(Guest post by Jason)
Comic-cons have grown from niche gatherings into massive cultural events. Over the past few years, fan-centric conventions (focused on comics, gaming, anime, and pop culture) have seen consistent annual growth around 25%. What’s driving this surge? Nostalgia—an emotional connection to the past that’s drawing more people in each year.
Seventy-five percent of people say nostalgia makes them feel more connected to others and their identity. Comic-cons tap into that feeling, offering fans a chance to revisit the stories and characters that shaped their childhoods. Whether it’s classic cartoons or vintage video games, these events create a shared emotional experience.
Dallas’s own Comic-Con, Fan Expo, delighted fans by taking nostalgia to the next level via star power. The 40th-anniversary reunion of Back to the Future brought icons like Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Tom Wilson back into the spotlight. Attendees also met nostalgic cultural heavyweights—John Cena, Mr. T, Orlando Bloom, Tom Welling, and Zachary Levi.
To add to the nostalgic environment, fans went all in on cosplay, donning costumes from Marty McFly to Luke Skywalker to Wonder Woman. As I walked through the throngs of characters from yester year, I noticed that 90%+ of the merch being sold was featuring characters and stories from decades past. My favorite booth featured artistic depictions of pixilated characters from early video games, which immediately took me back to Saturday mornings with my brother trying to save princesses and knock out opponents.
Nostalgia isn’t just a trend—it’s the heartbeat of comic-con’s continued rise. With nostalgia at the core, events like Fan Expo Dallas do more than entertain—they reaffirm who we are and where we come from.
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