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Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy diane abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
The annual New York Comic Con gets bigger each year. More than 100,000 fans of comic books, science fiction and fantasy were in attendance this past weekend, and it's a great opportunity for photographers to catch them in costume as some of their favorite heroes and villains, in a natural setting in New York. Here we have not one but two Lokis -- the villain from the hit movie, "The Avengers" -- no doubt plotting some a new way to take over the city, if not the world.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
Courtesy Diane Abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Diane Abela shot quite a few photos of fans in costume for iReport, for the second year in a row at New York Comic Con. She caught this man in character as Wolverine just outside the convention.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
Courtesy Diane Abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Who ya gonna call? No group of heroes fits in better on the streets of New York City than the Ghostbusters, from the 1984 film of the same name (and shot in New York). Ghostbusters are a popular costume choice, but it's rare to find the evil Gozer the Gozerian with them.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy diane abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Doctor Who, a character now in his 11th incarnation, recently visited New York on television. This is actually a costumed fan as the 10th Doctor (played for a time by David Tennant), but he fits in more than ever at New York Comic Con.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy diane abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Here's an unusual pairing, Black Widow from Marvel's "Avengers" and Catwoman from "The Dark Knight Rises," a DC Comics character. At the same time, that's not so unusual a sight for conventions such as New York Comic Con.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
Courtesy Diane Abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
"The Avengers," the top-grossing movie of 2012 so far, was particularly popular for fans, as this man posing as Thor illustrates.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
Courtesy Diana Abela
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Don't worry, Bane's not robbing a bank here. But fans dressed as the "Dark Knight Rises" character were seen in many of the iReport photos from New York Comic Con.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy anna fischer
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Anna Fischer is a veteran of New York Comic Con photography in outdoor settings. Here she captured a subject portraying Rogue of the "X-Men."

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy rene carson
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Rene Carson, a photographer from Jersey City, New Jersey, is a huge fan of comics, film and television. "Pop culture is one of my favorite subjects to shoot." This time he caught another mixed pairing of "The Avengers' " Hulk and another Catwoman.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy rene carson
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
It's not every day you see Magneto, sworn enemy of the "X-Men," taking a break for a New York hot dog.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy alan kistler
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Comic book historian/"Whovian" Alan Kistler just had to get a photo of this 10th Doctor and companion.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy alan kistler
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Of course, there were plenty of amazing costumes to be found in the convention hall as well. Alan Kistler, a Comic Con veteran of many years, came upon this impressive Deadman costume and had to get in the photo himself.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
courtesy alan kistler
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Video game characters are also popular costume choices, as you can see with Super Mario and Princess Toadstool.

Photos: Heroes, villains frolic at New York Comic Con
PHOTO:
Courtesy Jeff Rodgers
Heroes, villains frolic in the Big Apple —
Jeff Rodgers, a photographer from Memphis, Tennessee, attended his fourth Comic Con this year, but missed last year. He could definitely tell a big difference in the size of the convention. "They added a day and essentially made it twice as big." He snapped a photo of these two dressed as Green Lantern and Supergirl.