WIZARD WORLD PHILADELPHIA: Day One
IT HAS BEGUN.
Starting 5pm on Thursday, Wizard World Philadelphia opened its doors to the general public. As is standard for an opening night, the crowd was not too bad. Once the gates were opened, and the flood of nerds & geeks gushed forth, there was still plenty of space to be found to walk, to wander, to ruminate, to take pictures of people in costumes:
There were many booths and tables yet unfilled, and pretty much NONE of the celebrity guests had arrived yet (though I did spy the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, WITH the Million Dollar Belt!), so I don’t think it could be fair to say the con was in anywhere near full swing yet. But that said, the selection of booths seems to be fairly varied, if in line with the general Wizard World mode of earlier years: lots of vendors and merchandise booths, with a few specialty stores/services, and a whole section of artists.
New this year (at least to me) was the row of tables for cosplay societies, such as the Philadelphia Ghostbusters (who I will have an interview with in the next couple days), Browncoats, Jedis, general cosplay enthusiasts, and LARPing. It’s a neat addition, I feel, and one which goes well with some of the more specialized merch booths, such as Red Falcon Armouries (whom I would gladly buy out of all of their wares!)
There’s an inordinately high volume of zombie-related booths as well, which I suppose is to be expected, what with the popularity of zombies in all things ever. Just a short rundown: Zombie Caricatures, Simply Zombie, For Zombies, Z-Shirtz, Zombie Survival Crew, and a myriad of others. They all seemed different though, so different needs are being met.
So here’s the thing: I’ll be interviewing a number of people at the con over the next couple days, some artists and designers and comic publishers, and I’ll definitely be attending the “Batman & Psychology” panel, so there will be a report on that. In general, I will be YOUR eyes and ears (not nose though, ew) at the con. SO: sit back, relax, grab an energy drink, and prepare yourself.
Because COMIC CON has come to Philadelphia.
