Star Trek Captains Shatner and Stewart lead Phoenix Comicon Guest List
Phoenix Comicon boldly goes where it has never gone before with its largest and most diverse guest line up
Phoenix – With the presentation of the Phoenix Comicon guest list, they have “made it so” in their quest to be the signature pop culture convention of the southwest. Star Trek Captains William Shatner (“James T. Kirk”) and Patrick Stewart (“Jean-Luc Picard”) lead the most diverse guest line up at Phoenix Comicon 2012.
Attendees will be “walking dead” after trying to meet all of the guests, including actor Jon Bernthal, from AMC’s hit TV show, “The Walking Dead”, though they will also be feeling “up” after meeting legendary actor Ed Asner, who voiced the main character in Pixar’s movie, “Up.”
If these puns and play on TV and Film names are any indication, Phoenix Comicon is giddy with excitement over the guest list they have assembled. “Our eureka moment when our guest list solidified in our eyes came when five of the original cast members from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” confirmed their attendance,” says Convention Director Matt Solberg, “That, and we have Jaime Paglia, co-creator of the SyFy Channel series “Eureka”” he finishes with a grin.
The original cast members from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” include:
Patrick Stewart, “Captain Jean-Luc Picard”
LeVar Burton, “Geordi LaForge”
Michael Dorn, “Worf”
Marina Sirtis, “Deanna Troi”
Brent Spiner, “Data”
While Solberg concedes that the line up is Star Trek heavy this year, he offers, “Its serendipitous for us to have Shatner and Stewart after years of pursuing them, however, there are plenty of other guests from film and tv, comic books, literature, and anime we’re beaming aboard Phoenix Comicon.”
Those guests include Film and TV actors:
Jeremy Bulloch, “Boba Fett”, Star Wars
Gigi Edgley, “Chiana”, Farscape
Erin Gray and Gil Gerard, “Colonel Wilma Deering”, “Buck Rogers” respectively, Buck Rogers.
Tony Amendola, “Jaffa Master Bra’tac”, Stargate SG-1
Casper Van Dien, “Johnny Rico”, Starship Troopers.
“Casper was a recommendation from my Krav Maga instructor,” Solberg adds, “They worked on a PSA years ago and maintained a friendship ever since.”
And that instructor from East Valley Krav Maga? “He’ll be at Phoenix Comicon leading “Sidekick Training” for kids”, Solberg says. “Sidekick Training is a a workshop and demonstration in self defense and preventative skills.”
Comic books form the backbone of Phoenix Comicon and creators attending include:
Brian Augustyn – Writer/Editor “Flash”
Howard Chaykin – Artist “Avengers 1959”, “American Flagg”
Jim Cheung – Artist “Scion”, “Young Avengers”, “New Avengers: Illuminati”
William Christensen – Publisher, Avatar Press
Mike Debalfo – Cover artist “Return to Wonderland”
Garth Ennis – Writer “Crossed”, “Preacher”, “Punisher”
Jay Fotos – Creator/Writer “’68”, “Death Dealer”
Raven Gregory – Creator/Writer, “The Gift”, “Grimm Fairy Tales”
Greg Horn – Cover Artist “Blackest Night”, “Flash”
Stuart Immonen – Artist “Ultimate Spider-man”, “Ultimate X-Men”
Scott Koblish – Artist “OMAC”
Greg Land – Artist “X-Men”, “Birds of Prey”, “Fantastic Four”
David Lapham – Writer, Artist “Crossed: Family Values”, “Stray Bullets”
John Layman – Creator/Writer “Chew”
Bob Layton – Artist “Iron Man”
David Mack – Creator/Artist “Kabuki”, Cover artist “Alias”
Francis Manapul – Writer/Artist “Flash”, “Superman Batman”
Mike McKone – Artist “Teen Titans”, “Fantastic Four”, “Avengers Academy”
Tony Parker – Artist, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”
George Perez – Artist “Superman”, “Wonder Woman”
Khoi Pham – Artist “Mighty Avengers”
Avatar Press – Leading independent publisher
Brian Pulido – Creator/Writer “Lady Death”
Arthur Suydam – Cover artist “Marvel Zombies”
Billy Tucci – Creator/Artist “Shi”, Artist “Hereos for Hire”, “Sgt Rock”
Freddie Williams II – Artist “Captain Atom”, “Robin”
Ryan Winn – Artist “Batman”, “Detective Comics”
Zenescope – Publisher “Grimm Fairy Tales”, “Return to Wonderland”
Literature is a growing interest at Phoenix Comicon according to Solberg, and an area where they are leveraging their strong list of local authors to get larger name best selling authors.
Authors attending include:
Kevin Hearne – Iron Druid Chronicles: Hounded, Hexed, Hammered & Tricked
Kris Neri – High Crimes on the Magical Plane, Magical Alienation
J. S. Lewis – Grey Griffins
James A. Owen – Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, Drawing out the Dragons, Starchild
Jeffrey J. Mariotte – Dark Vengeance, Nine Frights, Cold Black Hearts, Desperadoes, Fade to Black
Weston Ochse – Empire of Salt, Scarecrow Gods, Seal Team 666
Yvonne Navarro – Afterage, Highborn, Concrete Saviour
Michael A. Stackpole – I, Jedi, At The Queen’s Command, Of Limited Loyalty, Once a Hero
Gini Koch – Alien in the Family, Alien Proliferation
Janni Lee Simner – Bones of Faerie, Faerie Winter, Thief Eyes
Michael Spradlin – The Youngest Templar, Spy Goddess
Marsheila Rockwell – The Shard Axe, Legacy of Wolves
Tom Leveen – Party, Zero
Sam Sykes – Tome of the Undergates, Black Halo, The Skybound Sea
Joe Nassise – The Templar Chronicles, Eyes to See
Janette Rallison/C. J. Hill – My Fair Godmother, My Double Life, Slayers
Many families bring their kids and teenagers, or as Solberg puts it, “Many kids and teenagers drag their parents along to Phoenix Comicon. The kids love anime and our anime guests, and the parents realize we have something for them in our authors, artists, and actors.”
Anime guests attending include:
Vic Mignogna – Voice actor from Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran High School Host Club, Vampire Knight, and Kekkaishi
Chris Patton – Voice actor from Fullmetal Alchemist, D Gray Man, and BECK
Maile Flanagan – Voice actor from Naruto and Rango
Quinton Flynn – Voice actor from Bleach, Kingdom Hearts II, Naruto
Phil Lamarr – voice actor from Samurai Jack, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 4, and Futurama
Fans will have the chance to meet with and get autograph of all of these guests.
Festivities kick off Thursday afternoon May 24th and continue throughout the weekend. Spend the day checking out the exhibitor hall, meeting actors and writers, buying that hard to find geek item, then attend concerts and dances that last till 2AM on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Full event passes are only $40 till the weekend of the show, and kids twelve and under always get in for free (with paid adult membership).
Phoenix Comicon 2012 is expected to draw over 30,000 attendees to its May 24-27, 2012 convention held at the Phoenix Convention Center and Hyatt Regency in Downtown Phoenix. For more information check www.phoenixcomicon.com.
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