Steel City Con Recap by Terry Stein
The Steel City Con is great convention in Monroeville, PA. The guests are always quality and the staff is professional. The last few times the convention has grown exponentially and this most recent show was probably the most crowded I have ever seen it. They have recently begun opening up the back room for guests and artists allowing the bigger floor to be filled with vendors. If more people continue to come they may want to start looking for a new venue.
In terms of cosplay, there is a contest usually held on Sunday but during all three days there are tons of cosplayers roaming the floor. The level runs from DIY amateur to professional jumped off of the page outfits. Even some of the vendors take part in the fun. I ran into quite a few vendors dressed in cosplay from a Ms. Marvel to Steampunk Ghostbuster to Deadpool. One thing I am starting to see is the popularity of TV shows such as Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. having an impact on the cosplaying. There were countless S.H.E.I.L.D. agents roaming the floor. Another interesting note seemed to be the increase in female cosplaying which do not include scantily clad women or obscure Anima. For example, there were at least 2 women dressed as Agent Carter. It is refreshing seeing these women walk around in confidence in clothes that are not too risqué for a family oriented con.
Over at the media guests the biggest lines were for Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), John Schneider and Tom Wopat (Duke Boys), and wrestler Rob Van Dam. Noah Wyle had an enormous line when he arrived later in the day. I heard no complaints in regards to the guests. Everyone appeared very grateful and polite. I was not able to wait in the lives to take photos of the guests; also many are charging to just take their photo which makes it difficult when you do not have a lot of money. The vendor floor is something to behold. It is enormous and no picture can show the true size of it. One can find anything there from old wrestling toys to horror movie soundtracks to comic books. I picked up 2 wrestling dvds, an Ed Beard Jr. painting, and about 30 or so comic books from various sellers. Steel City is wonderful if it is your first show or your 20th. It covers many different fandoms and seems to have something for everyone. This was a very fun show and I recommend Steel City to everyone who can make it there.
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