Plenty of real-life colorful characters already call Madison home, but with Wizard World Comic Con making its third trip to the city, the odds are high that you might see Batman, Iron Man, stormtroopers, or any number of other popular characters from comics, movies, and video games wandering the streets Sept. 22–24.
Before you roll your eyes, it’s important to understand that comics and the related entertainment properties and industries are a big business — not just globally or nationally, but also locally.
According to the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau, last year’s Wizard World Madison event brought in approximately 10,000 attendees, and direct spending as a result of that audience in town was $993,521.
“Comics are by far at a point where they are more socially accepted than they have ever been,” notes John Robinson, co-owner of Graham Crackers Comics, which has 11 locations in Illinois and Wisconsin, including a Madison store at 2831 E. Washington Ave. “As a kid I used to dream of comics being spoken about in newspaper articles. [Back then] very few people knew what a comic convention was or had heard of most of the characters.”
On the flip side, Robinson says, while comics are more publicly accepted than ever before, they also have their smallest readership. Comics, like TV, movies, books, and just about every form of entertainment, have more competition than ever before.
The industry is fighting back in a unique way — not by creating new characters whole cloth to appeal to a modern audience, but by relaunching existing characters and titles with a fresh spin to reach new (and old) readers who might otherwise be turned off at the prospect of jumping into a character’s story decades into his or her existence.
“At the end of May 2016, DC Comics re-launched its entire line with an event called DC Rebirth, and that has been very popular among fans,” says Bob Moreau, manager of the west side Westfield Comics on Mineral Point Road in High Point Center. “At the end of this month —Sept. 27 to be exact — Marvel Comics is doing a similar event called Marvel Legacy that will begin with a special 50-page one-shot that is engineered to be a good starting point for new and lapsed readers.”
Moreau says there are a lot of other publishers besides industry stalwarts Marvel and DC that are currently offering something for everyone. Image Comics especially seems to be the current go-to publisher for readers looking for something different, such as characters without super powers, he says.
And Moreau notes the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, as well as other media like Marvel’s Netflix and DC’s CW superhero shows, are definitely making the general public more aware of the characters.
“Just as long as [the public] realizes that they’ve been having adventures on the printed page for years!” quips Moreau.
Robinson says Graham Crackers sees new readers and collectors discovering the store in Madison every week and being overwhelmed with how much material is actually available beyond and including the popular characters that everyone knows. “Is there a good following here?” he asks. “Yes, and growing!”
Moreau adds that Madison is a great city for fans of, well, you name it.
“Being a college town always creates a melting pot of interests and helps bring together fans of all types, along with open minds ripe for discovering something that’s been around for years, as well as whatever’s the next ‘big thing,’” Moreau explains. “Since we’ve been in business, there’s always been strong followings for Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly/Serenity, Doctor Who, manga/anime, and just about anything else you can think of.”
Fans may have to dig deep for this bit of trivia, but Madison was at one time home to Capital City Distribution, a comic book distributor that operated from 1980 to 1996 when rival Diamond Comic Distributors acquired it. Under the name Capital Comics, it also published comics from 1981 to 1984.
During the Capital Comics days, Mike Baron, a local comic book writer, created the character Badger, and set many of his titular character’s exploits right here in Madison.
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Super marriage
That diversity of interests is part of why Madison made sense to the people behind Wizard World when they were selecting locations to expand.
“Wizard World first discovered that Madison was a viable market when fans were coming to our Chicago show year over year and saying that we should check it out,” says John D. Maatta, Wizard World CEO and president. “A few years ago when Wizard World began expanding, Madison welcomed us with open arms and has continued to do so — that’s everyone from fans to civic leaders, businesses, and various communities.
“We want Wizard World Madison attendees to come away from our show with a full pop culture experience that goes beyond meeting celebrities and getting autographs and photographs,” adds Maatta. “Whether it’s interactive Q&As with interesting personalities, live music, magic, dance, or art demonstrations, it will be wall-to-wall entertainment all weekend. These are in addition to the celebrity sessions, creator panels, and other topical programming fans have come to expect at Wizard World events.”
Robinson says Wizard World does a terrific job promoting its events and getting top talent creators — like Stan Lee this year.
“Their conventions are a fun way for a group of friends or an entire family to spend the weekend together, celebrating and collecting the things they enjoy together,” Robinson says. “They benefit our business locally, as well as the comics scene as a whole, by offering something new to the mix and a fun event for fans to enjoy look back on fondly for years.”
Moreau adds that conventions are a great way to bring fans together and Wizard World, in particular, is a chance for many fans to meet their favorite celebrities who they might not otherwise get to see unless they travel to Chicago or Minneapolis. “We’ve been getting a number of fans stopping in looking for that ‘special thing’ for Stan Lee to sign this year because they know that they might not be able to get another opportunity.”
Robinson says that Graham Crackers will be at Wizard World Madison as a vendor. Additionally, the west side Westfield Comics store on Mineral Point Road is holding a Wizard World Madison Welcoming Party on Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 5–9 p.m. where a pair of weekend passes will be given away along with some other goodies (while supplies last), Moreau notes. “And [guests] have a chance to meet artist Steve Geiger who’ll be on hand to sign and do sketches!” (Geiger has worked on The Incredible Hulk and several Spider-Man titles, among many other Marvel properties.)
Something for everyone
“[Wizard World Madison] is really a pop culture celebration,” explains Maatta. “Comics are a big part of that, but so are TV, movies, art, science fiction, cosplay, music, and anime — we try to combine all of those so there can be something for everyone at our shows. And in the past few years, obviously superhero and comics-themed programming has come to dominate popular films and TV shows, and our audience reflects that.”
Maatta says the biggest new feature to Wizard World Madison in 2017 is the Entertainment Stage. “From the start of the show on Friday at 4 p.m. until the close on Sunday at 4 p.m., the stage will have music, magic, dancing, trivia, karaoke, cosplay, meetups — there is no down time if fans want to do something at any time during the event.” This year Kato Kaelin hosts the stage.
Among the highlights of the Wizard World Madison entertainment lineup are:
- Musicians Victor Johnson (piano, synthesizer, Friday), Face Time Police (acoustic, Friday), The Cat’s Pajamas (pop, Saturday), Water Street Bridge (eclectic acoustic, Saturday), Klingon Pop Warrior (Klingon pop, Sunday), Rock it Man Entertainment dueling piano show (Sunday)
- Live action role play with Last Hope LARP in live combat demo (Saturday, Sunday)
- Magician and comedian Rob Rasner (Saturday)
- Thomas Ian Nicholas (Rookie of the Year, American Pie) performing an acoustic set (Friday and Sunday)
- Trivia all weekend, with fun prizes
- Wizard World Karaoke (Friday and Saturday)
- Wizard World Hall of Legends induction ceremony (Friday, 7 p.m.) with Jens Robinson accepting on behalf of his father Jerry Robinson, creator of the “Robin” character
- Costume contest for adults (Saturday) and kids (Saturday and Sunday)
- DJ spinning all weekend
The entertainment offerings supplement a celebrity lineup including:
- Stan Lee (Marvel Comics CEO Emeritus)
- Lennie James (The Walking Dead, Snatch)
- Sean Maher (Firefly, Serenity)
- WWE Superstar Becky Lynch
- Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills, 90210)
- Monica Rial (Dragon Ball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Juliet Landau (Ed Wood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- James Frain (Gotham, True Blood)
- Rachel Skarsten (Lost Girl, Reign)
Events like Wizard World prove not to just be fun for genre fans, notes Maatta.
“The celebrities who come to our shows almost invariably return. They like connecting with fans and getting feedback they can’t get on a movie or TV set. We hear it time and again from those who are at many of our events, as well as ones who have just begun our tour.
“One of the great things about Wizard World Comic Cons is that people can express their fandom in any way they like, whatever they may follow,” Maatta adds.” Whether it’s sci-fi, comics, fantasy, or any theme, they’ll find many others who enjoy the same thing. Shows like Wizard World Madison have led the way, I think, in making all areas of pop culture accessible to everyone. This is a no-judgment zone if there ever was one. Be who you are at Wizard World!”
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