Jay Snook walked the aisles at this year’s Wizard World, and man did he see some sights.
Well, the Sacramento edition of the Wizard World Comic Convention is over, and it was an event to remember.
I was there for Friday and Saturday, and each day was an entirely different experience. Friday the line was over an hour long, and people couldn’t wait to get inside and see all that the event had to offer. There were booths selling comics, toys, movies, stuffed animals, jewelry, autographed photos and different kinds of memorabilia.
Many people were in costume, and each person put a lot of work into what they were wearing. There were people dressed like Dark Helmet, Predators, The Green Power Ranger, The Joker, Harley Quinn, The Dread Pirate Roberts, Batman, Star Trek crew members, Thor, The Rocketeer and Bane just to name a few.
I had a chance to take photos with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, both of whom were in the film The Karate Kid. They signed the photo I took with them and chatted with me a bit. I also took a photo with Jason David Frank who was the green and white ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and he was wonderful. He signed the photo I took with him, too, and I could tell he loved being at this comic convention. He did all he could to excite the crowd and make sure it was a memorable experience.
I also met James Hong, who was Mr. Ping in Kung Fu Panda, and he was very kind. He signed a photo of him as Mr. Ping, and he wrote “eat noodles” on it. I also took a photo with William Shatner, who was Captain Kirk from Star Trek. He was kind of quiet, but it was nice to have a chance to meet such a film and television legend. I also got to get a photo with Billy Dee Williams who was Lando Calrissian in Star Wars:The Empire Strikes back and in Return of the Jedi. It was cool to get a chance to meet him; yet again he seemed a bit quiet and didn’t talk much.
Saturday was much better. The place was packed from the moment the doors opened. There were many more people in costume, and there was bigger talent there too. That was the day the con hosted three people from the show The Walking Dead, and they had more Q and A sessions too. Sadly Stan Lee was sick and didn’t show up that day, but I heard he was there on Sunday. I took more photos of people in costume, like the last Airbender, Ghostbusters, different types of Jokers, many kinds of Harley Quinn’s, many varieties of Batman, and a number of versions of Deadpool.
There were bigger lines to get autographs, and the lines for photo opportunities were also very crazy. Even the lines for many of the Q and A events were rather long. The one for William Shatner began to form around 3pm that day. I went to the Q and A for Jason David Frank, and it was an absolute blast. He was very kind and courteous to all of his fans, and seemed to enjoy answering all of their questions.
It was a day of walking around and seeing all that the place had to offer. I even had a chance towards the end to say hi to Lou Ferrigno, and fist bump with him, which was very cool. The day flew by very quickly, and ended with the costume contest at 7pm.
It may be over, but there is good news: Wizard World is coming back next year. The date is already set, and tickets are already available to buy online. The dates will be June 19-21, 2015. With how much fun this year was, it may be a good idea to get your tickets sooner rather than later. Check it out, and bring family with you. You won’t regret it.
Click on the photos below to see full images:
—photos courtesy of the author