YO!! Man, it's been a while. Responsibilities and all that been keepeing me busy. However, I 'm back and I'm here to give you guys a quick run down as to what's going down at Wizard World St. Louis 2017.
This year, we have some amazing guests lined up and some new acts I know you'll love! Also, Wizard World Gaming is returning as well, for all you with itchy "trigger" fingers.
Let's start with the big attraction, the celebrity guests. We have alot of new faces this year for WWSTL. We usually have some frequent show goers here, like Jason David Frank (Original Green and White Power Ranger) or Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk) but the only returning celebrity this year is James Marsters (Spike from Buffy: The Vampire & Angel). So what fresh faces are coming to town? Check out this list!
Celebrity Guests:
Kevin Conroy (Batman Batman: the Animated Series, Batman: Arkham Series)
Gene Simmons (Co-Founder, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, frontman for KISS)
James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasly the Harry Potter film series)
Ian Somerhalder ( Damon Salvatore of "Vampire Diaries", Boone of "Lost")
Paul Wesley ( Stephan Salvatore of "Vampire Diaries", "Roll Bounce")
Evan Peters (Quicksilver X: Men First Class/Age of Apocalypse, "American Horror Story")
Caleb McLaughlin ( Lucas Sinclair of Netflix's "Stranger Things")
Jennifer Carpenter ( Debra Morgan of "Dexter", "Limitless", The Exorcism of Emily Rose)
WWE Superstar Randy Orton
James Marsters (Spike of "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel", "Smallville")
Michael Rooker (Yondu Udonta of The Guardians of the Galaxy, "The Walking Dead")
Sean Gunn (Kirk Gleason of "Gilmore Girls", The Guardians of the Galaxy)
Nichelle Nichols ( Lt. Uhura of "Star Trek")
Loren Lester (Robin/Nightwing of Batman: the Animated Series)
Peter Tork (The Monkees)
Micky Dolenz (The Monkees)
Pretty good right? I mean Kevin Conroy!!!!! Evan Peters! Gene freaking Simmons! Speaking of the Demon of KISS, he's got a little something special going on for St. Louis.
The Pageant will be hosting "An Evening with Gene Simmons and his Band" on Saturday, April 8th as part of a new partnership with Wizard World, Inc. Doors open at 7pm and tickets for the event start at $30. There are also meet and greet packages for fans who want get up close and personal with the KISS frontman. Gene Simmons will also be available for autographs, photos and more on Friday and Saturday at the Americas Center, along with the rest of the Wizard World guests. This isn't the only big thing going on in St. Louis however.
Here in St. Louis, we absolutely love The Rocky Horror Picture Show. When a showing is held in town, you can bet the lines are long and the movie goers are dressed to impress. Well, Wizard World is looking to bring out the evil transvestite scientist in us all with a screening of the film on Saturday, April 8th at the Americas Center. Tickets are $15 and the show starts at 7p.m. on the main show floor. That's not all! This is truly an event as there will be displays filled with ACTUAL items from the original film including costumes, handwritten song lyrics, contracts, behind-the-scenes photos and more! The event was originally going to be hosted by Brad Majors himself, the one and only Barry Bostwick. However, he won't be able to attend due to a scheduling conflict. Drag. (Ba dum, tish!)
Now let us never forget the real reason we go to Wizard World. WWSTL always impresses when bringing our favorite comic book creators and artists to the event for us to meet. The individuals who helped start the fire that burns inside all of our hearts. Our love for comic books and various animated television series' started with these artistic, imaginative and creative individuals that we get to meet at this show. Top names coming to the show this year include:
Stuart Sayger ("The Walking Dead")
Steve Geiger ("X-Men", "Punisher")
Mat Nastos ("Phineas and Ferb", "Anastasia")
Steve Lavigne ("Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles")
Barbara Slate ("Barbie", "Beauty and the Beast")
and if you think this is it, you've clearly never been to Wizard World.
But wait, there's still more! This year, WWSTL is bringing another new way to entertain fans with some live entertainment. Fans of illusion and magic will get to see, first hand, the mind-blowing talents of FOUR masters of the mystical arts from the CW television series "Masters of Illusion". All weekend long, come see Bill Cook, Naathan Phan, William Draven and Adam Wylie as they make you question what's real and what's possible. For Disney fans, The Aristocats will be performing those magical melodies we all know and love thanks to a local a cappella group from Washington University. There's more, but you'll need to come to the show to see the rest.
Last, but certainly not least, is Wizard World Gaming. This was a HUGE hit last year and man, was it something to watch. Even the celebs got in on the fun (which is probably why James Marsters has returned, to lay the smackdown!) This year, tournaments will be held for Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. and Tekken7. The event can be streamed live on Twitch at twitch.tv/wizardworldgaming for those who want to stay connected to the action. And don't worry, you don't have to participate in the actual tournament to play any of these games. There will be plenty of free spaces where you and your friends can play 1 on 1. You can buy tickets and register for Wizard World Gaming tournaments at http://wizardworldgaming.com/index.php but if you have tickets for the Wizard World event, you are automatically able to attend WWG.
Did I say that was last? I lied. Haha. WWSTL is hosting SocialCon this year as well. There isn't much information available at the present time, however this is what I have.
"...Wizard World will host SocialCon (www.socialcon.com ) in St. Louis on Saturday, April 8, with major social influencers to be announced. SocialCon will feature meet-and-greets, live performances, Q&A panels, autographs, photo ops and more." From what I understand, SocialCon is aimed more towards the teen audience as the guests are well known Youtubers, Vine stars, Instagramers and other famous internet teens.
Well, there you have it! Something for EVERYONE! Wow, don't know how these guys do it but there it is. As usual, tickets are available for each of the three day or you can buy a weekend pass. If your fancy, you can get in 30 minutes sooner with the VIP Packages and if you really want and time to remember, grab a celebrity VIP Package and get a guranteed photo and autograph with your favorite celeb.
Friday, April 7th (3pm-9pm)- $39.95 in Advance & $50.00 On-Site
Saturday, April 8th (10am-7pm)- $49.95 in Advance & $60.00 On-Site
Sunday, April 9th (10am-4pm)- $44.95 in Advance & $55.00 On-Site
Weekend Pass- $79.95
VIP Pass- $199.99 (visit site for more info.)
For complete WIzard World information and updates, visit the Wizard World website at http://wizardworld.com/comiccon/st-louis
For Wizard World Gaming, visit http://wizardworldgaming.com/shows.php#stlouis
For SocialCon, go to http://socialcon.com/
Details and tickets for the Gene Simmons event can be found on The Pageant website at http://www.thepageant.com/event/wwstl-gene-simmons-040817/
If your new to Wizard World, here is my guide for the uninitiated- https://www.comicbookmovie.com/convention_news/comic-con/beginners-guide-to-wizard-world-st-louis-a132871