South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Gamers, comic book fans unite for star-studded expo
You may not know names like Bunny FuFuu, Professor Akali, SypherPK or XCAdril, but they are major celebrities on the pro gamer scene.
These e-athletes (yup, that’s a thing) have scores of followers and can bring down major moula playing in tournaments.
Now you can see how you stack up against topnotch pro gamers in a Fortnite tournament at this year’s Gamer Comic Expo, which will be staged at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center Nov. 8-10.
The Expo, which was first produced in Miami in 2018, will also feature appearances by comic book artists as well as a marketplace for comic books, graphic novels and collectibles.
Each day there will be a cosplay fashion show and fans can meet cosplay personalities such as Kosplay Kev, Nicole Winters, Lux Steez, Sam Estrada and Lazaro Drake. The fashion shows will be followed by dance parties.
“Basically, the event is a hybrid of a gamer convention and a comic con,” explains Armando Gutierrez. “And we have these pro gamers. Like if
[you’re] a Fortnite player, that player never knows who [you’re] playing against. This gives him an opportunity to be together, to play against these pro gamers … who have millions and millions of followers.”
The other parts of the expo are equally popular, he says.
For example, some people are solely interested in buying comic books.
“And the comic book sellers, they have everything … from comic books to things like a bobblehead to little figurines,” recalls Gutierrez. “Last year we had a comic book [seller] with Wolverine figures on remote controls. We had guys selling ninja stuff. Another guys sells root beer and fudge.”
As for the cosplayers, he says, “Last year we had cos players from all over the place who came in just for this event. And these cos players, if you see them, you’d think they were, like, Batman.”