more complex, detailed ones can add up to 45 hours of drawing!
It took quite a few more hours for John Jackson Miller to write the new “Batman: Resurrection,” a tie-in novel set between the two Tim Burton movies. A veteran of writing Star Wars and Star Trek novels, Miller was shocked and excited when his editor, Tom Hoeler, approached him to write the book. “I was such a fan of the original movie. I saw the movie 15 times in theaters, reviewed it for my college paper and wrote about it in comics magazines,” he says.
Once Warner Brothers approved his outline, he began writing the book in February for roughly three months. “My editor and I discussed what we thought would be a good idea as a sequel to the original Batman movie, a storyline I’ve had since 1989,” said Miller. There are edits yet to come before the October 15 release date. “I never thought it was a thing to ask for and definitely a dream come true.”
For some fans, the dream was to meet and hear some celebrities attending the convention. For example, actress Linda Hamilton from the “Terminator” movies and “Beauty and the Beast” television series spoke about her experiences in the entertainment industry, including dealing with lots of fake blood in her hair while making “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
A combination of a reduced role and expecting her first child made her bow out of its sequel, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” She discussed choosing motherhood over a Hollywood career at the time. Never fear, Hamilton is still here. She plays in part of two of the television series “Resident Alien” and has joined the cast of “Stranger Things” for its upcoming season.
Everyone who attended GalaxyCon 2024 had a blast meeting fellow fans, celebrities and exhibitors, who offered “treasures” to bring home along with memories of a lifetime.
One of the most fun aspects of GalaxyCon and similar events is the costumes people wear. Below, you will find a gallery of people enjoying some elaborate cosplay. Photos by Elizabeth Brignac.
