The Roman convention about comics, cosplay and games: Romics. This time I was together with Andrea Sfiligoi in the quest for Japanese giant robots miniatures. He want to use them with Samurai Robots Battle Royale rules. I spotted the gashapons, Andrea bought them! I’m an hardcore comic fan since my early childhood, before I learned to read. So every year I’m here to buy some comics and gadgets, spending some time in this really exciting atmosphere. Oh, I almost forgot, and to view beautiful girls too.

Speaking about the buyers view I could say that in the current world of comics the most important things nowadays are the gadgets (t-shirts, costumes, bags, figures,…). Comics – and anime – seem to have a secondary role. However these two things live side by side, helping each other, as you could see here. Instead the game sector was marginal in this convention: this is not a place for gamers, there are too many people who are looking for other things. In spite of this there were Games Workshop demo tables, game vendors, a boardgame area cured by Reindeers, Magic card players.

I don’t want to bore you with piles of dusty old comics or with phantasmagorical superhero covers. I told you that the place was full of comics and it is enough. Comic conventions are cosplayers crowed, so now is better to show something more coloured.

Cosplay is the main reason to go to a comic convention by now. As a matter of fact a third of the space available was dedicated to a cosplay theatre. It is a new form of expression generated from comics. Some people show their love for this world becoming a comic – or anime or magna – character.

These two guys stayed a lot of time three meters above the ground in this position to draw attention to their costumes. The cosplayer hard life.

A nice nun with gun: cosplay is for men (!) too. I saw many men who challenged the weather temperature to show their muscles, and sometimes they were dressed only with their underwear and little more to create a costume. Well, however I prefer girls.

Every time I see lots of Catwomen, Lara Croft and Lamù. Cosplay is a way to give vent to female exhibitionism too. Human females always compete each other with methodology employed to increase sexual attraction towards human males. So a comic convention is an arena where they can show their beauty increased by costumes.

Even this time I censure myself. Some crazy girls without shame were throwing at you their asses and boobs. I can’t publish photos of extremely undressed women, sorry. I just give you an image about these tits-pads to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. I own one, it works.

It’s always the same old story. The convention closed at 19 and we left at 18.30. Then we tried to reach the railway but some railwaymen stopped us at the bottom of the stairs of the unsafe bridge that take to the platform roof. It was overcrowded. So we had to wait under a storm. We spent an hour here, in a queue toward that stairs, squeezed by people and water. Umbrellas were our canopy. We were freezing due to rain. The railwaymen allowed us to reach the platform roof after the passage of a couple of trains. After we had to wait another hour. Two trains didn’t stop at this station because they were only for upper class travellers. When the next train arrived with a 25 minutes late, it was assaulted by the crowd. Andrea’s bag was ripped when he got up the train. No wounded people, a miracle. So he lost a couple of gashapons. We could leave at 20.30, other people left only with the next train. 40 minutes more for them. This is the only public transport to reach the fair buildings of the capital city of Italy, a fair in the middle of nowhere, near only to swamps and fields. Commuters live similar situations every day.

In the photo you can view the platform roof as soon as we could reach it. More people were arriving. You can view, lighted by neon lights: a half-naked cosplayer wrapped up with a borrowed sweatshirt; another girl who wears the boyfriend’s jacket; a girl consoled by a boy; people eyes that reflect their powerlessness. Italy…