Comic Con Phenomenon Makes First Landing In Tulsa

Comic Con is one of the largest conventions in the United States. The San Diego show is its mother ship, but the phenomenon has sprouted satellite shows across the country.

For the very first time, one of them is landing in Tulsa this weekend; we visited Nashville's Comic Con to get an idea of what kind of craziness to expect.

“Our real measure of success is do we find that people are leaving having a great time,” said Jerry Milani with Wizard World.

If you're confused about exactly what Comic Con is, it may be because it's actually a whole bunch of things.

“They think Comic Con, but they really should think pop culture con. It's all the elements together in one place,” Milani said.

Under the roof that Comic Con is being held in you can find just about anything.

In Nashville, among a collection of rare comic books was what promoters call the "holy grail," a 1939 copy of Detective 27 that contained the first appearance of Batman.

The asking price is a cool $550,000, according to comic book salesman, Mike Carbonaro.

“I actually feel that's an incredible investment. And there's probably a quarters of million to $300,000 profit in the next few years for whoever buys this book.

If you're looking for something a little more down to earth, you could also find the Mystery Machine and the crazy kids from Scooby-Doo

Even a Tulsa-build Tardis from Doctor Who could be found.

“We have people who want to hug it,” said Doctor Who fan, Wade Balzer.

If you're interested in collectables, you'll find everything from plastic toys to Star Wars-inspired artwork commissioned by George Lucas himself.

“At the New York expo in 07, that's when I was approached by Lucas Films and started doing work for them,” said artist Christian Waggoner.

There are also lots of stars to meet. One panel featured Brent Spiner and Levar Burton, both of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame.

If you're single, you might want to give sci-fi speed dating a try.

You'll find a long line of gentlemen and fair ladies, under the watchful eye of a Jedi knight, looking for love in three minutes or less.

Comic Con has grown from a rather strange side-show to a genuine cultural phenomenon.

Wizard World began with four shows in 2011 and has grown to 16 this year; and they have great expectation for their first trip to Oklahoma.

“Oh, Tulsa is going to be on fire,” Milani said.

Comic Con became the biggest convention in the state of Utah the first year it debuted, and promoters say Tulsa could follow suit.

“I think it's going to be our biggest first show of the year,” said Milani.

Thousands of people flooding into downtown Tulsa is good news for the local economy.

Milani said, “They all need a place to stay, so it starts with the hotels, then the restaurants, bars and the shopping, then the transportation, so it all feeds everybody.”

Beyond the dollars and cents, at the heart of Comic Con, is a kind of off-beat creativity that may be best expressed in the Saturday night costume contest where everyone gets their moment in the sun.

They say you never know what you'll find at Comic Con; it could be a prized comic book, or it could be love.

Tulsa's show won't look exactly like Nashville's, for instance; we may have to wait until next year for our turn at sci-fi speed dating.

On the other hand, Tom Felton of 'Harry Potter' fame will be here filming a documentary for the BBC Saturday night and Sunday morning.

You can get more information on Tulsa's first Comic Con here.