NEW YORK CITY \u2013\u00a0As more than 150,000 people streamed through New York Comic Con last week, a group of pint-sized super heroes gathered on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A miniature version of Galaxy of the Guardian\u2019s Star-Lord posed\u00a0for photographs, aiming his Quad Blaster at the sky. A\u00a0long-haired\u00a0Thor held her hammer up high. And an excited Iron Man showed off his super powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prize for participation: an autographed edition of the first Captain Citrus comic book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than two dozen children took part\u00a0in\u00a0Marvel\u2019s Captain Citrus Costume Event<\/a>\u00a0held Sunday at the Javits Center as part of New York Comic Con. The Florida Department of Citrus,\u00a0who teamed with Marvel earlier this year to redesign Captain Citrus<\/a>, also debuted a printed version of the first Captain Citrus comic book to fans at Marvel\u2019s booth and displayed a life-sized cut out of the new super hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been great to see how well Captain Citrus fits in with this larger universe here at Comic Con. Hardcore fans of the genre have accepted him for what he is, and he\u2019s earning his \u2018street cred\u2019 because of the way he\u2019s been developed and launched,\u201d said David Steele, FDOC\u2019s director of public relations. \u201cFrom our initial announcement in a Tampa Bay comic shop<\/a>\u00a0to this weekend\u2019s event in New York, it\u2019s always been about authenticity. We\u2019re doing right by our brand and by the consumers we want to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In its 10th year,\u00a0New York Comic Con<\/a>\u00a0is the second largest comic book gathering in the world. Spanning four days and attracting people from around the world, the event\u00a0is an annual highlight for people of all ages and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the realm of solely die-hard comic fans \u2013 people who spend a year crafting elaborate costumes of their favorite characters \u2013 comic book conventions have gone mainstream, bolstered by the success of blockbuster super hero\u00a0movies and the popularity of things once considered \u201cnerdy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s event\u00a0demonstrated its mass appeal\u00a0with\u00a0a sold out crowd of 151,000 people and a popular \u201cFamily Day\u201d on Sunday, which allowed\u00a0young families to attend for a low cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the attraction, hundreds of vendors selling collectors\u2019 items, appearances by\u00a0famous actors (George Clooney\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0stopped by on Thursday) and panel discussions on a variety of topics ranging from diversity in comics to new television shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As one of the industry\u2019s powerhouses, Marvel\u00a0had a large presence at New York Comic Con, even hosting a\u00a0live video stream<\/a>\u00a0throughout the event for fans who couldn\u2019t be there in person. Featured on the show Sunday were Marvel\u2019s Creative Director Bill Rosemann and FDOC Executive Director Doug Ackerman. The pair, along with writer Ralph Mocchio, shared the story of how Captain Citrus was developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is Captain Citrus like? What sort of qualities do we want to get across? And part of it\u00a0was nutrition and how fit he was and we began with that,\u201d Rosemann said. \u201cWe went through many designs until we hit the winning look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Captain Citrus\u00a0may serve as a mascot for the Florida Citrus industry, it\u2019s not his job to sell juice. According to Steele, Captain Citrus is \u201cmore about building a relationship with fans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight now, American families are already buying all of the orange juice Florida can produce. Captain Citrus doesn\u2019t \u2018fix\u2019\u00a0our short supply<\/a>, but he does give us a chance to connect in a fun, informational and inspirational way with young fans and their families. Those relationships will be a value to Florida Citrus now and for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n