Earlier this year on May 29th, the Dallas Comic Con held their annual event at the Dallas Convention Center. I had read about the celebration every year as the date approached and this year, I reached out to Susan Friedman inquiring about Press Accreditation and it was granted to me. I was hyped. I had never been to a convention before believe it or not but I was excited to go. You can read about my experience here.
When one of my reviewers, Jim Land, mentioned that they were having another celebration but this time at the Irving Convention Center, I once again reached out to Susan and Suzanne Gentry Flodin and both Jim and I were granted Press access. This was my first time visiting the Irving Convention Center and we attended Saturday, Oct. 17th. From the moment we arrived, we were taken care of by the assembly of volunteers and one of them in particular, a beautiful young lady named Courtney, gave Jim and I a tour of the location. The center is divided into three main levels so we spent much of the day traveling up and down various escalators.
Like being at Disneyland, a fan convention is just brimming with so much to do and see. For the longest time, fans who would frequent the various conventions around the world and who would take the time to dress up like their favorite TV or movie characters, were made fun of and not taken seriously. Today, if you are not dressed up in some sort of fantastic outfit, then it is you who feels like the odd man out. According to Wikipedia, Cosplay “is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.”
Never was this more evident than at this year’s convention. While many fans dressed up, the Comic Con had professional cosplayer models in attendance such as Rosanna Rocha, Jennifer Van Damsel, Missy, Krystle Starr and Hioshi Jackson, one of the first professional Cosplay male models.
There were celebrities galore including Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor (“Xena: Warrior Princess”), Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones,” the upcoming “Aquaman”), Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead,” “Cliffhanger”), Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Blade Runner”) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter films) plus many more.
The highlight of the day for me, was meeting actor John Rhys-Davies, the Welsh actor who played Sallah in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (my favorite movie of alltime) and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” General Pushkin in the James Bond film “The Living Daylights” and of course, Gimli and the voice of Treebeard in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He also had a Q&A with an almost sold-out crowd in which he talked about his experiences making the Indiana Jones movies and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. A true gentleman and a terrific actor.
Michael Rooker also had a Q&A with a huge crowd and talked about his work in “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” the movie that put him on Hollywood’s map, and he talked, albeit briefly, about the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” and his time spent of “The Walking Dead.”
Jim and I also met with the Star Garrison 501st Legion, a worldwide Star Wars fan club celebrating the Star Wars universe using costumes and props, in particular those of the Stormtrooper characters, Imperial forces, and other various “bad guy” characters. Star Garrison works to participate in the community for the benefit of the children. Whether it is visiting local children’s hospitals, participating in benefits that support children, or just having fun at conventions, their desire is to bring the joy of the Star Wars universe they had growing up to the children of this generation. If you are interested in joining them or would like for them to be at your event, please contact them at: info@stargarrison.com
Jim and I met a lot of interesting people, many of them volunteers, and one lady in particular, Dawn, was enjoying her sixth Dallas Comic Con and cannot wait for the next one in February at the Irving Convention Center. The big Dallas Comic Con at the Dallas Convention Center next year will be held June 3-5 and for more information visit their website at fanexpodallas.com
You still have some time left if you’d like to attend the Dallas Comic Con Fan Days today in Irving, they close at 5pm so if you’re in the area, drop by and meet some of TV and movie’s biggest names.
I want to say a BIG special thank you to Susan Friedman, Suzanne Gentry Flodin and the two lovely volunteers who showed us around, Courtney and Dawn and we look forward to our next Comic Con.
