E AST O REGONIAN
WEEKEND, March 2, 2019
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Clockwise from the top, Nathan Stewart, 37, his daughter Natalie, 15, son Collin, 12, and their friend, Braea Frogner, 12, all from Elgin, ready for the journey to the
Wizard World Comic Con last weekend in Portland. This was their second consecutive year attending the convention of fans of pop culture ranging from the world
of Harry Potter to animated series to science fiction. Nathan said he is sure the children will want to go next year as well.
A FAMILY THAT
COSPLAYS TOGETHER
STAYS TOGETHER
Elgin family treks west to
Portland for Wizard World
comic con
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Every hero’s journey begins with a quest.
For the Stewart clan of Elgin, the quest is an
annual trek to Portland for Wizard World
comic con.
This year’s daunting winter storm did not
deter the hearty souls of patriarch Nathan
Stewart, daughter Natalie, 15, and son col-
lin, 12, from embarking Friday, Feb. 22, for
the five-hour-or-longer drive from the out-
skirts of Union county to the Oregon con-
vention center in heart of Portland. collin
and Natalie’s friend, Braea Frogner, 12, also
from Elgin, joined the adventure like she did
last year, but Jennifer Stewart, Nathan’s wife
and mother to Natalie and collin, passed this
time around.
“Last year was our first time,” Nathan
said. “I guess there’s not too many people
from this side of the state that go. We did it
more for the kids than anything.”
Natalie was the instigator who pushed the
family to attend Wizard World. The teen is a
science fiction and fantasy aficionado and has
been since she was little.
“Natalie, as soon as she could read, ‘harry
Potter’ was the first book she read,” her dad
said.
Then came “Star Wars,” and Natalie said
she was hooked on the genres of the won-
drous. Collin, too, loves science fiction. All
three youth have favorite fantasy or science
fiction books, movies and series. But when
Natalie discovered Wizard World, the annual
celebration in Portland of just about every-
thing she digs, from the aforementioned
Harry Potter to Hollywood sci-fi blockbust-
ers to the spectacle of Japanese animation,
well, she had only one response.
WHAT IS IT?
Wizard World Comic Con is an
annual series of conventions in
cities across the U.S. celebrating
all things sci-fi and fantasy. Fans
dress up as their favorite char-
acters, or create their own. The
Portland event was Feb. 22-24.
“It was like, we need to do this,” she
exclaimed.
and so they did, with verve. The siblings
went one day as characters from the harry
Potter books and movies, and the next as
characters from the Disney animated series
“Gravity Falls” (which takes place in the
fictitious Oregon locale of Gravity Falls in
roadkill county.) cosplay — costume play
— is a major part of the scene at fan cons.
The kids even convinced their dad, an army
National Guard veteran, to give it a try last
year. He said he went “full Grunkle Stan,”
another character from “Gravity Falls.”
“Honestly, it made it a lot more fun,” he
said. “People take your picture and come up
and talk to you.”
This year, however, he cut back to just the
character’s fez. Nathan said it made it easier
and still went over well. collin dressed up as
a “galaxy wizard” with wand in hand and a
cloak displaying a swirling cosmos of stars
and planets. Natalie slipped on a steam punk
Phantom of the Opera mask and black cape.
Braea stepped into the role of harry Potter
nemesis Draco Malfoy.
Part of the fun of cosplay, Natalie and
Braea said, is creating characters or putting
your twist on well-known ones.
Wizard World, like other cons, also gives
fans the chance — for a price — to get close
with their favorite TV and film actors, comic
book artists, cosplay pros and more. Nathan
said each member of the family last year
selected one star to meet for a photo, or to get
their autograph.
collin chose Ezra Miller, the actor who
portrayed Barry allen/The Flash in the Dc
Universe movies. Natalie met Sebastian
Stan, the actor behind the character of Bucky
Barnes in the Marvel Universe movies. Mom
Jennifer set her sights on Ian Somerhalder,
star of the TV series “The Vampire Diaries.”
and Nathan got none other than Star Trek’s
original Lt. Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, to auto-
graph a poster.
“It was so much fun to meet them in per-
son,” he said.
Nathan also said he has scanners set
to find Northwest cons featuring William
Shatner, the original capt. James Kirk, and
George Takei, the actor who originated the
role of Sulu, navigator of the U.S.S. Enter-
prise. Either would make the perfect comple-
ment to that poster from Uhura.
The Stewarts also met and chatted with
actor, producer and writer henry Winkler,
who was there to read his children’s book.
Natalie got a selfie with the man she knows
from movies such as the comedy “The Water
Boy,” but her grandparents would remember
him as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, AKA The
Fonz, from the popular 1970s american sit-
com “Happy Days.”
This year, Natalie said, they had their eyes
set on meeting the con’s big attraction, actor
Jason Momoa, star of the hit movie “aqua-
man” in the DC Universe of flicks. But the
late winter storm cut their stay to just Satur-
day, Nathan said, and they missed out. Still,
the army National Guard veteran said, the
con packed plenty of cool fun even if they
had to leave a day early.
Nathan said he was sure his children would
convince him to return next year.
“They seemed to be hooked on it,” he said.
and, well, he may be, too.
‘I GUESS THERE’S NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE FROM THIS SIDE OF THE
STATE THAT GO. WE DID IT MORE FOR THE KIDS THAN ANYTHING.’
Nathan Stewart