What To Do While Getting Your Cosplay On At Wizard World 2016
By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 16, 2016 6:50PM
(Bekki Y. Wasmuth/Chicagoist)
Wizard World is coming to Chicago again this weekend, and this year looks to be one of the most exciting ones yet. Star Wars or Star Trek, DC or Marvel, you're bound to find plenty of reasons to attend, and with four days scheduled instead of last year's three, you'll probably have better luck finding the time to head to Rosemont for the festivities.
The show floor and panel rooms will open up to the public for the first time on Thursday. Some events recur each day. This includes "Trailer Park," a panel for catching all the latest in upcoming film and TV shows, the Comic Con Blood Drive, cosplay makeup tutorials, and the "Miniature Paint and Take," which allows people to try out painting their own miniatures for tabletop gaming fun. It also includes various trivia events and panels by Pure Fandom that cover a range of franchises depending on the night and include giveaways and prizes.
Wizard World also offers quite a few educational and industry panels, which cover such topics as the whitewashing of Asians in mainstream media, discussions on Edgar Allan Poe's influence on horror and crime genres and classes on cosplay photography, breaking into the comic business and designing video games.
Here's a few highlights for each day of this year's con:
Thursday
Thursday is the first day of Wizard World, with floors opening at 3 p.m. On this evening, attendees will be able to catch a live taping of the Podlander Drunkcast, based on the STARZ Series Outlander, which features the AV Club's Allison Shoemaker along with Julie Starbird (Down In Front, You're Being Ridiculous). There will also be a Super Smash Bros. Tournament, the "Ultimate Marvel Fan Panel" and speed dating for any adventurous singles looking for someone to share their particular flavor of nerd with.
Friday
One of the more interesting things on the schedule Friday is a 2:30 p.m. panel called Did Suicide Squad Suck? This panel was set up specifically to discuss whether or not the movie was unfairly panned, and why opinions have been so extreme on either side of the issue. Fans of Heroes or Gilmore Girls will be excited for an afternoon panel with Milo Ventimiglia, and in the evening guests can choose to chat with Jason Mewes in the "Snootchie Bootchies" panel, hang with the Honest Trailers crew, or learn about cosplay photography. This night also features a concert, Music of Video Games, with pianist Salome Scheidegger.
Photo by SaucyJack
Saturday
Saturday might be the most packed day of all. There are hourly Pokemon Go team meetups, and then a cluster of amazing panels all in a row. We're excited about the Back to the Future Reunion, which features Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson, and for the X-Files panel, which boasts David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi and William B. Davis. Bruce Campbell, who is simultaneously running the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Fest, will also appear with the cast of Ash vs.The Evil Dead for their own panel, "Bruce Campbell vs. Ash vs. Evil Dead. Vs. Audience."
If you're a Trekkie, then you'll be excited to attend "Aboard the USS Voyager" with Kate Mulgrew, and if you're a Whovian, John Barrowman will have his own panel as well. This is also the night for the annual cosplay contest, which welcomes all entries, and features a concert by Critical Hit, returning from last year's con.
Sunday
We're penciling in a book reading with David Duchovny for Sunday morning when doors open, where we'll hope to hear some from his most recent novel, Bucky F*cking Dent, and following it up with the Daredevil Panel, "Saving Hell's Kitchen" which amazingly features almost everyone from the full cast. Those who know how to wax on and wax off will want to check out the Karate Kid panel with Ralph Macchio, and we're definitely going to get a seat for the Star Wars panel with Carrie Fisher.
These are just a few of the great things happening at this year's con. Check out the full guest list and schedule here to make your plans. Then grab a ticket, put on your comfy shoes, grab a bottle of water and have a wonderful weekend at Wizard World.