Awesome Con is DC's first truly awesome pop culture convention

By now you've probably figured out that all of us who hang out at the Punch Drunk Critics water cooler are a bunch of geeks. And as such we've lamented more than once DC's lack of a truly special Comic-Con to call our own. Sure, we've attended Baltimore Comic-Con on more than one occasion, the same with AnimeUSA, but those aren't unique to the Nation's Capital in any significant way. That could be changing now, as this past weekend saw the pop culture crowd turn out in force for Awesome Con, and it shows a lot of early promise.

I was there for a few hours on Saturday, making my way through larger-than-expected crowds at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and was impressed by what I saw. The main attraction is, of course, the exhibit hall where rows and rows of dealers sell their wares, consisting of golden to modern age comics, along with plenty of collectibles and original pieces of art. Emulating the format of some of the larger Cons, a number of geeky panels were held ranging from Star Wars vs. Star Trek debates; Speed Dating; and professional wrestling.

For an even only in it's first year, they managed to lure in an impressive number of guests, including Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters (who broke out the uniform after awhile); Nicholas "Xander" Brendon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; and Phil Lamarr of Futurama fame. Lamarr always seems to be at these things, and you can check out my past interview with him here.

For me personally, the highlight was being able to meet legendary comics scribe and artist, Larry Hama. Hama wrote pretty much every Wolverine and G.I. Joe story I give a crap about, and while he is getting up there in age he was still full of energy and willing to share a few stories. Check out some of the sights of Awesome Con below.

And yes, the Cosplayers were out in force, as you'll be able to see from the photos below. Many of them were people I recognized from other conventions, but every one I spoke to was genuinely excited that DC finally had a convention worth being proud about. Heck, I'll come back just to get another look at the chick with the Captain Marvel outfit.