Words and Photos By DCist Contributor Keith Mathias

Over the weekend, thousands donned their best frock—or, in this case their best Mandalorian armor or Batman costume—and descended upon the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for Awesome Con, D.C.’s annual comic book and pop culture convention. Now in its third year, Awesome Con has finally found its groove—and its most colorful cosplayers yet.

Previous years have seen Awesome Con experiencing troubles ranging from a poor guest list to the inescapable presence of long lines. Neither of these troubles plagued this year’s convention, with guests covering all corners of geekdom—ranging from the entire original cast of Power Rangers to Dana Snyder (Aqua Team Hunger Force) to Jason Mewes (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), and headlined by the godfathers of cult fandom, Star Trek’s William Shatner and George Takei.

The sheer volume of guests present often kept autograph lines down to a minimum (although if you thought you weren’t going to have to wait to get Shatner’s autograph, you were sorely mistaken), particularly on early Friday afternoon, right after the convention opened. Of course, the lack of lines did not mean that all of the autographs were free, with some guests charging up to $50 per signature.

Much like the autograph lines, waiting around and hoping that you’d be able to make it into a panel never seemed to be much of a problem, again due to the massive variety available to convention-goers. Though events like Super Art Fight and a stage reading of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One did eventually fill up, getting in was never a problem. And if, for some reason, anybody did have an issue getting into a particular panel or show, there were more than enough other awesome ones to choose from.

Much of what this speaks to is how well Awesome Con is run. Brian O’Halloran (of Clerks fame) said that the level of organization was much higher than at larger conventions like New York Comic Con, and Joe Kelly of Man of Action (Ben 10, Big Hero 6) mentioned the fact that he was provided with a big stack of pens and hand sanitizer as serious pluses.

But organization isn’t the only problem area where Awesome Con rises above similar conventions. Though cosplaying is a big part of convention culture—and the larger comics culture—with it comes the unfortunate and overwhelming problem of harassment. In a survey conducted by Bitch Magazine last year, 59 percent of all respondents said they felt sexual harassment was a problem in comics. While some said that the harassment was occurring in the workplace or at work-related events, comic book and pop culture conventions often came up as a big problem area for unwanted harassment. From Bitch Magazine:

At conventions, respondents were more likely to be photographed against their wishes. Thirteen percent reported having unwanted comments of a sexual nature made about them at conventions—and eight percent of people of all genders reported they had been groped, assaulted, or raped at a comic convention.

Living up to its name (at at least trying to) in all areas, Awesome Con made sure attendees were aware that harassment of any kind wouldn’t be tolerated, with signs plastered all over the convention center informing attendees to report anything that made them feel uncomfortable.

There was also a booth for Feminist Public Works, an organization dedicated to promoting the wellbeing and public safety of women, girls, and the LGBTQ community. They’ve been present at previous Awesome Cons (at the request of Awesome Conventions), as well as New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic Con. Their ongoing campaign called “Geeks for CONsent,” is bringing international attention to the problem of harassment at conventions.

Like last year, Awesome Con was a chance for the most creative groups of fandom to come out of the woodwork and showcase their dedication. Last year’s standouts R2DC were once again showing off their incredible recreations of Star Wars’ most iconic droid, but The Mandalorian Mercs gave them a run for their money as far as sheer awesomeness was concerned.

The Mandalorian Mercs are a costuming organization dedicated to building high quality, custom Mandalorian armor. However, they don’t stop there. In addition to building and selling armor, the Mercs also maintain Little Warrior International—an organization dedicated to granting funds for local non-profits that directly help children and families in need, in addition to raising money for disease research.

And if attendees weren’t interested in learning about charities or how to not be a jerk to their fellow convention-goers, the showroom offered plenty of typical convention fare. Covering the monstrous lower floors of the convention center, the showroom played host to numerous local comic shops, toy vendors, and artists, satisfying the need to drop boatloads of coin on anything from My Little Pony dolls to a replica of Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII.

For those who missed out on this most fantastic time to be a nerd in D.C., have no fear: next year’s Awesome Con will run June 3-5. Start building your cosplay costume now.