Judgment-free enthusiasm on full display at Thy Geekdom Con

Geekdom took over the Claymont Crowne Plaza Hotel on Saturday.

There were dozens of vendors selling action figures and pop culture-related trinkets. Nearby, people, er, gathered for a rousing game of Magic: The Gathering.

Thy Geekdom Con, a Delaware Innovation Week event, was a grand success, said convention organizer Chris Cicero. He didn’t know the precise number of geek enthusiasts who showed up, but said the hundreds who did exceeded the expected turnout.

Jade Wampler, in blue hair, with her artist friend Brice Hunt, 18, of Newark. (Photo by Lindsay Podraza)

The convention granted several local vendors plenty of exposure. Jade Wampler, a 21-year-old artist from Elkton, Md., had the chance to show off her drawings and the website for her coming-of-age fantasy webcomic, Pastelmancer.

“I’ve made plenty of profit today, so that’s really exciting as an artist,” Wampler said.

Newark IT consultant Michael Bradley gave attendees a sneak preview of his first novel, Sirens in the Night, a supernatural thriller that takes place in Philadelphia. The book was released by Amberjack Publishing on Sunday. “It was an eye-opening experience, exciting, but a lot of work was involved,” he said of publishing the novel. Bradley said he’s now working on a second book.

Vendors weren’t the only attractions — a cosplay contest drew many sci-fi and action-hero outfits ranging from the Black Widow Avenger to a Tusken Raider and even an Arkham Asylum escapee.

In another section of the convention, gamers of the board and video variety had space to play.

Matt Sharp holds Cubey, a character in Sharp’s mobile game, “Cubey Sphere.” (Photo by Lindsay Podraza)

Video game developer Matt Sharp, of Harrington, Del., enjoyed showing people how to play his new — and first — mobile game, Cubey Sphere, and his latest computer game, Lucid Awakening II.

The 26-year-old self-proclaimed nerd said he thought the Geekdom convention was a great chance for so-called geeks to get together and appreciate each others’, well, geekiness.

“Everyone in this nerd community is really nice, there’s no judgment of people,” Sharp said. “It’s just a really nice vibe.”

Toys! (Photo by Lindsay Podraza)