Galaxy Con 2024 is a wrap. Even though my geekdom, nerdom, and dumbdom runs high, my first Comic Con I ever attended was New York Comic Con back in 2016 when I was 36-years old. I was a bit of a late bloomer I guess. I always loved TMNT and video games and stuff like that, but never realized how much people REALLY love this stuff. I was kinda hooked the first time I went and was blown away by the amount of love and passion people had for their favorite franchises, whether it was the newest Marvel movie, the hottest TV show, or the weirdest Anime waifu jigglypuff (I think that’s what it’s called). When I saw everyone celebrating all this geeky stuff, I was like, “HEY I LIKE THIS STUFF TOO!” Besides COVID, I’ve gone to NYCC every year since and the last 3 years I was lucky enough to attend Galaxy Con in Raleigh, NC as well, either as an entertainer (shout out to my dude Tyler Wood who puts on a bunch of great shows and panels at all the Galaxy Cons) or as press (this thing you’re reading now).
Despite it being waaaaay smaller than NYCC, Galaxy Con is still a good sized Con and gets a TON of big names. From the Daredevil cast, to the Cobra Kai cast, to ex/old professional wrestlers, to a whole slew of voice actors (like all four original TMNT cartoon voices and Lion-O!!!!), it’s a great showcase of what’s popular today with fanbases from all over the world. If you’ve never been to a “comic-con” at all, I definitely recommend everyone should at least attend one (my wife came with me to NYCC one year and hated every second of it. She’s 5’3” so I get it. The crowds can be a bit much. I’m 6’6” so I can see over the crowds. Different experience for the both of us). It’s quite the show.
Now, what’s at a Con, you might ask? Everything. Literally everything you can think of. I myself, don’t even care about the panels necessarily. Some seem cool, but waiting in line for them never seemed fun, unless you want a break and need to sit down then go for it. I do remember attending a Judith Hoag panel last year (the O.G. April O’Neil from the first TMNT movie. That was cool. She’s nice). They have all types of panels, from celebs giving talks and Q&A’s, to a fun artist’s sketch duel, to video game tournaments, you name it. Something for everyone. Other than that though, I spend a lot of time walking the main show floor and looking at all the weird, crazy stuff people are there to sell. Stuff like…
or like…
or like…
And millions of other things. See:
So yeah, tons of stuff. Now, is any of this stuff necessary? Absolutely not. How many Funko Pops do we need? Enough already!
Did I want most of it though? Yes (besides the Funko and Anime stuff. I just don’t…get it. Sorry. Love how passionate everyone else is about it though!) But it’s actually kinda rare, I realized, when I do actually purchase something at a Con. For one, if my wife rolls her eyes one more time if I come home with a Ninja Turtle thing they might fall out of her head. Also, a lot of it can be a tad overpriced (and I’m not even talking about the ridiculously overpriced food options). I appreciate the original art and how amazing these artists and creators are, but I just can’t possibly fit another poster anywhere on my wall in the game room. I can’t put another action figure anywhere else. I don’t need a weird imported Switch game from Japan that looks cool but I’ll probably end up on a list if I play it. So I tend to just walk around, be nice and chatty with some of the vendors, tell them their stuff is amazing, then move on to the next booth. But I also see people walking around with bags and bags of stuff they just bought, and that’s awesome too.
I didn’t even mention the cosplay. I, a 44-year old man, do not dress up. I have nothing against people dressing up and I think it’s cool. I FELT WEIRD NOT BEING IN COSPLAY! That’s how many people cosplay at Galaxy Con. I think 98% of the people were dressed up. It’s fun to see. I don’t know who 75% of them are because my anime knowledge is zero, but I do enjoy seeing random people get so excited about another random person’s costume and want to take a picture of them.
So there you have it. Galaxy Con is a really fun time for everyone that goes. It’s run pretty smoothly which you can only appreciate for a large Con like this. They’ll be a constant event in Raleigh for the next almost-decade as they just signed an agreement to keep returning to downtown Raleigh and the Convention Center for years to come.
Have you ever attended a Con? Have any fun or crazy experiences? Met somebody cool? Bought something unique that you still have hanging on your wall or packed away in a shoebox under your bed somewhere? Let me know!