Wizard World Des Moines 2016

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Wizard World returns to Des Moines this weekend for second big year

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment

May 11, 2016

The national Comic Con promoter Wizard World is bringing a banner slate of celebrities and comic creators to the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines this weekend as Iowa sees its second Wizard World show, one of the best conventions in the Midwest. Check out our coverage of the inaugural Wizard World Des Moines here at borg.com last year. Celebrity headliners include The Lord of The Rings’ Billy Boyd, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Chloe Bennet, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow star Casper Crump, The Killing Joke’s Batman, Kevin Conroy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon, WWE’s Sasha Banks, Once Upon a Time stars Rebecca Mader, Sean Maguire, and Robbie Kay, The Walking Dead’s Austin Nichols, and Hercules from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys himself, Kevin Sorbo.

As with last year’s roster of well-known comic book creators, Wizard World will feature another pantheon of comic book world greats, including Tom Cook (He-Man, Superfriends), Michael Golden (Batman, Spider-Man), Clinton Hobart (Disney), James O’Barr (The Crow), Barbara Slate (Betty and Veronica), Peter David (All-New X-Factor), Colleen Doran (Sandman; A Distant Soil, The Vampire Diaries), Arthur Suydam (Army of Darkness) and many others. Returning to Wizard World this year are Iowa’s own fan favorites Phil Hester (Green Arrow, The Flash) and Ant Lucia (DC’s Bombshells).

Wizard World comic and gaming con events expect to bring together again thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture, movies, graphic novels, cosplay, comics, television, sci-fi, toys, video gaming, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Wizard World Des Moines show hours are Friday, May 13, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, May 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

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Marvel reveals final round of promos for Captain America: Civil War

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April 12, 2016

The final marketing push begins for Captain America: Civil War, with an onslaught of interviews and new promos released by Marvel Studios in the past two weeks not unlike the volley dished out last month by DC Entertainment to entice fans to see the opening weekend release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

We’re hoping this sequel gets a better reaction from fans.

The release is under a month away. We will finally see the Black Panther and a new Spider-Man, and even Ant-Man joining in with the Avengers team.

Have you chosen your side? Who will win? Who will survive?

Check out these eight recent trailers and clips, including a sneak preview from the MTV movie awards this weekend:

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Tags: Captain America Civil War promos, Captain America MTV movie awards, Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: Civil War trailer, Planet Comicon 2016, Wizard World Des Moines 2016

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Wizard World Des Moines–what makes a great Comic Con

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment

June 15, 2015

What makes a great Comic Con?

Wizard World Des Moines combined all the right elements this past weekend to create a new annual Midwest destination tradition. A mix of big name celebrities, comic book creator icons, fanboys and fangirls attending in costume, a variety of vendors, gaming opportunities, current genre properties, the unexpected, taking along family and friends (and meeting new ones and catching up with old ones) and taking in some good food. And thanks to the success of its first effort, Wizard World will be back again next year at the Iowa Events Center, May 13-15, 2016.

If you missed it, check out our coverage at borg.com yesterday here.

A comic and pop culture convention is even better when your own favorite character seems to have his own theme at the show. Take our own favorite, Green Arrow, for instance. This weekend you could have met the artists for the three best Green Arrow series ever produced, including artist/writer Mike Grell:

Milton Bunce Mike Grell Wizard World Des Moines 2015 Zorro

Artists Milton Bunce and Mike Grell at Wizard World Des Moines 2015 Sunday.

And as luck would have it, Mike found a lost piece of original art he brought to the show, a cover prelim/rough for a 24-year old annual issue he created:

There’s no place better to pick up original comic book art than a Comic Con, whether it’s a sketch commission or original pages that artists bring to the show to gawk at or even purchase. (Thanks for bringing this one, Mike!).

And there’s one of the other of the three major artists known for his Green Arrow work (he’s done Batman and a ton of other characters, too), Neal Adams:

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Wizard World takes Midwest by storm with new annual Comic Con event

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — 2 Comments

June 14, 2015

It must be one of the best-attended Comic Cons for a first-time event: More than 25,000 fans of print and film superheroes and celebrities attended this weekend’s Wizard World Des Moines comic book and pop culture convention at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. And the show’s management believes the attendance assures Wizard World will return to Des Moines next summer, establishing the next major annual Midwest comic book fan convention.

Fans from Iowa and neighboring states toured the halls and giant celebrity autograph and photo op room, many in cosplay garb. The highlights include a premiere slate of comic book creators in Artists Alley and celebrity appearances that gave everyone something to be excited about.

Star Trek fans barely had to wait in line to meet sci-fi icon William Shatner, who also spoke to a crowded house of fans Saturday afternoon. If you like superheroes, you could meet the two most popular Green Arrow creators of all time: artist Neal Adams and writer/artist Mike Grell, Superman actors Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) and Dean Cain (The Adventures of Lois and Clark) (Routh also appears as The Atom on CW’s The Flash), DC Bombshells creator Ant Lucia, Rogue creator and long-time Marvel artist Michael Golden (above), and Mike Zeck, artist for Marvel Comics classics like the Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars series:

The Walking Dead fans met series star Michael Cudlitz, and received an exclusive variant Issue #1 from the comic book series, drawn by Iowa artist Phil Hester. And horror fans got to cross off their list one of the modern Big 3 of horror icons, Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund. Fans of the cult film Boondock Saints met up with star Sean Patrick Flannery.

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