RI Comic Con 2022: A celebration of self-expression – Brendan Higgins

by Brendan Higgins, contributing writer

All photos: Lynn Rotondo

This past weekend thousands of people came together in Downtown Providence for the 2022 edition of RI Comic Con.

Years ago, the event started out as the celebration of comic books and the people who create them. Today it has morphed into a mega event featuring movie and television stars along with professional wrestlers, and those associated with those industries, such as artists and cartoonists. The event also has dozens of vendors selling a wide variety of items.

A few of the fabulous costumes at RI Comic Con

It is estimated just shy of 100,000 people took over the Amica Mutual Pavilion, now known as the AMP, the Rhode Island Convention Center, and the Omni Hotel from Friday through Sunday. This gathering redefines the Rhode Island expression known as “see and be seen.” Fans of a variety of genres dress up as their favorite characters to simply walk around and well, see and be seen. In an era where people bury their faces in cell phones in public, there is much more interaction amongst the diverse crowd at Comic Con. People compliment each other frequently and take lots of photos. They wait in long lines and are more than willing to pay top dollar for a photo with their favorite celebrities.

The list of pop culture icons is impressive. From Karate Kid and Cobra Kai fame, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Elizabeth Shue were in attendance. The long line for a photo with these three illustrates just how popular they are. Michael Kelly and Kelsey Ling of North Providence (both architectural designers) are big fans of Cobra Kai. They wanted a photo with Ralph Macchio, who plays Daniel LaRusso. The couple were aware of the fact that Macchio had recently celebrated a birthday, so they presented him with a card. Kelly also had Macchio sign a copy of his book to add to his Cobra Kai collection. If you are familiar with the program, you know there is Eagle Fang Karate, Miyagi Do Karate and of course Cobra Kai which Michael Kelly was representing in uniform.

Another iconic duo in attendance and extremely popular with the fans were Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox aka Ponch and John from the ChiPs.

As a person who grew up in the 70s and 80s, I felt the nostalgia with these guys. Erik and Larry were warm, friendly and approachable. They took the time to speak with every person who wanted to meet them. I was impressed with the way they handled the situation. After all, they meet thousands of people over the course of a weekend so it could become exhausting, but they never let it show.

Other notable stars in attendance included Vincent D’Onofrio, Alicia Silverstone, Loretta Swift, Stacey Dash, Rachael Leigh Cook, Peter Weller and Danny Trejo. There are just too many to list everyone.

From the professional wrestling world, the fans were very excited to welcome WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus, Lita, Billy Gunn, The Dudley Boyz, Bret Hart and Sgt. Slaughter. These events are good for retired wrestlers because in that business there is no pension of any kind. Once you achieve fame in the wrestling world it can be difficult to return to a normal 9 to 5 lifestyle. Events like Comic Con and the New England Fanfest allow retired wrestlers to earn a paycheck as well as interact with their legion of fans. The New England fanfest will return in 2023 after a hiatus.

An artist who preferred to remain anonymous had a slightly different take on this mega event. He said, “The original idea was to gather like-minded people to keep the artwork working! To me it’s supposed to be all about the artists who make it happen. I have been here for many years. At times I have not been treated very well. One year they oversold the building, and I was pushed out. To me this is nothing more than an 80s movie and television stars wax museum that breathes. I have no desire to be a part of that world.”

I was at last year’s RI Comic Con. I can report the 2022 edition had many more in attendance than in 2021. The original concept may be gone but the event is bigger than ever.

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Brendan Higgins, writer and author, RIPTA bus driver, former professional wrestler (Knuckles Nelson), and North Kingstown resident.

We welcome Brendan as a contributing writer to RINewsToday.

To read a story about Brendan, from our sports department, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/knuckles-nelson-waking-up-from-the-wrestling-ring-to-the-yoga-mat-john-cardullo/

To read all stories by Brendan, here, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/brendan-higgins

Higgins is the author of “Waking Up: From the Wrestling Ring to the Yoga Mat