Canton Rep
Hall of Fame City Comic Con returns at Canton Memorial Civic Center
By Robert Wang
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Sep 30, 2017 at 10:12 PM
CANTON Tracy Brewer, a 47-year-old grandmother from Canton, took on the Wolverine, Batman, Spider-man, Darth Vader and the Terminator.
And she triumphed over them all Saturday with her portrayal of Winifred Sanderson, a character from the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus, who was played by Bette Midler.
Brewer, wearing a purple dress, green cape and elaborate red wig, confidently took the stage to cheers at the second annual Hall of Fame City Comic Con event at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. She carried her massive leather book of spells and a magic broom (purchased from a Cracker Barrel store) that spun on the stage on its own. She made a subtle bow to the crowd and placed her finger on her cheek, gave a look that connected with the judges and then quickly exited the stage.
She later was named the contestant with the best cosplay costume at the convention, and she won a gift basket.
“I’m really excited. There were a lot of wonderful costumes. I’m shocked,” Brewer said.
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She said she worked six months on getting her costume ready for her cosplay debut. Cosplay is where people put on a costume to portray a character from a film, book or video game, and they frequently do so at comic-themed or science fiction-themed conventions.
Mackenzie Carr, 15, of Coshocton, won the best costume worn by a teen with her rendition of the DC Comics character Zantanna, a magician who interacts with superheroes Hawkman, Green Lantern and Batman in the comic book series. Wearing a black hat, Carr bowed to the crowd and spread her hands to reveal a spread-out deck of cards as if they were floating on air.
Her proud father, Mike Carr, 38, played the male version of Jem from the 1980s animated TV series Jem and the Holograms. Mike Carr wore a pink shirt, pink pants and pink shoes. He had dyed his goatee pink. A cosplay veteran, he had played Shaggy from Scooby Doo at the Marcon, Multiple Alternatives Realities Convention in Columbus in May.
Patrick Nelson, 36, of Atwater, an avid comic book collector, was one of the head organizers of the Hall of Fame City Comic Con, which was from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. He estimated that about 2,000 attended the convention with about 60 vendors, many of them selling decades-old comic books and memorabilia. He said 63 teens and adults and 42 younger children took part in the cosplay events.
Four seconds
Before the 4 p.m. adult cosplay contest, one of the organizers Ryan Dyke, 25, of Akron, dressed as Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars film trilogy, gave the participants a pep talk, encouraging them to make their poses to the audiences and judges in less than four seconds.
“I want you guys to go out there. Show off these amazing costumes that you have all made and put so much hard time towards. Count to four and then make your way to the other side of the stage,” Dyke said.
Jason Kahn, 35, of Alliance, was making his debut as Wolverine from Marvel’s X-Men franchise after cosplaying as young Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars at other conventions. He wielded scary-looking plastic claws.
“He said to count to four. I only have three claws,” Kahn quipped.
Embracing fantasy
Stella Korns, 18, of Dover played the DC Comics character Raven, the teleporting empath. She had fashioned a costume out of a ballet leotard and cape purchased from Amazon.
“She’s so funny. She’s so monotone. She’s very dark. She’s very beautiful,” said Korns. “I’ve had a crush on her since I was little.”
Damian Wilson, 10, of Lake Township got to indulge in his fantasy of playing Captain America, a popular character from the Marvel Comics Avengers franchise.
“I like Avengers, and I love Marvel, and I decided to be Captain America because I loved him,” said Wilson who wore the captain’s mask. “I like that he is super cool in how he knows a ton of fighting skills.”
His 4-year-old sister, Raegan, was Wonder Woman with her red, white and blue costume, complete with blue cape. Raegan, who was accompanied by her friend She-Ra, took part in the children’s cosplay exhibition at 3 p.m. She said she saw this year’s Wonder Woman movie and likes “that she saves a guy.”
Another Disney character at the event with super powers was Queen Elsa from the Disney film Frozen.
Maggie Pikna, 22, of Sandy Township, a Kent State University Stark campus senior, said her cousin, She-Ra, urged her to be the “mysterious” Elsa.
“You know (Princess) Anna very well, but Elsa is very hidden,” said Pikna, who wore a a white wig and her blue prom dress. “And when Elsa comes out, she’s very powerful.”
