EVENT COVERAGE: Wizard World Austin Comic Con

[Malevolus]

Lots Of Fun & Tons Of Great Cosplayers...

CLICK HERE FOR A WIZARD WORLD AUSTIN COMIC CON PHOTO GALLERY FEATURING TONS OF AWESOME COSPLAY!

I arrive in Austin for only the second time. The city has an almost palpable energy and that translates directly into Wizard World Austin Comic Con. I have arrived at the Con, ready for to see what wares are offered, meet some celebrities, watch the cosplayers, and get to know my fellow comic book geeks. And, I wasn’t disappointed.

There is a reason why game stores and comic stores exist. They aren’t just places where we like to buy our favorite comics and games, they are places where we can go and be with other people who are like us. Cons provide the same capacity to do this but on a greater scale. Yet, it isn’t just fellow lovers of comics, games, movies, or any number of things who come to these conventions. The people that create the things that we love are there as well and that’s one of the great draws to the convention scene. Wizard World does this often, as their Wizard World Comic Cons tour the nation each year, and does it well.

The convention is broken into multiple parts and each will be gone over, with as little fanboy gushing as possible. There is the vendor floor, the autograph/photo area, and the panel rooms, where you can ask question, learn new things, and see your favorite stars and writers. The first part of the convention anyone is likely to encounter, directly after standing in line, is the vendor floor. Here you can peruse everything from vintage comic books to modern lightsabers, and ultimately the smartest man at the convention - the one who sells the plastic sleeves to protect everything you buy. This is also the area with the comic book artists/writers, new starting writers and artists, web series makers, and everything else related to these hobbies. I loved the vendor area... well, most of it. Honestly the guys there selling Sugar Gliders seemed incredibly out of place. Sugar Gliders are really cute little critters, but... out of place. Other notables who were more than welcome were Neal Adams (one of the greatest artists ever to grace Batman’s history), Tom Cook (if you were alive and a child in the 80s and you watched cartoons, he did too many for you to not have watched his), and even Dean Trippe (a web comic writer and artist who also works for several smaller comic publishers).

The assortment of talent covers many corners of fandom and levels of notoriety, and this is a fantastic opportunity. You can buy prints, get autographs, often have comics rated and authenticated, and then drool over that $300 lightsaber - unless you brought the cash for it. I thoroughly enjoyed walking the artist rows and seeing things that ranged from small art prints to handmade steampunk jewelry and accessories. There is no telling what you might find, and each con is going to be a little different. There are the artists who travel convention to convention, but you will also often find local artists whom you may not have found otherwise. The worst thing about all the artists is making sure all credit and debit cards stay put to ensure you have a way back home after the convention. These costs are also a part of the autograph area.

Autographs in the autograph area cost money. I know it can feel weird to have to pay for an autograph you might get free elsewhere, but here it is a guarantee. It’s really not that much to ask to be able to grab a free photo for the star to sign, or you can bring your own item. In my case I took my Army of Darkness poster (the one that hung at the theatre where I saw the movie originally) to have Bruce Campbell sign it. And, a few bucks later, dream come true. And, there were quite a few stars available so chances are you will be wanting at least a signature or two. In Austin the gamut of stars ranged from Norman Reedus (Walking Dead and Boondock Saints), the Undertaker, Jason David Frank (Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers), Summer Glau (Firefly, Arrow, the Cape), and Shannen Doherty, Brian Krause, and Holly Marie Combs (Charmed). There were others, but I think everyone who has ever been to a con will get the point. There are celebrities, and they are available. In some cases, if you can catch them moving between parts of the building they will simply sign an autograph if you ask them to. This is how I got Jason David Frank’s autograph. I caught him right after his panel and asked, and he gladly signed the Saba I got when... well, when I was younger. Remember always to ask if you see them. The worst they can say is “no” - however, they might say yes.

You can only wander the vendor area for so long before you’ve seen everything twice. Luckily, there are panel to go to. They range from show reunions to Q&A sessions with your favorite stars, to how-tos that range from cosplay to making a web series, etc. And the panels were great. I enjoyed all the ones I was able to make it to, and the worst thing about them is trying to decided which ones to go to. As much as I enjoyed seeing the stars up close, and hearing their stories as they answered questions, I think my favorite one was the one about cosplay presented by Damian Beurer. He talked about how to get started, what sort of materials to use, everything that goes with cosplay, and was likely one of the nicest guys in the entire convention. He stayed long past the end of the panel to answer specific costume questions from people and offered any suggestions he had. It was a wonderful panel.

Then onto a lesser known property, there was a panel about a web series called The Cat (www.youtube.com/user/TheCatWebseries). The panel was conducted by the primary show runners and stars of the show Daniel Ballard and Johnathan Seaborn, who both work for a PBS station while a show Daniel works on was just nominated for an Emmy. They showed a few episodes of the show, causing a small crowd to laugh like the room was completely full, and answered any and all questions that were asked. But, these weren’t the only offerings for the panels. Jason David Frank does several of them, J. August Richards did one all about his work on S.H.I.E.L.D and answered a question about Grey’s Anatomy (which seemed unexpected, but then I love that show, both shows actually), the Charmed stars did a reunion panel, and if you are an artist or a writer Marvel Comics had a panel where all they did was look at the work brought to them. Really, there is something for everyone, especially if you like costumes.

Comic Cons are also about costumes, from the quickly homemade to the Hollywood quality and the mishmash of characters means there is something for everyone. And, if you see a costume you really like don’t be afraid to ask to take their picture. I didn’t have a single person say no. Most are really happy to let you take their picture as they are happy you like their costume, and many of them put a lot of work into their costumes. And, it shows.

Now, as for my experiences at Wizard World Austin I had a great time, I met some of my favorite stars, got autographs, and bought merchandise I should have left on the table. But, when Neal Adams is there and you can buy a classic Batman print that he will gladly sign, how do you not? At that point, there was no way I could say no. And, if you don’t know who Neal Adams is... look him up, basically as soon as you finish reading this article. I would be willing to bet good money that you have already seen his artwork. It was awesome, almost as awesome as meeting the Bruce and the original Green Power Ranger. Both of whom are really nice guys, and seemed to enjoy being there, though I think Jason David Frank enjoyed being there more than anyone. That is one hyper dude, but he also loves his fans and you can see that in how he interacts with them. One lady asked to see his multitude of tattoos, and he basically pulled his shirt off to go over them in front of the audience. Frankly, I only had one thing that I really was against at the con and that was the food. It was expensive, but it was expected to be as it always is at all cons. But, ultimately that is not a problem. Go to Wizard World Conventions, have fun, and then do it again as soon as you can as every con will be different.

- Kenny Mahan, Contributor

CLICK HERE FOR A WIZARD WORLD AUSTIN COMIC CON PHOTO GALLERY FEATURING TONS OF AWESOME COSPLAY!

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