Hidalgo on visit to Comicpalooza 2021: 'The force was strong in Downtown Houston'

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and all things anime recently swept through Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center for Comicpalooza 2021.

Billed as Texas’s largest pop culture festival, the event that took place on July 17 and 18 featured celebrity panels, photograph and autograph opportunities, shopping and much more.

“Thanks to all who made @Comicpalooza a success," Judge Hidalgo said in a July 17 tweet. "Enjoyed dressing up as my favorite character in @StarWars Rebels and meeting the members of the @501stLegion who do beautiful work bringing Star Wars to life for charity.”

Comicpalooza returned after a year-long hiatus forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Celebrity guests included Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman, members of "The Mandalorian" cast and Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

"Houston peeps I’ll be at @Comicpalooza tomorrow and Sunday signing for the first time in almost two years," WWE's Jay "Christian" Reso tweeted before the event. "I have a Q&A session with @RealBrittBaker. Stop by and watch me ask her why everyone is asking me all the questions #CP2021"

As attendees walked through the convention center floor, they likely came across comic, anime and movie merch vendors, laser tag, simulations, console games and big versions of Jenga and Connect4.

The event featured panelists like Martin Kove and Danny Trejo, with the heavy hitter panel featuring the cast from "The Mandalorian": Carl "Greef Karga" Weathers, Katee "Bo-Katan Kryze" Sackhoff, Ming-Na "Fennec Shand" Wen and Giancarlo "Moff Gideon" Esposito.

"The fan questions weren't too obnoxious, even though the first one — directed at Weathers — sought dirt on the production of 'Predator,'" the Houston Press reported of the event. "Esposito remarked how prevalent POC are on 'The Mandalorian' set, and the cast continued to joke about how none of them met Pedro Pascal until the season 2 finale."