Barry Bostwick, most famous for his role in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” as Brad Majors and now a mainstay of comic cons, did not grow up reading comic books or having much experience with fantasy culture.
This, however, has not stopped him from becoming revered by fans of the genre, and he’ll be one of the most popular celebrities to meet at this weekend’s Wizard World Comic Con at the Alliant Energy Center.
Comic book conventions, better known as comic cons, are gatherings of superhero, pop culture and cult fiction buffs, which take over arenas for a few days at a time. Fans of any subsection of the massive fantasy world can live for a few days in their fictional universe, or can simply walk the floor as a mere human and see how vast those universes truly are.
Celebrities who appear in films and TV shows popular in the genre often attend comic cons, performing meet-and-greets with the fans, as well as checking out the booths like everyone else.
And one of those celebrities who will be in Madison this weekend is Bostwick, also having starred in “Megaforce.”
“It’s a celebration of pop culture,” Bostwick said. “It’s vendors selling everything from comic books to posters to things to wear, collectibles. It’s artists who are famous for their comic book art, writers who are famous for their sci-fi and/or fantasy writing and some television and movie celebrities who just want to interact with their fans.”
Bostwick especially enjoys con-goers who partake in costume play, otherwise known as cosplay, in which fans of a series will dress up as their favorite character.
These fans typically pay a great deal of attention to getting every detail of the costume exactly as it appears in its original form, often coming as different characters each day if fans come for an entire weekend, Bostwick said.
“They’ll come up to me on Friday and we’ll chat, and I’ll say, ‘Well who are you going to be tomorrow?’ Bostwick said. “And they say, ‘You’ll never recognize me tomorrow, but I’ll come up and introduce myself again.’”
Comic cons often have many misconceptions surrounding them. People who have only heard about them and have never seen one in person might think of them as “nerdy.” People who don’t know very much about the fantasy world might feel like they may not belong at a comic con, or don’t have much to gain from going.
Bostwick, however, is confident that there’s something for everyone at a comic con — one just has to be willing to look.
“Be curious, come for fun,” he said. “Every turn you make in the convention hall, you find something else that’s interesting that grabs your fantasies.”
Bostwick also described how many people he had met through comic cons told him how they were able to identify with a new group of people after going to a convention.
He has met several people who found inspiration from his movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” As the movie says, “Don’t dream it — be it.” And he said fans have reacted saying, “I could just be who I wanted to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. I can love who I wanted to love and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
With this, Bostwick was confident the same sentiment applied to the comic con community at large.
“You find your community, you find the things that you really enjoy,” he said. “A lot of people are really quiet in life. They come to these things, and they can leave that part of themselves behind and really celebrate their wholeness, their eccentricities and their weirdness — and that’s what I love.”
Wizard World Comic Con will be at the Alliant Energy Center April 8 to April 10. Some of the other celebrities set to appear are David Tennant of “Doctor Who,” “Jessica Jones” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Billy Boyd of “Lord of the Rings” and Jeremy Shada of “Adventure Time.”
And no matter where fans’ franchise loyalties lie, it’s safe to say this con will provide a community for all of them.
