Firefly Cast, Stan Lee & John Cena Headline Wizard World Philadelphia

“Castle” Star Nathan Fillion, fellow “Serenity” and Firefly headliner Summer Glau, Eisner Award Hall of Famer Stan Lee and WWE® Superstars John Cena® and Daniel Bryan® are at the top of a standout roster of celebrity guests scheduled to appear at Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, May 30 – June 2 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  It is the third in the 2013 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. and will also feature a top-drawer collection of well-known artists and writers and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions. 

Celebs Line Up for Philly Wizard World

More than 50 celebrities, representing many of the most iconic and popular movies, television programs and entertainment outlets, are scheduled to attend next weekend's Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, June 17-19 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Among the leading stars to appear are Bruce Campbell, Adam Baldwin, Bill Goldberg, Pam Grier, Vivica A. Fox, Julie Benz and Billy Dee Williams.

Some of the most prominent franchises in movie and television history are well-represented among the wide variety of guests, including STAR WARS, SUPERMAN, SAW, “Batman,” “Desperate Housewives,” TERMINATOR, “The Incredible Hulk,” “Spider-Man,” “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer,” “The Walking Dead,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Baywatch” and “Jackass.”

Campbell (“Burn Notice,” ARMY OF DARKNESS) was a huge hit at last year's event, and will be appearing only on Saturday, June 18. Grier (“Smallville,” “The L Word”), Fox (KILL BILL VOL. 1 and VOL. 2, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Benz (“Buffy: The Vampire Slayer,” “Desperate Housewives”), and Williams (STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BATMAN) have also been popular guests at Wizard World events. Baldwin (FULL METAL JACKET, SERENITY) and Goldberg (WWE wrestler, THE LONGEST YARD) will be making their first appearances.

“Response to this year's celebrities has been massive,” said Gareb Shamus, Wizard World CEO. “Philadelphia Comic Con is bringing its most robust and diverse guest list ever. Fans are psyched, and they have let us know.”

Other featured Philadelphia Comic Con celebrity guests include Michael Biehn (TERMINATOR, ALIENS), Grammy Award winner Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels (Run-D.M.C), Alaina Huffman (“Smallville,” “SGU Stargate Universe”), Julia Benson (“SGU Stargate Universe, ROAD TO VICTORY), Adam West (“Batman,” “The Family Guy”), Burt Ward (“Batman”), John Schneider (“Smallville,” “Dukes of Hazzard”), Richard Roundtree (SHAFT, “Heroes), Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”), Margot Kidder (SUPERMAN, “Smallville”) and Peter Mayhew (STAR WARS). BOONDOCK SAINTS co-stars Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery will also reunite at the event.

In addition to Goldberg, stars of wrestling scheduled to attend include Tony Atlas, Maria Kanellis, Dawn Marie, Virgil, Nikolai Volkoff, Ryan Shamrock, Torrie Wilson, Brimstone and Candice Michelle.

Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con will bring together thousands of fans of all ages and dozens of celebrities and industry professionals to celebrate the best in pop culture, movies, comics, toys, video gaming, television, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more.

Children and adult attendees are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite villain, superhero or pop culture personality for the chance to win special prizes in costume contests. Event-goers may also try their hand interactive product exhibits and shop for collectible comics, movie and television memorabilia, toys and games at more than 200 dealer booths.

Philadelphia Comic Con is the sixth stop on Wizard World's 2011 North American tour. Hours are Friday, June 17, noon - 8 p.m., Saturday, June 18, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 19, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets are available in advance online at http://www.wizardworld.com/philadelphia.html at a savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are priced at $25 ($35 on site); three-day weekend tickets are $45 ($55 on site), and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available on a limited basis.

2010 Wizard World Philly Wrap Up

With the Mucus Tick madness enveloping my life alongside 4 other projects, I bet you thought I forgot about our Wizard World Philly coverage? NEVERRR!! This years show went by like the wait for Iron Man 2. There's a level of anticipation leading up to it and then..poof..its done. I picked a Saturday visit this time around, learning my lesson from a depressingly vacant show last year when we hit it on a Friday. Half the guests hadn't even shown up yet when we walked those isles! Unfortunately, they pulled a switch on me this year and programmed toy events for Friday!! Going Saturday meant none of that was there and I'd even missed the one figure left behind by our buds at Mattel. FAIL. Ah well. At least Shocker Toys showed up with plasticy goodness for me to drool over and the promise of a Barry Tick action figure to come. Regardless, we had a hall filled to the brim with people in costume (for better or for worse), famed comic artists selling prints and sketching away, miles of comic long boxes, giant walls of action figures and celebs signing autographs every 10 feet. The dealers have adopted Mattel as their star player this year and filled their booths with Justice League Unlimited single, tripple and 6 packs as well as DC Universe Classics both on card and loose. Every booth seemed to also carry at least 3 Masters of the Universe Classics figures. There were a few Marvel Universe figures scattered here and there, but they were the newest waves only and the stray SDCC exclusive left over. It's clear who the scalpers are watching.


























My mission at these shows, beyond taking lots of pictures, is to fill holes in my collections and score a new print or two from my favorite comic artists. I came up empty in my search for a JLU Silver Banshee or Deadman 6 packs and wasn't happy with the He-Man prices, so I scored an Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies cover artist) print of a little boy Wolverine, post dirty deed and resigned to watch Lori stalk the comic dealers for her prey. I'm forced to watch this from a distance as Lori gets INTENSE when she's on the hunt, so we stay clear of her tribal ways and cheered as she returned with a killer deal on X-Men #4!! The score was so impressive, we caught the attention of the amazing artist Greg Horn who compared shopping lists with our girl; his taped into a Disney Princess notebook while Lori's charted with meticulous care including pie charts and price fluctuation graphs. I told you she's intense.

























We decided to head out in search of lunch when Cherie, who is whiter than hospital sheets, was mistaken for a vampire and attacked by dual Blades. She is well versed in drunken Kung Fu, so she dispatched the Wesley Snipes stunt doubles with relative ease. Word of her beat down spread quickly and as we made a B line for Quick Check, our path was barred by War Machine and Black Widow who, in a show of Marvel Solidarity, shot Cherie and Lori dead. Though slightly deterred by gaping bullet holes, we still managed to grab sandwiches and the ladies ate well as they bled to death. You can't keep a good geek down, and our ladies were back on the floor within a half hour, now disembodied but looking for more fun among the costumed comic fans. We made the mistake of swinging by the Philly Ghostbusters table, not even thinking that they might be startled by the drippy ectoplasm Lori and Cherie were trailing behind them. Lori faked out the troop by flashing her X-Men #4 and high tailing it for the Bruce Campbell signing line, but even Cherie's ghostly long legs couldn't earn her a pass. The Philly GB let loose with their proton packs and within minutes, she was sucked up in a trap and shoved into a duffel bag with 25 cent copies of Heroes Reborn and a jumbo bag of peanut MnM's.






















We are still negotiating her release.




























Thanks to Lori and Cherie for hijinks with costumed peoples and dying with dignity. Special thanks to Eileen Cleary for additional photography. Biggest thanks to the Wizard World staff for access and an extremely fun day, even with the homicide.