In the beautiful city of Miami, lots of events happen every week and month. On July 2022, SuperCon arrived once again at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Thousands of people of all ages and demographics showed up to enjoy the festivities, panels, games, anime, cosplay, pocky, and community at the con. I was grateful to get a press pass and was able to go and take pictures to give my review on the event.
When I’ve been to SuperCon in the past, it was at the MACC (Miami Airport Convention Center) so I assumed it would be there again, but this time it was in Miami Beach so the drive took us a little more. The view is always beautiful on the way, so I enjoyed it. Parking was not the best, as expected, so we ended up at the top of the garage in the blazing heat and took an elevator to get to the entrance and pick up our badges. After making the line to get in, we finally stepped onto the main hall, buzzing with excitement, cosplayers, and booths galore.
I only went on Saturday with two friends, one who had never been to a con and his fiance whose been to one a few years back. I showed them around a little, but there were so many people it was difficult to walk! I’m used to crowded streets and events, but sheesh, I lost sight of my friends several times just by turning around to look at a figure or art booth. On the first floor called Artist Alley, there were so many merchandise vendors, comic book shops, hand-made nostalgia pieces, and more that it was hard to keep my ADHD under control. I wanted to either buy it, take a picture, or be amazed at how talented so many of these individuals’ work was. Another section called Pop Asia was my favorite, as it had lots of Japanese art, t-shirts, figures, food, music, and more that you could purchase. My wallet was trembling as I wanted to buy all of it, but I held back since I have a family and home to maintain.
The convention center had two floors with the top one holding all the panels, gaming, an escape room (which I wanted to try), and some food vendors. I was interested in what panels were being held, as I’ve done one myself at this con years back but nothing really interested. I went to one about Yokai in Japan for like 5 minutes because it ended right when I sat down. We walked both ends of the floor, it was nice to see all the different sections they had. There was even a room full of manga where you can just sit and read or a huge gaming hall with old-school arcade games and lots of PCs to play on. It was full so I didn’t get a chance to jump on a PC, and Street Fighter III Third Strike called out to me but two players were going at it so I didn’t get to jump in.
A personal highlight was on the first floor, there was a small section of Ghostbusters fans and they had some props setup, as well as two Ecto-1-styled cars which were very cool. I took photos of both, as I am a big Ghostbusters fan, especially now that the new movie Afterlife brought the franchise back “from the dead”. I saw a booth for a Christian comic book which you can see in the gallery above, but I didn’t get a chance to say hi to the artist. That was great to see and glad to see more believers in the event!
Having walked the entire con, we made one last round downstairs to see if we missed any booths and called it a day. Even though I’m still a geek through and through, I definitely felt like the con wasn’t as fascinating as before. It’s not that the con wasn’t fun or exciting, it was, but since I don’t cosplay and am more of a gamer I feel like my days of staying at a con for days are over. One is enough for me, and the older I get the more I feel cons are aimed at a younger audience. It’s an experience you definitely should do, but I want to be more involved than just walk around and take photos.
Maybe I will give doing a panel another try next year, mainly under the banner of Beneath The Tangles since it’s more of a focus for anime fans. God willing, I would love to do that kind of outreach and share Christ with the audience of SuperCon. There were several sensual and 18+ rated panels in their After Dark showcase, more than before, so it just goes to show that even in the geeky space there’s more of that being pushed. This reminded me of the bible verse that talks about being salt and light in a dark place, regardless of where I am. As long as there are people, they need Christ and to know of His forgiveness and the love that God has for them.
Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Let me know what cons you’ve been to, and what was your experience like! God bless.