On Saturday, September 10th, I walked into the Greater Richmond Convention Center for Wizard World Comic Con not really knowing what to expect. It was my FIRST EVER Comic Con and I was there by myself. But I was on a mission, press band on wrist: I would go to as many panels as I could, get pictures with some celebs, and pick up some awesome nerd merch.
Mission Accomplished.
Wizard World Richmond was bustling with excited nerds dressed to the nines. I particularly enjoyed all of the Doctor Who cosplays…including this Dalek (and Rey):
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
I got my picture with Ryan Lochte…fo’ free.
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
I also got a picture with Spike himself, James Marsters. I think he may have tried to compel me (a la The Vampire Diaries…weird):
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
Then, I attended John Schneider and Catherine Bach’s panel. The two seemed genuinely happy to be in attendance and answered every fan question thrown their way happily. I learned that John Schneider actually preferred playing Johnathan Kent to Bo Duke, and he doesn’t slide across cars anymore because he doesn’t want to break his phone (jokes). Catherine Bach said she enjoyed every minute playing Daisy Duke, and she had to do everything the boys did IN HEELS. Neither really wanted the show to end when and how it did, and they didn’t think the 2005 movie did it justice.
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
After the panel, I got a picture with John Schneider…he likes hugs.
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
Then I took a break from panels and pictures and did some nerdy shopping. Wizard World has LOTS of great vendors, by the way. (Not showing you pictures of that because then it will reveal just how much I actually bought)
The Sons of Anarchy panel was next with Ryan Hurst and Tommy Flanagan. The most memorable part of their panel was when a guy dressed as Mario got up and instead of asking a question, went on and on about National Holidays…I don’t even know, guys. Back to SOA, both men said they were happy with how the show ended and were glad neither of them ended up as head of the club at any point. Also, Tommy kept his bike, while Ryan’s mysteriously vanished…
Source: Alex C // The Game of Nerds
Finally, I attended a panel on the history of Marvel comics (condensed into about 30 minutes). Some of the most interesting information from the panel was that Stanley Lieber (Stan Lee) started as an assistant at Timely Comics before writing his first issue of Captain America called “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge”. Marvel Comics was then formed in the 60’s, with the Fantastic Four as their first really big feature. Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and X-men all became big hits from then on. Sadly, The Hulk never really caught on the way Stan Lee hoped he would.
Fun Fact: Comic book characters were created to look good as toys and action figures.
And with that, a fun filled day at Wizard World came to a close. I cannot WAIT until I can go back again!
