Journey Through the Multiverse: Fans Relived Their Favorite Comics, Sci-Fi Worlds and Anime Adventures at Florida SuperCon 2024.

July 13th, 2024

Costumes, Cosplay and Anime? Florida Supercon 2024 did not disappoint. This was my first time at Supercon, though I have been attending smaller conventions yearly since about 2018, and I am so glad I decided to dip my toes into larger waters. 

I actually started attending these types of conventions with my little sisters, who were avid comic book readers, like their big sis aka me, and just starting to get into anime. I remember they dressed up as ……. From ….. And I went as Sailormoon. I remember feeling a little embarrassed about my costume and wondering if it was silly. Folks, if you like dressing up for Halloween, I strongly encourage you to attend one of these events. We’ve grown a lot since our beginnings, and we have learned even more. We have since left behind our overly complicated footwear and traded them in for shoes that can last ya all day. My little sisters, yes, I still go with them though they are now 18, dressed up as The Lamb from Cult of Lamb and Roxanne Wolf from FNAF, while my mom opted for a Yor Forger costume from Spy x Family. I broke the mold and went for something released only early in the month: Anxiety from Inside Out 2. 

Supercon takes place over three days, with events that are similar each day, but with different celebrity discussion panels and opportunities to meet. While parking can be a little tricky, we were to beat the crowd that Saturday. If we weren’t familiar with Miami Beach the loads of costumes would have told us we were in the right place. We were AMAZED at the turn-out. My little sister Caitlin spent weeks putting together her scheduled itinerary, carefully combing the very well-put-together website for all of the things she wanted to do. Ballroom dancing, gaming, celebrity meet and greets– they were able to do it all. If you know that you are interested in a specific thing, be sure to see what is on the schedule and, especially, its location. The event was split up into two floors, the bottom housing mostly artists and merch and the top floor designated for activities. 

If you aren’t into schedules, you can also just wander around. I’ll be honest, I come mostly for the costumes. What can I say, I like pretty things? And I LOVED the costumes. We saw everything from gaming, anime, Disney, meme culture and some of the most nostalgic costumes from our childhood. If you are a fan of Star Wars, there was a designated area dedicated to scenes throughout the saga like the Cantina. You can find stormtroopers on guard and Chewbacca causing a ruckus, and of course, you can take as many pictures as you want. If you especially love costumes, you have to be sure to stick around for the costume contests that take place. This year the winner and recipient of the $1,000 prize went to Jettie Media who was dressed as Leah the Prime Evil from Diablo 3 and the craftsman ship of her costume was evident. 

Florida SuperCon. © South Florida Insider

Another thing that usually consumes about half my day at these events is the artist’s alley and this was MASSIVE. The room was split up into two halves, which at first, I didn’t really understand, but it seemed that they tried to keep the local, less mass-produced art on one side of the room. Once I realized this, I really appreciated it because I love to support a small business. As we were browsing, we saw happy art from Seal Pup (insta handle @seal_pup_art) and funny superhero original prints from Rickbas Art & Photography. But my favorite of all had to be Karina Gazizova, who had art that almost felt… creepy. Her prints feature almost exclusively female characters that are distorted or being consumed by their environments. I felt like it was thought-provoking, haunting and very original, so naturally I had to buy about 3 prints to add to my collection. The larger canvas painting was on the other side, my favorite coming from artist Megan Withey, whose booth was being run by her daughter, also an artist you can find on instagram as @reeseswatercolor. Talent clearly runs in the family, and I plan on ordering a stunning watercolor of Queen Serenity from my all-time favorite anime Sailor Moon. 

SeaPup Art at Florida SuperCon. © South Florida Insider

While food was no more than concessions, you could find all sorts of goodies on the floor, with many snacks being imported from Japan. If you needed to take a break from gaming and the nom noms, you could find some peace in the low sensory rooms on the top floor. These rooms are an amazing addition that seems to be a staple at many of these types of events, along with movie rooms that you can also relax in. 

Overall, I had a great time at SuperCon. I hope that next year I am able to meet the celebrities that we came for because the lines were insanely long this time around.