It’s no secret now that the landscape of what is considered cool and trendy in popular culture has drastically shifted. Comic books and superheroes used to be a niche market among popular media.

Now the superhero reigns supreme and has been dominating film and television for years.

With superheroes (and other properties sometimes considered “geeky”) come the conventions. According to PopMatters.com, the very first comic book convention was held in New York in 1964, with only a mere 100 or so people in attendance. Now, multiple comic book conventions yearly draw in thousands upon thousands of people — the biggest being the San Diego ComicCon, which is a mecca for all things pop culture.

The market for these kinds of properties doesn’t just stop at all-encompassing conventions either. There are conventions dedicated to Star Trek, anime (Japanese animation) and Star Wars.

Middlesboro will soon be host to its very first comic convention — the Crater Con.

Set to kick off on May 26 at the National Guard Armory, the Crater Con will feature various vendors for any niche you may be a fan of. Not into comic books? That’s not an issue. The Con will feature vinyl, CDs, toys, DVDs, collectibles, concessions and giveaways. Admission is also free.

Crater Con founder Jesse Capps stated, “What started out as a simple desire to do something fun and positive evolved into an idea to combine music and comics for our first event. That idea evolved even more as we started hearing from many talented local artists and writers that wanted to be a part of it, too.”

Capps also stated that the goal of Crater Con is to simply offer people a good, family-friendly time.

“I think comic conventions and record shows are so popular because people enjoy the camaraderie. Or maybe it’s about finding something that makes you reconnect with your childhood or it could be about searching for that missing item in your collection you’ve been looking for forever. Music, movies, comics and entertainment in general are all ways to escape reality and the craziness of the world and cons provide the perfect setting to do just that,” said Capps.

The first even Crater Con will take place from 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. at the National Guard Armory on May 26.

Anybody who is interested in being a vendor can contact 606-200-5060.