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Wizard World Chicago Comic Con 2011 | Photos + wrap-up
Hordes of costumed characters and their admirers invaded the Donald E Stephens Convention Center on Saturday for the annual WIzard World Chicago Comic Con. With last year's appearance by disgraced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich as evidence, one could argue that this supposedly comic book–oriented convention jumped the tiger shark a while back. This year's lineup of special guests reflected a similar fascination with pop-culture figures, and it largely echewed the well-known comic book writers and artists who are now relegated to appearances at the C2E2 convention each spring. However, with the convention floor more packed than ever and lines for guest panels snaking through the halls, it's clear that there's a large audience for what Wizard World offers.
Down on the floor, guests such as convention fixture Lou Ferrigno and actress Vivica A. Fox signed autographs and posed for pictures amid a sea of collectibles and long boxes stuffed with individually bagged comic books. Action figures seemed to dominate the non-comic offerings—likely a result of the event's increasing pop-culture bent. Collectible card games also had an increased presence at this year's event, with a sizable corner of the convention hall being devoted to space for games to take place.
One of the day's most anticipated events was a panel that reunited the five child stars of 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Paris Themmen (Mike Tee Vee), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard) and Michael Boellner (Augustus Gloop) recounted their experiences filming the now 40-year-old classic while answering questions from the crowd. The group seemed genuinely taken aback by the interest the film continues to generate even 40 years after its release. Cole revealed that Billy Corgan (appearing at the convention to promote Resistance Pro Wrestling) had requested a photo with the group, and that in the past the group had rubbed shoulders with the likes of Marilyn Manson and *NSYNC. Other topics touched upon included the edibility of the candy in the movie (just about everything except the snozberry wallpaper) and the actors who portrayed the Oompa Loompas (big partiers). It was also made abundantly clear that none of the original cast seemed to be big fans of Tim Burton's take on the Wonka tale.
Star Trek: The Next Generation star and Reading Rainbow host Levar Burton's panel got off to a nasty start when the actor was stopped from entering by a volunteer who obviously wasn't familiar with his work. After taking the podium, Burton poked fun at his Star Trek co-star Patrick Stewart's much larger panel and fielded questions from the crowd. The queries were painfully rote ("Was is hard to see through that visor?") but Burton took it in stride, sardonically commenting that he'd only seen about half of the Next Generation series. If for no other reason, it was worth sitting through to hear Burton lead the crowd in a rendition of the Reading Rainbow theme.
Christopher Lloyd's intimate main-hall panel found the actor best known as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy reminiscing about roles from his entire career. He recounted how he had read the Addams Family comic strip in the New Yorker, and how surprised and flattered he was to receive a call asking him to play Uncle Fester in the 1991 film adaptation. When asked how he managed to play such eccentric characters, in true-actor fashion Lloyd answered that he simply does everything he can to connect with his characters and make them feel real. As for his favorite film in the Back to the Future series? It's part three, but only because it's a Western and the fact that he gets a love interest.
By far, the most entertaining panel of the afternoon had to be Bruce Campbell's. The notorious B-movie actor and current Burn Notice star engaged in a rapid-fire dialogue with the crowd that was the antithesis of the usual convention panel. Taking to the stage in a dapper white suit, Campbell immediately established himself as an formidable entertainer with witty banter and constant interaction. To start the panel, he invited anyone with a tattoo of his face onstage and awarded the crowd favorite with dollar bills. When taking questions from the audience, he'd offer expletive-filled responses or simply begin to insult the inquisitor. When asked about the much-maligned Evil Dead remake, Campbell simply said "There's a script, it's happening, you can't stop it." His on-stage persona resembled that of Stephen Colbert—self-obsessed to a fault, but with a tone that often betrayed the insincere nature of his sentiments. It was hard to tell where the egotistical Bruce Campbell ended and the real-life Bruce Campbell began. A surprise onstage wedding proposal was likely the closest we got to seeing the real Bruce as he gleefully set up the moment for the suitor to pop the question. Much like his onscreen personas, Campbell presented himself as larger-than-life in the most off-kilter way possible—just the way his fans like him.
While comic-book fans may have felt slightly jilted by Saturday's guest appearance, there seemed to be enough crossover to keep all but the die-hards satiated. Like it or not, the modern comic-book convention is more concerned with the culture surrounding comics than the books themselves. And who are we to complain when there's still so much to nerd out about?
