Hundreds of excited cosplayers convene at El Paso Comic Con 2021

Hundreds of cosplayers — from children in inflatable dinosaur costumes and teens in elaborate, home-made designs to adults in professionally made anime outfits — descended upon the El Paso convention center this weekend.

For many, including the celebrity guests, El Paso Comic Con 2021 was a chance to reconvene with people who are like family, simply because they share a past-time.

Cosplayers complimented each other and posed for selfies; they shopped for posters, pillows and other memorabilia themed to their favorite shows and they lined up to get autographed pictures from popular characters.

"It feels good to be here. For us, comic cons are like our family and home. It feels good to be back in the community and getting all that interaction," said Sapphire Nova, a vendor from Phoenix who sells costumes for comic cons.

The three-day convention featured about a dozen celebrities including WWE Hall of Fame wrestlers Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, voice actors from the popular anime series "My Hero Academia," and Naomi Grossman, who played the marginalized Pepper in "American Horror Story" television show.

Sarah Meza, 19, who was dressed like Madoka Kaname, a shy girl anime with pink hair, doll-like dress with bows and criss-cross strap shoes, said the convention was one of the few large events she has ventured out to since the pandemic.

"It's fun to see new people and engage in activities that people like me enjoy," she said. "I look forward to seeing other artists; and all the things people do for their cosplays".

Kyle Phillips, a voice actor for "My Hero Academia," said he spent a decent amount of time recording the show's seasons from his home studio in Denton, Texas. Pre-pandemic he would go into a studio in a suburb near Dallas several times a week.

Though he enjoyed working from home, Phillips said it was fun to get out again and start doing comic cons. On Friday, he posed with fans and sold autographed pictures.

"I get to see my voice actor friends in person. ... and it's kind of a unique position — you get to work on something and then talk to fans and ask 'what do you think or what was your favorite part of what I did,' " he said. "Getting to interact that directly is a unique experience."

Grossman, who remembered having a love interest in the Borderland in the past, was having fun meeting fans of "American Horror Story." El Paso was her third stop in Texas this year.

"Comic Cons are very similar from one state to the next. But El Paso is a beautiful historical city. And they have us in a really gorgeous hotel and I've had some time to snoop around and see the sights and eat the food and I find the fans are lovely," she said.

Grossman said Pepper fans are a special breed and she can spot them a mile away.

On Friday, however, she only had to look a couple feet in front of her to meet El Paso fan Morgan Brockman, who cried a little when she saw her.

"I love 'American Horror Story.' I just almost cried, well I did," she said. "She's so amazing inside and out."

Brockman said this year's El Paso Comic Con is the first one she attended and she was having a blast.

"I love it. I love that people can be who they are and they won't be judged. They can do what they want and have a great time," she said.

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María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter.