As did 27,000 other people, I had the chance to attend this year's Wizard World Tour, as it streaked through the City of Brotherly Love. The convention lasted all weekend but I could only make it on Sunday, so unfortunately I missed Seth Green, Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica and a surprise visit from American Idol reject William Hung.
This year's list of special guests were quite impressive but as I walked the convention floor, I couldn't help but wonder if last year's guest Eliza Dushku, would have accepted my  wedding proposal I had lined up. If I was able to make it last year, would she now be known as Eliza Planet? Or would she opt for the hyphen?
The first celeb I approached was the REAL Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferigno. He was wearing a red FLEX tank top and quite frankly, the guy is still a phenom, even at 53. We spoke about his Hulk days and his cameo in the latest film. And even though there were people behind me waiting to meet him, Lou took his time chatting with yours truly. I got an autographed 8x10 and a picture with him and it's already hanging up in the DeansPlanet.Com offices. I also stopped by the Marc Singer booth. You may know him from The Beastmaster and the classic TV mini-series in the 80's called 'V'. Marc was another very friendly dude who was eager to shake your hand and chat. The little guy who played the part of R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) were also in attendance and were both constantly swamped with fans eager to meet these legends from the Star Wars movies. I was a bit disappointed that Erin Gray from 'Buck Rogers' and 'Silver Spoon' fame was nowhere to be found. I wanted to get a glimpse of that little piece of ass and see how she was holding up. Mick Foley showed up around 1PM and the line to get a sig and meet him was consistantly backed up, so I passed on him. Also in attendance signing autographs were Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's
Clare Kramer,
Scott Schwartz, and wrestlers King Kong Bundy & Virgil.
Peter Mayhew |
Kenny Baker |
A special area of the convention center was dedicated to the real heroes of the day though, independent comic writers and artists. This was afterall, first and foremost a comic convention and 'Artist Alley' was the place to check their stuff out. You could spend a couple hours in this area alone and marvel (no pun intended) over the talent that was on display. I bought a couple things including "Hero Corps: The Rookie" a black and white graphic novel that centers around a police force that's made of of super heroes. The story and the mature language & subject matter enabled me to read it from cover to cover, all 112 pages, in just one sitting on the crapper. Also catching my eye was a black dude with a huge afro, leaning on a cane. I learned that that not only was he the artist, but he was also the inspiration for the main character of his comic, "The Black Bastard". I picked up some copies of his fine publication and like my other purchase, it didn't disappoint.  There was so much to check out and I was suffering from some serious sensory overload as I made my way through a sea of vendors and artist booths. At one point I found myself in the midst of adult film stars/models who showed up in hopes of hocking some of their 'merchandise'. Surprisingly, I didn't recognize any of them until I came across an incredibly exotic beauty who also has wholesome girl next door looks. It was Aria Giovanni (pictured on right) IN THE FLESH. I was seriously star struck as I made my approach. She greeted me and we exchanged compliments (actually it was a little one sided) and we talked for a bit. I told her that I'm a big fan of her work and that she actually looks 10x better in person than in her pics and videos. She was wearing a long dress which showed a little cleavage, this made me feel a little uncomfortable in my nether regions. She turned out to be a very friendly chic and she mentioned that she was recently married to a dude who was in Marilyn Manson, John 5. Lucky bastard! I plopped down 5 bucks to get a pic with her then I was on my merry way.
The fun & games of the day had come to an end with realization of my primary objective had suddenly sobered me because I was there to speak with the galaxy's most infamous bounty hunter. His name is Jeremy Bulloch, a legend in the Star Wars universe, you may know him by his character name, Boba Fett. Read the interview here.
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Scott Schwartz, Richard Hatch and Lou Ferrigno |
After this major highlight of my critically acclaimed celebrity journalistic career and a GI Joe t-shirt purchase later, I was ready to head home. After seeing Lou, Singer and the Star Wars dudes, I was feeling a bit nostalgic. I was so vulnerable at this point that when I saw a t--shirt that read "OLD SCHOOL" with 'Link' from Legend Of Zelda on the front, I had to have it. I 'm happy with how the day turned out but I still missed a lot. I would have liked to chat with Mayhew and Baker, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada,
J . Michael Straczynski (creator of the television show Babylon 5) and some of the big name artists. Next year, I will plan on staying for the weekend and entering the
Geno's Cheese Steaks “Captain Cheese Steak” contest!! I would win btw. |
