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Zap! Pow! Bam! Caped Crusader visits Greencastle, Gen Con
Holy, Buzz Bomb, Batman!
Did Greencastle become Gotham City overnight?
Riddle me this, Riddler, are we at the mercy of The Joker? Two-Face? The Penguin?
Did Mayor Sue Murray borrow Commissioner Gordon's bat signal to summon the Caped Crusader to town?
No, but it's been all in good fun, and who knew that "Batman" -- aka Matthew Dickerson -- lives here, and not only caused a recent city and Facebook stir by parading around town in an exquisite Batman costume, but made the front of the Indianapolis Star in a photo from Gen Con that dominated the upper half of the page on Saturday.
Gen Con, considered the largest tabletop-game convention in North America, has drawn 50,000 people to Indianapolis the past two years, some cetainly with bats in their belfries but probably none better decked out than Dickerson.
"In celebration of Gen Con in Indianapolis," the 1997 Greencastle High School and 2001 DePauw University graduate explained. "I took a walk to where I work, which is at the Walmart store, to visit friends and show off my costume for the event."
Along the way from
Greencastle's west side, he ran into a number of local residents stopping to snap cellphone photos from passing cars as well as a woman who told him people had been talking about Batman down at City Hall.
"So, I went by there," Dickerson noted, "and took some photos behind the podium where they hold City Council meetings, and then left. I later wrote to our mayor just for fun."
Dickerson said all of this fascination with the Caped Crusader accelerated about three years ago when he wore a Batman belt buckle to work as a part of his Walmart uniform.
"I was a manager there," he explained, "so I tried to look professional. I never tuck in my shirt or wear a belt normally, but at work I do, and I wanted something to show off my personality since the dress code didn't leave much room for that.
"Over time people started calling me 'Batman' because of it, so I bought a one-piece costume through an online website that was more of a snowsuit. All one piece, solid with no ventilation, it was terribly hot inside.
"I assembled the rest of the uniform," he added, "by buying boots at Walmart, motorcyclist gloves online, and a toy Batman belt that first year, as well as my costume cowl. The cape came with the original body suit."
However, after wearing it the first year, the 35-year-old son of late Greencastle Middle School science teacher Ray Dickerson and wife Nancy realized he had nowhere to put his keys or wallet.
"So the next year, I bought a policeman's belt, took off the gun holster, and used it as my utility belt," he related. "Fully functional. When I decided to do conventions this year, I sought out a costume that I had my eye on those many years ago but couldn't afford at the time. With my tax rebate, I finally bought it. It's two pieces, a jacket and pants, well ventilated, I never really get that overheated while wearing it."
Last week Dickerson made an off-hand comment to a co-worker about "crashing" the Walmart morning meeting in costume the day before Gen Con started.
"She said, 'Do it!' Word spread and everyone who found out said I should do it. So, that morning, I walked from my house to Walmart just for the fun of it, having no clue how the town would react."
Hello, Facebook.
"It wasn't a publicity stunt or anything," he said, adding that Walmart has been extremely supportive of his antics. "(I was) just trying out what the new suit would be like at the convention, wearing it for an extended period of time. I honestly didn't know that I would get such an overwhelming reaction.
"My favorite reaction was a teacher," advised Dickerson, who back in the day was known for wearing a long black trenchcoat to GHS. "I later found out a geometry teacher that interrupted class when he saw me walking past the high school. I heard the door to the back open, and there was this man in a suit taking photos of me. So wild."
It wasn't the only wild reaction.
"Then there was this group sitting across from City Hall (at Myers' Market) that waved me down to take a group photo," Dickerson added. "A grandfather on a bicycle passed me by, then turned around to take a photo for his grandchild who was turning four that day. Two city workers in their vests on the way to work saw me, and drove all the way around the block just to talk to me and get a better photo. A group of women, apparently visitors to the city, tapped on the glass as I was walking past the hotel there to get me to stop, turn around and greet them."
This was Dickerson's first time at Gen Con, and he managed to stand out among 50,000 people.
"It's controlled chaos from what I see," Dickerson noted, "people wandering around, looking at games being put on display, maybe one person for every 50 is in costume. It's a lot of fun interacting with fans. The kids' reactions are the best, often excitement at seeing me, then get painfully shy when the parents introduce me.
"My favorite reaction," he recalled, "was a woman getting off the bus as I was walking back to my car. She threw away her cane, tossed it to a friend, frantically searched for a camera, acting like she had seen Jesus at a church revival. It was the most over-the-top excitement I ever got and she wasn't even at the convention."
But a photographer for the Great Hoosier Daily certainly was.
"A guy was there taking photos, and asked for my name," he said. "I looked on their website later and found photos of people who were there that day, terribly disappointed not to see mine.
"When I was at the con Saturday, someone messaged me with a photo of the front cover. I about lost it right there at the convention center. I was so excited. It blew my mind that I made it to the front page of the Indy Star."
Dickerson has been a writer and a sci-fi fan since his teens.
"I've been trying to make a living off my writing career since graduating college," he said. "I write fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary fiction. I published my first book, 'Tapestry of the Second Born' about five years ago and followed up with 'Mystical Alliance' a few years later. Although, with 'Mystical Alliance' I was approached by a European company, so the digital copies are affordable, just not the hard copy, so I'm going to have to go through a new publisher with that.
"I'm still writing, I have a collection of completed novels that I'm seeking publication with right now along with working on a few other stories in my off time."
All that and portraying a crime fighter extraordinaire to boot.
Being told he was being talked about at City Hall, Dickerson said, "was amazing."
It compelled him to email Mayor Murray, advising her Batman had stopped to say hello, although much of the City Hall staff was busy or out of the building at the time.
He ended his message by saying he took some photos there and "wanted to pass them along for the enjoyment of your staff who may have missed my visit."
Of course, he signed the email "Sincerely, the Caped Crusader."
"And yes, I put 'Batman' as (who it was) 'From,'" he added. "I never once expected a reply ..."
But he received the following message from Mayor Murray, adding to the fun.
"Caped Crusader, I had the good fortune to see you during your adventures in our city yesterday. Visitors from throughout the state were just finishing a conference at the Inn at DePauw when they saw you passing by. Not only were they delighted to have a photo op, but they were quite impressed by the assurance of their safety with you in their midst.
"If we must share you with Indianapolis this week, I wish you safe travels and a speedy return."
It's as if Dickerson embodies what Batman alter-ego Bruce Wayne says. "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."