PHOTOS: Comic Con Comes to Casper

It was a comic lover's dream. In fact, it was the dream of every type of nerd- comic fans, toy collectors, anime enthusiasts, and more. When the Ford Wyoming Center hosted Casper Comic Con on Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27, it brought together a veritable hodgepodge of all things nerd-dom.

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Upon entering the arena and descending the stairs, you could see all sorts of colors, costumes, concepts and constructions. Look to your left and there was Harley Quinn. Look to your right and you'd see The Shredder, along with an adorable Baby Mutant Ninja Turtle. Keep walking a little bit and you'd see characters from Dragon Ball Z or Death Note. Cruella DeVille just walked by and you're both fascinated by and terrified of her.

Casper Comic Con, now in its third year, is a chance for fans of all sorts of different things to come together and express themselves. They can dress up, they can sell their art, they can talk to like-minded people about the things of which they're most passionate. It's a place for people to have fun.

"Are you happy or are you pissed off right now?" asked Clint Randolph, the Director of Casper Comic Con. "You get a lot of people that come out to these things that just want to have a good time. And they know they're not going to get in trouble and they can just come on out and have some fun. That's why I do this."

Randolph said that Monday-Friday, his "day job" is working at a grade school. Hosting Comic Cons is like a vacation, he said. And it's easy to see why.

All sorts of vendors lined the arena floor at the Ford Wyoming Center. They were selling toys, art work, comic books, and apparel. Steampunk outfits were being sold right next to a table selling knitted elephants. Multiple authors were selling their books, as were jewelry makers offering their creations. It was like Christmas for comic fans and there truly was something for everybody.

There was even a legend of the voice acting realm in attendance. Voice actor and stand up comic Mark 'KidWok' Britten was on-hand, signing autographs and taking photos with fans. Britten voiced several characters for the acclaimed Dragon Ball Z series that aired in the late '90s and he is a veteran of many Cons.

"This is one of the nicer ones I've been to," he said.

There was a costume contest that was one by the aforementioned Shredder, Krang, and Baby Mutant Ninja Turtles. But even though only one family got to win, many creators got to show off work that they had spent weeks preparing.

And that's the thing about Comic Con. It's more than just a place to come buy an action figure or a piece of art. It's a way for people to express themselves. It's a place to fit in. It's a place to wear what you want, do what you want, and be who you want.