Wizard World NYC is just winding down but Wizard has just sent out a press release about Wizard World Anaheim. Pretty amazing guess list. See the press release below.

Over 40 Special Guests announced for Anaheim Comic Con

Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Eliza Dushku and more kick off the hottest convention of 2010!

On April 16-18, 2010, the inaugural Anaheim Comic Con is coming to the Anaheim Convention Center. The Anaheim Comic Con will be a major regional pop culture convention bringing fans the latest information on comics, toys, collectibles and connecting attendees with celebrity guests, artists and industry professionals.

The convention is still a few months away and several comic book superstars are already heading to the Anaheim Comic Con! Leading the way are Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, the blockbuster creative team behind Marvel’s SPIDER-WOMAN! Additionally, Bernie Wrightson (SWAMP THING), Tim Bradstreet (THE PUNISHER), Steve Niles (30 DAYS OF NIGHT), Charlie Huston (MOON KNIGHT), Phil Jimenez (ASTONISHING X-MEN), Simon Bisley (JUDGE DREDD), Glenn Fabry (PREACHER) and Tom Jane (BAD PLANET) are already confirmed for the show, with dozens of other comic creators to be announced!

Several stars of film and television will also be in attendance, including DOLLHOUSE star and longtime fan favorite, Eliza Dushku! Also onboard for the Anaheim Comic Con are Ted Raimi (XENA, SPIDER-MAN), WWE & TNA star Mick Foley along with three of the most beloved cast members from the 60’s BATMAN TV series: Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar! Additionally, there are several additional guests that will be announced soon!

"There is a real desire in Southern California for a comic based pop-culture experience, and I feel privileged to get back in touch with our west coast fans in this way. This will truly be an event for families and people of all ages," said Gareb Shamus, CEO of Wizard Entertainment.

Full Guest list so far:

William Shatner

Kat Mulgrew

Eliza Dushku

Christian Serratos

Brent Spiner

Catherine Bach

John Schneider

Ernie Hudson

Taylor Dayne

Brande Roderick

Jake Busey

Lori Petty

Lucianna Carro

Mick Foley

Bruce Boxleitner

Kevin Sorbo

Levar Burton

Robert Picardo

Jonathan Frakes

John de Lancie

Scott Bakula

Genie Francis

Melissa Gilbert

John Noble

Lorenzo Lamas

Rob Van Dam

Lita

Leonard Nimoy

Lindsay Wagner

Heidi Klum

Garrett Wang

Daniel Logan

Walter Koenig

Traci Scoggins

Michael Dorn

Lofton

Bernie Wrightson

Charlie Huston

Christopher Knight

Adrianne Curry

Alex Maleev

Tim Bradstreet

Tom Jane

Steve Niles

With such an incredible guest line up, the Anaheim Comic Con will easily be one of the top conventions of 2010. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this historic comic con!

The Anaheim Comic Con runs from April 16-18, 2010 at the Anaheim Convention Center. It is a major regional pop culture convention bringing fans the latest information on comics, toys, collectibles and connecting attendees with celebrity guests, artists and industry professionals.

GET ANAHEIM COMIC CON TICKETS NOW at www.wizardworld.ticketleap.com/anaheim

Many of the top celebrities announced for the show are no longer listed as appearing. They've also changed the press release.

They include:

Scott Bakula
Leonard Nimoy
Kate Mulgrew
Brent Spiner
Jonathan Frakes
Robert Picardo
John de Lancie
Levar Burton
Walter Koenig
Michael Dorn

What's really sad is Wizard and Reed Exhibitions (NY CC, C2E2) are in a battle and it puts the fans and manufacturers in a position of having to pick.

The Anaheim show is the same weekend as the Chicago Collectors Entertainment Expo (C2E2) so only one show gets exhibitors like Marvel and DC.

To make matters worse, next year's NYCC and Big Apple Con are going to be the same weekend in the same city. Utter foolishness.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by rl75:
Many of the top celebrities announced for the show are no longer listed as appearing. They've also changed the press release.

They include:

Scott Bakula
Leonard Nimoy
Kate Mulgrew
Brent Spiner
Jonathan Frakes
Robert Picardo
John de Lancie
Levar Burton
Walter Koenig
Michael Dorn

The bait & switch seems to be standard practice for Wizard shows these days. The kicked of their Big Apple guest announcements with Ian Gruffold (sp?) and followed it with Willem deFoe among others. All of those people were cancelled within a month of the show. I'm not saying the guest lineup is bad, but I wouldn't bother paying attention to their guest lists until a few weeks before the show.

I wouldn't say that Wizard is the only promoter that is constantly changing guest line ups. I've done many shows in the last 2 years where big name stars and artists have changed right up till the last minute. It will be interesting to see how many stars cancel this week for Chiller. It's gotten to the point where I don't even look at who's coming.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by WandringRebel:

The bait & switch seems to be standard practice for Wizard shows these days. The kicked of their Big Apple guest announcements with Ian Gruffold (sp?) and followed it with Willem deFoe among others. All of those people were cancelled within a month of the show. I'm not saying the guest lineup is bad, but I wouldn't bother paying attention to their guest lists until a few weeks before the show.

Eliza Dushku

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Moulder:
I wouldn't say that Wizard is the only promoter that is constantly changing guest line ups. I've done many shows in the last 2 years where big name stars and artists have changed right up till the last minute. It will be interesting to see how many stars cancel this week for Chiller. It's gotten to the point where I don't even look at who's coming.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by WandringRebel:

The bait & switch seems to be standard practice for Wizard shows these days. The kicked of their Big Apple guest announcements with Ian Gruffold (sp?) and followed it with Willem deFoe among others. All of those people were cancelled within a month of the show. I'm not saying the guest lineup is bad, but I wouldn't bother paying attention to their guest lists until a few weeks before the show.

There's a big difference between a few actors canceling and Wizard canceling almost all of their headliner guests. Someone canceling a week or two before the show because their work schedule is perfectly understandable. In the case of Big Apple, Wizard cancelled all the guests they had booked through one agent.

Then that sounds more like an agent being unreasonable and demanding too much. Good for Wizard for standing up to them and either dumping their guests or letting the agent pull them. Or could it be a case of Reed pushing the agent to back out of their deal with Wizard to make Wizard look bad. Either way I think customers are getting tired of these quests overcharging for autos and pictures. I mean look at what Harris had to go throught to get Loretta Switts picture. I had a lot of people at Wizard Chicago tell me that they wouldn't pay for the stars autos.

Who do these stars think they are??? I mean $100 for Patrick Stewart this weekend!!!!.

I was just commenting the other day about the cell phone commerical with Mariah Carey. With her list of demands the Hotel employee has to get for her. Unfortunately thats my cell phone company so I'm paying for Mariah to be in that ad.

I did a show the other weekend where the promoter got on the loud speaker and told the customers in the hall that they should drop what they are doing and get 2 of the stars autographs because they were leaving early. Just what a dealer wants to hear when they are trying to sell sometime to a customer and then the customer puts down the item and heads over to the autograph area.


Time to get 5-10 decent level guests and dump the rest. Get a signed contract that they can't back out of before they announce whos coming and only death or injury is a reason for the star not to show up.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by WandringRebel:

There's a big difference between a few actors canceling and Wizard canceling almost all of their headliner guests. Someone canceling a week or two before the show because their work schedule is perfectly understandable. In the case of Big Apple, Wizard cancelled all the guests they had booked through one agent.