Or hoping they might change

Wizard World is not a comic book convention, not anymore anyway. It's a pop culture event or in other words a media circus surrounding anything within geek culture. This includes wrestling, sci-fi, horror, and of course how Wizard even got started in the first place, comic books. A fact I think they have forgotten.

I understand a company is meant to increase profits. Without an organization properly set up for this ability to achieve monetary gain, its purpose of continuing as a business would flounder and ultimately cease. In Wizard World's defense with the NYCC increasing in size along with the ECCC selling out, while the SDCC is too far out of their league, they had to do something.

Bruce Campbell, the star of "Evil Dead" and "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr"; along with cameos in three Spider-Man movies appeared to a mass of fans in the midst of a comic book convention. The lines were the longest I remember seeing. Did Wizard World know they were failing? Did they see the end times as with their magazine? Did they hope replacing major comic book companies with super stars from television and movies would substitute for the emptiness that Marvel and DC would leave behind?

Over time Wizard World seemed to be more concerned with getting as much per ticket rather then giving as much as they could per that ticket. I understand admission, I'm sure it costs a lot to put on one of these massive shows, especially one in Philadelphia. Having blockbuster movie stars, popular hit television show actors and actresses, and even long retired WWF wrestling personalities cost, but when a smaller convention ten miles away with many of the same comic book dealers set up a month later at three dollars to enter the premises...you do the math.

Stan Lee is a Living Legend, to most comic collectors he is the be all end all person to meet. I was fortunate to meet him for the first time in 2012, an event I will never forget. Wizard World was charging about $225 for admittance to see the comic book deity, along with the entry to the convention itself, an additional meet and greet could be purchased. In 2013 the sum was a bit more. At the upcoming Ohio show, the Stan Lee Platinum package sold out for $500 a piece. For that amount of money I can attend the Philadelphia Comic Con for the next twenty years with a few Baltimore Comic Conventions sprinkled in for variety.

I did have the opportunity to see Bob McLeod at the most recent Wizard World Philadelphia debacle and had a conversation with him. I wanted to go back, but to my understanding he left early. I feel the possibility of this was because of where he was placed in artist alley, which was more like artist street corner. He signed and chatted with fans across from a booth requiring an attendee to hit a bell by using a mallet to send a rubber stopper straight up to hit a bell. It didn't ring much, but every time the mallet struck, well I could imagine it could grow to be annoying.

Wizard World had a few artists that I knew. Bob Layton, Greg Horn, and Totino Tedesco (to name a few of the few) of which the latter I only knew about as the artist from the latest variation of Walking Dead #1 were there. Many of the creators and contributors I have grown to love were not going to be in attendance.

Baltimore will not only have Bob McLeod, Louise and Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, Mark Bagley, Neal Adams, and so on and so on, but also a slew of dealers who want to sell comic books. Stan Lee was originally to attend but due to unavoidable circumstances mentioned on Baltimorecomiccon.com he is unable. But, just because I was bored, or maybe I wanted to make sure I did my homework, the Baltimore Comic Con has 157 guests, give or take a few. This does not include the 21 listed under the "kids love comic artists" section, or any additional late acknowledgements.

The Hero initiative is hosting Ron Frenz, Joe Statin, and my life long dream to meet; greater than Stan Lee, the amazing Sal Buscema, a man only scheduled to be there on Saturday, a day I can't attend. The slight few I listed was more than Wizard World Philadelphia could brag about. I will admit the Wizard World Chicago guest list was a bit better especially with the likes of Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, but nothing like Baltimore has scheduled or that the ECCC had appear.

Wizard World is all about hype, reminding me of a Monster Truck rally announcer. I correlate the experience with going to see a 3 ring flea circus, You paid the admission to see something, but there is nothing there. At one point of time I couldn't wait until the first day of Wizard World Philadelphia arrived. I waited in the heat, the rain, and on gorgeous days with the sole desire to immerse myself within the confines of the best comic book convention ever, and now Wizard World can not even boast they are a comic book convention at all.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

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