Fans flock to Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con for comics, cosplay and community

Jimmy Jay and his brother Bill Jay want there to be something for everyone at Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con.

“We don’t want to try to be all things to all people, but I think that everybody can find something that they love under our roof,” said Jimmy Jay, who has co-organized the Las Vegas event with his brother since 2014.

Since it began Friday, the three-day event at The Orleans has drawn thousands of attendees, the organizers said, including superhero, anime and horror fans from the valley and beyond.

Living in San Diego at the time, the brothers said they came up with the idea to become full-time comic retailers during a drive to a convention in Oakland. They convinced their mother to front them $300 to get them off their feet.

Now they have passed the torch to their children, who help sell merchandise and coordinate the Las Vegas event. (A “family of nerds” all their lives is how Jimmy Jay described the family.)

“Everything in pop culture starts in comic books, so that is the main focus for our events — comic books and comic book creators,” said Jimmy Jay. “Everything springs from there.”

Writers sign comic books

On Saturday morning, festivities began at 10 a.m., with a line of attendees wrapping around an upper-level corridor of the hotel-casino.

Fans of all ages arrived in elaborate costumes inspired by comic book heroes such as Spider-Man and Batman, as well as video game and television characters including Mario and Luigi and the Power Rangers.

Among the main attractions, DC Comics writers Scott Snyder and Tom King signed comic books for attendees.

Angel Viera, 23, waited about 30 minutes for his copies to be signed by Snyder. Viera, of Los Angeles, drove to Las Vegas with his father-in-law on Friday.

“I came for the bigger books like ‘Absolute Batman,’” Viera said, referring to Snyder’s series where the character exists in an alternate universe. He blew on Snyder’s fresh signature as he spoke.

“My father-in-law and I are both huge fans,” Viera added.

Nearby, dozens of fans also lined up to take photos with King, who wrote the comic that inspired the upcoming “Supergirl” movie set for release June 26.

“I’ve seen the movie — I’m not going to say anything about what happens,” King told one fan.

Some also sat in on Q&A sessions about comic crossovers and behind-the-scenes talks on hit series like Amazon Prime’s “The Boys,” held throughout late morning and the afternoon.

‘A convention family’

As Jimmy Jay noted, fans attend comic cons for more than just comics, a point reflected across the convention floor, which spanned one small and one large ballroom.

While local comic shops set out long boxes filled with back issues and collectibles, other vendors showcased a wide range of items, including layered 3D art displays, intricately crocheted Disney characters and rugs tufted to resemble horror movie icons.

One vendor, Kate Crawford of Las Vegas, sat in a corner stall sketching a commission she received the day before.

Crawford — a former immigration attorney — was paralyzed from a stroke in 2020. No longer able to work as an attorney, she said she fell into a depression that painting eventually helped her overcome.

“Art has been a lifesaver,” Crawford said, adding that since she began attending conventions like this one, she has found a community of talented, supportive and considerate people.

She described the Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, which is smaller than mainstream conventions like Comic-Con International, as intimate and tight-knit.

“I tell people all the time, this one is my favorite,” Crawford said. “There are regulars that I see every year and people who will seek me out. It’s like a convention family.”

Single-day tickets and weekend passesfor Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, which continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., are available on the event’s official website. Entry is free for kids 10 and under with a paid adult.

The event wraps up Sunday with a kids’ costume parade.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.