As a crowd of people passed by one of the many booths featuring celebrities, a man in a hairy outfit screamed at the top of his lungs. In the streets, passerbyers may have fled the scene. Comic Con goers, however, continued happily, smiling along the way.
The Central Carolina Comic Con locate at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds was held on Jan. 11-12, and hosted a variety of vendors and celebrities across different genres of fictional films such as voice actors, television producers and singers.
There were many people who dressed up, or cosplayed, as their favorite characters all throughout the event. Some acted out scenes from their favorite shows with other visitors while others interacted with the visiting celebrities to listen to their experiences. The event also provided many collector's items and unforgettable looks and moments to visitors, such as comic books, posters and interactions with star guests.
VXV Events hosted the event and holds various Comic Con events all across the country in states such as Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and the company's home state, Mississippi.
Each Comic Con aims for a fresh, unique experience, bringing new guests, vendors and volunteers together, volunteer Whitney Schulersaid.
"I think we really do a good job of what we can do, bringing people together in a place where they can talk to other people about the movies and the shows that they love and the characters that they've seen, and really getting to know the actors and stuff," Schuler said.
Characters and outfits resembling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars and various anime series' were in abundance, from the vendors themselves to the customers who were shopping.
The culture around films and animated shows is found through people trying to emulate and connect to their favorite characters, showing love and attachment towards them, actor Laz Alonso said.
"It (is) such a big community of cosplayers and people that can relive their childhood and their fantasies on a weekend, have fun with each other," Alonso said. "Being an actor who's been doing this now for 20 years ... I've encountered a new fanbase that I didn't have before."
Alonso stars in "The Boys", a TV series that first aired in 2019, and has also starred in numerous movies and shows including "Avatar" and "Fast and Furious." His previous experiences help to further highlight the fanbase Alonso and many other actors gain, he said.
"'The Boys' brought me this superhero genre fanbase that is very, very passionate and loyal," Alonso said. "And so coming to places like this gives me the opportunity to thank my fans, to interact with them, to answer their questions, to hang with them, to kick it with them and take pictures with them."
Comic Con also helps to establish a more personable connection with fans, being able to share stories and background to make them feel more included in the context of the show, Alonso said.
"A fan came here a little earlier, dressed up in cosplay as one of the characters on my show, and he wanted me to do a scene with him, and we did it," Alonso said. "Little things like that, to me, are what make cons special, its moments."
The community aspect at the event was highlighted most by the welcoming and open atmosphere, visitor Joel Escobar said. Viewers feel motivated by the emotions of the characters and their storylines in various films and animated shows, inspiring personal growth in fan's lives via their thoughts and actions, Escobar said.
"Should I become like this person or like that? You kind of understand where they're coming from because they go through things just like us," Escobar said.
Fans can look to VXV's website here for further information on future events around the region and for new dates and locations.