Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh Programming and Exhibitors Revealed

This weekend, filling Hall A and Ballroom B of the David L Lawrence Convention Center, is the inaugural Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh.  While it is said to inherit a bit of its local character from its predecessor, the Pittsburgh Comicon, this convention definitely carries the Wizard World stamp, with a much larger celebrity and creator list than the Pittsburgh Comicon was ever able to marshal, and numerous Q&As, meet and greets, and panels.

You can find the list of programming and the interactive exhibitors’ map by following the preceeding embedded hyperlinks.  In addition to Artists’ Alley and hours of Celebrity Q&As, other selected show highlights include: comic publishers Action Lab and Zenescope; Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate, KDKA, is not only showing the Supergirl TV pilot, they’re getting Dean Cain to deliver a live introduction to it; Disney comic artists Pat and Shelly Block are going to create a Donald Duck comic story, with help from the live audience, at the Disney Comics Creation panel; Spotlight on Rob Liefeld gives the audience 45 minutes with the mind behind Deadpool, Cable, and X-Force; and, Spider-Man, Thor, and Spider-Girl fans will not want to miss Titanic Teammates, the 45 minute panel with creators Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, moderated by their former editor Danny Fingeroth.

If you’re a comic con veteran, feel free to skip to the press release below.  On the other hand, if you’re a comic convention newbie, you get to benefit from my experience.  If this is your first comic convention, bear in mind that you won’t be able to see all of these entertaining events or get all the swag that you want, so you may want to spend a few minutes or so perusing the programming list and exhibitors’ map to get your plan of attack.  Make sure you go to some panels and some Q&As, and buy a sketch in Artists’ Alley.  Most of the panels and Q&As are free, and by going to them, you will not only be saving your con cash for a little while longer, but you might get some insight into your favorite TV show or comic book.  (It also isn’t unknown for fans to get swag at panels, although none is mentioned on this schedule.)  Also, by hitting Artists’ Alley before you stop at the rest of the Exhibitors, you can buy a piece of comic art that is unique to you, and you’ll get some face to face time with the artist as well.  Plus, many of the more popular Artists’ slates may fill up quickly, as they only have time for so many sketches over the weekend, so going there first may save you some disappointment.  Signature and photo op collectors should know going into the convention that these are usually the longest lines at conventions, and hit them first rather than last if your time at the con on a particular day is limited. Lastly, if you feel overwhelmed by the crowds, downtown Pittsburgh is only a step out the door for a quick break.

Official press release:

David Duchovny, William Shatner, ‘Firefly,’ WWE® Q&As Highlight Programming At Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh, Friday Through Sunday

Interactive Sessions with Dean Cain, Sean Pertwee, James Marsters, Industry Panels, ‘Supergirl’ Screening, Costume Contests Featured At David L. Lawrence Convention Center

PITTSBURGH., September 7, 2015 – Q&A sessions with “The X-FIles” duo of David Duchovny and Mitch Pileggi , the “Firefly” tandem of Jewel Staite and Adam Baldwin, William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “Boston Legal”), Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark” The New Adventures of Superman,” God’s Not Dead), James Marsters (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”), WWE® Superstar Dean Ambrose® and Diva Paige, screening of the new CBS series “Supergirl,” costume contests, comics-themed sessions and more are among the programming panels scheduled at Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh, Friday through Sunday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Most programming is included as part of the standard event admission.

Some highlights of the more than 50 panels scheduled include:

Interactive Q&As with Duchovny and Pileggi (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.), Shatner (Saturday, 3 p.m.), Staite and Baldwin (Saturday, 1 p.m.), Cain (Sunday, 12:30 p.m.), Marsters (Saturday, 2 p.m.), Sean Pertwee (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.), Eddie McClintock (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.), The Boondock Saints duo of Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.) and others

Screening of the new CBS series “Supergirl” (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)

Industry-themed sessions with Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz (Friday, 5:30 p.m.), “The Crow” author/creator James O’Barr (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.), storytelling with Michael Golden (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.), Rob Leifeld (Saturday, 1 p.m.), Mike McKone, Scott McDaniel, Thom Pratt, Don Simpson and Billy Martin (Sunday, 1 p.m.) and more

Go “Hunting for Ghosts” with professional ghosthunter Steve Gonsalves

Step into the ring with WWE® Superstar Dean Ambrose® (Friday, 8 p.m.), WWE® Diva Paige™ (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)

CONtv Presents a Q&A session with Green Power Ranger Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”) (Saturday, 3 p.m.). Then join him for the “Green Power Ranger Half-Hour of Power” karate class for all ages (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.)

Costume contests for adults (Saturday, 7 p.m.) and kids (Sunday, 3 p.m.), plus cosplay-themed sessions

Meet-and-greet with Jason David Frank (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.) (Paid event)

Unless noted, programming events take place in the designated General Programming Rooms at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. VIP tickets or additional costs may apply to ensure access to select activities, as noted.

A full list of Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh programming is available at http://www.wizardworld.com/programming-pittsburgh.html (subjects, guests, times and rooms subject to change).

Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh is the 17th of 24 events in the 2015 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD). For more on the event, visit www.wizardworld.com/home-pittsburgh.html.