Throughout the Pacific Northwest, the winter convention season for pop culture enthusiasts is shaping up to be huge. The Fan Expo brand is certainly ramping their guest list up this year. Not only are they running two events in this region with a similar round up of guests appearing, but also it seems Creation Con no longer holds the monopoly on certain names! It’s about time, as I’m not fond of that organisation, since they are a for-profit business. They cater to fans who are willing to spend massive amounts of money for a show dedicated to just one series.
I favour the more open ones. Sometimes, if it doesn’t sell out, people can find tickets last minute. And while I can’t say what the shopping experience is like between both, I imagine the exhibit hall is only as good when these broad spectrum shows allow for anyone interested in vending to advertise their wares.
As for those guests who are no longer under an obligation with one event, I’m happy to say fans can meet Jared Padalecki at nearly every Fan Expo event being planned this year! After The CW‘s Supernatural, he’s kept busy with other gigs, and fans were able to watch him in the cowboy crime-drama, Walker.
But as more people know him as one of the Winchester supernatural busting team, he’s bringing a terrific group of costars (please check online).
But the biggest draw may well be with Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, better known for their work as Optimus Prime and Megatron! And while the Arrowverse is no longer on air, the talents are finding the time (when possible) to appear at conventions. Fan Expo lists a full list of who is appearing from Flash for each of its shows, and more!
There’s Jenna Coleman and Catherine Tate from Doctor Who, and the incomparable Andy Serkis! Those are the people I’m most excited about. And not to outdo last year’s live action Avatar: The Last Airbender “surprise” cast appearance (my report can be read here), they’ve brought in the gang from the cartoon, but minus one character. They have done what Emerald City Comic Con (more on them later) could not do, and that’s to get Michaela Jill Murphy (the voice of Toph)! Although Mae Whitman (Katara) is missing, I can understand why Dante Basco is missing. He’s a convention regular at many events, and may have finally taken a break.
Comic-wise, Tom Grummett, Casey Parsons and Mike DeCarlo are notable artists to meet. Just who readers love to meet depends on what they enjoy reading. At the Portland show, if I had to pick one name, Stan Berkowitz is tops, since he helped bring Batman Beyond (1999) and Superman: The Animated Series (1996) to life!
Locally, as most people know, Capital City Comic Con folded, and in what remains are Tsukino Con (Victoria) and Island Fan Con (Langford). They are smaller sized events catering to specific aspects of pop culture. These events have their faithful supporters and I believe both exist to give local fandom a place to have fun at an annual event. As guests are important, sadly the former doesn’t have anyone of interest to make me a regular.
Island Fan Con’s best announced guest so far is Lee Arenberg! Other names like Leanne Lapp and Ashleigh Ball round out the reason I’m making plans. I hope the organisers plan to offer a venue for Ball’s music band Hey Ocean to perform. She composed a song for the Ninjgo episode “Benefit of Grief.” It’s a great episode and my review is worth the read.
At the time of writing, Emerald City Comic Con is still announcing guests. Just who’s been put on the roster is still impressive: Alex Brightman and Brandon Rogers of Hazbin Hotel are appearing. Also, the entire cast of Starship Troopers will be there, and while I’m tempted to get a last-minute pass, they’re continuing to enjoy the weather after Washington State Summer Con. There’s also the crew from Firefly (Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, and a few more) and Star Trek Strange New Worlds (Ethan Peck and Anson Mount), but will I want to go?
As I’ve written in the past, those fans who patiently wait will get to see certain names return to the region. When one guest cancels due to work commitments, there’s sometimes a chance they’ll return in two to three years’ time.
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