The Wizard World Comic Con is a year round comic convention that makes stops all around-the country. Last month it made a stop in Madison Wisconsin. I was on hand to cover the event and the following are some of what I experienced…
After previously attending the popular Wizard World Chicago Comic Con that falls in August every year, the Madison Wizard World was a much smaller event. It was held at the Alliant Energy Center, the event was a compressed version of what I previously experienced in Chicago. The Madison Wizard World was a three day weekend event that started on Friday and concluded on Sunday.
I drove up from Chicago to attend on Saturday. Saturday’s are the busiest days with the main celebrities attending. From the time I entered the building there was a huge line of people trying to check-in. The convention was devided into two areas. The panel room area was all in the same section. Further down the hallway was the main convention floor. Everything was in one location. The vendors, celebrity autograph booths, and the photo-op booth were all on the same floor. The space felt overly crammed, but fairly convenient.
The main celebrity guests for the day were William Shatner, Eliza Duszku, Brett Dalton, Ian Somerhalder, Michael Rooker, and the Bella Twins. The line for the Bella Twins and Ian Somerhalder was easily the longest. The WWE has a huge fanbase, Vampire Diaries has a loyal following with a ton of adoring teenage girls. To my surprise the fans weren’t swarming to see Brett Dalton who is on the popular Agents of the SHIELD.
I got a chance to speak with Brett, he wasn’t allowed to do interviews on record due to a restriction from MARVEL, seemed like a easy going guy though. I also got a chance to speak to George Wendt from Cheers and SNL fame. George was fairly serious and seemed a bit disinterested, yet polite. He shared some of thoughts about the famous “Superfans” skit that did on SNL. One of my favorite people I got a chance to talk to was William Kircher from The Hobbit series. He was extremely personable and open, a genuinely fun and interesting guy. Michael Rooker set aside some time to speak to me. He reflected on the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. Rooker is an interesting character. He’s very talkative and engaging, but tends to veer off a lot.
The lines for the photo-ops were packed, especially for the Bella Twins. The prices are a bit high for the photos ranging from $50-70 depending on the celebrity. Autographs tend to be pricey also, ranging from $30-50.
The selection of comic book vendors was decent considering the size of the event. I found some good deals and some classic comic books. I’m a huge fan of the early 90’s Batman, Superman, X-Men, and Spidey comics. Found a few vendors that were selling those comics for a dollar a piece. I participated in a local radio stations Jenga game. Won a $15 Burger King gift card, now that’s winning.
Overall, the Madison Wizard World convention was what I expected it to be. Small, compact, and limited to the amount of celebrities available. The turn out was fairly large, the convention floor was packed majority of the day. Further proof that there are consumers available all over the country in small towns and big ones. Wizard World puts on a good convention, much can be credited to the organizer and the PR Wizard World man Jerry Milani who does a fantastic job organizing and managing the events.
Next up Wizard World Fan Fest in Chicago; March 7 & 8.
