Day 1: Thursday, June 19th
It was just Jaime and I on the first day. As usual, the first day of Comic Con was spent checking out the layout of the convention, primarily the showroom floor, in order for a smoother wandering experience for the rest of the weekend. The first day crowds are generally composed of the “hardcore Con goers”, “the first timers”, or “those that don’t like big crowds”. Many booths were already fully setup and ready for the people. Hitting up the Vendors’ booths is always a must when attending any Con, but what we love checking out every year is Artist Alley. This year, like other years before, there were many talented artists who wanted to share their passion with the masses.
One of the many artists we met at Philly Comic Con was Bianca Roman-Stumpff. Her art is freaking awesome! From Prints to Wood Cuts and everything else she brought with her that we were able to see, it was all so good. Our only complaint was that we did not bring enough money with us because we would have bought everything. She was super nice to begin with, but she was even nicer by showing us the book she was working on. She took the time to tell us the stories that were going with the images. Definitely need to get one. Look for her on Facebook: THE ART OF BIANCA ROMAN-STUMPFF.
During our continued walk through Artist Alley, we stopped by and talked to the guys from FarCorners Studios. They were at Philly Comic Con to get the word out on their self-published title Team Genesis. They were very welcoming and happy to discuss their project. I received a copy of issue number one for review and I can tell you that I am hopeful for big things from this talented group. Talking with the, you can tell that they love what they do and we wish them all the best. Honestly, I wish I had done an interview with them. I enjoy talking to people who have a passion for what they do. Maybe next time. Check them out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
After some more wandering around the showroom floor, walking past The Purge: Anarchy Experience trailers, the Norton Anti-Virus X-Men: Days Of Future Past Tent, and the other numerous booths, it was time to head home. We had no choice. It was closing time. Day 1 was officially over and we were now prepared for the rest of the weekend.
Day 2: Friday, June 20th
This day, Jaime and I were joined by Kelsey. After we picked up the first of Kelsey’s three Passes due to all the 4-Day Passes being sold out the couple weeks leading up to Philly Comic Con (“Curse you, Matt Smith~!!!” – Kelsey), we hit the showroom floor. Our previous day of “wandering planning” went out the window as we decided to just wing it and hit up all the booths that made us stop and go “Oooooh”. This led to many a sweet find of Prints, Shirts, and other merchandise that we had to have (Preeeeeciooooous!). There were many more people walking around the showroom floor, lining up for panels, photo ops, and autographs. Many famous people were starting to show up for the weekend, with one of the biggest that day being the Eleventh Doctor himself, Matt Smith. Many a Doctor Who fan, both in and out of costume, lined up to meet The Doctor. Just one of the many joys brought to the fans by Wizard World. After what seemed like endless wandering through booths (This is a good thing! Lots to see!), we headed home because it was last call (Seriously, we always stay until everything is over.).
Day 3: Saturday, June 21st
On this day, Jaime and Kelsey hit the Con before I did and spent more time enjoying it, so I’m going to turn it over to Jaime for the recap.
Jaime:
We attended several panels in the Grand Ballroom throughout Saturday afternoon. We first saw Sean Astin’s panel. The audience asked questions about Goonies and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. A question about Sean Astin’s radio show,Vox Populi, was also brought up and he replied very passionately about his desire for the American public to be informed about government. He seems very dedicated to that cause. He also gave advice about running KickStarter projects since Vox Populi is supported by the public. During his panel, Sean Astin was charming and answered all of the questions very sincerely. I realized during the panel just how perfectly he fit the character of Samwise Gamgee.
The second panel we attended was A Drink with Guinan. Whoopi Goldberg has never attended a Wizard World Convention before the Philadelphia show. The room was packed to hear her talk about her time on the Enterprise and other various projects. She answered a lot of the audience’s questions in a pretty efficient way. She led most of the discussion and it really showed how comfortable she is as a host. Her answers were insightful and hilarious. I did not think I would enjoy this panel, but I ended up listening intently and laughing during a large portion of it. She mentioned that she has always loved comics and never felt that she could fully relate to the female superheroes. She told the audience to look forward to a comic book within the next year about a heroine that is an older woman. She commented that older women are tougher, have more life experience, and “Don’t have time to mess around” with villains. She’s looking for an artist to draw her comic and hopes to bring it out for everyone to read.
David Boreanaz was the guest of the next panel in the Grand ballroom. He’s a Philly boy through and through. It was amusing that every so often he’d talk in his Philly accent. The audience’s questions seemed to be about Bones (his current show) or Buffy/Angel. I’m glad that it was a good mixture of both. He was asked if he was ever grossed out by the body props on the set of Bones. He answered that he was usually the one throwing bits of the blood/flesh goo at his co-stars. So no, he’s desensitized. He teased his host and he teased the audience. He told stories about his time on Buffy. His main objective on that show was to stand around, brood, and “look good in his coat.” He didn’t refuse to answer any questions. He even admitted that while he was working on the Dido video for White Flag that he didn’t know he was in the same room as the singer and ended up asking her for her name. He told many embarrassing stories about his acting career and time on sets, but I think this only added to his likeability and personal character. Plus, he looked good in that shirt.
The final panel we attended on Saturday was the Firefly panel. Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion were in attendance this year. This was definitely one of my favorite panels. They were so comfortable with each other and it really showed. Every person that asked a question received a present from Alan (something special like a mug, a painting from his sister…or his pack of Dentene Ice) and a card from Nathan that certified that the cardholder had met with him. His cards even had a “How’d I do?” section. The answers ranged from “Charges Pending” to “I called him Captain and it was good.” Some questions were answered with one word and others were answered with more elaboration. An audience member even asked him about his cameo in Guardians Of The Galaxy. Nathan replied that he knew the audience was trying to trick him into saying something off limits. He said that if the audience was going into Guardians thinking that they would see his face, they may feel stupid after the movie was over. It was a thoroughly entertaining panel. Alan Tudyk even answered questions in the voice he used for The Duke of Weselton (Frozen). I think I can speak for all of the audience when I say that the Firefly panel needed to be longer than 45 minutes.
Dan:
Wish I had attended those Panels, but I’ll catch more Panel awesomeness next year. There were so many people lined up at various booths in order to meet their favorite actors. Some of the actors who made it to the Con were: Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Jason David Frank (Power Rangers), Ralph Macchio & Martin Kove (The Karate Kid), Brian Tochi (Police Academy), Curtis Armstrong (Revenge Of The Nerds), Daniel Cudmore (X-Men: Days Of Future Past), Evan Peters (X-Men: Days Of Future Past), Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future), Rob Paulsen (voice actor, TMNT), a few from The Walking Dead (Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Norman Reedus), Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly), Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Tucker And Dale Versus Evil), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Guardians Of The Galaxy), and Matt Smith (Doctor Who), just to name a few. Once I caught up with Jaime and Kelsey, we wandered the floor, checking out all the goodies until closing time. We even stopped by Red Rocket Farm and saw our friend, Jason. (He’s awesome. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.) Hitting the Vendors’ booths once again, I was also able to pick up a couple gifts for some friends. Thank you, awesome Vendors.
Day 4: Sunday, June 22nd
On this final day of Philly Comic Con, I was joined by Kelsey. This was the last day, so anything that needed to be seen or done had to be achieved. We hit every booth possible to insure that we had missed nothing. As we were walking through the Sunday masses, we saw some pretty impressive Cosplayers. Some were dressed as fan-favorite characters, while others went for their own personal obscure favorites or mash-ups (talking about you “Dr. Horrible-Wolverine w/ Sonic Screwdriver Claws and Tricorder Gloves?”). We saw a pretty impressive Doc Ock, circa Spider-Man 2?
Like I said before, this was the day to make sure that we saw everything that we had not seen yet. Personally, I enjoy seeing if any of my favorite Classic Cars are on display. This year, there were some impressive ones. Now, you can’t have a Comic Con without an Adam West/Batman era Batmobile. A definite fan-favorite, of course. The DeLorean from Back To The Future, presented by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, was on hand for both the joy of the fans and for a good cause. Dale Earnhardt’s Intimidator was there for fans of #3. The classic that is the General Lee (Dukes Of Hazzard) turned quite a few heads of Classic Car buffs. Finally, the one car that made quite the impression this year was K.I.T.T. (Knight Rider). Now, this was not just any K.I.T.T.. Oh, no. This was a talking, voice-activated, functioning Knight Industries Two Thousand (for those of you who didn’t know what K.I.T.T. stood for). This was a functioning replica made with love and attention to detail. According to the owner, this K.I.T.T. could respond to over 80 commands/phrases by either performing said command or answering said phrase/question, put out fires with a CO2 blaster in the front, a rear projectile launcher in the back, and had the signature Red Lights upfront (rumor has it that K.I.T.T. maybe a Cylon). Did I mention that it could talk? The owner plans on adding more to K.I.T.T.. I, for one, cannot wait to see the next upgrades.
We continued our walk through the showroom floor, trying to take in as much as we could on our final day at Philly Comic Con. There were some Promotional booths for radio stations, television stations, and films. We stopped by The Expendables 3 booth and each received a free poster. Once again, we hit the awesome that is Artist Alley. I was able to get an autograph (he signed a comic that I had purchased at the Con) and a picture with Greg Capullo, the kickass artist currently drawing Batman. Don’t let his badass skills scare you. He was one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. All he had on his table were some Markers and a name card. Like he says on his Twitter, he was there for you, the fans. Badass.
As we continued our walk through Artist Alley, we came across Sam Ellis. If you’re a fan of Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors, and/or Archer, then you know who this man is. He had some sweet Prints available, but I was lucky and was able to get a one-of-a-kind sketch for Jaime. Thank you, Sam Ellis! We continued our wandering until the end. Once it was closing time, we said farewell to another Philly Comic Con and all the fun memories that it created. Good times, people. Good times.
Final Thoughts:
This year was a bit mixed, with the majority being on the positive side. Wizard World did another solid job of bringing together the good stuff that fans always look forward to seeing every year. The volunteers that we interacted with were nice, helpful, and did their jobs well. The layout of the showroom floor made it easy to see what we wanted to see. The availability of a dedicated Food Court/Sitting Area this year was a nice touch. All in all, Wizard World did a fine job. My only real issue was with the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Only a couple staff members were courteous and did their jobs professionally. The others that I came across, not so much. Plus, I fault them for the awkward setup and layout, the lack of crowd/line control equipment (line dividers), and the observed overall confusion that was felt by the Con goers.
Considering the fact that I see Cons as either “Pass Or Fail” when it comes to attending, Wizard World gets a “Pass” and is definitely worth attending year after year. However, the Pennsylvania Convention Center dropped the ball this year. Hopefully, they get their act together. Overall, our experience at the 2014 Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con was all fun times. If you’re in the area and have not yet attended, I recommend it. Looking forward to attending again next year!