Cultural Compulsive Disorder: Wizard World Philly 2010 Revisited

Story by Edson Melendez

Photos by Matt Melendez, Cynthia Leguillow and Zulleyka Ortega

Hey everyone. You don't know me yet, I've been a lurker reading C.C.D. for the past few months. I have to say that it's been fun watching a ragtag group of talented individuals mature into a...erh...ragtag group of talented indivduals? Think 'The Goonies' but more street. Nevertheless my name is Edson and hopefully you'll enjoy this brief ride with me into Geekdom.

"Comic-Con"... just the word sends shivers down my geeky spine. For the last three years I had been seeking out these gatherings of my ilk, attending 'New York Comic-Con' in 2008 and 'Wizard World Big Apple Comic-Con' in 2009. I wasn't planning on attending another convention until later this year, but when my cousin and fellow geek Matt presented the idea of heading into Philly to attend Wizard World we rallied the troops and headed south. If you've never been to a comic convention they can be quite a bit imposing. Just take a few steps in and draw a deep breath, the anxiety will pass soon.

BLADE, DEAD POOL AND umm BLADE!

***Click Read More below to see more pics and the rest of the story***

The Location. 'Wizard World Philly' was held in the Philadelphia Convention Center . While we didn't get a chance to walk around the whole facility, the room that they held the convention was large enough for all the vendors, exhibitors, celebrities and fans. Signing in seemed a bit haphazard and the overly long lines, just to get our pre-paid entrance bands, made waiting to enter a bit frustrating but, the presence of friends and fans dressed in costume made it all much more bearable. Once processed, we shuffled along into the main exhibit room where, if you're not prepared, you might go mad. Where else can you be assaulted by two Blades' a Deadpool and a guy who is obviously "...too short to be a Storm Trooper".

The layout seemed to be well planned out with equal sections for the artists celebrities and vendors, yet no real definition of either. Each section just blended together, and while that may seem ideal to some I like a clear distinction, it helps me get excited about whats coming up.

THE GREAT 'SIR' PATRICK STEWART
aka CAPTAIN JEAN LUC PICARD
aka PROFESSOR X.

BRENT SPINER

aka DATA from STAR TREK

The Convention: At first moving around was a bit confusing until we got a lay of the land. We quickly split up with some people focusing on seeing celebrities and others on just people watching. I was in the latter group, content to watch the Cos-players until I saw him. Sir Patrick Stewart! I froze and the Star Trek nerd burst out as I began hopping in place saying to myself "It's Captain Jean Luc Piccard! It's Captain Jean Luc Piccard!" Not one to usually be caught up in the whole famous actor thing I was reduced to a ball of blubbering fan-boy at the sight of one of my childhood heroes! If you're into celebrities then Comic-Con is for you....if you don't mind some older possibly lesser known ones, that is. There was Ernie Hudson , Linda Hamilton , James Marsters and of course the venerable Adam West . A fair collection of reality show stars and models rounded out the celebrity section.

COSPLAY GHOSTBUSTERS

ERNIE HUDSON
aka 'WINSTON' FROM 'GHOSTBUSTERS'

LINDA HAMILTON

aka SARAH CONNOR from 'TERMINATOR'

JAMES MARSTERS

aka 'SPIKE' from 'BUFFY the VAMPIRE SLAYER'

The Vendors: Here is where I'd have to say that I was most disappointed with this particular show. While there were some vendors with a few good items but none to the scale of the other shows. A few action figure retailers and some collectible merchandise but nothing that really caught me eye. Besides the new merchandise, a good comic convention should have a large amount or used merchandise that people are selling/bartering to the crowd.

Artists Alley: Another lackluster section here. I counted maybe two rows of artists tables and, while I have absolutely no artistic ability, I do appreciate a well drawn print. There were some nice pieces from some great artists such as Chris Uminga, Guy Dorian and G.W. Fisher. There were also some artists that I had seen before and I was a bit disappointed that they had little to no new material. I guess that if you visit a few shows during the year there will be a few repeats.

The Crowd: Now this might be where my bias shows. The crowd in Philly was…. meh. There were a few nice costumes, actually there were a few GREAT costumes ranging from homemade Steam Punk to store-bought Superhero but it really didn’t seem like anyone appreciated it. It could have just been the smaller venue or the laid back atmosphere but there wasn’t anyone reacting the way you would expect when you see Slave Leia and Harley Quinn posing together.

SLAVEGIRL LEIA & HARLEY QUINN

DARTH NIHILUS LIKEY

Grade: A Solid “B”. All in all the show was fun, I had a great day with friends, able to get out of the city and spent a few hours celebrating what makes us ourselves. While each convention is different and I definitely prefer the hustle and bustle of a New York Con, this was a nice change of pace. Luckily there are two Conventions scheduled this October in NYC, the 'Wizard World Convention' from October 1^st thru the 3^rd and the 'New York City Comic Con' from October 8^th thru the 10^th. Hopefully, I'll see you there. Enjoy some of the other photos I snagged along the way, below!

LANTERN CORPS RINGS