W♥M (Archive)

Wizard World Minneapolis - MOA Kickoff event (30 Apr 2015)

Wizard World Minneapolis Details Minneapolis Convention Center Friday, May 1, 3-8 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, May 3, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Guests • WWE® Divas The Bella Twins ™ • Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Princess Mononoke) • Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd, Lord of the Rings) • Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) • James & Oliver Phelps (Harry Potter) • Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob) • Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) • Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) • Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) • Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) • Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy) • Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) • Neal Adams (Eisner Award Hall of Fame Artist) • Phil Ortiz (Animator: The Simpsons) • Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob) The full guest list, event times, panels and programming lists and other show info is linked at wizardworld.com Read More Wizard World Minneapolis We are very excited to cover Wizard World Minneapolis again, now in its second year at Minneapolis Convention Center, in Minneapolis. … Peelander-Z Superhero Japanese punk band Peelander-Z is currently on tour in support of their latest album, Metalander-Z, stopping by the Turf Club in St Paul last night, September 19th. …

Wizard World Minneapolis officially began its pop culture weekend takeover last night, with a kickoff event held last night at the rotunda in the Mall of America.  In addition to a trivia contest for passes and prizes, celebrity guests Michael Rooker, Kristy Swanson, Jason Mewes, and artist Arthur Suydam.

The contests and Q+ A were moderated by on-air talent from the local CW station, who were also showing off a car adorned with Flash illustrations, that is planned to be given away later this fall.  Additionally, a local superhero collective and a few fans dressed up to show off some cosplay for the attending fans.

Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker was by far, the most animated of the group, arriving late to the proceedings after a last minute coffee run, but more than forgiven by the loyal fans.  When asked about his favorite role, he pointed to the recent Stan Lee Cameo School 2 min. spot for Audi, which he said was a lot of fun, and paid him the most per on-screen second, in his career.

Kristy Swanson

Kristy Swanson was asked what her reaction was when first hearing Buffy was to be optioned as a TV series, and she was first confused if it would be a mini-series or ongoing, then glad that the character continued to develop in a different format.

Jason Mewes

Jason Mewes revealed that Kevin Smith was a little under the weather, which is why he didn’t make it town earlier in the week, and that they would like to shoot Mallrats 2 in the same Eden Prairie Center Mall, but that state filming tax incentives, would likely make Smith scout elsewhere.  Both Mewes and Mallrats co-star Rooker reveled in being in a Minnesota mall again, some 20 years later.

Arthur Suydam

Arthur Suydam is probably best recently known for his Marvel Zombies work, but when asked about his early artistic influences, revealed he attended a NYC arts school than emphasized the Renaissance master painters and had their students learn by copying the great works.

A select lucky few in the crowd got Wizard World weekend passes and tickets to an Avengers: Age of Ultron screening, happening immediately after the panel—Wizard World Minneapolis opens its doors today.

For music fans, one of Vu’s favorites, the colorful and fun Peelander-Z plays the Saturday After Party at Pourhouse in downtown Minneapolis, free before 10:30 to anyone with a Wizard wristband.

Wizard World Minneapolis - MOA Kickoff event (Day 0) (30 Apr 2015) left to right: Kristy Swanson, Michael Rooker, Arthur Suydam, and Jason Mewes

john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Programming Highlights at Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con

Wizard World Minneapolis Hours Friday, May 2, 2014 - 3pm - 8pm Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 10am - 7pm Sunday, May 4, 2014 - 11am - 5pm Tickets Details: • 3-Day Weekend are: $75.00 in Advance & $85.00 On-Site • 1-Day Friday are: $35.00 in Advance & $45.00 On-Site • 1-Day Saturday are: $45.00 in Advance & $55.00 On-Site • 1-Day Sunday are: $40.00 in Advance & $50.00 On-Site • Autograph fees may be required for some guests. Read More Wizard World Comic convention season has officially begun in the Twin Cities. Wizard World, the Pop Culture purveyors are bringing their inaugural Minneapolis Comic Convention …

It's all-Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Book Con all weekend here at W♥M. The fun begins today at 3pm at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Going to the show? Check out some of these highlight:

FRIDAY, MAY 2
5:00 – 5:45PM: THE #POPCULTUREPROFESSOR & THE WHEDONVERSE: ARE YOU A DIE-HARD BUFFY FAN?
As someone who owns all the Buffy Seasons on DVD, this might be a fun event to attend... especially because Nathan Fillion is a headliner guest at the comic con... unfortunately, I do not think he will be appearing. Hosted by Dr. Rebecca Housel.

6:00 – 6:45PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH DAN JURGENS
For the man who "killed" Superman, Dan Jurgens will be answering some burning questions from fans. As a long time comic book fan, his name graced the artist credits for Sun Devils and Booster Gold (he looks so cool!)... but personally, my favorite was his work on the 1996 Teen Titans series with George Perez (who served as inker instead of penciler).

7:00 – 7:45PM COSTUMES + PLAYING = COSPLAY! SO WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN?
There's no denying that cosplayers are huge in the convention circuit. Wizard World’s Damian Beurer will be introducing you to Ivy Doomkitty, LeeAnna Vamps and other cosplayers... They will give you tips on how to design your own costumes... and the very important "how to go to the bathroom (you know, in costume)". This one looks like a lot of fun, and I'm definitely not missing this one.

SATURDAY, MAY 3
11:00 – 11:45AM STORYTELLING WITH MICHAEL GOLDEN
Michael Golden is one of my favorite artist. He doesn't actually draw a lot of interior artwork, but whatever cover he produces - it's pretty amazing and detailed. In this panel, Golden shares his rules for his art and storytelling. It's really too bad that Golden's panel will be taking place the same time as "1939" as they discuss that year and how it changed everything (Detective Comics #27 and Marvel Comics #1).

11:45 – 12:15PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH RALPH MACCHIO
The Karate Kid is Karate Man... Macchio will talk about his acting roles in the past 30 years! Worth looking into if you're a fan, might be interesting to hear his thoughts on the awful Jaden Smith movie....

12:30 – 1:15PM: ONE-ON-ONE WITH ROBERT ENGLUND
Meet the man behind Freddy Krueger! Englund will be doing a special Q&A on his experiences from The Nightmare on Elm St.... please don't ask about the Mangler, what an awful movie... Buffy fans may want to check out James Marsters around the same time. He will answer all your burning questions (in an American accent).

1:00 – 1:45PM THE COMIC BOOK AND ME: BOB DYLAN AND COMICS
Did you know that famed musician Bob Dylan influenced comic books for the past five decades? Join this panel to find out more details. Hosted by Dylan expert Dr. Alex Lubet. If music is not your thing, James Hong will be talking about his 50+ years in the movie industry around the same time.

2:00 – 2:45PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE CAPTAIN: WILLIAM SHATNER
William Shatner needs no introduction. The Captain of the Star Trek Enterprise will be doing a Q&A with fans. If this event is too crowded, head over to One-On-One with Jason David Frank, as he'll talk about his Ranger days and his reality TV show My Morphin Life.

3:00 – 3:45PM SUPERSTAR ARTISTS ROUNDTABLE WITH MITCH GERADS, KEVIN MAGUIRE, BARRY KITSON, CHAZ TRUOG AND DOUG WHEATLEY
I'm a big Kevin Maguire fan, so this might be a good panel to attend to hear their thoughts on the comic industry. This is taking the same time as Karen Gillan, and I can't attend both.

4:00 – 4:30PM MICHAEL ROOKER VS THE AUDIENCE
Walking Dead star Michael Rooker will be doing a Q&A session with fans. Same time as Steve Bein's "Martial Arts and the art of Fight Scenes". As a huge Shaw Brothers/Kung Fu movie fan, I may have to attend Bein's panel over Rooker (even though Rooker clearly has the star power).

5:00 – 5:45PM INSIDE FIREFLY WITH NATHAN FILLION AND ADAM BALDWIN
Joss Whedon fans will be standing in line hours early to attend this... so if you want to see this, you better spend the majority of your time in line.

7:15 – 9:15PM WIZARD WORLD COSTUME CONTEST
Always fun to check out all the costumes in one room.... The emphasis are "adult"/grownup costumes. For children costumes, check back on Sunday.

SUNDAY, MAY 4
11:30 – 12:15PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE MAN OF STEEL: DEAN CAIN
Dean Cain will be hosting a Q&A as he reflects on his time on the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

12:15 - 1:00PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE DOCTOR: MATT SMITH
The doctor is in... Matt Smith makes a rare appearance as he look back on his career as actor on Doctor Who. Again, I'm not a massive Who fan, but I know so many people are into this show. I'll be there just to see what all the excitement is about.

12:30-1:15PM ONE-ON-ONE WITH MANU BENNETT
Manu Bennett has a panel, he's currently Deathstroke on Arrow. I might have to miss this one due to the Matt Smith attendance.

1:30 – 2:15PM ONE-ON-TWO WITH THE BOONDOCK SAINTS
Man, I love The Boondock Saints original movie... stars Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco will be talking about their time on set. Same time as "Green Power Ranger Power Hour" with Jason David Frank.

2:30 – 3:15PM WIZARD WORLD KIDS COSTUME CONTEST
Again, always fun to check out costumes... this one is focused on "kids" costumes.

*Listed programming subject to change.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Wizard World Minneapolis 2014: Day 0 – Kickoff event at Mall of America re-cap

Wizard World Minneapolis Hours Friday, May 2, 2014 - 3pm - 8pm Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 10am - 7pm Sunday, May 4, 2014 - 11am - 5pm Tickets Details: • 3-Day Weekend are: $75.00 in Advance & $85.00 On-Site • 1-Day Friday are: $35.00 in Advance & $45.00 On-Site • 1-Day Saturday are: $45.00 in Advance & $55.00 On-Site • 1-Day Sunday are: $40.00 in Advance & $50.00 On-Site • Autograph fees may be required for some guests. Read More Wizard World As part of their pre-event for Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Convention (May 2-4), there will be a special Q&A session with Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”), Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”) and Michael Rooker …

Comic convention season has officially begun in the Twin Cities.

Wizard World, the Pop Culture purveyors are bringing their inaugural Minneapolis Comic Convention to town this Friday-Sunday, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The Rotunda at the Mall of America (pre-event)

The Rotunda at the Mall of America hosted a pre-event kickoff celebration, with appearances from Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”), Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”) , Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead” and Marvel’s upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy”), and an unannounced special guest, legendary comic book artist Neal Adams.

As the crowd waited for the talent to arrive, a trivia contest was held for prizes and day passes to the show, hosted by local CW network personality Carly Aplin, who also officiated the Q & A with the stars, for which the audience was encouraged to tweet their questions using the event hashtag.

Next, a “Hulk Out” contest took place, where contestants of all types were invited on stage to do their best impression of the Green Goliath (and maybe Hulk Hogan as well) by ripping a t-shirt to shreds.

Michael Rooker Hulks Out

45 min. into the event, the collective stars arrived to witness the end of the contest, with Ferrigno especially amused as Michael Rooker decided to try his hand at the drama (with a little help from a couple crowd members).

A short Q & A followed, with Ferrigno giving special recognition to the Starkey Foundation, a locally-based hearing aid company he does so much work for. Asked what hero he aspired to be other than the Hulk, Ferrigno replied that Superman was his first and earliest inspiration. Michael Rooker mentioned his "Walking Dead" character of Merle was based on an amalgam of himself, a cousin, and an uncle from Alabama.

Frank was asked if there was a stunt too dangerous, that he wouldn’t consider doing it himself, answering that he liked to do as many stunts as possible and biggest qualm with a stunt double filming a scene was that he didn’t simply walk, with the same confident posture Frank himself did.

Artist Adams was asked where he would go in the event of a zombie apocalypse, and quickly replied “to the Batcave”, referencing the famous and influential comic work he did on Batman in the 1970’s and revisiting him recently, with a pair of limited series. Before the event ended, names were drawn for a select few to get brief photo ops, though Power Ranger Frank was the most fan accommodating and had everyone that was interested, form a small line to make sure as many people as possible could meet him, in the limited time allowed.

Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con officially starts Friday afternoon at 3pm, with several celebrities appearing throughout the weekend including William Shatner (“Star Trek”), Nathan Fillion (“Castle”) Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who”), and many more. Comic book creators and vendors of all kinds will be present, along with a full slate of panel discussions and related activities.

Wizard World Minneapolis 2014: Jason David Frank, Neal Adams, Lou Ferrigno, Carly Aplin and Michael Rooker at Mall of America (01 May 2014)

john () ♥ weheartmusic.com