Wizard World returns: A con for the summertime
As noted earlier this week, Wizard World is returning to New York City after a significant absence.
Comic conventions have a long and circuitous history in our fine metropolis but that’s wholly unimportant except to point out that this weekend’s event – full name: Wi
zard World Comic Con NYC Experience – at Basketball City on the East Side has nothing to do with the massive New York Comic Con held every fall at the Javits Center on the West Side.
Wizard cons, which are kind of a traveling road show hitting cities across the country, tend to focus more on celebrity appearances and (paid) meet-and-greets than other shows.
But they still have plenty of programming that will scratch a given itch. And there will be plenty of comics/memorabilia/ephemera dealers to help empty your wallet. (My favorite part, actually: We’re going shopping, baby!!)
Anyway, check out www.wizardworld.com for the full range of ticket prices, packages, celeb appearances, etc. The show runs Friday through Sunday, and even includes a Friday night cruise featuring “The Walking Dead’s” Norman Reedus (for the ladies) and Michael Rooker (for the unhinged).
Now, if I were the master of time, space and dimension, and could be in multiple places at once, here’s what I’d hit (besides Norman Reedus, even though I’m straight, because seriously … ).
Want. (AMC)
Vaguely clever. Pizza should have been folded. (Some joker on the Internet)
HUGE, MAJOR CAVEAT: I’m not going to tell you the times of these events because what’s listed on the site is substantially different from what’s on the press release. So, if I were you, I’d check out the site and double-check whatever listings they have on scene to be sure.
Friday
Drawing Faces With Amy Reeder: Because Amy Reeder is a really good artist and should get more work. You should hear what she has to say.
Stan Lee Meet And Greet – Paid Event: Because even though I’m not a fan of these kind of paid encounters, it’s Stan F—in Lee. He also evidently has a free speaking event during the weekend.
Saturday
Henry Winkler Q&A: Didn’t you love him in “Night Shift”? Role of a lifetime!
Drawing And Composing Covers For Dramatic Effect With Neal Adams: Because Neal Adams is the Zeus of the Olympus of Batman artists and his covers rock! Here’s proof.
Patrick Stewart Q&A. It looks like this is the same time as the Adams event, which is a crime against humanity. Jean-Luc-Charles-Xavier Picard! I hope he serves pizza.
WILL EISNER’S A CONTRACT WITH GOD AT 35. There are no jokes to be made here. This is where I let the official Wizard blurb take over: “Will Eisner was one of the giants of the field of sequential art. A panel of Eisner-experts discusses his ongoing influence, 35 years after the publication of his groundbreaking work, A Contract With God, a book that pretty much invented the entire graphic novel category. Panelists include Paul Levitz (former DC president and publisher; Legion of Super-Heroes writer); Dennis O’Neil (Batman and Iron Man writer and editor); and Chris Couch (Eisner’s editor; professor at UMass Amherst). The panel will be moderated by Danny Fingeroth (Spider-Man editor; author of Superman on the Couch). Eisner’s other landmark works–including The Spirit and P.S. Magazine–will be discussed as well.”
If you’re just joining us, there are awards for the comics industry they give out every year, akin to the Oscars. They’re called the Eisners. That last paragraph only scratches the surface as to why.
Anyway, onward. Evidently there will be a Wizard World Adult Costume Contest on Saturday night. I think they mean “adult” in the only-adults-can-compete sense. I think. I’d show anyway, just to be sure.
Sunday
It’s the little questions in life that sometimes tickle the back of your mind. Like, I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be the guy who has the very last panel of a con. Are they trying to tell you something? Do you have to grab a broom afterward? Do they at least call you a cab? In this case, it appears the last panel is Inside The Portfolio With Mike Zeck. Which is wholly unfair to Mr. Zeck because his art is GREAT! Dude’s gonna give feedback on portfolios and that’s saintly right there! Seriously, stick around and check this one out.
Bonus!
OK. Now, we all have our guilty pleasures. We all have those childish things that we just cannot put away (HENCE THE ENTIRE REASON FOR THIS BLOG EXISTING – YES, I GET IT!). But one of the headliners of the weekend is Jason David Frank. He was a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. And evidently he’s a thing. I can’t explain it. But then, I once approached Burt Ward and interrupted him while he was sitting in a golf cart at the Javits, talking to his “handlers.” Anyway the thrice-named, boldfaced Jason David Frank will apparently have multiple appearances, including at least one PAID MEET-AND-GREET. I would pay the cash just to see what such an event entails.
I tease because I love. And I will be there this weekend.
Just watch your rear, Norman Reedus.
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