The Best Sights to Look Out for at Boston Comic Con 2017

A bigger space means more room to play.

Boston Comic Con

Photo by Lily Rugo

Friday was a beautiful day to spend indoors at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, kicking off the tenth annual Boston Comic Con. With over 200 thousand square feet of comic artists, merchandise, celebrity signings, and more, Comic Con was sensory overload.

Stalls and booths immediately greet visitors past the entrance, merchandise stacked over six feet high and walls of posters towering higher than that. Paths divide up the rows of merchandise booths for fans, selling everything from vintage comics, clothes, and decal stickers, to leather journals, true-to-life specialty weapons like Thor’s hammer, and even tattoos. Red carpet guides visitors to the special Artists Alley for independent and famous graphic artists who can draw people into their favorite comics, design a custom character, or sell exclusive sketches and posters.

“We always try to pick what’s currently popular and what we think our guests might want,” George Louro, the staff manager for Boston Comic Con merchandise booths said. “Starting tomorrow morning, things are starting to slowly sell out and usually by Sunday these tables are bare.”

Toward the back of the showroom floor is where things get interesting, the shopping giving way to community organizations and corporate sponsors. People play ring toss with a beer brewery, or learn more about the Boston Children’s Museum at their booth. In the farthest back corner sits the walled off Main Theater, host to Stan Lee’s Q&A session, costume contest, and a live reading of The Princess Bride by invited guest actors. And as far as the eye can see, people wander around in costumes, some elaborate robots and soldiers, or other more casual Pokemon trainers and fairies.

Saturday is usually the biggest day for Comics Cons, attendees pulling out all the stops for their costumes and merchants selling the most exclusive merchandise. So if you’ve had your eye on something, better get there soon.

Boston Comic Con 2017

Photo by Lily Rugo

Boston Comic Con 2017

Photo by Lily Rugo

Boston Comic Con 2017

Photo by Lily Rugo

Boston Comic Con 2017

Photo by Lily Rugo

Boston Comic Con 2017

Stan Lee holding court at Comic Con, photo by Lily Rugo