SIDEWALKS host Richard R. Lee reviews his first experience at WIZARD WORLD SACRAMENTO.
I have been to several comic conventions, like WonderCon, Big Wow and Star Trek, over the years. These conventions, like Wizard World, is the place to see celebrities, a huge selection of collectibles, meet some creative artists, and, of course, people watching who are dressed as their favorite comic and TV/movie characters. Videographer Rebeca Zuniga and I went to Wizard World’s annual event in Sacramento. I felt this show, held in the capital city of California on June 19th -21st, had a different vibe than previous shows. It was definitely smaller in scale, but, surprisingly, with major star power.
One of the main attractions at these conventions are the celebrity guests from the TV and film worlds. This year’s Wizard World had a nice lineup of high-profiled guests: Billie Piper (“Doctor Who,” “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead,” “Boondock Saints I & II”), Danny Trejo (“Machete,” “From Dusk Till Dawn”), Malcolm McDowell (“A Clockwork Orange”), Katie Cassidy (“Arrow,” “Gossip Girl”), Alfonso Ribeiro (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Dancing with The Stars,” new host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos”), Henry Winkler (“Happy Days,” “Arrested Development”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad,” “Revolution”), Sean Patrick Flanery (“Boondock Saints I & II,” “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”), and “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers’ Jason David Frank and David Yost were just some of the names greeting fans.
Wizard World was located at the multi-leveled Sacramento Convention Center. There was a huge main room that was called the Exhibit Hall, where numerous dealers are selling toys, books, posters, and t-shirts. In this space, there are also regional artists, who are showcasing and selling their works. The exhibitors in this hall were comparable to the other conventions. At the end of the hall, there was the meet-and-greet section for the celebrity guests. A nice touch was that each celebrity had their own square-sized section to sign autographs and take pictures, unlike other conventions using the same space for every celebrity. There were lines, especially for Reedus, Piper and Adrian Paul (“Highlander”), but it didn’t felt too long. Upstairs were several rooms for panel discussions with selected celebrities, exclusive film screenings, and tabletop and video gaming. Across to another building was the Sacramento Community Theater, a larger venue with 2,398-seats that is the home to the California Musical Theatre’s Broadway Sacramento series of shows. Bigger names stars such as Piper, Cassidy, Trejo, and McDowell were there for their panel discussions.
On Saturday afternoon, I felt there were not as many cosplayers — fans dressed up in costumes — but the folks who did in Sac came to their show in high-quality fashion. Superheroes and villains are the usual choice for most attendees, but I liked the one costume (not sure of what) that was at least 12 feet tall. I am assuming he was walking on stilts, but he walked pretty quickly and smoothly. When we were taking pictures of “it,” he tried to sit down on a garbage bin and almost fell over. It was a sight to see. Another cosplayer looked, sounded and acted like actor David Tennant playing the 10th Doctor on “Doctor Who.” It was eerie to hear him talk in a British accent and move like Tennant. Another one was a guy dressed like a Cylon (with working and moving red eye) from the classic “Battlestar Galactica” series, a personal favorite TV show of mine.
One of the things I noticed is that none of the film/TV celebrities had their own booth/table on the main exhibit floor. Usually, some of the actors sit at their table, talk to their fans, and offer a chance to purchase an image of them … for free. At this Wizard World show, you had to buy a ticket ahead of time to get up-close for the meet-and-greet portion. From what I can tell, you couldn’t go up to to most and simply say “hi.” [Update 6/23/15- I talked to some other visitors on Sunday, and they mentioned that certain celebrities didn’t have problems with fans coming up to their enclosed booth to say something. The bigger names were most restrictive, especially the ones who were on the main lineup board (see photo).]
On the media side, it was a little difficult in acquiring interviews or shooting simple b-roll (video of them sitting at their tables). I was told the celebrities’ management / reps were very restrictive on this matter, but I must say the promotional staff at Wizard World were very helpful in trying to accommodate the press in getting some (I was really appreciative of Abby, one the Wizard staff members, who went out of her way to get some visual material for us). Even though we only have a small amount of celebrity interviews to come back with, the Wizard staff, including the volunteers, were very friendly and easy to work with. It is hard to be disappointed at the outcome, when the Wizard people are cool.
Similar to the larger San Diego Comic Con / Anaheim WonderCon conventions, the Wizard World presentation is growing each year. According to an article on Wikipedia, Wizard Entertainment purchased the Chicago Comicon, which was later renamed Wizard World Chicago. Since then after purchasing other regional convention companies (Big Apple Convention & Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon), Wizard World now produces a North American Comic Con tour, which includes cities like Toronto, Anaheim, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York City, Austin, and Boston. In 2013, Wizard announces newly added city locations, including Louisville, Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Antonio, Richmond, Tulsa, and Sacramento.
The visitors we talked to were really enjoying their experience. For anyone interested in experiencing a comic and pop culture convention, Wizard World is a good choice. The show returns to Sacramento on June 17-19, 2016, but there are other places around the country throughout 2015.
To see the latest photos and videos of the event, check out Special Feature: Wizard World (Photos & Videos) page.
(Originally this page was both a review and special feature. We have moved the photos and videos to its own page. )