FilmFad.com is back home and unpacking our artful mementos and awesome memories from the Wizard World Comic Con Richmond 2015 .
That’s right! From July 31st through August 2nd, the Greater Richmond Convention Center was alive with a celebration of pop culture, music, art, science fiction, comics and hordes of gloriously diverse cosplayers.
Despite the cancellations of a few high profile celebrity guests due to filming and personal reasons, such as Sean Astin (“Lord of the Rings”), Billy Dee Williams (“Star Wars”), and Taryn Manning (“Orange is the New Black”), the sometimes seemingly unending cues of adoring fans spilled into the neighboring lanes of the attending celebs. One in particular being Jason David Frank, a Wizard World staple and definite fan favorite, with his army of deputy rangers who join in on his adulation inducing and interactive crowd riling antics.
JDF also brought a unique new element to Richmond this year with his exclusive Karate Training session that was held the last day of the event. With a growing base of general pop-culture fans, coupled with the more comic-oriented fans, unique panels/seminars such as JDF’s allow for a more diverse and interactive experience. It’s also GREAT for the young superheroes (and villains I suppose) who are trying to brush up on their martial arts skills.
Celebrity guests included the aforementioned iconic Power Ranger Jason David Frank, John Schneider (“Dukes of Hazzard”), J. August Richards (“Marvel: Agents of Shield”), William Shatner (“Star Trek”), Kristen Bauer (“True Blood”), Linda Blair “The Exorcist”) and many more.
FilmFad.com had the pleasure of personally chatting with John Schneider (“Dukes of Hazard”) and Linda Blair (“The Exorcist”). You can find John Schneider’s interview here and Linda Blair’s interview here
The celebrity didn’t stop with those special guests, as the artist alley featured a few prominent artists from major comic books and animated television series. One notable artist being Sam Ellis, lead character designer & artist of “Archer” on FX and other notable projects. Like many of the other artists, Ellis is not only gifted with the pen, but also an all-around interesting guy with a humor filled personality to match.
Aside from people, there were also places… yes places. One zombie shooting range in particular. This unique feature filled the front right corner of the convention center echoing with the sounds of assault rifles cutting down undead combatants.
No convention is complete without a slew of panels ranging from DIY to Q&A to Kicking A$$ and Wizard World Richmond had a taste of each. A notable panel contained a certain Billie Piper of the “Dr. Who” juggernaut which ran from a VIP meet and greet to a ‘Fan’-tasticly informative Q&A.
The convention didn’t end on the floor, as the celebration continued into the night with sponsored off-site events. On Friday night, FilmFad attended Wizard World’s Drink & Draw at the Taphouse Southern Railway in the rustic heart of the city. There, all attendees were tasked with creating a story or drawing, based on a specific set of criteria, all while imbibing on their beverage of choice. The inebriated arts were then judged by the Artist Alley themselves, with various prizes awarded for each category.
The crown jewel of the convention had to be the epic 100 person cosplay contest. The panel of three judges had their work cutout for them as the fun-loving and quirky hosts ushered on an unending cue of costumed players.
The convention was capped off with an un-expected and shin-dig at the Capital Ale House equipped with a live DJ bringing the bass with an extensive menu of frothy beverages to taste. Although not a typical comic con environment, this after party event added yet another dimension to the already multi-faceted convention.
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Awesome write-up!