Special thanx to Victoria for writing a great article. She gives a great perspective from a collector/fan's point of view. She does some great interviews also.
Here is her article on http://comicnews.info/
This year’s show was my seventh year attending the Wizard World Philly convention and it was an amazing experience! Held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, the three day event (June 19th-21st) had more guests than ever before. With a variety in comics, films, television and video games it seemed as if there was something for everyone.
Comic heavy weights such as guest of honor Garth Ennis, DC Comics Dan DiDio and artist Billy Tan were in attendance as well as actors Ray Park, Emma Caulfield, Doug Jones, Ted Raimi and Edward James Olmos. The Autograph alley had a steady flow of traffic on Friday and was nearly impossible to navigate Saturday. This year also marked the first time Wizard combined with the VG Xpo and offered tournaments and other fun activities for gamers. And what would a convention be without cosplayers? Some amazing and talented individuals showcased their best comic themed costumes (my personal favorites were Harley Quinn and Superman).
I attended the convention as Calie Liddle, Zenescope’s main character in their Wonderland series. This was the first time I have worn the outfit to a con since winning the Girl of the Month title back in January and the company loved it. I got to catch up with President and Vice President Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco, writer Raven Gregory, artist Eric Basaldua and colorist Nei Ruffino. A big fan girl moment for me was when I was invited behind their booth to hang out and even got to play with a prototype of a Cheshire Cat plush doll. There was a bit of confusion when fans thought I was one of the official models but many of them were sweet, requested pictures of me and even asked for autographs.
Among my most memorable moments was meeting artist Billy Tucci who upon laying eyes on me said:
“Hey, I drew you!” We had a nice long chat and I got several hugs from him and we exchanged information. Bob Wayne, Vice President of Sales for DC Comics was kind enough to grant me an interview after the DC panel on Saturday and I ran into him several times though out the event. He introduced me to their Vice President, the ever popular Dan DiDio. Meeting Star Trek: The Next Generation actress Marina Sirtus was a childhood dream but I went into overdrive when talking to actor Doug Jones. Pan’s Labyrinth is my favorite movie and Doug and I a wonderful conversation about his career and process with making the film. He was very gracious, kind and gave me the biggest hug and proclaimed:
“Look at you! You’re so adorable I could eat you up!” I made many contacts with artists, writers and actors and you can be sure to expect several upcoming exclusive interviews on ComicNews.Info!
Shopping is always fun at conventions and aside from purchasing comics I also stopped by the Tonner booth where I bought the lovely Poison Ivy doll. My boyfriend then escorted me back and purchased the stunning Harley Quinn doll for me.
I attended three panels; Zenescope’s writer’s panel on Friday featuring Raven Gregory and Ralph Tedesco, DC Nation Saturday afternoon with Dan DiDio, Bob Wayne, Rags Morales, and Shane Davis and Wonderland: the Director’s Cut with Eric Basaldua, Raven Gregory and Nei Ruffino. Saturday night I attended Zenescope’s after party as a VIP and decided to skip the con all together Sunday as I normally do every year (a combination of wanting to spend Father’s Day with my dad and exhaustion). The following day I discovered I am featured on Philly’s local CBS station for my cosplay.
This year was the first time Wizard issued wrist bands instead of badges. My friends and I all purchased three day passes and wondered how we would keep our wrist bands on for the next few days. They decided not to remove theirs while I took a different approach; cutting it off then reassembling it with scotch tape (hey it worked and I didn’t want to risk soiling it in the shower).
Wizard World Philly 2010 will take place June 11th-13th. To see all of my photos from the convention, visit my flickr album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26071005@N00/sets/72157620369420661/
Victoria
http://www.cosplaygirl.webs.com
victoria.comicnewsinfo@yahoo.com
