NEPA Comic Con event draws large crowd
Feb. 18—DICKSON CITY — Eric Kropiewnicki doesn't consider himself a "comic con person," but when he decided to organize a family friendly event where both kids and adults could have a good time, the first annual NEPA Comic Con was born.
Over the weekend hundreds of people of all ages attended the first-time event, held inside the Moon Ballroom at the Days Inn Hotel, which promised to be a "nerd utopia" filled with comics, cos playing, games and more.
Attendance showed no sign of slowing down on Sunday, with people lining up outside before the doors even opened at noon.
Inside, there seemed to be something for everyone. There was a gaming corner set up, courtesy of Dragon's Den Games and Hobbies, where attendees had the opportunity to play table top games, as well as video games. In the same space, Gamer's Dream PA sold Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering cards.
Toward the back of the venue there was a stage were cos players were able to take photos and show off their costumes during "Put Me in the Spotlight" presentation.
There were celebrity meet and greets as well, which included Tony Moran, who played Michael Myers in the original 1978 "Halloween" film. Skye Frank, daughter of Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank, who died in 2022 and was for years a staple at comic conventions across the country, was also in attendance.
"It's been crazy, absolutely crazy, but I love it," said Kropiewnicki on Sunday. "I'm not familiar with the (comic con) industry, but in the last two months I learned a lot. I respect everything. These people, the way they put their time into it, it's unbelievable."
Kropiewnicki, who runs the Moon Ballroom, said that hosting the convention at his own venue took a lot of stress out of planning the event.
"It's not the biggest venue, but I get to run it and do it the way I want to do it," he said.
The Comic Con was co-hosted by Funtimes Cosplay Crew, based out of NEPA. Co-founded by Richie Rivera, 51, and Yolanda Rivera, 47, the group currently has 10 members and they attend charity events and conventions all over the area.
"Everyone here, it's felt like family. So, it's been great. It's been an honor to actually be apart of this," Richie said.
Richie and Yolanda founded the group after suffering some life threatening health complications in 2016, which landed both of them in the hospital at the same time. Once they recovered, they began attending conventions and cos playing and decided they wanted to start their own group that would be inclusive to everyone.
"The cos playing community can be petty sometimes, but we wanted to make this group for everyone," Yolanda said.
Erika Bertram, 54, who is a huge fan of "Halloween" and loves to dress up, found out about the event on Facebook and attended with her son Merik Bertram, 20. Sunday was their second day at the convention.
"He was at Kutztown, at college, and I sent it to him and he came home this weekend just for this," Erika said.
It was a special experience for Merik, who said it was the first convention he's ever gone to. Both went all out for the occasion: Erika was dressed up as Jack Skelington from the popular stop-motion animated film, "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and Merik dressed up as Ghost Face, the killer from horror film "Scream."
"We need more of stuff like this in this area," Erika said.
