It’s that time of year again! Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest returns December 4th-6th at University of Phoenix Stadium. And only in its second year, their impressive guest list is grabbing some attention. Keep in mind more guests may be announced, so keep checking back with us when more announcements are made.
Legendary animator Tom Cook will be joining us at Fan Fest this year! Cook has been working in the animation field since 1978 with Hanna-Barbera as an assistant on such classic shows as: “Challenge of the Super Friends”, “Scooby Doo”, “Pac-Man”. In the 80’s, Cook moved over to Filmation Studios. His career took off from there; he began to work on such memorable cartoons as “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”, “Ghostbusters”, “She-Ra Princess of Power”, and many more. Cook took on many hats when working with animation companies, from creating memorable characters to even directing some shows; Cook has been a household name for years. Not just working on TV shows, Cook has also worked on commercials and films. His film portfolio is more than impressive, having worked on such classics as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Thumbelina”, “Disney’s Prince and the Pauper”, and “Rover Dangerfield”. Needless to say Tom Cook is a great guest to add to the lineup, and we are more than excited to have him attending.
Actor Graham McTavish will be in attendance, bringing a strong portfolio in film, television, and video games. Probably best known for his role in “The Hobbit” as Dwalin, McTavish has a long and impressive career. Currently on the popular show “Outlander” as Dougal Mackenzie, others who listen close enough might be able to hear his voice in video games and cartoons. Known for being in such games as “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” as Zoran Lazarevic, which he also did body motion capture for. Besides that, he was the voice of Dante in “Dante’s Inferno”, Joseph Bertrand III in “Infamous 2”, Thundercracker in “Transformers: War for Cybertron”, and Charlie Cutter in “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception”. He has also worked with Marvel, voicing Thor villain Loki in “Hulk Vs Thor” and “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”. Make sure not to miss the opportunity to see Graham McTavish live at Fan Fest, where, he will be making his appearance at several panels.
Most known for her portrayal of Amy Pond in “Doctor Who”, Karen Gillan will be joining us at Fan Fest! Moving from television to the big screen, Gillian’s made a big name for herself in pop culture. After 3 seasons of portraying the quirky companion Amy Pond on “Doctor Who”, Gillan made herself a house hold name. In 2014, Gillan stared as Kaylie Russell in the horror film “Oculus” where she played a woman haunted by her past and evil beings coming out from an old antique mirror that was passed down to her. Later on in 2014 Gillan found herself in the Marvel blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy” playing Gamora’s evil sister and assassin Nebula. Gillan is also set to star as Nebula in the sequel in 2017 as well. Gillan also starred in her first American television series “Selfie” that premiered on ABC, in which she played a woman obsessed with gaining fame from social media. Her next projects include the film “In a Valley of Violence” which is set to be in theaters in 2016, and mini-series, “The Devil you Know”. Make sure to not miss this chance to meet Karen Gillan!
Welcome Sean Maher, or best known as Doctor Simon Tam in “Serenity”. Maher is a graduate of the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and lived in New York most of his life before leaving home for Los Angeles to star in the title role for Fox’s drama “Ryan Caufield: Year One”. After the cancellation of Year One, Maher went on to be in “Party of Five” and “The $treet”. Along with being a skilled actor, Maher is also an advocate for the LGBT community, having used his role on the show “The Playboy Club” to use as a platform and to come out. Recently, Maher has been on HBO’s “Looking” and the CW’s “Arrow”. He also has done some voice acting work, voicing Nightwing in in the DC Universe animated features.
Julian Richings, best known for his work as Death in “Supernatural” and Benjamin in “Orphan Black” will be joining the prestigious guest list for Fan Fest. Along with these roles, Richings was the security guard in Stephen King’s “Kingdom Hospital” and the hooded leader in “Todd and the Book of Pure Evil”. Along with television, Richings has done feature films as well, having an impressive portfolio including: “Man of Steel”, “X-Men 3”, “Cube”, “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”, and “Survival of the Dead”.
Best known for her role in the “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood” as Gwen Cooper, Eve Myles will be joining us this year at Fan Fest. Along with playing Gwen, Myles has an impressive portfolio under her belt. Classically trained at the Welsch College of Music and Drama, Myles began her career on the stage, including such Shakespearean titles as “Henry IV” parts one and two and “Taming of the Shrew”. Myles also has appeared in several other television series such as: “Broadchurch”, “Baker Boys”, “Merlin”, “Doctor Who”, “Pleasure Beach”, and many more. In 2007, Myles won Best Actress BAFTA for Gwen Cooper, and was nominated for The National Television Award for the same role.
Kevin Sorbo will be joining us for Fan Fest, best known for his role as Hercules. Sorbo first gained household recognition as Hercules through a series of television movies, before gaining his own series playing the same character. Along with the Hercules series, he guest starred on “Xena: Warrior Princess” as well as providing the voice of Hercules in many animated features. Sorbo even has some video game voice acting work under his belt. He was a fan favorite in “God of War III” playing the demi-god Hercules and also did voice work in “Mortal Kombat 4”. Sorbo has also appeared in the sci-fi show “Andromeda” and made appearances on “Two and a Half Men” and “The O.C”.
Welcome Alaina Huffman to Fan Fest! Huffman is known for her work in many sci-fi television shows. She played superhero Black Canary in “Smallville”. Best known for her work on “Stargate Universe” as 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen, she was a regular cast member and a fan favorite. Huffman has also started in the Canadian series “Painkiller Jane” as Maureen Bowers and made appearances on “Supernatural” as Abaddon.
Melendy Britt is best known for her phenomenal work for Filmation. Britt was the voice of the Princess of Power She-Ra and also played the second animated Batgirl. Besides her work in voice acting, she also appeared in the well-known sitcom “Cheers” as Kelly Gaines’ mother Roxanne Gaines’. More of her recent voice acting work was in the much-loved animated series “Avatar the Last Airbender” as Gran Gran.
Welcome actor Dirk Benedict to Fan Fest 2015! Benedict is best known for his role in “The A-Team” as The Face, and as Starbuck in “Battlestar Galactica” (1978). Benedict is a cancer survivor, but, that never kept him down for his passion of acting. After his recovery, Benedict got back to work, and nabbed up the role on the classic sci-fi series “Battlestar Galactica” that helped cement him into pop culture history.
Comic artist and writer Aaron Lopresti is set to come join us at Fan Fest! He has worked in the comic industry for more than 20 years. Lopresti has given us some well-known titles like: “Planet Hulk”, “Wonder Woman”, “Ms. Marvel”, “JLI”, “Detective Comics”, and many more! Currently Lopresti is working for his own mini series, “Power Cubed” for Darkhorse Comics. He has also been working on comic “Metamorpho” for DC Comics which is set to début in 2016. Make sure to stop by and check out his amazing work!
Writer and artist Don Rosa has been in the industry since the 60s, and is best known for writing and drawing popular Disney characters, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge in 1987. Thanks to the popular success and love of both characters, Rosa has been a prominent figure in comics. Rosa even won the coveted Eisner Award for comics with his series “Life and Times of Scrooge of McDuck”. His comics continue to be some of the best-selling series in Europe and South America. Come check him out while you are at the con.
Actor Gareth David-Lloyd best known for his role in the series “Torchwood” Ianto Jones, will be joining us at Fan Fest this year. After “Torchwood” finished filming, Gareth has starred in several other television series and films: “A Very British Cover-up”, “Girl Number Nine”, “Red Faction: Origins”, “Warehouse 13”, “Holby City”, and “Waterloo Road”.He just finished up making his own independent film “I am Alone.”
Artist for IDW Publishing, Livio Ramondelli is a comic artist attending Fan Fest this year! Working on such popular series as: “Transformers:Autocracy”, “Monstrosity”, “Primacy”, and “Combiner Wars”. He has also worked on “Battlestar Galactica” for Dynamite comics, “Star Wars” for Dark Horse Comics, and “DC Universe Online” for Sony and DC comics.
Tim Seeley is a comic writer and artist who will be attending Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest. Seeley has drawn for comic series: “G.I. Joe”, “Halloween”, “Wildcats”, and “Exsanguine”. Not a one trick pony, Seeley has written for comics as well. His writing talent includes: “Hack/Slash”, “Grayson”, “Batman Eternal”, and “Revival”. Seeley works at Four Star Studios in Chicago Illinois. Make sure to come check him out!
Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest will be December 4th through the 6th in Glendale Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Full event passes will be $30 until the day of the event where they will be $35. Friday is $10 until the 4th where it will be $15, Saturday $20 until the 4th where it will be $25, Sunday will be $15 until the 4th where they will be $20. Children under 2 are free and pass for kids 3 to 12 are $5.
Make sure to come join us at Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest 2015 and come meet the amazing guests they have lined up for you!
