The Force was strong at the Capitola Mall on Saturday. Hundreds of cosplayers, self-described nerds, and plenty of normies packed the old Sears building for the Third Annual Surf City Comic Con.
They enjoyed the event’s eclectic vibe as they perused rows of comic books, collectibles, video games, trinkets and more.
And the off-and-on rain did nothing to slow them down.
“We’re expecting a little over 2000 people this year,” said Greg Peterson early in the day. He – along with his business partner, Alyssa Lax – own Sword and Board Games in the Capitola Mall and are two of the convention’s founders.
The 110,000 square foot space hosted 148 booths from across the Bay Area and beyond.
“And that’s not including the artists,” Lax said.
Families, collectors, self-proclaimed nerds and people just looking to browse poured through the doors throughout the day. Fans of all ages cosplayed as their favorite comic, movie or manga characters. Dance and rock music blasted through stand-up speakers.
“It’s a nerdy flea market, what’s not to love?” asked Aleta Palmquist, who attended with her partner Abby Morrione and some friends.
“It’s a place for nerds to gather in Santa Cruz, which is a rare thing to have this big,” Morrione said. “To have enough traction to have someone like Jessica Fong, who makes covers for books like Poison Ivy, that’s really cool.”
For D.C. Comics artist Fong, interacting with her fans was special.
“I work a lot at home so it’s hard to know what audiences are thinking about the books,” she said. Fong is best known for her colorful yet often dark art.
“So it’s nice to hear how characters have affected them and what stories they really liked,” she said.
Although this was Fong’s first time at Surf City Comic Con, she’s no stranger to Santa Cruz, Fong lived here for a year while her wife attended UC Santa Cruz.
“I love it!” she said “This is the kind of vibe that I really enjoy, where it feels very local.”
It’s a sentiment shared by local artist Milo Halperin.
“They try to keep the local artist in mind and make sure they feel valued,” he said of the event.
Halperin was the original artist for a different convention in 2022, the Capitola Collectacon. Currently, he runs the Santa Cruz Comic Club, a group of creatives who meet monthly to work on their own comics and share ideas.
“I don’t feel like a second thought at this convention,” he said. “Especially since there are so many makers here and it’s grown much bigger.”
For patrons like Ed Gregor, the convention is a great place to support underground artists while taking a stroll down nostalgia lane with his son, Boon, 21.
“I used to be a huge toy collector, like Star Wars and Planet of the Apes,” Gregor said. “And I sold all that stuff. So coming here and seeing all the toys just brings it back.”
This was Boon’s first time attending any sort of comic convention, but he said it won’t be his last.
“I love it! I love all the artwork and everything,” he said, adding he will “definitely” be coming back next year.
Along with comic vendors, toy sellers, game dealers, and artists, the Surf City Comic Con expanded into other areas this year – crocheted dolls, beanies, pottery, jewelry, keychains, buttons and other trinkets.
“We wanted to focus more on local creators, vendors and sellers of different things that are just cool, nerdy things,” Peterson said.
For Brookdale pottery artist Tina Button, conventions like Surf City are a way for her to interact with customers, and also see her friends and fellow creatives.
“I really love our vendor community,” she said. “That’s my core friend group. We all support each other and tell each other about what’s going on next.”
While there were different events throughout the day, the largest was the cosplay contest hosted by cosplay queen Sindi Sheth, aka Sindiroo COSplays. Dozens of people filled the seats as dozens more gathered around the stage. Cosplayers of all ages showed off costumes from Spider-Man to Eleven from Stranger Things.
Even if people didn’t want to participate in the competition, attendees were encouraged to dress up, and plenty did.
“People are way more dressed up this year and the costuming has steadily increased,” says Vanessa Mullins, who’s attended all three Surf City cons. She arrived this year dressed as vocaloid character Hatsune Miku. Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer that allows users to create music by inputting melodies and lyrics into a stored voice bank.
For the promoters, the participation and diversity of the vendors and guests are clear signs of how far they’ve come.
“The first year we only had three months [to plan] but had 1200 attendees and 75 vendors,” Lax said.
“Everytime we do this we have our own personal notes on how to do better,” Peterson said. “There’s always places to improve and we’re always looking for new sponsors to keep it going and keep it growing.”