Warning: graphic (novel) content! Shell Con Mania to bring smiles and superheroes

Cosplayers rejoice! Even though Comic Gong won’t be held this year, you’ll still have the chance to dress up as your favourite comic book/movie/gaming/fantasy character at Shell Con Mania 2.

And the rest of us will have the chance to meet those superheroes, warriors and witches, and even a real-world champion boxer at the second annual staging of the event, from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, August 22 at Shellharbour City Stadium.

Organiser David Hunter says Shell Con Mania 2  – “Illawarra’s only indoor pop culture party” – is now more important than ever, especially in what are difficult economic times for most people.

“There's been a massive, massive downfall in the arts, I guess, in people supporting the arts. 

“Cost of living is a big, big thing, so it's harder and harder to sell tickets to things these days and that's why we've kept our ticket prices as low as possible.

“It sucks that we don't have Comic Gong this year because it was such a really cool stepping stone for us; people got really ramped up, they did the Comic Gong and then they're excited for the next thing [Shell Con] and it was great last year.”

This year’s event serves as a positive outlet for enthusiasts’ energy and their creativity, David says. 

“It really does.”

Shell Con Mania 2 will be hosted by Australian comedian and TV personality Adam Richard and will feature, among many attractions:

• Cosplay veteran Queen Kryze as co-host of the Cosplay Comp
• Two-time world champion boxer Billy Dib will showcase his children's book Boys Can Cry. Billy will support from Talk to Me Bro and Elite Supplements Shellharbour/Calderwood
• Comic artists Americo and Maddi from the new DirtBags graphic novel, will display their new book and merch and hold Shell Con's very first creator panel
• In a first, real tattoo artist Lisa Giles will hit the show floor, working her magic for anyone who wants a real tattoo (over 18s only)
• The Cosplay Repair Guild will be on hand with their on-site repair skills
• Event promos of Sydney filmmaker Luke Sparke's film Primitive War, with a wall space and some giveaways (Primitive War is streaming now).
• SydLug will bring Lego and Lego vendors will be on the show floor.

The cosplay comp will feature three special guest judges: ‘Keepers of The Mania’ Jaclyn May, Lunariz.A and Gotcha Props. There will be prizes for best created cosplay in three major categories.

The event will also feature prizes, panel discussions, pinball and a KidsWish raffle.

There’ll be a kids jumping castle, interactive Lego space, cosplay photo wall green screen madness (with Showtime Photobooth), the 501st South Coast Garrison (Star Wars), U.S.S Animus (Star Trek), and the Centre Pointe Performing Arts dancing throughout the day.

A big attraction at last year’s Shell Con was the Battlecry Five Islands LARP Group, who will feature again this year.

“It's live action role-playing (LARP)," David says. "So basically take a video game where you're a fantasy character and you've got missions and you've got interactive activities to do on a video game, take that into real life, and you've got a bunch of adults dressed up in costume, with foam swords that they've created themselves and rules, and you fight each other and have fun and and just pretend that you're in this fantasy world.

“They brought that to Shell Con Mania last year, and it was a huge success. 

“They came up with the idea themselves to have little quest markers above their head, so people know who to look for, so they'd go to them, and they would say hi, and these people – the Battlecry group – would give them a quest to go run around to do, and then come back and get a little gift for doing it. 

“So it gave that little bit more interactivity to the event.”

Celebrating creativity, fandom, and fun, Shell Con Mania 2 will be held from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, August 22 at Shellharbour City Stadium, 110 Croome Road, Shellharbour. Visitors can expect “creativity, fandom, and fun”, with entertainment, comedy, dancing and "community spirit in all its costumed madness”, according to promo material.

For more details, visit the website at www.ifnheroes.com.au/shellconmania or the Facebook page.