"Scoops Ahoy" Stranger Things costumes at Comic-Con

"Stranger Things" is one of those phenomenons that I can unabashedly get behind. Yes, it's a nostalgia-fest from beginning to end, but I love the characters and how well those behind the curtain seem to understand all of the tropes they're paying homage to. Plus, it allows us all to tell jokes like this:

Strange Things by the Duff Brothers

Stranger Things by the Duffer Brothers

Strangest Things by the Duffest Brothers

— Ciara Knight (@Ciara_Knight) October 30, 2017

When I went to Comic-Con in July, the third season of the show had only been available to watch on Netflix for a few weeks, so on Preview Night, I was excited to see some people dressed up in the "Scoops Ahoy" ice cream shop outfits that featured prominently in the season. This kind of snowballed and I ended up seeing dozens of different takes on these characters. I realize that the costume isn't the most difficult to duplicate and doesn't require, say, the extensive makeup that you might see for other Comic-Con-featured characters, but it was still really impressive to witness just a few weeks after the show aired. I think it speaks to the show's popularity with the young-adult-and-older crowd.

After seeing a whole bunch of these costumes, I decided to take a picture of whomever I saw wearing one. I didn't get them all, but I ended up with quite a few, so I thought I'd share them all here. This was, by far, the most popular costume that I saw at the show.

There were quite a few more where I just wasn't quick enough to snap a picture, and naturally, plenty of others that I never even saw in the vast expanse that is Comic-Con.

On Thursday of the show, I decided to share some of these pictures on Twitter:

By far the most popular costumes at #ComicCon on Thursday: #ScoopsAhoy #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/778FDdiawk

— Jeff McClelland (@JeffMcClelland) July 18, 2019

This has, curiously, become my most popular Tweet ever (praise me, Internet), probably because the official Stranger Things account responded thusly:

putting seven tally marks in the You Rule column because of these

— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) July 20, 2019

That was pretty neat, right? You can, uh feel free to like the original Tweet and give me further Internet validation.

So. When's season four coming out?

Pictures from the 2019 Comic-Con International, part 7 (Saturday, 7/20)

As afternoon turned into evening on Saturday at Comic-Con, I left the convention hall and walked a few blocks to the Horton Theatre, where Comic-Con holds some limited-seating, ticketed events at the show. Earlier in the day, I was able to get tickets to Thomas Lennon's panel, which was very weird and very fun.

Waiting in line to get in was a pink Darth Vader. I approve.

Moderating the panel was Robert Ben Garant-as-Ken Burns in full Civil War regalia.

Lennon himself didn't come on stage until probably halfway through the panel, instead sending out stand-ins to speak in his place. A good percentage of the audience members were plants with scripted lines, including Goon creator Eric Powell and Lennon's wife and son.

Finally, Tom Lennon himself came out (in a kilt to promote his new book) and talked about some of his characters, the writing process, and just his life in general. It was a very weird panel but I expected nothing less. It was a good time.

After the panel, I went back to the convention center to grab some of the things I left behind. Wait, is this the robot I saw in back of that truck a few times earlier??

It takes a certain level of dedication to paint the majority of your body and then walk around Comic-Con for 10 hours. I think this person is dressed up as the character Purgatory.

Every year, the Geeky Hooker leaves crocheted prizes at random spots at Comic-Con. I ALMOST got this one. I was about 15 seconds too late to get Goose, Captain Marvel's cat. SO CLOSE!

Somethin' I don't trust about this guy...

Here's a few Spider-Man adjacent folks.

In 2018, one of the best costumes I saw was a giant Megatron. I have to believe that these next few folks were responsible for that, as there was now a giant (and wonderful) Starscream. Look how great this thing is. Incredible.

Oh, and he brought some friends, too!

I appreciate the level of detail in all of these.

Okay, back to more bizarre fare.

Then I saw Stargirl!

And Captain Marvel!

The show had ended by this point, but there were panels that went on into the night. I went to one hosted by my friends Grae Drake and Matt Atchity. These folks were previously part of the Rotten Tomatoes crew, but they've since both moved on to play a big part with MovieFone, with Grae being the face of the franchise. She's dressed as a mashup character called "Tanker Bell".

The panel was another movie-themed discussion where we took movie endings and tried to make them better.

At the end of the program, some actors involved with the panel acted out one of the scenarios.

Saturday is the night of the Comic-Con Masquerade, which is so well attended that the Sails Pavilion serves as an overflow viewing area with lots of free food. I grabbed some popcorn on my way out.

This looks like a dangerous conspiracy waiting to happen.

I'd like to report a LEGO murder!!

That's it for Saturday. What a day! And there's still more to come.

Pictures from the 2019 Comic-Con International, part 6 (Saturday, 7/20)

Let's look at pictures from Saturday at Comic-Con!

I got to the convention center on Saturday morning at around the same time I did on Friday, and lo and behold, I pulled up right next to this giant truck-bed robot. Hey there, work buddy.

Who was in charge of obscuring the Comic-Con logo? Now the escalator shot is ruined!!

My first order of business on Saturday was to get in line for limited drawings. I wanted to see the Thomas Lennon panel in the Horton Grand Theatre later in the afternoon, so I took my spot in the way, way back, as usual. But I ended up getting tickets with no problem after a little bit of a wait.

Rogue was in a hurry to get in line.

Are we sure this isn't the actual actor from Deadpool 2?

Spider-Punk. Fight the power.

I enjoy both this Orko puppet as well as the emotionless stare from the puppeteer.

Conan...the Bavarian.

What I'm saying is, a lot of people in costume walked by the booth on Saturday.

This is a MEGO Batman, yes?

Here's a guy who had his entire arm covered by Steeler greats. As far as tattoos go, this is a good choice.

I met up with Patric Verrone of Futurama and Disenchantment fame! The second season of Disenchantment is now on Netflix, and I am absolutely loving it.

Okay. This is a seriously fantastic Shepherd Book outfit. Kudos to this guy.

There's something for everyone at Comic-Con.

Not for nothing, but Beaker put a lot more work into his costume for the show.

I went outside for a bit (probably for the Taco Truck) and saw the Game of Thrones group picture setup.

I'm convinced that these are video game characters!

These fine folks were one of several who dressed up as Disenchantment characters on this day. Good on 'em for getting the whole group.

Kyle Rayner is the best Green Lantern! This is a fact.

Look at these! These are great Skeletor and She-Ra costumes.

I saw a group of Batmen as I hung out at the New England Comics booth. Apparently I decided to get all of their pictures individually. Here's Batman Beyond!

Movie Batman!

Marionette Batman! Or is this supposed to be Bat-Mite?

Catwoman!

Oh, and here's a bejeweled Stormtrooper.

Mixed media!

A Terrifics-era Plastic Man!

Fiona and Cake!

By the Power of Grayskull!

As the afternoon was winding down, I went outside and walked to the Horton for the ticketed panel. We all float at Comic-Con.

Lastly, here's a crossover that would be fun to see. There are more pictures from Saturday to come!