Superheroes suit up at Scranton Comic Con

Nov. 12—SCRANTON — Samantha Pawlik always loved to wear her Halloween costumes for weeks before and after the frightful night. So, she naturally took to cosplay at comic book conventions.

On Saturday, Pawlik dressed up as Raven from "Teen Titans" at the Scranton Comic Con at the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center. She made her costume, except for the shoes and wig.

"I just like doing costumes," Pawlik, 28, of Roaring Brook Twp., said. "Halloween was my holiday growing up. I was that kid."

She and her husband, Grant Pawlik, were among hundreds of comic book fans, wannabe superheroes in costumes and vendors who attended the convention.

People dressed up as Spider-Man, Batman, Kingpin, Deadpool, Captain America, Captain Kirk and the "Hocus Pocus" witches, to name a few costumes.

"Cosplay is the new hot thing where right now everybody dresses up as their favorite superhero characters or whatever now," Scranton Comic Con promoter Joe Figured said.

The convention started Friday and also drew large crowds that day, he said.

A Scranton native now of Williamsport, Figured, 57, started the Scranton Comic Con about 25 years ago and it has moved around to a few different locations over the years.

This year's edition occupied the entire second floor of the Hilton, taking up twice the amount of space as last year's convention held in a smaller venue at a different hotel, Figured said.

He also promotes comic cons in Hershey that are larger and draw bigger crowds.

Another newer element to comic cons is 3D-printed busts and figurines of characters sold by some vendors.

But the bedrock of his comic cons remains comic books, and this year's convention included dozens of artists and writers and some indie labels, Figured said.

Artist and writer Richard Comely, creator of the "Captain Canuck" Canadian comic book superhero, said his character found an audience in America.

"There are more Captain Canucks sold in the (United) States than in Canada," Comely said.

Artist and writer Mark Schultz of Clarks Summit also attended. Schultz created his own popular comic book series, "Xenozoic Tales," in the 1980s and it became an animated cartoon on CBS in the 1990s. Schultz also has been writing the "Prince Valiant" comic strip since 2004. Dating to 1937, "Prince Valiant" is described online as the world's longest running adventure comic strip. It continues to run in about 300 American newspapers, including in the Sunday Comics of The Sunday Times.

"I grew up on it (Prince Valiant) so, lucky me, I actually get to be a part of it," Schultz, 67, said.

For Grant Pawlik, 30, seeing various comics and products at the convention spurred memories of his youth.

"That's the beauty of a con like this. You get to go back and relive the nostalgia," Grant Pawlik said.

Going forward, Samantha Pawlik said of the Scranton Comic Con, "This really has the potential to grow."

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jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185;

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