Comic Con Brings William Shatner, Colorful Cosplayers to Boston
LEFT PHOTO BY MAYOR MARTY WALSH VIA TWITTER; RIGHT PHOTO BY MATT JUUL
More than 40,000 comic book fans took over the Seaport World Trade Center for the 2016 Boston Comic Con this weekend.
The annual convention has grown exponentially since its inception in 2007, as organizers continue to add new events, vendors, and high profile celebrity appearances with each passing year.
“Never in a million years did I envision it would grow from my first show, which was 900 people, to over 40,000 people,” said Nick Kanieff, founder of the event. “Boston Comic Con has become a major player in the event world in the city of Boston.”
This year’s festivities featured the most star-studded guest list in the convention’s history, highlighted by legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner, as Captain Kirk came to town to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the hit sci-fi series.
Marty Walsh honored the star at the convention on Saturday morning by declaring August 13, 2016, William Shatner Day. However, the mayor was a bit late for the celebration, so Shatner basically broke into a 20-minute stand-up routine and joked to the crowd about his trip to Boston, including his first pitch fiasco and watching “Big Daddy” at Fenway Park.
He shared a few laughs with Walsh about the Patriots when the mayor finally arrived.
Proud to proclaim today William Shatner day in the @CityOfBoston, a Star Trek & comic legend. pic.twitter.com/vRD7qBxCUO
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) August 13, 2016
In addition to Shatner, another big highlight of the weekend was all of the colorful cosplayers who showed up to the convention.
We asked a few costumed fans about their outfits, as well as their thoughts on who is the best Boston superhero: Chris Evans as Captain America, Ben Affleck as Batman, or Tom Brady as the hero of the Patriots. Check out their answers, plus photos of their amazing costumes, below.
Photo by Matt Juul
Names: Erica and Ed Wheeler
Characters: Black Widow and Captain America
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “Chris Evans as Captain America,” Ed said.
Photo by Matt Juul
Name: Mark Jones-Maynard
Character: Darth Maul
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “If Tom Brady’s in the mix, then definitely Tom Brady. Free Tom Brady!”
Photo by Matt Juul
Names: Brittany Moen and Tiffany Ingalls
Characters: Generic steampunk character and Black Widow
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “I am all about Chris Evans,” Ingalls said. “He’s a really great actor. I think he plays the parts that he’s picked for really well. Plus he’s gorgeous.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Names: Mariah Cassidy, Kimberly Patterson, and Jay Cochrane
Characters: X-Men members Kitty Pryde, Jean Grey, and Cyclops
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “Out of those options, it’s going to have to be Captain America,” Cochrane said.
Photo by Matt Juul
Name: Austin Vincent
Character: Iron Man
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “I like Chris Evans the best. Ben Affleck did pretty OK, but free Brady.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Names: Ben Adams and Sarah Birch Black
Characters: The Joker and Harley Quinn
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “Captain America is a little too Boy Scout for me,” Birch Black said. “I like Ben Affleck, how he looks, but I want to see more of his acting with better writing.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Name: RJ Larson
Character: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Green Ranger
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “That’s a hard choice because they’re all amazing, but I will probably have to go with Ben Affleck as Batman.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Names: Max Dacier and Sasha Bakker
Characters: Rick and Morty
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “I’m going to go with Evans,” Dacier said. “Ben Affleck doesn’t have enough of a traction yet to be a good one.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Name: Brian Munroe
Character: Wolverine
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “I think it’s going to be Chris Evans. He plays Captain America to a tee.”
Photo by Matt Juul
Names:Kevin Roy and Llanc Lewis
Characters: Superman and Batman
Chris Evans, Ben Affleck, or Tom Brady: “Honestly, Ben Affleck did an amazing job as Batman,” Lewis said. “I’m very proud of him.”
