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Supercon Retro Brings Back 90's Nostalgia At Miami Airport Convention Center

Amanda Rabines
Father and daughter dress as protagonist from Sci-Fi television series “Dr. Who” and antagonist “Dalek,” an evil mutant robot, at this year's Supercon Retro at Miami Airport Convention Center.";s:3:"u

There was some old mixing with the new at this year's first Supercon Retro event in Miami, a smaller version of Florida’s Supercon that celebrates comic books, cosplay, fantasy-lands and Japanese culture.

Six-year-old Cooper Burford was playing “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” on the classic 80’s SEGA Genesis game console at the Miami Airport Convention Center, where Supercon debuted in Florida about a decade ago.

On the other side of Supercon Retro, gamers were playing with the newly released Nintendo Switch, put together by the group that holds monthly gaming meetups in Fort Lauderdale, known as First Fridays.

“Supercon Retro seemed like a fun way to bring a convention to Miami this Spring,” Sandy Martin, a Supercon spokesperson, said in an email. “We were looking at more than a year without an event in Miami and we just didn't want to leave Miami for that long.”

Every evening, the event featured throw-back FSCW (Florida Supercon Championship Wrestling) matches with Hall of Fame wrestlers like WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Booker T. and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

Celebrities who came to fame in the 1990’s like David Yost the blue power ranger from the “Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers” television series, Nicholas Brendan from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and actress Lori Petty, known for her role in the Sci-Fi film “Tank Girl,” attended the event, that ended on Easter Sunday. 

  Thanks to all the amazing fans of #powerrangers who came out to @floridasupercon Retro this weekend! The Promoter & Volunteers were awesome and I had a great time! Thank you thank you thank you! #affirmative #affirmyourself #affirmativeclothingcompany #mmpr #blueranger #superconretro #miamiairportconventioncenter #miami #florida A post shared by David Yost (@officialdavidyost) on Apr 16, 2017 at 8:22pm PDT

Supercon Retro had about 50 panelists and an army of local fandom groups and artists from South Florida like Allen Bellman, a resident of Tamarac who worked for Marvel Comics back in the 50’s.

“My first job was working on Captain America. I did The Patriot, The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner. Whatever Stan Lee threw at me, I did,” said Bellman.

Bellman attended about 16 Supercons last year. At Supercon Retro, he gave away his artwork that keeps with the original Marvel character drawings - like Captain America kicking a Nazi square in the jaw.

Mike Lippa, a retired home remodeler from Boca Raton, dressed as an opulent knight to maximize photo opportunities.

“I like the comradery at the comic cons - sharing ideas, sharing common interests, being able to explore your imagination,” Lippa said. “I’m 60 years old now and I‘m just getting into this, and I feel more alive than I ever did in my life.”

Clifford Ponce works with the Star Trek meetup group in South Florida, called the “1701st Fleet.” He says Spock is an easy character on the show to relate to.

“He was the only half Vulcan in Starfleet. So he kind of had that outcast type of a feeling that a lot of us geeks adhere too,” Ponce said.

Last year, Florida Supercon drew  53,000 people. The convention expects the same number of people to attend this year’s Supercon at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale July 27-30. 

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