Have Geek Will Travel

This Saturday I fired up my Batmobile, stopped in Memphis to pick up my co-worker Brandon and his son Brennan, and then headed up I-40 to Nashville, TN for the first ever Wizard World Nashville Comic Con. It was also my very first Wizard World show to attend.

We arrived in Nashville around 10:30am and found a space to park next to the Country Music Hall of Fame, just about a block down from the Music City Center- the new convention center in downtown Nashville, and not too far from the “Bat-Building”. The cost for parking, $30.00, was the most I’ve ever paid for a day, but after standing in line in the rain we decided to go ahead and pay it and make our way to the con instead of driving around to find a cheaper spot. Later as we left I saw one lot for $10.00 and another for $15.00 just around the corner. Live and learn…

Once inside we found the line for advance ticket holders. I did the paper print-out and Brandon downloaded his ticket to his phone. Both worked well. We had a $10.00 discount code so our day passes ended up running just under $40.00 each. Brennan got in for free. The line moved at a good pace and in a few minutes we were getting our wristbands, program guides, and free “The Walking Dead” comic books. Oh, and on the way out we saw Victoria Schmidt from SyFy’s “Heroes of Cosplay” working the ticket booth. Love the WW tiara. 🙂

Once inside we were greeted with another “Welcome To Wizard World” sign. The space was decent sized with lots of room to grow in the future. A good crowd but not too crowded. Lots of cosplayers!

We got to meet a couple of the more well known cosplayers- Riki LeCotey (AKA Riddle’s Messy Wardrobe) and Ivy Doomkitty. I bought a few prints from Riki and got to talk to her a little about her time on SyFy’s “Heroes of Cosplay” this season. She was also very supportive of young cosplayers that stopped by her booth, and was more than happy to answer any costuming questions.

Lots of professional cosplayers on hand, including my friend Jeff “Brin Londo” Holland (center waving). This was one of the first cons I’ve been to where cosplayers had booths of their own, and not just there as a “booth babe” with a creator or vendor. I think it added something new to the show mix and helped cosplay fans learn more about costuming and get some cool photo ops with one of the favorite cosplayers/characters.

For some reason I was drawn to the back left of the convention space. There was a ’60s Batmobile replica- a very nice one! I had my picture taken with it, and was glad I wore my Geeky Jersey! Got several shot of the car and I picked up some Batman postcards from that booth while I was there.

Also found a great Catwoman cosplayer- had to have my picture taken with her, too!

But there wasn’t just bat-family cosplayers at Wizard World…

Got to love it when franchises collide- a Dr. Who/Star Trek match-up!

A lot of Star Wars costumers were trooping including these Mandolorians. The one in pink was handing out pink ribbon pins to help promote breast cancer awareness month. I got one for my wife Nicki. “Save the ta-tas!”

Speaking of tat-tas, there where were a few “booth babes” here and there, too…

…but remember, Deadpool- cosplay is NOT consent! You can look but don’t touch..!

Actually, everybody seemed to behave themselves well and had a good time.

Lots of good examples of great parenting were all around the con while we were there. You can see more of the Wizard World Nashville costumes at this con here.

But as much as I like good cosplay, I love checking out a con’s Artists Alley.

There was a good mix of artists and comic creators there, and lots of familiar faces and names.

Here’s Brandon with artist Michael Golden. He got a few comics signed by Mr. Golden. We watched him work on a commission sketch, too.

Artist Buzz gives Brandon some behind the scenes info on a Vampirella comic he drew. I bought a Volume 1 sketchbook from Buzz, and he threw in the second volume! Thanks, Buzz.

“The Goon” creator and local guy Eric Powell. Bought his newest sketchbook. Wish him the best on getting the Goon animated movie produced.

“Shi” creator Billy Tucci and his booth babes Crystal and Rick Van Diver. Always great to see these three!

Comic artist Freddie E. Williams II working digitally at his booth. I’m jealous of his studio…

Artist Greg Horn and his awesome tee! This guy was working his booth. Bought a Joker/Harley Quinn print from him.

I’ve always wanted to meet artist Neal Adams. He’s always been one of my favorite Batman artists, but I’ve had a few friends who have had less than pleasant encounters with him, and after seeing his sign I decided to pass on meeting Mr. Adams. Didn’t know how much he charged to say hello…

Wizard World conventions have gotten to be known to focus a lot of their attention to bringing in celebs. This con was no different. The big names were comic legend Stan “The Man” Lee and Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon from “The Walking Dead”) had serious lines all day (I didn’t go near their areas), but so did actor Bruce “The Chin” Campbell. Caught this shot of Bruce as he walked past me. Some of the other celebs there included James Marsters, Dean Cain, Kevin Sorbo, Henry Winkler, Ernie Hudson, Ray Park, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Ferrigno, and more- but unfortunately not Adam West, Burt Ward, Peter Mayhew, and Aliza Dushku. They all had to cancel their appearances. 🙁

Even though I didn’t get to meet Eliza, I did get to do a bit of shopping. Bought some Harry Potter Dark Mark earrings and some superhero buttons for Nicki, and traded an extra copy of “The Walking Dead” comic I had for a mini Vader bust for her and mini Wolfman figure for me.

I did a bit of comic shopping, but couldn’t find a “Giant-Size Man-Thing“…the search continues. Hopefully Jessica Rabbit, Mr. Fantastic, and Electro had better luck longbox diving than I did.

I had a great time at Wizard World Nashville, and hope to make it back again next year. Congrats to the Minions for winning Best of Show in the costume contest! Hope to see them again next time.

Lin