BANGOR — The biggest complaint you hear from West Coast comic conferences (known as comic cons) is that the nerds and the comic-, game- and movie-obsessed have been pushed out of the very cultural phenomenon they created by the mainstream late-comers who only “pretend” to be a nerd for a day.

Good thing it takes about 20 years for California trends to hit Maine because the inaugural three-day Bangor Comic and Toy Conference held April 24-26 at Cross Insurance Center, brought the authentic fans of comic, horror, videogame, animation, cosplay and sci-fi movie genres out in droves.

Organizers estimated around 3,000 people had come to the Con that weekend, with the heaviest traffic on Saturday.

Fans of Star Wars got to see and hear the low wheeze of Darth Vader walking around the stadium, often flanked by his Storm Troopers, while R2-D2 bleeped and whirred in a corner booth. Many fans of Star Wars cosplay showed up as their favorite characters. One of the biggest highlights of the Con was the appearance of Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  The standing room-only panel on Saturday allowed fans to ask Williams questions about his various movie characters. By the second question, a young lady standing in line asked simply, “Can I have a hug?” Williams graciously complied, prompting a roomful of “awwwws.”

Who are you gonna call text?

Other popular cosplay characters in Bangor on Saturday paid tribute to the 1980s movies, Ghostbusters, which will soon see not one, but two separate reboots in 2015. Ghostbuster fan Ramone Juanso Jr., from Auburn, carried a fully detailed “Proton Pack” and “Neutro Wand” gun that he built himself.

Asked about the forthcoming Ghostbusters 3  and the all-female cast of another Ghostbusters movie he said, “I think the reboots are going to be pretty cool. It’s been a long time since 1984’s movie and it’s good to keep the franchise alive. I know I’m going to keep it going until the day I die.”

Also invited to the Con was Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore from the original Ghostbusters, to do a meet-and-greet with fans while he stood next to the iconic Ghostbuster car, The Ecto-1. In addition to the big screen names, fringe characters such as Deep Roy, Teeny Weeny in The Neverending Story, Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, four of the Power Rangers and Gigi Edgely from Jim Henson's Creature Shop were also crowd pleasers.

Organizer Chris MacMillan wasn’t sure how big of a hit it would be to put together the Bangor Comic and Toy Con, but if he had any doubts that enthusiasts of this still-underground event (in Maine at least) would show, he had no reason to be disappointed. The Cross Center was saturated with people of all ages just truly bringing a happy, inclusive vibe to the event. Not everybody dressed up, but not everybody needed to. It was fun just to peruse all of the booths, talk to comic creators (including Midcoast’s own Atom O’Chang from O’Chang Comics ) enthusiasts and sellers. Horror writers dominated the middle tables of the event, while artists, gamers (selling old school Atari consoles!), super heroes and purveyors of action figures lined the wall in booths at the Con.

On Friday and Saturday night, the event went to midnight with all kinds of evening fun for the adults including gaming events, live bands, a burlesque show, cosplay contests, Drink & Draw and even an after party at The Sea Dog.

If there’s one thing a Maine Con can attest to, it’s keeping it real, where nerding out for three days amongst the joyful community of people who truly live and love this stuff is what it was all about.

Check out more faces and places in our Bangor Comic and Toy Con gallery.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com