Wizard World Chicago Comic Con coming Aug. 19-22, 500 superhero celebs, comic artists, pop artists

Photo courtesy of Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Photo by Greg Cooley

Update 8/20/2010: On Aug. 17, former Governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of 1 of 24 counts. Comic Con visitors will be able to take a photograph with him starting at 10:30 a.m. at Booth 401. He will be signing autographs at Wizard World from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 21.

"I'm looking forward to meeting loyal supporters and other fans on Saturday,” said Blagojevich in a recent press release.

Grown-ups everywhere will be reliving their youth on Sun., Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, for the Wizard World Chicago's Comic Con event. Comic Con fans will be surrounding the doors to see over 500 celebrities and industry professionals inside the Donald E. Stephens Rosement Convention Center at 5555 N. River Road in Rosemont, IL.

"I lived on comic books growing up," said Gareb Shamus, the founder of Wizard Entertainment. "I have three brothers so we grew up with sports cards and comic books and toys. That was our whole life to the point where before I went to college, my mom opened up a sports card and comic book shop. It’s been in my family for a long time. I’m like Tom Hanks in the movie 'Big.' I get to be a kid in a grown-up body forever."

But he's not the only one. Children and adults are encouraged to come to the four-day event dressed as their favorite villain, superhero or pop culture. Special prizes will be given out for the best costume. All guests will be able to shop for collectible costumes, movie and television memorabilia, toys and games at over 500 booths. There will also be fan favorites at the booths like Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), William Shatner (Captain Kirk on "Star Trek"), Burt Ward, Julie Newmar and Adam West (from "Batman").

"We thought, 'Oh my god. Wouldn’t it be great to coordinate (Stewart's and Shatner's) schedules to get them in one room together at the same time?'," said Shamus. "It’s a lot easier said than done, but we were able to do it and coordinate it. The 'Star Trek' fans are going nuts for it. We had Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar before at our Anaheim show, and it was so popular that we wanted to bring it to Chicago."

Another crowd favorite will be the first reunion of the Final Five Cylons from "Battlestar Galactica," which includes Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol), Michael Hogan (Colonel Sol Tigh), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Michael Trucco (Samuel Anders) and Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh).

Comic book artists who will be at the event include Joe Madureira (“Darksiders,”
“Uncanny X-Men,” “Battle Chasers”), Ethan Van Sciver (“Green Lantern,” “Superman/Batman”),
Greg Horn (“Blackest Night,” “Elektra,” “Ms. Marvel”), Michael Golden (“Wolverine: First
Class,” “New Exiles”), Mark Texeira (“Moon Knight,” “Ghost Rider”), Arthur Suydam
(“Marvel Zombies,” “Army of Darkness,” “Batman”) and Bill Sienkiewicz (“Elektra,” “Moon Knight”).

Celebrites at Wizard World's Chicago Comic Con event include Linda Hamilton ("Terminator"), Adam West (“Batman,” “Family Guy”), Linda Blair ("The Exorcist"), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Caprica,” “Smallville”), Julie Newmar (“Batman”), Julia Jones ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," "Jonah Hex," “ER”), Nicholas Brendon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Clare Kramer (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” "Bring it On”), Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”), John Schneider (“Dukes of Hazzard”), Richard Roundtree ("Shaft"), Kristanna Loken ("Terminator 3"), Adrienne Curry (“America's Next Top Model,” “My Fair Brady”) and Christopher Knight (“The Brady Bunch,” “My Fair Brady”).

"(Adrienne Curry) is like a super geek," said Shamus. "She’s notoriously online for playing 'Worlds of Warcraft,' she’s a comic book fan and what she also does is she lets the fans pick what she’s going to wear at the show. She comes in costume, and people love taking pictures with her and meeting her and getting stuff autographed."

Tickets for the event are $25 for one day, $50 for four-day weekend tickets, and free for children age 10 and under (limit two). Doors open on Thurs., Aug. 19 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri., Aug. 20 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 21 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sun., Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"I didn’t imagine that it was going to be this big," Shamus said, who is also responsible for publishing consumer magazines Wizard, ToyFare and FunFare. "I did imagine it was going to be bigger but not to the extent that it is today. We’ve become the largest tour in North America. We own 14 events. There’s so much great stuff to do. You’re not even going to have enough time to do it."