The day was perhaps best typified by ‘Onomatopoeia Man,’ running around in orange lycra and purple undies, yelling ‘‘zap’’ and ‘‘pow’’.
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On Saturday, the nerds ruled Wollongong, as Comic Gong took over the lower CBD; a day devoted to costumes and superheroes and villains, books and toys and games. The greatest collection of heroes to assemble in Wollongong since the all-conquering 2008 St George Illawarra Dragons splashed colour and fun through the city.
The sheer number of Batmen in one place meant a battle for supremacy and the title of ‘‘The’’ Batman seemed unavoidable, but the day remained peaceful, with lurking baddies like The Joker, Freddie Krueger and Darth Vader kept in check by Thor, Spiderman and Supergirl.
Kids rushed wide-eyed through the Town Hall market stalls, begging parents for a comic, toy or game. Parents shuffled through the throngs, pausing for a photo in front of a perfect reconstruction of the Batmobile. Superhero wrestlers took the ring in the Arts Precinct, Iron Man delivering suplexes to a villain in purple underwear.
Comic Gong organiser Jan Noble has watched the event grow from 1600 people at Corrimal two years ago, to 4000 in 2014, and a signficantly higher number on Saturday. She enjoyed seeing parents and children share joy over what is often seen as an interest just for kids.
‘‘It’s great to see families all together, dads and mums dressed up,’’ she said.
Kylee Stucoski, of Albion Park, sat by the wrestling ring wearing a Wonder Woman shirt. Her son, Mason, was clad in a Batman cape. He had just had his picture taken with the Batmobile.
‘‘He loves drawing, so we’ve been looking at the artists,’’ Ms Stucoski said.
‘‘He’s really into superheroes. It’s nice to come all together as a family.’’
Effort in the costume department ranged from dads in Superman t-shirts, to teens in head-to-toe body paint - not just neckbearded basement-dwellers.
A group of cosplaying friends came to Comic Gong from Canberra and Sydney. They attend big conventions like Supernova, and said the Wollongong event was an interesting addition to the convention calendar.
‘‘It’s more community based. It’s not as commercial as the other ones,’’ said one girl, dressed in a fluoro yellow super suit.
A Stormtrooper wandered past, off looking for a foe to vanquish.
