Los Angeles Comic Con 2024 kicks off with cosplay and ‘Back to the Future’ reunion

When you see Star-Lord and Gamora from Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” standing next to each other at Los Angeles Comic Con, you might assume they arrived together in a pre-planned group costume.

“No, we just met today!” said Delaney Sargent of Buena Park. She and Thomas Barr, from Burbank, happened to perfectly match their cosplay to the other on day one of the con, which kicked off this weekend, Oct. 4-6, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Sargent spent about two weeks creating her Gamora costume “and about three and a half hours in makeup today,” she said. She plans to unveil two more looks this weekend – Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” and Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” – and participate in the cosplay competition on Saturday

“I’m really nervous; it’s my first time competing,” Sargent said. “But it’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to, along with connecting with friends.”

In addition to elaborate cosplay, this year’s L.A. Comic Con will see multiple cast reunions on the main stage – including, for the first time, actors from the classic 1991 black comedy “The Addams Family.” Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, and Jimmy Workman will appear Saturday afternoon to reminisce about the making of the movie and discuss its lasting impact.

On Friday evening, Lloyd also participated in a ticketed “Back to the Future” panel featuring Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson, to be rebroadcast on the main stage Saturday morning. Other reunions to expect Saturday: voice actors from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Rick and Morty,” as well as Harvey Guillén, Kayvan Novak and Kristen Schaal from “What We Do in the Shadows.”

These panels often inspire “really neat” costumes from large groups of fans, said Misty Johnson, who was representing longtime Riverside business DragonMarsh Apothecary & Teas on the exhibition floor.

“For ‘Back to the Future,’ I’ve seen lots of people in ‘50s costumes, and also (Marty’s) futuristic jacket and shoes, carrying hoverboards,’” she said. “It’s really kind of neat, because people go, ‘Oh, that’s right! I really liked that movie. I want to try and dress up as that character.”

Johnson says the DragonMarsh booth has been in the same place on the exhibition floor for the last four years at L.A. Comic Con. On entering the floor, “walk in, look left, look for the lights,” she said.

“I love this spot because everyone passes by us. I love being able to look at everyone’s costumes,” Johnson said. Her favorite costume so far? An exact handsewn replica of Michelle Pfieffer’s Catwoman costume from the 1992 “Batman Returns” movie.

“She looked fantastic in it, and she just nailed it. It was beautiful,” Johnson said. “As a person who stitches, I was just really amazed.”

The craze for cosplay could be seen all the way to the other side of the convention floor, where the nonprofit group “Cosplay for Science,” had created a pop-up museum. The organization was founded by four paleontologists, including Gabriel-Philip Santos, director of education for the Raymond M. Alf Museum in Claremont and co-host of the PBS show “Eons” about the history of life on earth.

“There’s so much science woven into all of our favorite pop culture stories,” Santos said. “Science definitely has a place here at L.A. Comic Con, and we’re happy to bring that to people.”

This year, “Cosplay for Science” partnered with the Los Angeles Zoo and Bone Clones, Inc, to educate con-goers on the animals in the natural world that inspired creatures in science fiction and fantasy realms.

“We have so much fun talking about how dinosaurs inspire fantasy creatures like dragons, and how aliens from ‘Star Wars’ are inspired by cool creatures on our planet,” Santos said, adding that the concept for the organization sprang from a convention where, while representing the Alf museum, he and others dressed up as characters from “Jurassic Park.”

“People want to talk to us so much more when we’re in cosplay,” he said. “People see our cosplays and our themes – we’ve done Star Wars and Pokémon – and they get really interested.”